The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Mr. Deputy Speaker, for weeks we urged the Government and the President to immediately provide relief to our people suffering hardship. Until today, the Government was in a deep slumber. Jolted awake, it has now presented a list of promises—prompted, as even the President noted, by the “torches” held in our island‑wide protests. If so, we take some satisfaction that our democratic agitation helped spark action.

¶ 02 I must remind the Government of previous unfulfilled promises after Cyclone “Michaung”: Rs. 5 million, Rs. 10 million per damaged house, lands, etc.—many still unmet, compelling victims to protest. At least fulfill today’s promises promptly.

¶ 03 On coal, the Government long dismissed our warnings about substandard coal—pointing to load port and dispatch reports and GCVs. Yet live data from Lakvijaya shows reduced output, confirming our concerns. This unprecedented situation has arisen on your watch.

¶ 04 You propose a Rs. 100 billion relief package, claiming no increase in money supply, while urging people to reduce consumption. Economic fundamentals teach that growth requires stronger production and services and monetary circulation; mere contraction of consumption is not a solution, especially with large external debt service looming—much of it from 2028 onwards. If you had genuinely renegotiated the IMF programme, taking into account Cyclone “Michaung” and the Middle East conflict, we could have obtained flexibility and more meaningful relief now.

¶ 05 On the IMF, we have never opposed meeting them; whenever IMF officials met us at the Opposition Leader’s Office, we urged designing a people‑friendly programme. Recently, however, the format has excluded separate meetings with the Opposition outside the Speaker’s framework. We were unable to attend the last session due to very short notice and prior travel, not due to any boycott. We ask the Government to ensure international partners freely meet with all parties—help the country and the people.

¶ 06 You say the Rs. 100 billion package is from Rs. 1.4 trillion budgetary savings obtained by higher taxes. If you’ve saved Rs. 1.4 trillion, allocating only Rs. 100 billion—about 7 percent—is insufficient. This should be a first step; scale it up.

¶ 07 Critically, about 42 percent of households—around 2.5 million—use LPG; yet today’s package ignores them. Please bring specific LPG relief. Also, the Government raised cascading taxes even before noon today—VAT at 18 percent plus effective additional burdens of 4–5 percent as noted by Dr. Harsha de Silva—while giving only 7 percent of “savings” back. Increase the relief quantum and coverage, including for LPG consumers.

¶ 08 Thank you.