The Hon. (Dr.) Kavinda Heshan Jayawardhana

¶ 01 Thank you very much for granting me time, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 02 This Budget is presented by a Parliament to which our people gave a two-thirds mandate—159 Members on the Government benches have taken the responsibility to bring this Budget. We are not here to say everything is bad. We saw the President speak about the burning of the Jaffna Library. We are all sensitive to that. As people who value education and as a group striving to build harmony among ethnicities and religions, we appreciate the President’s decision to allocate Rs. 100 million for the Jaffna Library. Whoever committed a wrong in this country, a wrong is a wrong. But to ensure justice and fairness for the people in those areas, such foundations are necessary. We must value that.

¶ 03 In this Budget we also saw a nutrition programme being implemented for mothers and children. That is good, because children are our future. So good nutrition and good education for children are vital. However, when we speak of education, we must also note how many schools in our country lack safe drinking water and proper sanitation facilities. The Government must focus on that as well. One of the main promises made repeatedly to the people was regarding education.

¶ 04 People believed those promises. Trusting they were not empty rhetoric, the people elected a President and a strong Government with a two-thirds majority. Among those promises was the removal of VAT and other taxes on essential school stationery. That is part of why people voted for this Government. But what has the Government actually done? On the one hand it promised to remove or reduce taxes on children’s stationery. On the other hand, it named some school-going children as belonging to low-income families and provided a Rs. 6,000 voucher to buy books. This is problematic.

¶ 05 Is it right to label a child as low-income? I saw in a newspaper that principals, citing insufficient Government funds to schools despite a circular against collecting money from students, were telling parents they could use the Rs. 6,000 voucher to pay the School Development Society fees. Why are the promises made by the Government then not being fulfilled?

¶ 06 On health, too, there were promises to reduce related taxes. You know how expensive medicines are today. In some Government hospitals patients are asked to do tests outside or to buy certain medicines outside; sometimes they are compelled to go to private hospitals for surgeries. The taxes on all of this are ultimately borne by the suffering common people. We remind the Government of that.

¶ 07 What impacts our economy most? Agriculture. We are an agrarian country and most of our people eat rice. Yet the Government failed to ensure a fair price for paddy. Later, when it set a paddy price, private millers were favoured to procure paddy. Rs. 5 billion was allocated for this. According to reports, Rs. 325 billion would be needed to purchase 2.6 million metric tons of paddy, but only Rs. 5 billion has been set aside. The Paddy Marketing Board at present has procured less than 2,000 kilograms. What will happen? Millers who buy at higher prices will sell rice at higher prices, and consumers will face higher rice prices. The Government said it would stabilize prices using the harvest from this season.

¶ 08 But how will that be done? We can tell lies, but we cannot make reality obey lies. Consider bread as a substitute: if a family eats two loaves per meal with a dhal curry for three meals, that alone would cost at least about Rs. 31,500 per month. For a private sector employee, a daily wage earner, even for a public servant, if Rs. 31,500 is spent just on bread and dhal, how can a child’s school books be bought? How will medicines be bought during illness? How will transport be afforded? It is hard to think the Government is sensitive to any of this.

¶ 09 People expected relief in this Budget. Some forms of relief were read out. We also recall what was said on the election platforms: Government vehicles misused by former Ministers would be auctioned, State houses would be auctioned. That is fine—do it quickly and pass the benefits to the people.

¶ 10 Will this Budget build a productive economy? I am not convinced it will on its own, though we must build such an economy. Our most valuable resource is human capital. The Government must focus on how to develop it. We should make this country an educational hub, especially by developing higher education.

¶ 11 Our children go abroad for study, leading to a drain of billions of US dollars. Yet we have the capability here: we have doctors, professors, lecturers, and other facilities. We can attract foreign students who seek overseas universities—for instance, European students provided scholarships to study abroad. If we provide the space and facilities, they would be happy to come to our beautiful country. I hope the Government allocates funds and focuses on this.

¶ 12 We must also speak of the fisheries sector. I represent Negombo in Gampaha District. The promised relief to fishermen in Negombo has not yet begun. They still rely on traditional methods. The now-President, before becoming President, spoke about how in India and elsewhere satellite technology is used to identify fishing grounds, informing fishermen to increase their catch. But here our boats go out and return without such support; it is hit or miss. We expected this Budget to introduce new technology to help fishermen increase their catch and ensure better nutrition for our people. It is not there. Please focus on this.

¶ 13 Farmers are in a similar plight. Promised new technologies have not materialized. The President’s ideas, such as promoting fresh milk instead of processed milk powder, are good. Use this Budget to implement them on the ground.

¶ 14 We have 15 percent taxes on casinos, while educational stationery and books carry taxes close to 18 percent. Around 80 percent of public servants voted for the present Government. Yet now many appear disillusioned. Also, how many senior SLAS officers are in pools or taking early retirement? Please look into this.

¶ 15 Many said this is an IMF Budget. We are not saying that out of political cunning. The Morning of 23 February 2025 stated: “It anticipates a 23% increase in total revenue, a 13.5% rise in non-tax revenue, and a 17% expansion in Government spending… particularly the projected primary surplus target of 2.3% of GDP in 2025… many economists believe that Budget 2025 aligns closely with most IMF targets.” It further states: “The IMF suggests a revenue target of 15.1% of GDP in 2025, which is in line with the 15.1% total revenue estimation in Budget 2025.”

¶ 16 This is clear. The same IMF we were criticized for opposing is now being adhered to closely. Without the tranche, funds from ADB and the World Bank would not come. So we must go down this path. But what is implemented on the ground differs from what was promised then. I thank you for the time, Hon. Presiding Member.