The Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha

¶ 01 [3.40 p.m.]

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill is important. The government has been in office a year; only now is it bringing the necessary Bill under “Clean Sri Lanka.” We welcome it. But by next year you must deliver results; we should not have to return in 2027 to hear more lectures.

¶ 03 On the Judicature (Amendment) Bill and justice sector: prison overcrowding is severe. Traditionally, at Christmas a number of inmates are released, offering relief to others as well, but last Christmas not a single person was released; earlier even small numbers were freed. This reflects administrative inefficiency and lost initiative among officials.

¶ 04 Another pressing issue is the gas supply crisis—the same issue that contributed to regime change previously. Today the problem persists not because of price per se but because the selected supplier lacks adequate logistics and shipping capacity to meet daily and monthly demand. Our storage tanks date from the 1990s Shell era; with current capacity, we need 4–5 ships per month delivering 10,000–12,000 metric tons each. The chosen supplier cannot. You must assess not only price but technical capacity and past performance.

¶ 05 [Interjection by Hon. Sunil Watagala, Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs: Check the pricing too.]

¶ 06 Price differs by only about 15 cents USD; the main issue is capacity. Choosing on price alone led to coal issues at Norochcholai; do not repeat for gas. Gas is critical; about 65% of households now use it. If supply dips, panic buying doubles demand overnight, worsening the crisis. Act now: consider taking Litro Gas Lanka Limited fully under state operation per your stated policy; acquire shares and operate as the State, as private groups do with their holdings. Do not shout here—solve it before it escalates like in 2022. Gas is essential for households and businesses; ensure adequate, stable supply with a capable supplier and logistics.