The Hon. Nandana Pathmakumara

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, our Government’s second Budget, themed “A Prosperous Country – A Beautiful Life,” was presented by the President. We believe it is one of the best Budgets in parliamentary history. The Opposition’s agitation itself reflects the Budget’s strengths.

¶ 02 Fitch Ratings has indicated that the President’s Budget takes Sri Lanka toward fiscal consolidation. Even Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva said here this is the first time the Treasury has a surplus Budget. This evidences its positive features.

¶ 03 The Opposition is perturbed about wage increases for estate workers. We know the most suffering communities are those dependent on plantations. For them, our Government increased wages, and we saw their joy, even offering prayers of blessing for the President and Government.

¶ 04 This Government has become the people’s hope. While the Opposition criticizes without fully reading the Budget, we ask them to study it and point out shortcomings constructively.

¶ 05 On sectors, the livestock sector is vital for rural economic upliftment and poverty reduction. We produce only 40 per cent of our milk needs and import 60 per cent at heavy cost. Channeling that money to rural farmers would be far better. We have a program to increase annual milk production by 1,200 million litres and meet 75 per cent of domestic demand by 2030, with significant allocations to eradicate rural poverty through this Budget.

¶ 06 Thank you.