The Hon. Shanakkiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak after the Hon. Minister of Fisheries in this committee-stage debate on Finance, Planning and Economic Development. The Hon. Minister offered some remarks with elections imminent. I must state: in the North—Jaffna—and in the East, none of the ITAK nominations were rejected; only one in Mannar, for which we will go to court. Not only NPP; all ITAK nominations in Jaffna were accepted. We will form administrations in all councils. At the same time, we congratulate you for reaching the point of even invoking the name of Leader Prabhakaran—because for you to win, you must now speak of our leader and our hometowns. But beyond talk, you have done nothing for Northern and Eastern provinces during your tenure.

¶ 02 Today, under the Ministry of Finance we must highlight two or three matters. Since the start of the Second Reading, I have repeatedly asked this Government about its policy on tax relief and tax imposition. We asked clearly: the cigarette company pays about 56% tax; other items are taxed at 90% or even 100%. Why is the cigarette company not taxed properly? No answer. It was said previously that ministers who took bribes from the cigarette company prevented higher taxes. Is this Government the same? We do not know.

¶ 03 Next, we asked: under the previous regime, large businesses received around Rs. 964 billion in tax concessions. Without taxing the small man further, what mechanism do you have to recover that Rs. 964 billion? No answer; the concessions remain. Likewise, we asked whether non-performing loans and assets at People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon would be recovered—silence.

¶ 04 But this Government has committed a serious injustice to ordinary people—especially to senior citizens over 60. I have a letter from the Senior Citizens’ Association about the unfairness of raising Withholding Tax to 10%. I asked the Chair of the COPF whether this can be done. They say if you give an affidavit, tax will not be withheld—like Gotabaya’s “my word is the circular.” They say file an affidavit and you can avoid paying.

¶ 05 In reality, to legally prove they shouldn’t be taxed, seniors must hire a tax accountant—costing more than the withholding itself. Whether WHT is withheld or not, they will end up paying the tax accountant. They receive interest at about 7%; they survive on small fixed-deposit interest. We asked repeatedly to ensure at least 15% for seniors’ deposits—no response. This Government batters seniors while granting Rs. 964 billion in concessions to big corporates and shielding the cigarette company. The people are displeased.

¶ 06 The Government’s social media “comments brigade” will attack us for such statements. I even saw them attack a venerable monk with the same stock comments. Let us see how long this brigade lasts.

¶ 07 Under the Finance Ministry, another matter: from political platforms you said you would cancel liquor bar permits issued by the previous government. There are around 1,728 such permits. Six months have passed under the President. These permits are issued by the Finance Ministry. You called them political bribes. The 1926 Excise Ordinance says a bar permit can be issued only if a given area has 10,000 persons over 18. Kilinochchi district has 94,000 voters, yet 17 bar permits have been issued—roughly one per 5,000 adults. If 10,000 over-18s are required per permit, why 17 in Kilinochchi? Address these rather than make false claims about the North.

¶ 08 Also, permits have been given to Mendis. The 1926 Ordinance says manufacturers cannot be given retail bar permits; yet Mendis has received them. Ministers spoke about Mendis here. Likewise, there is a grave problem with The Finance Company. Over 6,400 depositors have still not received funds. Yet in January 2019, the Central Bank itself advocated depositing there—nearly Rs. 1 billion was deposited, and then the company was liquidated. We expected the Finance Ministry to act—nothing has been done.

¶ 09 Finally, regarding a serving Cabinet Minister against whom I have repeatedly raised allegations of fraud and corruption—I gave ample time for a response. The Government said if anyone is implicated, upon investigation they will be removed; Ministers who love to lecture about discipline are in this Government.

¶ 10 I have questions for those Ministers. In 2004, when Anura Kumara Dissanayake was Minister of Agriculture, three appointments were made: Procurement Manager (given to a Mr. Jayakody), HR Manager (to Mr. Mallikarachchi), and Technical Manager (to Mr. Dissanayake). By 2015, that HR Manager was interdicted. In 2012–2013, for constructing a road inside the Fertilizer Corporation, a contract over Rs. 40 million was tendered. Under procedure, if a 20% advance is paid, a bank guarantee covering the contract period plus one month is required.