The Hon. (Dr.) Najith Indika

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, though we came prepared for the Committee Stage debate, I must first address a matter with great distress. As the Hon. Minister of Public Security noted, the incident at Anuradhapura Hospital has shaken us all—a young lady doctor subjected to such a crime within the hospital premises, in her on-call room. Having myself worked in such hospitals, and with my wife and sister serving as doctors on call, this is deeply distressing. We expect the investigations to proceed swiftly and justice to be done to the fullest extent of the law. As a Government, we stand firmly for that process and have great confidence, having spoken with the Hon. Minister.

¶ 02 We must also focus on preventive security—within hospital grounds and buildings. This may be an isolated incident, but we must review the background factors: hospital security, on-site arrangements, and workflows. The Ministry of Health must intervene to ensure the safety of all medical officers’ quarters and on-call rooms, and extend protection for all state employees, especially women on night shifts.

¶ 03 In many hospitals, staff quarters are 10–35 years old and dilapidated. In my last posting, the quarters were about 35 years old. Most hospitals have renovated front areas, but staff quarters for doctors, nurses, and others are old, unmaintained, and overgrown at the back. In the Budget debate, our Deputy Minister of Health clearly said a large sum is allocated this year to renovate staff quarters and on-call rooms, and with this incident we expect to expedite and, if needed, increase funding.

¶ 04 Turning to today’s subject, Hon. Dilith Jayaweera raised points. He claimed this Budget follows the IMF’s plan, not the Government’s. We have already responded: when President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office after the 21 September 2024 presidential election, and after we won the 14 November 2024 parliamentary election, the country was within an IMF program, two years after default. Even two days before the presidential election, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe had reached a staff-level agreement with bondholders. That is the reality we inherited. We cannot govern from the clouds; we told the people the truth during the elections—our policies on education, health, and digitalization, and where we must begin.

¶ 05 On digitalization, the President, as a candidate, clearly set out our policy. While fiscal envelopes are constrained, within policy we decide priorities. We have allocated historic amounts to education, health, and public transport, and for children and women. We also negotiated with the IMF to raise the professional tax threshold to Rs. 150,000 and to reduce the Digital Services Tax from an agreed 30 percent to 15 percent, and to support agriculture and industry through public institutions. We are doing what we said.

¶ 06 Hon. Dilith Jayaweera also spoke on the Digital ID—urging haste but also repeating claims for months that data would go to India. Yesterday, before this debate on the Digital Ministry, we held a two-hour session with the Deputy Minister, the Secretary, and heads of the six agencies under the Ministry, inviting MPs from all parties to clarify issues. Experts, including Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, addressed concerns such as “data going to India.” Those who missed that opportunity should not repeat unfounded claims. Although I cannot elaborate further now, the Deputy Minister of the Digital Economy and the team will clarify remaining issues in future debates. I conclude with the hope that clarity will prevail.

¶ 07 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.