Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Sir, I had 12 minutes. Please give me that time. We started the Debate only at 12 noon. Time got wasted not because of us.

¶ 02 We have no objection to extending the payment of Aswesuma social protection benefits. The Government should support people in poverty, and funds have been allocated. Our fundamental issue is different: as the Minister himself said, Aswesuma was introduced in 2023 as a temporary programme, not a long-term poverty eradication strategy. The goal was to protect people from deepening poverty caused by the 2022 crisis. Hence, it was to end in 2026. Your Government has now extended it six months at a time until end-2027.

¶ 03 If Aswesuma is to continue, we must address the targeting problems. A research report tabled in Parliament by Dr. H.M. Gunatilake (Senior Adviser, CEPA) and Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne identifies serious inclusion and exclusion errors, based on a 2,611-household sample. For instance, only 42% of those who should receive benefits actually do (58% exclusion), and 26% of those who should not receive benefits are included. Continuing with known flaws is wrong.

¶ 04 The Minister spoke of 20 criteria. We highlighted to the World Bank that the criteria lack a proper weighting scheme — all indicators carry equal weight. For example, electricity consumption alone can substantially reduce exclusion errors if used appropriately. A technical expert committee has been appointed. We expect its report and a thorough review of indicators.

¶ 05 I also urge the Minister not to relaunch a national roll-out immediately after revisions. Conduct a pilot with at least 3,000 households to test whether the revised indicators reduce exclusion and inclusion errors, as both sides in the Committee agreed. That is how we make progress.

¶ 06 Regarding graduation from poverty, the Minister referred to the Samurdhi Development Department. In response to Oral Question No. 108, he spoke about staff issues, retirements, and promotions. However, in 2025 the Treasury spent Rs. 27 billion on the Department, of which only Rs. 5 billion reached Aswesuma beneficiaries, and Rs. 22 billion went to administration and salaries. The Rs. 60 billion mentioned for microfinance is not Samurdhi’s own spending; those are through other ministries and banks. The Department’s Rs. 27 billion mostly paid salaries. We must seek higher value-for-money.

¶ 07 We wrote to the Minister of Finance requesting an independent evaluation, not just a routine audit. On audits, the Auditor-General’s Office is overstretched: workload is up 41% without a commensurate budget increase, and there is currently no Auditor-General appointed. Outsourcing was suggested. I urge the appointment of an Auditor-General immediately.

¶ 08 On “Praja Shakthi,” I will comment later: in my view it is undemocratic, appointing boards from Temple Trees to run a one-party project without elections.

¶ 09 On evaluation, around 20 years ago I had the opportunity at MIT to work with Professors Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, who won the 2019 Nobel Prize “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.” Beyond standard evaluations, randomized controlled trials can rigorously measure outcomes. We should focus next on multidimensional poverty: not only incomes, but access to education and health.

¶ 10 Today’s Daily Mirror headline states: “AI to threaten 22.8 per cent of employed people in Sri Lanka.” Generative AI is already displacing internships; firms say routine clerical tasks are automated. This must shape our education reforms. We support education reform in principle. Problems in implementation led to the postponement; that should not have happened if we were fixing specific issues. Do not change only the curriculum; train teachers, invest in technology, and adopt semester systems where appropriate. The aim is to teach children how to learn, extract, and apply knowledge — not rote memorization.

¶ 11 Yesterday Minister Bimal Rathnayake said 2,500 schools still lack even a smart board. Our Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sajith Premadasa, donated smart boards where possible, but Government must invest at scale. Fiscal space is tight — with the 13% of GDP cap on expenditure and competing reconstruction needs after “Didva” — but priorities matter. For example, reversing the Sri Lanka Electricity Act will now require billions of dollars to upgrade networks — resources that could have trained teachers and upgraded schools for AI.

¶ 12 I speak also as Chair of the Committee on Public Finance: public money must fund public goods — social and economic infrastructure and services.

¶ 13 We do not oppose Aswesuma. But the Government has not presented a coherent pathway to lift people out of poverty — no White Paper. “Praja Shakthi” is political. Poverty will increasingly be driven by reduced access to education rather than income alone. Let us fix shortcomings and proceed with all five pillars of education reform. We will not oppose genuine education reform. Thank you.