The Hon. Nalin Hewage - Deputy Minister of Vocational Education

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, as the NPP’s second Budget is presented, people compare us with past governments and the Opposition’s criticisms. They place us favourably.

¶ 02 To put it succinctly in verse: “A Budget that eases the nation’s pain, A democratic ledger to sustain, 2026, the people’s gain.”

¶ 03 Those lamenting are the Opposition, who failed earlier. The public understands where the country stood and that this movement is taking it forward.

¶ 04 In 2015, with Ravi Karunanayake as Finance Minister, Harsha de Silva as an economic lead, and Sajith Premadasa a senior minister, growth fell from 5 per cent to 2 per cent. We are paying for that today. They raised USD 12.5 billion in sovereign bonds and piled up debt for little real development.

¶ 05 There are two main economic streams worldwide: one believing in a role for the State; the other in unbridled markets. We are in the right place – the State must play a responsible role.

¶ 06 The Opposition cites under-spending using data up to 30 September; give it two or three more months. In the Galle DCC on the 11th, 85 per cent of district funds had been utilized.

¶ 07 Capital Expenditure last year was Rs. 678 billion; this year it is Rs. 1,400 billion – the highest in history. We too want maximum execution because that boosts incomes and growth beyond 5 per cent. But the State machinery we inherited was broken. We are increasing public servants’ salaries and pensions, recruiting to rebuild capacity, and providing vehicles and tools so they can deliver.

¶ 08 On Mahapola, the stipend was Rs. 5,000 since the 1980s; we doubled it to Rs. 10,000 in one year, unlike previous two governments. The Opposition has nothing to say in villages now because there is no grand corruption; narcotics and underworld are being tackled; and we have brought a good Budget. If governance stays people-friendly, the Opposition’s role diminishes by their own making.

¶ 09 Thank you.