2019-10-23
News Categories : Committee News
The third report of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) presented to Parliament today, the 23rd of 2019 revealed that the total loss endured by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation in the year of 2018 amounts to Rs.105 billion.
The COPE report also indicates a loss of Rs. 505,408,042 endured by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and a loss of Rs. 33,622,258 sustained by the Elkaduwa Plantation Limited. Additionally, a loss of Rs. 2,187,367 by the Pali and Buddhist University, a loss of Rs. 3,567,328 by the Postgraduate Institute of Archeology has also been reported in COPE findings.
The committee report further reveals that the financial reports expected to be submitted by the Janatha Estate Development Board and the Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority have not yet been submitted to the COPE.
Based on the audit reports submitted by the Auditor General auditing the accounts of 23 government authoritative bodies including Lanka Hospital Corporation PLC, State Pharmaceutical Corporation of Sri Lanka, National Transport Commission, Road Development Authority, State Engineering Corporation, Land Reform Commission, Ceylon Industrial Development Board, Sri Lanka Football Federation, Lanka Electricity (Private) Limited, the aforementioned losses were unveiled. Except above mentioned institutes all other have reported profits according to their submissions.
Since the opening of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) for media coverage on 9th August 2019, it has widened the opportunities for citizens to be involved in facing the current challenges in the economic, political and cultural spheres of Sri Lanka.
Presenting the report of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), its Chairman and Hon. Member of Parliament Sunil Handunneththi said that the affairs of the COPE are respected and appreciated and thus the public shows interest on its prerogatives whilst observing how it’s recommendations are executed.
The Committee chair further elaborating stated that out of the 08 ministries due to submit their observations regarding the authoritative bodies highlighted through the second report tabled by COPE on January 2019, five are yet to submit their reports despite the requisite of submitting to the Parliament within eight weeks.
The Chairman requested the Speaker to allow the officials of the Attorney General's Department to observe the proceedings of the Committee on Public Enterprises which are functioning in Parliament to expedite the accountability of those responsible.
Further, he said that it will facilitate taking legal action on the basis of eye witnesses with regards to the irregularities of the institutions at the presence of COPE. The Deputy Speaker agreed to this request and said that he would take appropriate action in consultation with the Speaker.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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