The Hon. B. Ariyawansha

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, much has been said by Government and Opposition on the 2026 Budget. A Budget records Government revenue and expenditure for the year, and the President spoke for about four and a half hours. People look to Budgets for relief and for clear pathways to development goals.

¶ 02 We see some relief proposed. Health, education and living standards must be raised. National security is essential for development, but the Government appears not to be acting robustly enough there. Some measures are positive — for instance, raising estate workers’ daily wage to Rs. 1,750. I represent Ratnapura with many estates; we support increasing wages. But wages alone are insufficient. The estate Tamil community, serving for over 200 years, still lacks adequate housing; many families share single-line rooms. Large acreages adjacent to estates lie as underutilized scrub. If such lands were allocated to the unemployed in those areas for productive use, it would generate export income.

¶ 03 On health: essential drugs are in short supply. For cardiac surgery in public hospitals, patients languish on waiting lists for two to three years; private surgery costs Rs. 1–2 million, unaffordable for most. Some patients die waiting. There are shortages of equipment for ophthalmic care, and rural hospitals face many deficiencies. In my area, the Kolonna Base Hospital’s X-ray unit has lacked a technician post for years. In a difficult region like Kolonna, there is only one such unit, leaving people without services.

¶ 04 (continued)