The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake
Ravi Karunanayake said the Government’s capital expenditure was far below the Budget allocation of Rs. 1,420 billion, with only about Rs. 310 billion spent, and argued that growth depends on prioritizing capital outlays over recurrent spending. He called for disciplined use of public assets, including official residences, to avoid unnecessary costs. He also urged the Government not to directly run businesses, suggesting that capable operators manage factories such as Sevanagala, Pelwatte and Hingurana while the State benefits through taxes and broader economic gains.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker. Discussing the economy, we must assess what has happened over the past year. After the President’s speech, the question is whether a real journey has begun.
¶ 02 In the Budget presented six to seven months ago, Rs. 1,420 billion was allocated for capital expenditure, but by now only around Rs. 310 billion has been spent. Tomorrow’s income depends on today’s capital spending; we must prioritize capital outlays rather than only recurrent spending.
¶ 03 I also note: let us not waste time on peripheral matters like transport modes for Presidents. Use official residences and assets efficiently to avoid needless capital costs; do not rent when official housing exists. Governance must be disciplined in public expenditure.
¶ 04 The Government should not be doing business. Hon. Sunil Handunnetti, I see your efforts—and those of the Minister—to revive Sevanagala, Pelwatte, Hingurana and other factories. Empower capable operators to run them; if the State gets taxes and the economy benefits, both the Government and Hon. Anil Jayantha will be satisfied. Your time is better spent steering the overall economy than firefighting closed plants. Capital expenditure is essential to drive growth.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 7 August 2025 ·No. 1755509552009433 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 7 August 2025. No. 1755509552009433. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/24347