The Hon. Imran Maharoof

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member. I am glad to join the Adjournment Debate on Clean Sri Lanka. Many still do not know what this programme is. Even some Ministers and Government MPs do not clearly understand what Clean Sri Lanka seeks to achieve.

¶ 02 Some seem to think Clean Sri Lanka means burning hospital waste within hospital premises and calling that “cleaning.” We must use this programme to eradicate corruption in the health sector and fix systemic shortcomings, not to burn paper and trash and call it clean.

¶ 03 At the outset, enforcement targeted cosmetic add-ons on vehicles—three-wheelers and buses—but that action has now subsided. Please communicate clearly what this programme is. You have appointed an 18-member committee—without a single Tamil-speaking member. Why exclude Tamil speakers? When we raise it, we are accused of racism. Please address this.

¶ 04 In the Eastern Province, we see questionable transfer practices of officials. On what basis are these transfers made? When we point out the lack of a Muslim or Tamil officer, we are told we are being communal. Please consider this seriously.

¶ 05 After two months, the President is now speaking at public meetings about allowances for MPs, Ministers and former Presidents—only when elections near? Is this to win the favour of former Presidents and harvest votes? These matters should be addressed here, through Cabinet, not at rallies. You now hold a two-thirds majority in Parliament, your party’s leader is President, and you control provincial and local authorities in many places. Solve people’s problems genuinely, not for political gain. Some Government MPs appear unaware of what is happening in Government and must seek permission to speak—suggesting the same old political culture.

¶ 06 We cannot keep speaking like the Opposition. We must implement. If funds for the Presidency are cut, what benefit has reached the people? While you say former Presidents’ security is reduced, gun violence remains in many places. Focus on serving the people and solving their problems, not storytelling politics. I conclude.