The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the Prof. said these SCLs protect farmers. We respect his expertise. But if so, such levies must be imposed only during harvest time; that was the practice. Your government now keeps them all the time—harvest or not—so prices remain high all the time, burdening consumers. Today’s Gazette imposes SCLs on 62 essential foods: for example, herrings Rs. 100/kg; potatoes Rs. 80; onions Rs. 50; green gram Rs. 300; chillies Rs. 100; turmeric Rs. 360; kurakkan Rs. 150; soybeans Rs. 275; sardines Rs. 200; sugar Rs. 50. This is double standards—you shouted in Opposition, draped sarongs for farmers and protested in Colombo; now anything goes.

¶ 02 Look at your “prosperous country” document. It promised to raise tax thresholds, and zero VAT on essential foods and schoolbooks. You promised zero VAT; now you’re piling on levies. Shame.

¶ 03 We accept the Prof.’s technical points—raise productivity, bring technology, address the monkey problem; we discussed it. “Digitizing” doesn’t make macaques vanish—crops are still destroyed. Cold storage: the “Prabhashvara” agri cold complex, initiated in 2019 under Anura Kumara as Agriculture Minister, was stalled in 2020 under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. In 2025 when PM Modi visited, it was ceremonially “opened.” Go see today—it’s still not operational. Around it, small private cold rooms handle imported potatoes and onions; even state lands have been fenced and given to friends for private stores, but the poor farmer has no access. If you care, make it work.

¶ 04 You say para-tariffs will be phased out by 2030, so keep them for years. You have changed tax policy not just for agriculture but across the board. In the Budget Debate I showed effective tariffs making homebuilding unaffordable for youth: cement at 49%; asbestos up to 93%; wall items 61–105%; ceramics up to 60%; plastic bathroom fittings 81–105%; ribbed steel bars 60%; plain steel 40%; PVC 92%; insulated wires 53%. Surveys show Sri Lanka among the hardest places to build a home; people can’t build despite saving for years—because of taxes.

¶ 05 Your PM keeps saying you have a social compact. You promised to zero taxes on agricultural equipment to lift farmers; yet you slap VAT and duties on them. Where is the coherence?

¶ 06 IMF officials met the President. I saw how Anil Jayasundera greeted Kristalina Georgieva—warm embrace. Before elections he said no country emerged better with the IMF; now he embraces them. IMF asks for governance diagnostics—deliver on your promises. Instead of generalities about corruption, let’s take a specific: the IVS–VFS e-visa scam. Our Committee report runs to hundreds of pages; the Auditor General’s report runs to around a thousand. It is signed by Gammanpila Dharmapala. What is the Government’s position? Silence—saying “there’s a case, so we can’t talk.” That case was filed by three former COPE Members—Rauff Hakeem, M.A. Sumanthiran and Patali Champika Ranawaka—not by the Government. Meanwhile, one officer, Saman Ekanayake, was remanded over Rs. 10 million—selective justice? Those who defrauded in crores roam free. If everyone is equal under the law, apply it equally. IMF wants governance diagnostics done.

¶ 07 Why is the Government not bringing the Procurement Law, after saying procurement is where corruption happens? It has been one and a half years.

¶ 08 Given time constraints, I end by saying: we have no issue with the Prof.’s technical points, but the Finance Ministry is not delivering on promises to farmers. Please resolve this internally, or all you will deliver—to yourselves, farmers, and everyone—is zero.

¶ 09 Thank you.