The Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, the Blessed One taught that when a state is righteous, rains fall in due season, harvests are bountiful and prosperity increases. But what have we witnessed with this calamity? The rains destroyed our fields, our wealth and even lives, and the economy has been battered accordingly. We accept that not everything can be managed by a government, but the Buddha also taught that when governance is righteous these things are managed.

¶ 02 It also seems the Government is unusually angry with the media. If the Buddha were in Sri Lanka today, perhaps even His sermons warning people would be blocked. It is because of the media that the Government learned, in real time, where floods, landslides, property damage, blocked roads and collapsed bridges occurred. Whether it is Sirasa, Hiru, Derana, Siyatha, Rupavahini, ITN or YouTubers and their local correspondents risking their own lives, much of the critical information reached the Government through them. Why impose restrictions?

¶ 03 A prominent YouTuber, Chaminda, who helped bring you to power, allegedly used foul language; now he is being attacked. That is not what should be done. The Government should focus on proper post-disaster management. Even with prior knowledge, you failed to manage this emergency. Before the disaster, we urged you in the last sitting to declare a state of emergency. You did not. Had you declared in time, at least some standby measures could have been taken.

¶ 04 Your public alerts are too generic: “North Western Province is at risk.” That is meaningless. Not every place in the Province is at high risk. Specific river basins and towns—like Deduru Oya, Maha Oya, or Giriulla town—were in grave danger. You must identify precise localities and warn people on the ground with loudspeakers through Police, Grama Niladharis and officials. Vague TV tickers do not move people; targeted alerts do. If you say “North Western is sliding,” people in flat Bingiriya or Galgamuwa will laugh; they have no mountains. Warnings must be localized and visceral. Suppressing media won’t help you cover the damage.

¶ 05 You are now the Government—shed the “red star” protest mindset. Ministers should not be lifting sandbags and doing photo-ops. They should be building bridges—between state machinery and villages, between officials and people, between businesses and the vulnerable. Technical fixes matter: a small, correctly placed brace can solve what three masons could not—govern with know-how and put supports in the right places. Reshuffle the Cabinet if needed; capable people may be sitting in your backbenches.

¶ 06 At village level, communication and management have collapsed. Some officials are scared to make decisions; DSDs, District Secretaries, and PS Secretaries fear spending. Fix this paralysis. Economically, revive the village entrepreneur—the grocer, the small employer, the supply chain node. Poultry farms in my constituency were devastated; 2 to 2.5 million layer birds have died. Provide immediate debt write-offs or moratoria and working capital so they can restart, or you will lose thousands of jobs.

¶ 07 I table a request from the Tea Exporters’ Association: provide urgent credit facilities; many warehouses in Wellampitiya were inundated. On taxes: you abolished SVAT and promised VAT refunds within 45 days; it is past 60 days—refund immediately to restore liquidity.

¶ 08 On Russia’s Honest Mark labelling set for April: every pack will need that label at big cost. President Putin has expressed willingness to help Sri Lanka—negotiate at least a one-year deferment of the Honest Mark implementation for Sri Lankan tea.

¶ 09 Our foreign service must act. I saw the Australian Parliament noting a AUD 2.5 million contribution. Yet the mobilization there came from our diaspora—Pradeepa Saram, and others like Shinantha Jayathilaka, Dr. Erandi and Chandra Bamunusinghe—coordinating funds, not our missions. Even citizens abroad are acting faster than our ministries.

¶ 10 Met Department early alerts were there; what mattered was last-mile disaster management. Appointing 10–15 business people to manage a disaster is not the answer; you need professionals—from the Met Department, RDA, NBRO—and the tri-forces and Police, working together.

¶ 11 Reservoir management: partial releases were reportedly done, but Kotmale and others were mismanaged. As Hon. Kabir Hashim said, Gampola’s devastation was worsened by that. You could have reduced the impact by 50 percent. Why did officials not decide? Because you broke their backs—they fear taking decisions. That institutional damage is, itself, a disaster. This must be investigated.

¶ 12 Set up an immediate committee to determine who blocked or delayed reservoir releases when ministerial sign-off was required—identify why water management failed.

¶ 13 My final point: extremely heavy rainfall in the central highlands—300, 400, 500 mm—predictably triggers landslides. NBRO and other institutions knew this; did they act? Which Minister led coordination? Which officials sat at one table last week and planned? The President toured, but the Government did politics. We need LKR 7–8 billion urgently; foreign pledges of USD 2–3 million will not suffice. Reallocate, cut waste, bring the Opposition and international partners in, and act now. Thank you.