The Hon. Waruna Liyanage
Hon. Waruna Liyanage raised concerns about riverbed gem miners and illegal mining cases, stating that many are being arrested and handcuffed under Section 81 procedures while awaiting regularisation. He requested that such miners not be handcuffed, that they be allowed to work temporarily without licences subject to fines if necessary, and that the Government address export taxes of about 23% which he said had reduced gem exports by around 30% from the 2023 level of about US$ 470 million. He urged intervention through the National Gem and Jewellery Authority to strengthen the sector.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you very much.
¶ 02 Next, regarding riverbed gem mining and illegal mining: although we were not in government, successive governments extended some relief and asked not to ensnare them in the law while regularising. Today they are arrested and handcuffed. Cases are filed under Section 81 of the Act; then they must appear at the police once a month for six months or warrants are issued. About 100 have been handcuffed so far. Please ensure they are not handcuffed henceforth and allow them to work without a licence temporarily, while imposing fines if necessary, but do not subject them to handcuffs.
¶ 03 Another issue: about 23% tax on exports, which has halted exports. In 2023, about US$ 470 million came in; now it is down by about 30%. This is a sector that can grow revenue. Please intervene. There is a new Chairman at the National Gem and Jewellery Authority; under your intervention, please look into this and strengthen the sector. I conclude as time is short. Thank you for the extra two minutes.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Tuesday, 18 March 2025 ·No. 1745915246032615 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Waruna Liyanage. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 March 2025. No. 1745915246032615. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8534