Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I must say, regarding the responsibility of our Hon. Leader of the Opposition: he takes Parliament’s time to tell lies he fancies. At the very least, before questioning, he should check that a Cabinet paper has been approved. If he cannot even do that, there is a problem with the responsibility of the office. The Opposition should critique and guide, but he has not even read the Cabinet paper. He writes and comes here to recite falsehoods.

¶ 02 There are 18 economic centres; 14 operate, some as retail markets. Except for Dambulla, Thambuttegama, Keppetipola, and Nuwara Eliya, most depend on others. Goods move Dambulla→Meegoda→Ratmalana/Narahenpita. There is disorder. These were under four ministries. Those who set them up took money from businessmen; no accountability. This happened across the last two Governments. Lease agreements for stallholders are missing; many feel insecure. The Cabinet paper aimed to give them protection. He would not have needed to ask these questions if he had read it. I went to these places before he did.

¶ 03 This is not about imposing limits on companies. These beneficial ownership changes to the Companies Act target theft, black money, and misappropriated assets. At least read the Cabinet paper first.

¶ 04 On Trincomalee, the issue originated when Arjuna Ranatunga was Minister during their Government. Now there are court cases galore: company vs. Port, Port vs. farmers, farmers vs. Port. We aim to protect farmers and, where injustice has occurred, intervene with compensation.

¶ 05 Therefore, please read the Cabinet paper before asking questions.