The Hon. R.M. Jayawardhana - Deputy Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security

¶ 01 Sir, since this morning we have been debating extensively the Budget for 2026. Listening to the Opposition engage in this debate at length, one would think that the National People’s Power governed this country for decades. Many who spoke from the Opposition represented administrations that ruled this country for nearly 40 years. Those who were in power for about 40 years now paint a huge bill against a Budget we have presented and are implementing within seven to eight months. They say we cannot rebuild the country or develop it. If they said this five years from now, we would accept it. We are governing with a plan for the next year and with a matching medium-term programme.

¶ 02 I regret having to say this, Sir. At one moment they say the IMF is good and that it is on that basis Ranil Wickremesinghe brought the country here. At another moment they say this Government’s following of the IMF is a big upset. In their confusion they say all sorts of things. The reason is this: the measures taken by the present Government within the last 11–12 months make it clear to those in the Opposition that many of them who entered Parliament this time will not be able to come back to Parliament or even to a Provincial Council next time when this Government completes its term of five years. They sense it and are nervous. In that panic they make these statements one after another.

¶ 03 Hon. Kabir Hashim, after being prompted by a certain TV channel, made a big story about the cold storage facility built near the Dambulla Economic Centre, saying much money had been spent and it still had not started operations.