The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 That is exactly my point. You are trying to make it trivial. I said first that the “Ceylon Tea” brand belongs to Sri Lanka—this Government and the people. The land belongs to the Government and the people. The infrastructure belongs to the people. All of that has been given to profit-making companies earning billions. For workers on those estates, we do not need to increase wages out of public funds; those companies must pay the Rs. 400 from their profits. Then, take that Government money and add Rs. 50 or Rs. 100 more to workers’ wages. The Government may think it can do some political manoeuvre to achieve this—no. Estate workers understand their rights very well.

¶ 02 Next, on the Heads of Expenditure under debate. On the Ministry of Defence, we have spoken at length. I think the State Minister is present; yes, he is. In this Parliament, I checked the website for Party Leaders and noted that the leadership of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil Progressive Alliance is not displayed. But in practice there is a major issue regarding recognition of leaders of constituent parties in the SJB. I raise this for one reason: leaders who have done politics for two to three decades do have security concerns, as they confront rival parties and groups in their areas and elsewhere. Thus, when Party Leaders request security, a special assessment should not be necessary; given their positions and decades in politics, there is an inherent risk. Please provide at least minimum security to all such Party Leaders.

¶ 03 Next, regarding the Police, I have a request to the Ministry. As Hon. Chamara Sampath also said, since around 2010 or 2012—subject to correction—there has been a serious issue with promotions of Police Sergeants. I have even filed a case. There are Sergeants who have served over 12 years, in the Eastern Province as well, and they have issues with promotion to Sub Inspector. The Court of Appeal once dealt with it; they did not get a proper judgment. This has dragged on for 12–15 years. I use this opportunity to request resolution.

¶ 04 Under the Heads on Parliamentary Affairs, I wish to raise another matter concerning SMEs. Rs. 12.5 billion has been allocated for machinery and vehicles, including double-cabs for MPs during their term. In total, Rs. 12.5 billion is set aside for import of machinery and vehicles. We have struggled for a year along with local authority chairmen, divisional secretaries, engineers, and senior officials. We can manage another year. You have allocated Rs. 5,000 million as relief loans for defaulting SMEs with revival potential, affected by parate execution. I request that Rs. 7.5 billion from the Rs. 12.5 billion for machinery/vehicles be reallocated to top up this SME fund to Rs. 12,500 million. We in the Opposition can endure without vehicles for another year; and only truly essential vehicle replacements for those with unusable ones can be allowed. About 50 per cent of the vehicle/machinery vote should be diverted to SMEs.

¶ 05 Because parate execution moratoriums have been lifted, we are preparing to go to court for interim reliefs, which are not easily granted. Now, parate actions are proceeding. Many SMEs are in CRIB; thus, even the Rs. 5,000 million cannot be accessed as it is via banks. When their names are in CRIB, how can they obtain bank relief?

¶ 06 Hon. Chairman, how many minutes do I have?