The Hon. (Ms.) Ambika Samivel

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we are debating the Order under the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act and the regulations under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act.

¶ 02 As the MP representing the hill country—Nuwara Eliya, Badulla, Matale—there is a great demand among residents for winter clothing during the cold season. Economically, many have low incomes and live modestly; they cannot afford expensive clothes. Recognizing this, our NPP Government has allowed the resumption of importing such garments which had been suspended for about five years. This is a benefit to our community. The regulations also allow the import of sports equipment related to tourism, which will benefit those engaged in the industry in areas like Ella and Haputale.

¶ 03 The Opposition accuses us of not advancing technologically. But now we have also allowed the import of vehicles. Many spoke today about local authority elections. In Badulla District and other hill areas, in many councils the Government side has formed administrations. In the last general election the people gave our party 159 MPs. This is the strength given by the people, expecting service. They ended a corrupt regime and chose the NPP to form a clean Government. Where we could not form single-party administrations in some councils, we used strategies to form control—not political deals with parties, but to ensure service delivery. Those elected with people’s votes joined with the Government to form administrations. That is their duty—to serve without self-interest. It was essential for the NPP to form control in local bodies to serve the people. We did not tell them to form useless Opposition administrations that do nothing. Independent or Opposition members, after years in unproductive parties, realized they could not deliver services; without expectation, they joined with the governing NPP to serve. We must appreciate their commitment. No one in the Opposition has the authority to criticize them; the only aim is to serve the people.

¶ 04 The increased stamp duty revenue now can be used for local authority development and projects. For hill country residents and as their representative, these legal changes are beneficial. On winter clothing imports, note these are not merely used clothes; they are quality-checked garments beneficial to people living under the poverty line. Bringing such reforms benefits people—that is our Government’s objective. Thank you.