The Hon. Dinindu Saman Hennayake

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak on Hon. Ravindra Bandara’s timely Motion to import only buses that meet public transport standards. I second the Motion.

¶ 02 Today, our public transport is in a tragic state. Those who ruled for years, now in Opposition, claimed to strengthen public transport but instead chased permits—begging for more, even during economic crisis—turning the system into patronage, not service. We cannot expect strength from such a history.

¶ 03 On 1 January 1958, CTB began from Nittambuwa Depot with bus 22 Sri 1087 to nationalize bus transport. But over time, SLTB became a political employment center, serving politicians’ needs, not the public. As a result, people have not enjoyed proper service while politicians rode in luxury vehicles.

¶ 04 We in the National People’s Power have a duty to uplift public transport for the people. Our manifesto “Prosperous Country – Beautiful Life” clearly prioritizes strengthening public transport for rural parents and communities, instead of only promoting private vehicles or services.

¶ 05 We believe everyone—from tea-pluckers to all citizens contributing to the economy—has a right to decent public transport. We came to power five months ago. In the last Budget, we decided to import 1,000 comfortable new buses. After years with few additions, we are now strengthening public transport.

¶ 06 In this short period, we revived collapsed enterprises. For example, the state-linked Lakdiv Engineers (Pvt) Ltd, once slated for closure, over the past four months repaired and returned 65 buses to service. In April, SLTB earned Rs. 204 million per day. We must guarantee public ownership of public transport benefits. Even now, arrangements are underway to bring better buses. We will end the era of lorry-chassis and lorry-engine “buses” and deliver a safe, comfortable transport system under the NPP’s journey. Thank you.

¶ 07 Question proposed.