10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe

Jathika Jana balawegaya· Anuradhapura· 10 November 2025 ·Debate: Adjourned Debate on Budget Bill – Second Reading

Public FinanceAgriculture
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Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe said economic centres currently operate under inconsistent arrangements and noted unresolved audit queries relating to Rs. 1,100 million in government funds. He stated that the Government has begun regularising the centres and proposed a company structure to bring all 18 economic centres under one framework. He rejected claims that the centres were “encircled,” saying only Dambulla had such a situation due to farmers bringing produce, and added that Dambulla and Keppetipola were functioning well, citing current onion and potato prices.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, as a policy, the economic centres function in different formats; there is no single policy. Decisions in one place do not apply to another. There are audit queries on the Rs. 1,100 million given by the Government; they have not been resolved. Therefore, we have regularised the operations of the economic centres. As one step, we have proposed a company structure to bring all 18 under one. He claimed “economic centres are encircled.” Only Dambulla was encircled, with farmers bringing produce. Apart from that, there is no siege. Dambulla and Keppetipola are functioning well. Today, onions are Rs. 160 per kilo; potatoes Rs. 180.

Provenance

Source
Hansard, Monday, 10 November 2025 ·No. 22753 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 10 November 2025. No. 22753. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20517