The Hon. Susantha Kumara Nawarathna

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I am pleased to speak on the Head of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance, a key ministry in this Budget, whose aim is to establish the foundation to take the country forward.

¶ 02 Many projects stalled due to past crises; we are restarting and updating them across education, highways, health, and agriculture to lift the country from where it is. Agriculture is a main pillar. We have allocated Rs. 56.8 billion for agriculture, and Rs. 78.1 billion for irrigation, including the Department of Irrigation and the Mahaweli Authority. For example, the North Central Province Great Canal project had a 28 km tunnel near Habarana with only 10 km completed; and the canal linking from Moragahakanda back to that tunnel was not cut. We have allocated over Rs. 32,000 million to NC Province Great Canal alone. A major allocation also goes to the Mahaweli Authority, the heart of irrigation.

¶ 03 Historically there were about 32,000 small tanks; now about 14,000 remain, many silted and unable to store water. We are focusing on desilting and restoring them to return benefits to farmers.

¶ 04 Farmers toil months, fight animals, harvest, bring it home—and then fall back due to low returns and debt, unable even to send children to school. Our Clean Sri Lanka program, strengthening the rural economy and digitalization, prioritizes ensuring a nutritious meal for every citizen, leveraging the agriculture budget.

¶ 05 We will also revive the livestock sector—dairy, poultry, swine—where farmers have suffered. Rather than blaming the past, we will re‑envision and restart production, seeds, fertilizer support, and proper systems.

¶ 06 Issues have arisen regarding past fertilizer subsidy irregularities; investigations are ongoing. We ask the Opposition to observe how many probes are underway and how many officials and politicians are being brought before courts. We cannot summarily jail people; the law must act. We will minimize institutional malpractices step by step.

¶ 07 Despite Opposition noise, we are proceeding with confidence—strengthening the production economy and food security so every citizen can access nutritious meals. We ask the people—especially those struggling daily—to place their trust in us; we are ready to provide the facilities to improve your lives. Thank you.