The Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Please also pay some attention to the state of the hostel of the Ministry of Sports. Hon. Deputy Minister Sugath Thilakaratne, I think it would be good if you could look into the meal times there and whether those athletes receive the required nutritious food. I know this personally; that is why I am telling you. You Ministers and Deputy Ministers have a lot of work; I understand that. It is difficult even to go to the supermarket amidst all that. But the hostel is only about 100 metres from the Ministry. So please drop in and take a look. The Hon. Deputy Minister smiles because he knows how those children eat and live. Still, I do not know whether there is nothing he can do; he seems helpless. So, on your way home, please stop there as well, identify what is needed, and provide the necessary facilities for those children’s meals, Hon. Deputy Chairperson.

¶ 02 Thank you very much, Hon. Minister. I have no issue with you going to a supermarket in Kotte. What I asked was, while going to the supermarket, please also look into that hostel. Whether the supermarket is in Colombo 07 or Kotte is not my issue. My issue is the food available to the children in the hostel.

¶ 03 It is not just about rugby players from Fiji. At present, 11 players with dual citizenship are in the Football Federation. Please look into that. It is part of our programme to expand our sports economy and involve third-generation Sri Lankans in competitive sports. Back then, a few rugby players of Sri Lankan origin from Fiji came to our country. But after the change of government, it was politicised. Later, a Minister of your own party — now a Minister, then an MP; in my view, not even an MP at that time but a trade union leader — wrote to the IRD about it, requesting an inquiry. You have been given incorrect information on that matter. Please look into it properly.

¶ 04 Hon. Minister, I also request you to allow third-generation Sri Lankans to represent national teams. That is not a bad thing, especially as sports like rugby and football have a shortage of players. In volleyball, we have plenty in our country. In competitive high-performance sports like football and rugby, involving the third generation is a good thing, Hon. Deputy Chairperson. Thank you.