The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law – Minister of Justice and National Integration

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, today’s debate on Clean Sri Lanka is timely. As Opposition Members said, public awareness is necessary.

¶ 02 This effort is underway. From 1 January to 1 February, through the Presidential Task Force, we are conducting awareness among public servants and institutions. The issue is mindsets. Due to past regimes’ showpiece campaigns, some may think this too will be a short‑lived exercise. That is wrong. This is about practices we should follow throughout our lives and as a nation.

¶ 03 When we say “clean,” people first think of the environment. That is a big part, but Clean Sri Lanka is not limited to that. It is also about cleaning our attitudes and ways of thinking. Needs differ by locality; we must identify them and act accordingly.

¶ 04 This cannot be done by drafting policy and circulars alone. People must develop understanding and desire for change. At the start, some tried to trivialize it as removing trimmings from three‑wheelers and buses. But this is a long‑term plan. To begin properly, there must also be a change in how people think. It is telling that we still have to write on toilets, “Flush after use.” Government can install a traffic light, but if people run a red unless a policeman is visible, law alone cannot fix it—only when society embraces it. Hence we devote a month to comprehensive awareness.

¶ 05 Our opponents paint us as having huge power yet doing nothing. Let me be clear: the full Cabinet took office on 18 November; it has been two months. Those who ruined and looted the country now ask what we have done. We need time. Voters gave us five years to implement policy and build a prosperous country with a beautiful life—not to do everything in two months.

¶ 06 Briefly, what have we done? Farmers have received Rs. 25,000 fertilizer assistance—Rs. 20 billion allocated; 850,000 farmers have benefited. For paddy and other crops, 55,000 MT of MOP fertilizer provided free at 12.5 kg per acre. Fishers get fuel relief: Rs. 25 per litre up to 15 litres a day, and diesel at Rs. 25 per litre—amounting to Rs. 9,375 a month. Many more measures are in train, including up to Rs. 200,000 relief for some.

¶ 07 They said with 38 percent we could not form a government; we did. Likewise, whatever obstacles come, we will not turn back—we will make Clean Sri Lanka a success. Changing mindsets is good, though some feel “kerosene on their skin” at such change. Do not be like that. Both giving and taking bribes are wrong; these must be cleaned.

¶ 08 We have not appointed relatives to the Cabinet or to ambassadorial posts. The President, Prime Minister, Deputies—none have entourages of private staff and VIP convoys. People greet us, happy that ministers come to their shops for tea. That is how we have begun Clean Sri Lanka—by example. We have minimized waste in government.

¶ 09 On electricity tariffs: they have been reduced. The CEB must act under the law and PUCSL recommendations. Household tariffs drop by 20 percent; hotels by about 30–31 percent. Recall when a past PUCSL chair tried to reduce tariffs, the then government not only refused but cut power until hikes were approved, and later removed that Chair through a motion. In contrast, within two months, our government implemented the independent Commission’s recommendations to give people relief.

¶ 10 We face no allegations of tender fraud or misuse as used to be common. However, we are aware that a political party is alleged to have taken Rs. 500 million promising a parliamentary seat. If the complainant comes forward, we can trace the money and enforce the law. Such things too must be cleaned. We will not do anything for money.

¶ 11 Ask your friends in the public service or Police: are ministers sending letters to admit children to schools? Are calls made to stop arrests? No. We allow the state machinery to function properly. That is the example we give under Clean Sri Lanka.

¶ 12 Last week we opened the new Court of Appeal building constructed with Chinese assistance. Look at the plaque: it states simply that it was built with the support of the PRC; no names of me or the PM. Earlier, plaques were sometimes bigger than the building itself. We have cleaned that opportunistic political culture too.

¶ 13 The rule of law is essential. Laws are for punishing wrongdoers, not the good. Some ask whether thieves have been arrested. We have a two‑thirds majority, but we do not govern autocratically, imposing our will. We are subject to the rule of law as well.

¶ 14 Investigations have commenced and are being expedited, including on the Easter attacks. We seek no political vendettas, but to show the law is equal to all. Duminda Silva, long at the Prison Hospital, is now in a cell. We are proceeding against Arjun Aloysius and tax evaders; fines are being imposed. There will no longer be one law for the powerful and another for the powerless. We have changed that. We are also recovering unpaid excise taxes, and revenues have increased significantly. On drugs and underworld crime, especially ice, we have a proper plan—not the unlawful “Operation Justice” that led to a conviction; we replaced the IGP accordingly. In the past two months, police made the largest single drug bust—Rs. 283 million worth. We are young in office, but our aims are not small.

¶ 15 Our courts have many issues—delays, backlogs—but this is a system broken over decades. To deliver Clean Sri Lanka we must first build the necessary environment.

¶ 16 When we opened Ministry account books, it looked like Gaza had been bombed—nothing left. That is how earlier they governed. We must first re‑establish proper systems, then proceed. We will take the Clean Sri Lanka programme to its end. For example, the former Controller General of Immigration who did not comply with a court order in the VFS matter has been remanded under our watch. A case has been filed against Lohan Ratwatte over illegal vehicle assemblage. We support the police and justice system to act independently. Through all this we will entrench the rule of law. It takes time, and we ask for that time. Some want us to trip over their snares; we will not allow it.

¶ 17 Through Clean Sri Lanka we can build a clean, inclusive country—free of waste and bigotry—where everyone, regardless of ethnicity, religion, disability or gender, can live well. People do change. With proper awareness and by leaders setting examples, we can succeed.

¶ 18 Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker.