The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, at the Committee Stage of the 2025 Appropriation Bill, today we are debating a number of Special Expenditure Heads, including the Offices of the President and the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Office, Independent Commissions, and Parliament. We take up all of these as we commence the Committee Stage debate today.

¶ 02 In this new context, in this new Parliament, I often sense a certain ambiguity in the Opposition’s understanding of its own role, especially when listening to their speeches. They frequently speak about a number of actions initiated by this Government as if final decisions have already been taken. This is our maiden Budget. In it, we have commenced the implementation of our policy statement. We are at the beginning; and the steps we now take are the initial measures required for implementation.

¶ 03 We also spoke about constitutional reforms, even a new Constitution. Our policy statement is clear: it must be a participatory exercise. There must be citizen participation. It is a consultative process. A consultative process should not involve only Members of Parliament as it should be a citizen’s Constitution. It is a process, not a done deal, and that process will be initiated.

¶ 04 Today we also have an opportunity to speak about our new political culture because the discussion on these Special Expenditure Heads is a practical opportunity to show how we are creating a new political culture. The Opposition tries to pluck isolated issues—are we using vehicles, how many, are we using helicopters—to score points. But our new political culture embodies certain concepts and a political vision that will guide how the Government works, how institutions and units are run.

¶ 05 A key change is that, as a Government, we must not be a burden on the people. For too long, governments have been a burden. Reducing that burden is crucial. The burden is not only the public service; our governments themselves—MPs, Ministers, Presidents, Prime Ministers—have been a burden. That is why we are meticulous about expenditure in these offices and units. We know the country is recovering from a severe economic crisis in which people bore immense hardship, both from the crisis and the measures to emerge from it. At such a time, a people‑elected Government must not again be a burden. The cost of maintaining Government ultimately comes from people’s taxes—direct and indirect. Therefore, every rupee must be managed prudently. Our new political culture is about a Government that does not burden the people, especially in how we manage these funds.

¶ 06 A second point goes further. Power and the perquisites attached to office can create a dangerous sense of entitlement. Benefits associated with office must not be treated as personal privileges. When perquisites are felt as personal entitlements, that opens the door to corruption through power. We must internalize that any privileges are attached to the office, not to the individual. For example, we accept that certain security measures are needed with the office, but it must not become a personal indulgence that makes us feel superior to citizens. That arrogance and distance must end. This is part of the political culture we seek to change, and it is why we are careful about our expenditure and the use of perquisites.

¶ 07 To illustrate misuse of perquisites, let me refer to Presidents’ foreign travel. Foreign visits by Presidents and Ministers are necessary for the country; we do not reject that. But in our political culture they were abused. I will table some figures. Between 2010 and 2014, the cost for President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s foreign travel was Rs. 3,572 million over four years. Between 2015 and 2019, for President Maithripala Sirisena, it was Rs. 384 million. In 2020–2022, for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Rs. 126 million over two years—comparatively lower. In 2023–2024, for President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Rs. 538 million. From September 2024 to February 2025, for our President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the foreign travel cost is Rs. 1.8 million.

¶ 08 We too have worked, travelled abroad, represented the country and engaged effectively—without burdening the people, by managing public funds. The highest annual cost in the period 2010–2025 was in 2013 under President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Rs. 1,144 million. We can further show why the costs differ. For example, President Ranil Wickremesinghe undertook 33 foreign visits with 154 persons in total. Our President undertook three visits with 11 persons. Necessary personnel must accompany—there is no dispute—but whether only the necessary people went is the question.

¶ 09 There were instances where opposition MPs were taken on such trips—amounting to inducements. The list shows, for example, to attend the State Funeral of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 10 persons accompanied; to the State Funeral of the former Prime Minister of Japan, 18 persons; for the 2023 Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, 12 persons; and for an official visit to India, former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was accompanied by 23 people. Our President’s official visit to India had only five. Did he do any less work? No. This shows how perquisites attached to office were misused earlier and how we are changing that through practice, not words.

¶ 10 This is part of changing political culture: stopping the misuse of public funds and treating them as our supreme trust. The information I presented regarding the President’s foreign travel alone demonstrates the difference. Thank you for the time.