The Hon. Kins Nelson

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, I thank Hon. Rohana Bandara for seconding my motion, and Hon. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe for his clear response, as well as Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri, my colleague from Polonnaruwa Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri, Hon. Wijesinghe, and Hon. K. Kodeeswaran.

¶ 02 As the Opposition, we raised these issues continuously in the Ninth Parliament and now in the Tenth—not to waste time, but to revitalize an institution that rendered vital service to rural people. We must investigate past fraud and illegal occupation of co-op property; the police and law are there to act. From here, our task is to move forward—identify gaps and fix them.

¶ 03 You now have significant power in Government. Many of the 225 Members here have come through people’s service and sacrifice. As an Opposition Member, I will commend what is right and call out what is wrong, always on behalf of the poor and innocent people who sent us here. I hope, with the Minister’s attention, co-ops will again flourish—updated with modern technology, functioning like supermarkets, allowing debit card use and convenient purchasing. We look to you, Hon. Minister, to take co-ops to a new level. Thank you.

¶ 04 Question put, and agreed to.