The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna - Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure
Minister K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna highlighted government cost-cutting measures, including auctioning luxury vehicles, reducing MPs’ insurance benefits, limiting ministerial vehicles and fuel allocations, and proposing legislation to abolish MPs’ pensions. He said the Government’s five-year manifesto was only at its first milestone and claimed progress in establishing a new political culture and enforcing the law against previously influential figures. He also cited higher export earnings in January-August 2025 compared with the previous year, including increases in tea and coconut export revenue.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 We auctioned luxury vehicles in the Presidential Secretariat and ministries; cut MPs’ massive insurance from Rs. 10 million down to about Rs. 2.5 million; we are bringing the Bill to abolish MPs’ pensions. Our manifesto spans five years; only the first milestone has passed, and we are ready to exceed targets in years two to five.
¶ 02 We limited ministers’ vehicles to two; reduced fuel allocations from 2,100 litres to 900 litres. We have set a new political culture, ended impunity for underworld leaders, and equalized the law. Many once “untouchable” figures are now facing justice.
¶ 03 Finally, comparing Jan–Aug 2025 with the prior year: tea export revenue rose to about USD 1.436 billion from around USD 1 billion; coconut exports from USD 562 million to about USD 778 million. We are advancing in every sector, scoring well on our balance sheet, while the Opposition is scoring zero.
¶ 04 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Thursday, 9 October 2025 ·No. 22973 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna - Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 9 October 2025. No. 22973. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/7653