The Hon. Dinindu Saman

¶ 01 [12.02 p.m.]

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, we expected a constructive debate on Clean Sri Lanka. Instead, the Opposition has largely ignored the topic, pushing unrelated questions. You can wake someone sleeping, but not someone pretending to sleep; today the Opposition pretends to sleep.

¶ 03 We believe the country’s culture, politics, economy and ecosystems have deteriorated and must be cleaned, which is why people mandated us—to clean all these. This debate is to organize national plans; we aim to convert these into national policies—consistent, long-term policies the country has lacked.

¶ 04 Our economy is bankrupt; Clean Sri Lanka must include steps to revive it with public participation and a production focus. We have shown examples within months—creating a governing party free of fraud and waste. Yet the Opposition clings to old habits, even objecting to recovering a 35,000 sq. ft. official residence used by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, citing security, while other former Presidents manage without such entitlements. This is a product of a degraded political culture that looted public wealth; we are changing it.

¶ 05 Politics decided even sports in the past—turning national sport priorities into personal preferences. We must build empathetic citizens through sport, not violent mindsets as seen in the Thajudeen case. Road deaths are about 2,321 a year—six a day. We will build discipline among drivers and passengers through planned, participatory approaches—not sheer coercion.

¶ 06 In disaster management, around 475,225 people are displaced annually by natural disasters; we spend over USD 300 million each year on relief. Clean Sri Lanka will build preventive, community-based systems to reduce human-induced disasters and create a smarter, more resilient populace.

¶ 07 Environmentally, Sri Lanka has 103 river basins nourished by over 3,000 headwaters, many degraded over 70 years. We must restore for future air and water security. In Badulla District we have already begun aligned actions under Clean Sri Lanka.