The Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, that is very important. We have prepared a good programme already. During inspections we found many large concrete structures attached to Culture Centres, Jana Kala Foundations and Folk Arts Centres—some incomplete. For instance, at Kurunegala Jana Kala Foundation there is an auditorium nearly as large as Nelum Pokuna, but just a concrete shell. These are essentially haunting buildings. We plan to complete them. Our theme is “A noble cultural life and a compassionate citizenry.” Aligned with budgetary proposals, we have identified programmes: - Establish a central Artists’ Residence in the capital for artists visiting from regions—so they do not have to sleep at bus stands or rely on friends. - Develop four Multi-Cultural Centres as regulator-driven flagship projects, including one in the North and one in the East, fully equipped with training, lighting, and sound systems. - Establish an International Translation Centre: while we give national awards for outstanding works, Sinhala/Tamil/English works are not translated across languages. We aim to change that. Without such attention to arts and culture, we cannot build a prosperous nation and a beautiful life. We intend to move forward together on this.