Hon. E.M. Basnayaka

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, thank you for the opportunity to speak during this debate nearly two months after Cyclone “Michaung.”

¶ 02 A son of a former President, now a Member of this House, asked how this Government treated our people affected by the disaster. I will answer with facts. As of now, we have paid the Rs. 25,000 cleaning grant to 416,310 out of 428,084 approved beneficiaries — a 97% payment rate. The same Member claimed the Rs. 50,000 assistance had not been paid. As of today, out of 160,471 approved, 109,912 beneficiaries have been paid. Without knowing the data, he came here and made incorrect statements.

¶ 03 We all know the economic context when the President and Government decided on these reliefs, just three months after assuming office, and while the economy was still fragile. Nevertheless, we allocated: - Rs. 50,000 for fully destroyed houses; - Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 2,500,000 for partially damaged houses, based on assessment; - Rs. 25,000 for schoolchildren’s books and supplies; - Rs. 50,000 to replace essential household items; - Rs. 150,000 per hectare for paddy farmers; - Rs. 200,000 per hectare for vegetables and tubers; - Up to Rs. 2,000,000 for small and medium industries as compensation.

¶ 04 The Opposition may think such payments are impossible because they bankrupted this country over 76 years. But we announced these because we can pay them — and we are paying.

¶ 05 Regarding housing reconstruction: one Member asked whether we are rebuilding now. Yes, but it must be done sustainably. Therefore, through the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), we identified safe lands at district and Divisional Secretariat levels. These lands are being re-verified by NBRO. After that, we will relocate and settle approximately 6,000 families whose homes were fully destroyed and another 20,000 at risk. We know that after the tsunami and the Easter bombings, many obligations remained unfulfilled. In this case, within two months we restored normalcy to daily life; long-term works like roads, culverts, canals, and houses are ongoing.

¶ 06 We also aim, wherever possible, to rehouse people within their original villages, DS divisions, and districts, respecting their culture, livelihoods and social ties. Where terrain has slid or floods recurred, relocation will be to safer areas identified by NBRO. There is a shortage of technical officers due to past brain drain, which has slowed NBRO’s assessments, but we are addressing it.

¶ 07 A Kandy District Member cited only one school. In truth, all 20 DS divisions in Kandy were affected; around 173 schools sustained damage.

¶ 08 Some Members representing Malaiyaha communities across three generations now lament rights they failed to secure for their people. We will provide land and build the houses as well. Our Kandy District was one of the worst hit: out of about 640 deaths nationwide, 243 were in our district. We are rebuilding together: Government, officials, and citizens.

¶ 09 This was the most destructive disaster in our history. Stop politicising people’s tears, corpses, and hunger. Let us think and act for the people. Thank you for the time.