The Hon. Upul Kithsiri

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we are debating the Bill to establish the Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority. The main purpose is to regulate moneylending and microfinance businesses and to provide relief to their customers. The Opposition said attempts were made before to bring this, but it did not happen. As a Government, it is our duty to bring it.

¶ 02 In villages, microfinance programmes have both positive and negative features. They emerged because many could not obtain loans through formal banks and financial institutions and were attracted to simpler loan schemes. Positively, villagers organized into groups, creating some community cohesion. But the negatives are serious: rural poverty has deepened. Some loans carry exorbitant interest rates—200, 300, even 400 per cent. Although people hoped for relief through microfinance, it has, in many cases, worsened poverty.

¶ 03 In some cases, loans were taken without even informing husbands, leading to severe family conflicts and even the destruction of family life when repayment became difficult. Particularly in 2019-2020, as the economic crisis hit households, many could not repay small group loans and some women took their own lives. As a Government, we were elected to address such situations and promised to protect people in these schemes. Beyond microfinance, there are unregulated programmes charging excessive interest at scale, which also cause great distress. That is why we are bringing this law.

¶ 04 The Opposition’s Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake said we cleaned up files and stopped there. Even if files were cleaned up, this Bill is being brought now by our Government. You had the chance to act earlier. If this goes further, some institutions go beyond file-cleaning and even “tilt” the files. That is why this Bill is necessary. Because of delays in bringing this law, many lives and families were destroyed.

¶ 05 We saw Hon. Marikkar getting flustered responding to Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri. The latter clearly said: if there was a coal fraud, name who got the money along with the documents. If Hon. Marikkar cannot say where the money went, then he is contributing to that failure.

¶ 06 I must also respond to Hon. Kings Nelson who said guaranteed prices were not given for paddy. In the last season, we provided the maximum guaranteed price for paddy, and we acted clearly as a Government.

¶ 07 Hon. Presiding Member, this Bill is good and must be passed without delay. The Opposition tried to create fear regarding voluntary village organizations. If there are issues, we can discuss and, at implementation, consider amendments where necessary. But this is a necessary law to protect both the people and institutions and to bring order to the economy.

¶ 08 We are happy, as a Government that promised people’s protection, that we can finally bring this Bill which could not be brought for a long time. I conclude.

¶ 09 Thank you.