The Hon. Ajantha Gammeddage

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, thank you for allowing me to make my maiden speech in the Tenth Parliament.

¶ 02 The majority of our people have decided to establish a Government of the National People’s Power and have entrusted leadership to President Anura Dissanayake. In his policy statement on the 21st, he gave us the roadmap to set the country on the right path.

¶ 03 I thank the people of Matara District. Of the total voters there, 317,541 voted for the NPP, electing six NPP MPs from Matara. The people have rejected the old elite political order and placed their trust in us — it is historic that, for the first time, all three communities are represented from Matara under our party.

¶ 04 Past administrations failed to deliver on the people’s expectations; that is why they were rejected. Matara is a predominantly rural district with high poverty; our people have long struggled due to past governance. We must deliver justice to them through appropriate measures. Our production economy relies heavily on rural people, yet those who work the hardest have received the least. We must intervene to free them from this pressure.

¶ 05 “Prosperous Country – Beautiful Life” is not a mere slogan; it outlines how we will act for our rural people — through programmes at village level to uplift them. The people have built a Government capable of answering today’s difficult problems and of transforming hard lives into a prosperous country with dignified lives. Let us all join to achieve that. Thank you.