The Hon. (Mrs.) Samanmali Gunasingha

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, please give me one more minute.

¶ 02 This Budget is, in my view, a women-centered Budget. Why do I say that? Even the Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, now acknowledges that monthly support for nutritious food for pregnant mothers and the continuation of programmes like Thriposha are good. We raise revenue domestically and internationally through various taxes. For whom should those funds go? Not to the Ministers and MPs here to build their houses or buy vehicles. They must go where they are needed most. That is exactly where we start in this Budget.

¶ 03 An allocation of Rs. 7.5 billion has been made for nutritious food for pregnant mothers. Many lamented the state of the Thriposha programme; we have allocated Rs. 5 billion for that as well. For the development of rural hospitals, Rs. 9.9 billion is allocated, and a further Rs. 3.8 billion is set aside to strengthen assets and facilities.

¶ 04 On early childhood, preschool teachers and parents have long asked that the allocation for school breakfast be increased. Under this Budget, the per-meal payment for the school breakfast programme is raised from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100. The monthly allowance for a preschool teacher is increased by Rs. 1,000.

¶ 05 For low-income students who pass the Grade 5 Scholarship examination, the bursary is increased from Rs. 750 to Rs. 1,500. The monthly nutrition allowance for student athletes is doubled from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000. The Mahapola scholarship for university students is increased from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,500, and other student bursaries from Rs. 4,000 to Rs. 6,500. I have mentioned only a few; who feels all this most directly? Women—mothers.

¶ 06 This Budget also addresses sensitive issues of women that no leader previously grasped adequately. For example, consider a mother with a child suffering from a neurological condition like autism. I know this personally from a friend. She had to take her child overseas because Sri Lanka lacked adequate teaching and therapeutic facilities, and there was no structured support to protect that family. Many parents with such capacity left; many others are stranded, even unaware of available help. This Budget establishes a five-year National Programme for such children. We will commence at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, with an initial allocation of Rs. 200 million, and establish a model day-care support centre thereafter. Moving forward, we will set out the facilities those children and their parents need.

¶ 07 There are also many children in orphanages, children’s homes and various detention centres with no birth certificates, no names, and no protection. No leader before spoke for children languishing in detention homes. There was no structured plan. But in this Budget, value is accorded to them. For children who are burdens to struggling mothers, for those abandoned or without mothers, and even without birth certificates, we will not only issue birth certificates but also provide a Rs. 5,000 monthly allowance per child to build their future. This is how women-centered this Budget is; it shoulders the weight borne by women.

¶ 08 You may have seen that in the end, in cases like underworld figure Sanjeewa of Ganemulla, it fell to the mother and sister to take his body. No matter who they ran with—criminals or underworld—when they are destitute, it is the mother or the sister who must bear it. We must change that pattern. This Budget brings measures that change the criminal underworld model that piles burdens on families and mothers. That is why I call it a women-centered Budget. Our Government’s first Budget for 2025 is one that introduces a new meaning to “Budget”—a Budget that the people can embrace anew.

¶ 09 Thank you for the time, Hon. Deputy Speaker.