The Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera - Deputy Minister of Defence

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, today’s special debate is to extend the Emergency Regulations declared to manage the disaster situation caused by Cyclone “Ditwah,” in order to streamline relief to affected people and restore essential infrastructure and services. I am grateful for the opportunity to open the debate.

¶ 02 Following Cyclone “Ditwah,” we designated 22 districts as national disaster-affected areas due to the severe destruction. Declaring the emergency was crucial to ensure essential relief and continuity of services. Therefore, on 28 November 2025, His Excellency the President promulgated these Regulations.

¶ 03 During emergencies, maintaining essential services without interruption is vital to sustain normal life: water, electricity, fuel, hospitals, railways, highways and transport, food supplies, telecommunications, etc. Under these Regulations, an Essential Services Commissioner General is appointed to organize and coordinate such functions, linking local to national levels—Divisional and District Secretaries, development officers, and other state and private institutions and foreign missions—so that people’s lives can be restored effectively. The cyclone devastated systems nationwide: floods and landslides destroyed homes and infrastructure and severely disrupted lives. This has been the worst disaster we have experienced in recent history after the tsunami. The Government bears a clear responsibility to restore people’s lives and to rebuild infrastructure together with all stakeholders, including resettlement and compensation for property, agriculture, businesses and livelihoods. The work is extensive and complex; there are many anxieties and management challenges, including identifying safe relocation sites, providing infrastructure in alternative areas, and conducting technical assessments.

¶ 04 The Government has allocated and is spending substantial public funds for disaster management. These must be disbursed prudently and accountably to the right needs and areas. While delays can occur in ensuring proper financial controls, we will not allow misuse as in the past. We also received considerable international support—assistance from 32 countries, including large equipment, bridges and vehicles; just yesterday we received a significant number of bridges from India, and assistance from the World Bank and JICA. We are allocating them based on District Secretaries’ requests with proper planning and audit.

¶ 05 We managed this immense national calamity effectively. Because of timely and strategic measures, we were able to bring the country largely back to normal within about six weeks. This drew positive domestic and international recognition and contributed to economic gains. Compared to last year, due to active and responsible governance, national revenues have notably increased.