The Hon. Sunil Rathnasiri

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I join this debate on the Votes of the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Co-operative Development, also responding to points raised by the Opposition.

¶ 02 Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri said our party cannot go among the people in suits. I remind him kindly: when your party faces a decisive internal election, you could not even keep your own Party Chairman within your ranks; yet you advise us. The upcoming local government elections will be ones where not just Government “whips,” but even the Opposition’s remaining “whips,” will be shaken off. He also said our party leader dined with various “corrupt” MPs in a Parliament canteen. There is only one canteen here. If there was a special canteen for the corrupt and thieves who robbed public assets in broad daylight, our Members would never step there. If there was a canteen for the incorruptible, that is where we would go.

¶ 03 Hon. S. M. Marikkar queried whether commissions were taken on coconut oil and whether we are under the control of paddy/rice mafias. I understand his suspicion—some enter politics to get sand blocks, bar permits, fuel stations, or vehicle permits by pleading with their leader. But our conscience is clear: no one in this Government has defended a corrupt person, nor will they.

¶ 04 No one addressed the Batalanda Commission report today; yet Hon. Marikkar seems preoccupied with Batalanda. We too wonder why he cries “foul” when it comes to Ranil.

¶ 05 Opposition Members forecast that from April milk powder would go up by Rs. 50. They forget they destroyed MILCO, letting it “die” naturally. After we took office, we protected dairy farmers by paying higher producer prices, restored benefits to employees, and settled around 50% of longstanding bank debts, restoring MILCO to profitability. With faster fresh milk production and self-sufficiency, we will not need to import milk powder in future; we are implementing an economic plan to that end.

¶ 06 They say the people are sunk in poverty. Who is responsible—us within six months of assuming office, or you over 76 years? They also forget the massive destruction inflicted on this Ministry’s institutions: for example, according to allegations, under Johnston Fernando goods worth Rs. 52 million were taken from Sathosa and used for election dansals; under Rishad Bathiudeen in 2017, it is alleged Sathosa paddy stocks worth about Rs. 600 million were mishandled—committed to be returned as rice but not returned.

¶ 07 I also table a special investigation report on the “Umangdawa Green Hut” premises in the ground floor of the Ministry building. Two entities bid for initial works: Arch International (Pvt) Ltd. quoted Rs. 28 million; Lima Constructions (Pvt) Ltd. quoted Rs. 34 million. However, the bid opening committee report reflects Lima’s bid as Rs. 73 million—an unexplained escalation—after which the contract was awarded to Arch International (Pvt) Ltd on 2021.12.29, and astonishingly, Rs. 20 million was paid upfront on the very day of award without a clear basis. Further, the monthly rent of Rs. 327,600 for the premises—due from the tenant—has been paid each month by the Ministry itself. These are the types of irregularities that occurred.

¶ 08 On the cooperative sector—the largest people’s enterprise: there are around 8 million members and over 305 multi-purpose cooperatives nationwide. In Polonnaruwa District there are nine such societies. Since we assumed office, the Medirigiriya Multi-purpose Cooperative has become the most profitable in the North Central Province. In 2013, it purchased a KDH van (NC PI 6535) with a market price near Rs. 6 million but paid Rs. 8.8 million. Of three quotations obtained, two companies were fictitious. These were the kinds of scams done in the past within this Ministry. Time is short; I will end with this request to the Opposition: the people formed a new Government with a new way of thinking. Stop the old politics of rice, sugar and oil; modernize yourselves.

¶ 09 Thank you.