The Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayake - President, Minister of Defence, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and Minister of Digital Economy

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, under the Budget Debate we have submitted the Estimates of the Ministry of Finance and several Supplementaries, as well as a Resolution under the Public Security Ordinance regarding the declaration of a state of emergency. However, greater attention today is, rightly, on the flood disaster, which commands the highest concern of society and should command ours.

¶ 02 Our country has faced many such disasters. Often, when they occur near the coast, the people of the low country and elsewhere are shaken; when in the central highlands, other provinces are shaken. This time, except for a few districts, large parts of almost every district have been affected. Many who lived among us are no longer with us today. In some districts, entire villages have been victims; in some places, entire families. This is the greatest disaster we have seen in recent times. The nation’s heart is trembling; the pain is beyond words. Many have died; some bodies have been recovered; some remain missing.

¶ 03 Sri Lanka has a painful history of loss and disappearance—from war and natural disasters. The disappearance of a person brings immeasurable anguish to family and community. Parents of missing children live for years with hope; children of missing parents dream of their parents’ return. Even now, many live with that pain. As a State and society, we must first express our deepest sympathies. I do so on behalf of the Government. We cannot restore the lives lost; that is the tragic reality. But our responsibility is to build a better, more humane State to ensure such fates do not recur. Our Government is committed to that—working tirelessly to prevent recurrence and to build a better State. This is not merely a duty entrusted to us but a profound moral bond.

¶ 04 Any disaster can tear away property and life, but one thing stands strong: the humanity within our people. Even now, people from Matara are in Badulla; from Galle in Kandy; from Kalutara in Nuwara Eliya; from Hambantota in Puttalam—cleaning roads they never thought they would walk, cleaning bus stands they never used, cleaning strangers’ homes and wells, working shoulder-to-shoulder in camps, sharing the people’s pain. Even little children offering their savings; a father offering his only treasure—his banana harvest. Our overseas Sri Lankans too are toiling day and night; when the blood bank asked for 1,500 units, 20,000 were given.

¶ 05 Some belittle this humanity, asking what people on the streets are doing. History shows every fallen nation was rebuilt primarily by the people’s aspiration and courage. After World War II, amidst great loss, it was human will, sacrifice and resolve that restored peace and growth—so it was in Japan and China. Do not mock our people’s courage. That courage and faith show us a light: we can rebuild.

¶ 06 When this disaster struck, our tri-forces and police worked tirelessly. I know of the bus stranded on the Kala Wewa bridge with about 70 passengers—at any moment lives could have been lost. While some wrote hourly Facebook posts, our Navy fought fierce conditions, first attempting from Puttalam, then Nochchiyagama, finally overcoming extraordinary obstacles to get the passengers onto a roof before the bus was swept away. Then even the sailors had to stay on that roof to save their own lives. For over 18 hours, about 70 people survived on an asbestos roof, their courage sustained by three sailors. Air Force aircraft then arrived; the larger could not approach without tearing off the roof; the second also could not; another was sent to China Bay to bring trained naval personnel and boats, but could not take off due to weather; they drove by truck from Trincomalee to Nochchiyagama, arriving at 3.30 a.m., while some still typed “17 hours now” on Facebook. It was a most difficult operation. Two youths from the village showed an alternative route. Thanks to them, all 70 were rescued; one later died in hospital. We have highly capable armed forces and police. At Withikuliya Farm, two boats failed; Minister Ananda Wijepala knows; yet we persisted and rescued them the next morning. In Nochchiyagama, people were on trees; the Air Force bravely rescued them.

¶ 07 We were warned at midnight by the Seruwila hamuduruwo that the Maavilaaru bund risked breaching around 3.00 a.m. Our political and administrative authorities engaged. The temple is on high ground; the Army, Police and public roused thousands from their homes and moved them to safety. In that heroic operation, a brave Air Force officer, Mr. Nirmal Siyambalapitiya, sacrificed his life—thinking of others’ lives to the end. History will be written by such people, not by those who drive fancy buses today.

¶ 08 In Chundikkulam, five naval officers went to rescue people whose throats were at risk from flood debris; all five were swept away and remain missing. Our northern politicians should understand we made great efforts to find them; sadly, we have been unable to. A police officer, Dharmadasa, died on his way home after duty due to the disaster. They worked day and night for our citizens.

¶ 09 At Sigiriya, Mr. Anuruddha Kumara of the CEB died while restoring electricity—a critical step to normalize life and the economy. Our tri-forces, police and public service did an immense job. We were in constant discussion with District and Divisional Secretaries late into the night; they worked sleeplessly, determined to ensure no life was lost in their areas. Regrettably, even in this disaster, some comfortably seated gentlemen questioned officials in demeaning ways. Where does that leave our country?

¶ 10 We must be grateful to our public service, especially health services, which provided vital care. Our overseas Sri Lankans always help when crises arise. Our friendly nations assisted quickly—sending helicopters, boats, equipment, trained troops and medical teams—because our rescue infrastructure is limited. I thank them sincerely.

¶ 11 Our main task was to rescue our people. We declared an emergency. I thank all party leaders who met on the morning of the 28th. They requested the declaration of emergency. We discussed whether to proceed under the Disaster Management Act or the Public Security Ordinance (PSO). The DM Act allows the President to declare a disaster, but the DM Council had not met for seven years until 6 August. The Opposition Leader and several MPs, including Hon. Marikkar, are on that Council; the Opposition Leader did not attend in August, but after the disaster, the Council was convened and he attended. In August, we decided the DM Act is weak and needs amendment. The Act requires every ministry, department, and state institution to have a disaster management plan; they do not. Therefore, we judged proceeding under the DM Act to be weak, and that the stronger framework was under Part II of the PSO. Opposition leaders requested emergency; accordingly, we issued regulations, which I now ask Parliament to approve.

¶ 12 Ordinary law is insufficient in such disasters; we need a stronger law above ordinary law. Under it, we can appoint a Commissioner-General of Essential Services, deploy RDA staff from Matara to Badulla, and move local authority equipment accordingly. We must appoint Essential Services Commissioners. We have not violated the law; we chose the most appropriate legal path. I also state clearly: the PSO will not be used to violate democratic rights. Some statements have caused undue alarm; do not think we will target criticism. For defamation, there is ordinary law; I have gone to court and obtained damages before. We will not use the PSO for that. But if anyone tries to frighten people, mislead them, or create unrest to disrupt our recovery, we will use it to prevent such sabotage. People are free to express opinions—even mudslinging—under ordinary law; we ignore that. But we will not allow actions that obstruct recovery.

¶ 13 One MP said 1,000 died in Gampola. He can say it here under privilege; outside, he will face suit. We cannot let the country be thrown into chaos. Such statements inflame communal tensions; say it outside if you can. For that, we will use the law. We need a calm, careful intervention to rebuild.

¶ 14 There was also agitation on the 26th and 27th about whether Divisional Secretaries could release funds. Some said the public service is inactive or afraid. That is false. Every officer who acted in good faith will be protected by us. We gave them relaxed powers: for the first time, Divisional Secretaries can spend up to Rs. 5 million; District Secretaries up to Rs. 10 million; Ministry Secretaries up to Rs. 10 million. Why? Because we trust our officials and the public service. We also authorized Grama Niladharis to spend up to Rs. 50,000 for urgent needs—freeing them from rigid circulars in this crisis.

¶ 15 Next, about the current situation: many are still in camps—55,747 families were displaced; about 51,000 families remain in safe centres; roughly 4,000 families have returned home. We are rapidly restoring housing, electricity, communications and other facilities to enable return. So far, 5,165 houses are fully damaged and 57,312 partially damaged. About 1.7 million people have been affected. This imposes significant pressure on our economy.

¶ 16 Our economy is not in the best shape; even minor shocks are hard to absorb. We have been carefully managing and moving forward. Some harbour cruel hopes for our economy to fail—wishing for regional wars to hit oil and gas prices, or for foreign tax changes to crush our industries and exports, or for bombs in Colombo. Do not dance to such cruel expectations. Sadly, some displayed such hopes even during this flood.

¶ 17 Some Opposition MPs constructively engaged, sending messages and requests; I thank them. But others lived with cruel expectations—this is shameful.

¶ 18 Our economy cannot easily absorb external shocks or internal disasters. We know this. Yet we were on a recovery path. In 2025, we report the lowest budget deficit since 1977—after 48 years. We also report the highest government revenue since about 2007—15.9 percent this year versus around 16.6 percent then. The budget deficit falls to 4.5 percent of GDP, similar to 1977’s 4.58 percent, better than the 6.8 percent we estimated. Revenues are up; interest rates have been kept in single digits for a long stretch; exports, tourism earnings, and reserves have been rising. We were strengthening.

¶ 19 Some said the Government did not spend in 2025. The Appropriation Bill was passed on 21 March 2025; local government elections were held on 6 May; spending was constrained until then; effectively, we began spending after 6 May. Even so, capital expenditure as of November is 45.6 percent—higher than recent years (41.9% in 2021, 43.1% in 2022, 37.4% in 2023, 41.2% in 2024). Despite the delayed start, we executed more capital spending than those years.

¶ 20 We will continue with rescue, relief, restoration, and rebuilding—calmly, lawfully, and with the people’s courage and support.