The Hon. (Dr.) Hiniduma Sunil Senevi - Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am delighted to speak at the Second Reading debate of our Government’s second Budget. After the NPP Government took office, we presented our first Budget to set a durable course; now we present the second.

¶ 02 In that speech, the President said we endured a “lost decade”. That cannot be easily dismissed. It was born of the shortsighted economic policies of past governments. In one year we have lifted the country from that dark era to a correct path—no easy task. Alongside stabilizing the economy, we inherited a fragile, fractured cultural fabric. Rebuilding requires not only targets but a vision—especially an economic vision. Last year we laid foundations; this year, on those footings, we are raising the walls of the prosperous country and beautiful life we envisioned.

¶ 03 The Opposition has failed to perceive the Budget’s vision. Despite their mudslinging, their own words sometimes concede truths—“the tongue tells what the teeth hide”. We analyzed our starting point, the looming risks, and strengthened the legal framework with key Bills. Revenues rose not by looting the people but by collecting from tax evaders due to rule of law. Some economists who wished us ill now admit they did not believe we could raise revenue like this.

¶ 04 The President likened our collapse to a domino effect: fiscal indiscipline leads to theft, a corroded public service, public hardship, frustration, emigration, and collapsing remittances. To rise, we had to reverse each domino—restore resources and human capital, set policies, fix revenue collection, and enforce the rule of law and ethics. Our 2025 spending targeted those nodes. The Opposition claims we did not spend; but if you examine the details, you will see how we arrested the fall by fixing key areas. The 2026 Budget rests on that coherent, methodical vision.

¶ 05 The President spoke of “old liabilities”—some costing us billions to clear, like incomplete expressway contracts. If not for those, we could have invested even more in education and research in 2026.

¶ 06 Our 2026 vision rests on six pillars. Time is short, so let me highlight one: stabilization without abandoning any constituency. For example, we have allocated Rs. 19,000 million to provide a Rs. 10,000 monthly allowance to about 140,000 persons with disabilities under the Aswesuma Programme—about 7 percent of the population is differently abled.

¶ 07 Another: Rs. 1,000 million is allocated to ensure accessibility and sanitation facilities for persons with disabilities at Divisional Secretariats, railway stations, bus stands, courts, police stations, and other public places. This is what civilized societies do—integrate every community into development and daily life. Even at Sabaragamuwa University, where I taught for 25 years, steps and access barriers still prevent an affected child from meeting the Dean—these are the bindings that development must address.

¶ 08 We have made large allocations for education, including Mahapola and bursaries, and for professorial units, including at medical faculties such as Sabaragamuwa and Rajarata—recall those students who protested for professorial units. Addressing that pipeline is essential to produce doctors and uplift the country.

¶ 09 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the reminder—I will conclude quickly.

¶ 10 The Cardiology Hospital is a major investment; so is the Ratnapura railway line, long neglected for electoral reasons. Without that, Sabaragamuwa University struggles to recruit top academics. We allocate Rs. 21 billion for Research and Development.

¶ 11 Finally, to those alleging non-performance in Hindu affairs, I can table a list: we commenced the National Thaipongal festival in Jaffna; we gazetted the Sabarimala Ayyappan pilgrimage from Kerala as a recognized pilgrimage—something no prior government did. Funds were allocated for kovil development and religious education. Rs. 300 million is allocated for the National “Sri Lankan Day” festival on 12–14 December. We developed alternative destinations alongside Sigiriya and other popular sites.

¶ 12 My four Departments—Buddhist, Hindu and Cultural, Christian, and Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs—have effectively utilized funds. As I stated yesterday, by the third week of December we will confirm over 90 percent financial and physical progress.

¶ 13 UNESCO has inscribed Sri Lanka’s Tea Cultural Landscape on the Tentative List; an international symposium will be held on 15–16 this month in Nuwara Eliya, with Rs. 56 million spent. We also inscribed the original Panadura Debate texts and the Galle Trilingual Inscription in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. These are worthy investments aligned with our Budget’s vision. Next year we will take the next step to make Sri Lanka the prosperous country we promised and deliver a beautiful life to our people.

¶ 14 Thank you for the time.