Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, today we debate the Order under the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act and the Extraordinary Gazette containing regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act.

¶ 02 If the Opposition had presented reasonable points, we would have agreed. The Opposition is always focused on media optics. That is their way. A country needs an Opposition that presents constructive ideas on behalf of the people. But inside this Parliament, that is not happening, and we regret it. If reasonable points are made, we can respond appropriately. But now it has turned into distortion. Today the Opposition is solely trying to justify its attempts to establish power in local authorities. That is what they are working on and arguing for. Generally, in a local authority, power is formed by wards. Wards decide who wins. In many local authorities, the political movement representing this Government—the National People’s Power (NPP)—has won more wards. If so, the right to form the administration in those Pradeshiya Sabhas with a majority of wards belongs to the NPP. But the Opposition is trying to distort this by various tricks. We will defeat that—by taking necessary steps and interventions—so that the true will of the people is reflected. Whatever anyone says, we will proceed accordingly. In many places the Opposition has won only one or two wards; but the NPP has won the majority of wards in many local bodies. Work should proceed in those wards; Government programs should be implemented in them. If interventions are needed through local authorities, then control should lie with the Government side. That is what we are doing—not to distort anything.

¶ 03 Much has been said about forming control in local authorities. People can get together and form control; that is not an issue. But if someone supports the Government, they are called “thieves.” Those names were proposed by those very groups. Then they speak in a distorted way about those nominees. The Opposition’s principle seems to be “when hungry even a monitor lizard is a hare”—we must tell the people that. When we go among the people, we know their real aspirations. When we intervene in councils, people discuss with us how to establish control and what interventions are needed. People who voted for other parties say: at this time, intervene to support the Government. Many have changed their stance accordingly. We do not give any privileges for that. We know that even if they voted for another party, a large section at grassroots level wants to develop their area, build roads, improve services. That is the mandate under which, as a Government, we work to form control in these bodies—because only with councils on the Government side can work be effectively carried forward. Whatever is said, we will do what is necessary for people’s aspirations and will not allow games to be played.

¶ 04 Some said that tax increases are meaningless and the economy is in reverse. Do they live in this country? In 2022 and 2023 there was negative growth: minus 7.3 percent in 2022 and minus 2.3 percent in 2023. From that position we have reached this point. If we speak of corruption and fraud, it is a miracle the country is even at this level, given the scale of entrenched corruption we saw. Those institutions have been restored, and we have been able to recover. We are happy that we brought the country here, with sacrifice and intervention—not mere politics, but a movement and a Government that intervene to deliver what we promised people. The past theft and corruption have now stopped; those who committed them are today going to prison through due process. Earlier, families would go abroad beginning with the father; now, it seems even the corrupt are going to prison starting with the “father” first, then the rest. The law is functioning. The Opposition tries to scare public officials to make them inactive. But around 80 percent of public officials helped bring this Government to power; they wanted to end corruption and build a better country. Today, most are happy that the system allows them to work independently, though a few who colluded with past rulers are being punished. We regret that, but most officials are happy to work with dignity.

¶ 05 We know a large portion of stamp duty flows to local authorities. They need to be strong. With this revenue, roads are built, by-roads improved, and health services developed. People now believe that when taxes are collected, benefits flow fairly to the ground. They feel it when infrastructure improves and production increases—tanks are restored, canals repaired. Whatever falsehoods the Opposition spreads, the majority see the Government’s direction and confidence. We ask the Opposition whether they can say outside what they say here in Parliament before the public. They cannot, because the public have rejected them. Recent events in local bodies show that even their own are crossing to support the Government to ensure functioning councils. We salute all local authority members who act correctly. Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.