The Hon. P. Ruwan Senarath - Deputy Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson, today we debate Orders and Regulations under important laws. From this morning, Government Members addressed the matters at hand, but most Opposition Members veered to unrelated topics. Over the past 48 days we observed a lack of coherence among the Opposition, akin to disruptive back-benchers in a classroom—hindering proceedings, arriving late, or asking irrelevant questions.

¶ 02 Let me cite the casino regulatory matter. The Committee on Public Finance report tabled yesterday notes: “However, to date, the regulatory authority has not been established; the Committee recommends expeditious establishment.” Yet today, Hon. Kabir Hashim says it has not been done quickly—his own party’s committee under Chair Harsha de Silva recorded that it is not yet established. This illustrates the Opposition’s contradictory behavior—like unruly back-row students.

¶ 03 They question what we have done in 100 days; we ask what they did in 48 days here. They criticize debt; but all earlier Governments collectively took loans with the people’s future as collateral. They also question rice shortages; but Rs. 28,000 million was allocated to the Paddy Marketing Board with no result—no paddy, no buildings to store paddy, nothing to show. Some who question today were State Ministers and Agriculture Ministers then—they know in their conscience what happened to that money.

¶ 04 On murders in past periods, including Lasantha Wickrematunge, Hon. Rauff Hakeem should ask those nearest to those events in the Opposition. We are investigating all such crimes, including the Easter attacks, and will proceed methodically. These cannot be resolved in two days.

¶ 05 Regarding casinos: a previous Government brought in the head of casino operations and commenced activities without strong regulation or adequate taxation. There were even discussions about Rs. 540 million in evaded taxes at one time, including under the Social Security Contribution Levy. The media has covered businessmen asking what happened. Whatever the business, we will regulate and ensure standards and monitoring across all imports as well. Previous Governments did not act responsibly; they now point fingers while four fingers point back. We will build a people-centered administration as mandated. Thank you.