The Hon. Chithral Fernando, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 Referring to the previous speaker: “We cannot give back the lives.” Indeed. That is the issue—lives cannot be replaced; property can be valued in billions tomorrow, but lost lives cannot be returned.

¶ 03 One of the worst‑hit districts is my Puttalam, especially Wennappuwa, which I organize; it suffered unprecedented damage. We cannot stop disasters arriving, but we can prepare. Many have spoken about preparedness and forecasts; I will not repeat, as the Government will dismiss it. I will speak on coordination after the disaster. In Wennappuwa, from day one until today, the Disaster Committee has not met. As a working MP I say this. We have also not been consulted as Opposition MPs.

¶ 04 I went across Wennappuwa and much of Naththandiya. Two Ministers belong to that district; I have not seen either. Nor the five or six MPs. That is the state of coordination. Only the usual District Coordinating Committee is summoned next week. In village terms: coordination is zero. With proper coordination the impact could have been less and relief better delivered. People scold politicians—ignore that—but the truth is we have not seen Ministers or MPs in the area.

¶ 05 I must also speak about Group Captain Nirmal Siyambalapitiya, a schoolmate junior to me. He lost his life when the footbridge he always crossed collapsed. I spent that day ferrying supplies by lorry near that bridge, coordinating with the Divisional Secretariat. That lorry, loaned by a private company, later carried his remains. Why he attempted that lowering is still under SLAF investigation; let that proceed. But supplies were being dropped without data on who was where, who was hungry, who lacked essentials. There was no data. I directly fault the Government for this coordination failure. I speak of Puttalam. In some places committees met; Hon. Harsha de Silva even advised to go to the AGA Office in Kotte. For us? I had to force my way into the Divisional Secretariat several times, became a burden, and then stepped back and provided what help I could.

¶ 06 Communication breakdown worsened losses. People were untraceable for days; one of my secretaries was found only the day before yesterday, after wandering and ending at a house, without any functional communication.

¶ 07 We boast of a digital economy—what service did the telecoms provide? I saw on Facebook a post calling a telco the “first friend to flee during a disaster.” With so many advisors, is this how we build a digital economy? Fuel shortages should not cripple communications during a 2025 disaster. If this repeats, deaths will not be limited to this scale.

¶ 08 Media conduct is a component in disaster governance. Was media management done? Instead of berating media or detaining social media users, the Government should have established a media centre as in past cyclones and the tsunami—to channel official information. Has any such centre been formed? Have the Editors’ Guild and Broadcasters’ Guild been summoned and guided?

¶ 09 Your time is up, Hon. Member.

¶ 10 Please grant me one more minute, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 11 Media management has not been done properly. Now some rebuke Derana and others, and even a Member here for making a prediction. Is this what should be done? Where are the responsible Ministers today? Please take disaster management seriously and work through the media as well. Media houses were among the first to collect and deliver essentials to villages, while some here recited names of bananas. Few of you gave even a banana to anyone. People remain trapped at home.

¶ 12 Finally, when Hurricane Katrina hit the USA, a White House paper admitted coordination failure. I table this White House Paper—please read it.

¶ 13 Time is up. Please conclude.

¶ 14 President George W. Bush finally said: “This Government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We are going to review every action and make necessary changes so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature or act of evil men that could threaten our people.” Let us at least learn and move forward. We will help as we can.

¶ 15 Thank you.