Hon. Thilanka U. Gamage

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, during this Committee Stage Debate on the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, we keep hearing the same old opposition narratives—despite the fact that for 76 years our country was governed largely by those now in the opposition. We have governed only a short time and have already halted corruption and fraud. The President, Prime Minister, ministers, and MPs are making sacrifices, yet the media rarely acknowledge the good.

¶ 02 There were remarks comparing Presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga as the same “class.” The people recognized class lines and elected a government that truly represents them.

¶ 03 This Ministry oversees 15 institutions. The previous government shut down the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) and dismissed staff—even selling its lorries. We are now reviving CWE, rebuilding the foundations to re-enter wholesale trade, and have allocated funds to purchase paddy.

¶ 04 Lanka Sathosa is not an institution to be closed; it employs about 4,000. Since last September, despite attempts to shutter it, we are recruiting about 700 more to strengthen operations. Sathosa has around 450 outlets; we will expand to 600 this year. When we took over, it had losses exceeding Rs. 20 billion. Staffing was uneven and politically driven. We are turning it around. Current annual revenue is roughly Rs. 60 billion, while entities like Cargills are around Rs. 160 billion—we are laying the groundwork to reach such levels.

¶ 05 The Consumer Affairs Authority is understaffed; we will increase its cadre to about 250 to ensure continuous service. Regarding cooperatives: for years they collected deposits from people; today, many of those funds are gone—misused by chairs and businessmen, destroying institutions. We are intervening to rebuild, and to restore the value of “cooperative” itself.

¶ 06 The Food Commissioner’s Department currently leases warehouses; we are acting to make it effectively ensure food security. The Mahapola Scholarship Trust has been misused in the past; we now propose to raise university students’ stipends from Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 7,500. Previously, after intense protests, it was raised by only Rs. 1,000; now we will raise it by Rs. 2,500 without agitation.

¶ 07 Finally, vehicles worth Rs. 12 million in market value were sold for Rs. 5 million—such thefts have been stopped. We are committed to creating a stronger cooperative and Sathosa network, ending theft, turning these into profit-making institutions, and building a better tomorrow for our motherland. Thank you.