The Hon. Aruna Panagoda

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, during this Second Reading debate on the first Budget of our National People’s Power Government, I wish to draw attention to a heavy, day-to-day problem faced by our people: transport. For years, both rural and urban citizens have suffered without reliable public transport.

¶ 02 Therefore, in this Budget, we have allocated Rs. 483 billion to make transport safe, efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable. Past Governments politicized transport, filled institutions with henchmen, and ran services into the ground, forcing people to endure poor service.

¶ 03 Our Government recognizes this and will reform and modernize transport, with a focus on making SLTB passenger transport efficient. The President identified four main entry corridors to Colombo in his speech; to decongest the city, we must introduce new, structured bus services serving these corridors so people can travel to work without jams.

¶ 04 We must also restore the ethos and public-friendly culture in transport—drivers and conductors once saw themselves as public servants; today, that image has degraded. Under our Clean Sri Lanka programme, we will develop not only physical infrastructure but also public attitudes toward responsibility among drivers, conductors, public servants and passengers.

¶ 05 We will strengthen rural bus services. After 7.00 or 8.00 p.m., there are no buses to villages; many finish shifts at those times and must walk or depend on private vehicles. We will phase in structured rural services and take swift decisions to fix this.

¶ 06 I visited the main SLTB depot and bus stand in Homagama. For 18 years they have not recruited a lathe machine operator for repairs; workshops are dilapidated. This is the legacy of those who claimed to have expertly managed the country. We even saw, during the last presidential campaign, buses being ceremonially distributed. Handing out a few buses does not solve systemic transport problems. The Opposition Leader showcased his driving skills; yet during their governments the country slid backward, and today public transport is broken.

¶ 07 We must correct many such issues. I also raise the Ruwanpura Expressway. Many in Homagama—between Kahatuduwa and Kirigampamunuwa—had land acquired. About 593 plots across several GN divisions were taken, but compensation has not been properly paid, leaving 700-800 people in distress. Funds are allocated in this Budget to resolve this in stages—some lands are valued, some not; some transfers are incomplete. These are not new problems; they stem from mismanagement a decade ago. We have set aside the space and funds to intervene and fix them.

¶ 08 We will revitalize public transport, especially for rural schoolchildren and daily commuters, by restoring reliable village bus services. Thank you.