The Hon. Chanaka Madugoda

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 02 We are debating regulations under the NMRA Act at a time when patients in public hospitals face severe difficulties due to medicine shortages. Even now, there are deficits in dozens of essential medicines. It is timely to bring these regulations to Parliament.

¶ 03 Health is a basic public service funded by taxpayers. Shortages of medicines and equipment, and lack of specialists and staff, cause great suffering and long waits for surgeries and diagnostics, pushing people to the private sector.

¶ 04 At Karapitiya Hospital’s OPD, congestion is severe due to limited capacity. The current Health Minister, once a prominent trade union leader, raised these issues in Opposition; we expected swift improvements, which we have yet to fully see. Under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, domestic production increased from about 16% to around 25%, and the “Suwa Siripura” pharmaceutical manufacturing village in Oyamaduwa was initiated to produce 236 essential medicines and 44 surgical devices. We expect the present Government to advance this.

¶ 05 Budget allocations were made to digitize NMRA and SPC operations and to certify medical supplies, but progress is lacking. Nonetheless, these regulations can help steer health services in a positive direction.

¶ 06 I also raise an urgent issue: non-regular workers recruited by the Pulmudai Mineral Sands Company have not been paid for over a year and a half despite assurances that salaries would be paid from March last year. They continue to contribute significantly and are now on a fast. I urge intervention to regularize their employment and pay arrears.

¶ 07 Thank you.