The Hon. (Prof.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Economic Development

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you. In addressing today’s Orders, I must respond to an Opposition view that governance is akin to running a private business with a profit-and-loss approach. That is a misunderstanding. Government is an agency of the people, acting altruistically. Bringing a business mindset into Parliament creates conflicts of interest and frames public life as a ledger of income and expenses. Managing society and improving lives is not a marketing campaign.

¶ 02 For decades, a flawed doctrine told our people “There Is No Alternative” (the TINA syndrome)—that only one formula can govern prices, markets and the economy. The people have rejected that. Our Government broke that myth. We will not resort to theatrics or quick “magic” fixes seen in past sugar duty manipulations. Instead, we proceed methodically. You cannot see true macro results in days; but we are on the correct path and will not be diverted.

¶ 03 Crises are when fraud and corruption most flourish; we saw this during COVID-19. Our approach is to stand for the people, not to game the market.

¶ 04 On today’s measures under the Sri Lanka Export Development Act: we must consider the effect on domestic production. Duties tied to cement inputs must ultimately benefit producers and consumers, not just importers or intermediaries. Because VAT applies to market prices, our proposals address distortions so benefits do not accrue merely to suppliers.

¶ 05 On the Special Commodity Levy Act Orders: in a perfectly stable tax system and market, SCL would not be necessary. But Sri Lanka is not yet at a level to compete head-to-head globally; domestic producers and small farmers face volatile input costs and market swings. SCL helps protect them. While some international institutions advocate abolishing SCL due to historic misuse, we took a firm stance to retain it to protect locals. Of roughly 64 items, only two are being revised now; others continue for the next six months as we monitor markets to avoid distortions.

¶ 06 On rice: during an emergency, we allowed imports via Sathosa and the private sector—not to selected cronies, but open to all—subject to time-bound windows to stabilize the market.

¶ 07 On Aswesuma: beyond cash benefits, the key is to transition beneficiaries into the economy. Today’s Order adjusts benefit categories and durations. Benefits that would have lapsed on 31 December 2023, and later 31 December 2024 for transitional and poor categories, are extended because prior administrations had not prepared empowerment programmes. We are fixing selection flaws, addressing public grievances, and coupling welfare with empowerment.

¶ 08 Under the Strategic Development Projects Act Order, the Colombo West International Terminal (Pvt.) Ltd. project is brought forward, aligned with making Sri Lanka a trading hub and attracting investment.

¶ 09 In sum, today’s Orders advance legal requirements and our economic roadmap to deliver “A Prosperous Country and a Beautiful Life.” Thank you.