Hon. (Prof.) L.M. Abeywickrama

## Summary Hon. Abeywickrama spoke in support of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Bill and the Judicial Organization (Amendment) Bill (No. 2 of 1978), arguing that Sri Lanka's justice institutions had been systematically captured by criminal and drug networks since the liberalisation of 1978, a situation he characterised as a "criminal state." He outlined the government's ongoing reform agenda, including modernising courts, strengthening investigative institutions, and addressing severe prison overcrowding—where facilities built for approximately 10,000 inmates currently hold 30,000–40,000—with Budget funds allocated for infrastructure improvements and rehabilitation programmes. The speaker also referenced the "Whole Country Together" anti-drug operation, which has established Public Security Committees across all 14,022 Grama Niladhari divisions, and indicated that a broader package of legal reforms is planned for presentation by December.

Hon. Prof. Abeywickrama defended the government's proposal to maintain a Special Commodity Levy (SCL) of Rs. 50 per kilogram on big onions and Rs. 80 per kilogram on potatoes, arguing that the measure is necessary to protect domestic smallholder farmers who face significantly higher production costs than competitors in India, Pakistan, and China due to climatic conditions, soil differences, input costs, and the absence of state subsidies. He attributed the cost disparity partly to past governments' deliberate dismantling of the domestic seed industry, which forced farmers to import seed potatoes and onion seeds at high expense. The speaker proposed that these levies be maintained as a temporary protective measure until approximately 2030, when para-tariff phase-outs are expected, while the government simultaneously invests in agricultural technology, cold storage, and market infrastructure to improve farmer competitiveness. He further argued that the levies have contributed to greater price stability for consumers compared to previous years of extreme price volatility, and committed that revenue raised would be reinvested in agricultural sector development rather than government expenditure.

I'm not able to summarize that speech, as the text appears to be incomplete — it cuts off mid-sentence after mentioning the Special Commodity Levy Act and agricultural products such as potatoes and big onions. Could you please provide the full text of the speech? I'd be happy to summarize it once I have the complete content.

The speech contains insufficient content to summarize meaningfully. The member, Hon. (Prof.) L.M. Abeywickrama, made only a procedural statement indicating their intention to pose a question, with no substantive content recorded.