2021-11-13
News Categories : Committee News
It was disclosed at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Security held on November 10th under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Security (Dr.) Sarath Weerasekera that a special program will be implemented in the future to provide special training to drivers on road discipline with the aim of minimizing the increasing number of road accidents.
Minister (Dr.) Sarath Weerasekera stated that 1948 lives have been lost due to road accidents since January this year and about 27000 lives have been lost during the last 10 years. Thus, a special program will be implemented by the Sri Lanka Police and affiliated institutions to protect road discipline, the Minister said. The Minister said that a system of spot fines and a system of Driver’s Demerit Point will be introduced soon to address the shortcomings in the payment system.
The Minister said this when the need for a program to avoid this situation was identified by the Members of Parliament as the lack of discipline of drivers has been identified as a major reason for the increase in road accidents. Accordingly, as a first step, a two-week training program for inter-provincial bus drivers will be launched in the near future, he said. About 17,000 inter-provincial bus drivers are currently employed and the Minister of State emphasized the importance of maintaining their discipline in the face of frequent bus accidents.
The committee also drew the attention of the committee to the need to provide proper allowances and salaries to the officers of the Sri Lanka Police who perform their duties under very difficult conditions without any trade union action or protest. The Minister said that 15,700 police personnel had been infected and 44 had died during the previous COVID situation and thanked the Members of Parliament for raising the issue of increasing the salaries and allowances of police officers working amidst various difficulties.
The need for the police to act more responsibly in reporting crime through the media was also discussed at length. The Minister instructed the IGP to take action as it is problematic for the police to make statements to the media to obstruct court proceedings.
Hon. Members Akila Ellawala, Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, Jagath Pushpakumara, Shantha Bandara, Chandima Weerakkody, Ajith Rajapakse, Madhura Withanage, Gunathilaka Rajapaksha, Muditha Prishanthi, Manjula Dissanayake, Udayana C. Kirindigoda, Diana Gamage, Anupa Pasqual, (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, IGP C. D. Wickramaratne and a group of senior police officers were also present at the occasion.
2026-05-26
The Central Provincial Council was summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) to examine the Auditor General’s triennial report for the years 2021–2023, the Auditor General’s report for 2024, and the Council’s current performance.The committee meeting, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim, was held recently at Parliament.During the meeting, attention was drawn to the progress made in implementing recommendations issued at the COPA meeting held on 5th September, 2019. Discussions focused on the incident involving the destruction of files belonging to the Central Provincial Passenger Transport Authority.It was revealed that directives issued by the relevant court and the Presidential Secretary regarding the incident had not been implemented by the responsible authorities. In this regard, the Committee Chairman instructed officials of the Central Provincial Council to submit all reports and correspondence related to the incident to the committee.In addition, the committee discussed an incident involving the unlawful transfer of a rest house owned by the Road Development Authority to a third party in violation of lease conditions. Accordingly, the Chairman instructed officials to identify the officers responsible for making the relevant decisions and to submit a report to the committee on the legal action being taken in connection with the matter.The committee also held extensive discussions on irregularities identified by the National Audit Office in road development and passenger transport services in the Central Province, as well as issues affecting the health sector.Expressing his views during the meeting, the Chairman emphasized the importance of expediting ongoing investigations within institutions and focusing on follow-up action. He further stressed that if a state institution generates profits, such profits should accrue to the government, and if such revenue is used for institutional activities, established legal provisions and procedures must be strictly followed.The meeting was attended by committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Sunil Rathnasiri, Oshani Umanga, Susantha Kumara Navarathna, Ajantha Gammeddage, Chanaka Madugoda, T.K. Jayasundara and Lal Premanath along with a group of government officials.
2026-05-26
The Parliamentary Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to Parliament on the matter of selecting the Electoral System under which the Provincial Council Elections should be held and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, recently sought views from the Attorney General’s Department and members of the Election Commission.The discussion took place when the committee met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Vijitha Herath.During the meeting, the Attorney General’s Department briefed the committee on the existing legal obstacles to holding Provincial Council elections and the possible ways in which such obstacles could be removed to facilitate the conduct of the elections.The Election Commission informed the committee that it is prepared to conduct Provincial Council elections at any time under the legal provisions enacted by Parliament based on the committee’s recommendations.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Arun Hemachandra, Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law and Muneer Mulaffer as well as committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Mano Ganesan, Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Samanmali Gunasinghe and Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi. The committee member M. Nizam Kariapper, P.C also participated virtually.
2026-05-25
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has decided to examine the ongoing legal proceedings and matters relating to the protection of the girl involved in the sexual abuse incident reported from the Anuradhapura area.This decision was taken during the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus meeting chaired by Hon. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, held in Parliament today (May 25). Accordingly, a special discussion has been scheduled for 05.06.2026 with the participation of relevant institutions including the Sri Lanka Police, the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation and Child Care Services.In addition to the incident, which has generated significant public concern, the discussion is also expected to focus extensively on strengthening the laws and empowering the institutions required to prevent all forms of violence against women and children.Meanwhile, it was also decided to appoint a subcommittee under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to oversee the future legal proceedings relating to the Anuradhapura girl’s case and to identify the institutional and legal reforms required in the country to eliminate violence against women and children.The subcommittee will be led by the deputy co-chairs of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus Hon. Members of Parliament Samanmali Gunasinghe and Attorney-at-Law Chamindrani Kiriella. The other members of the subcommittee will be Hon. Hemali Weerasekara, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna, Attorney-at-Law Sagarika Athauda, Attorney-at-Law Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law Anushka Thilakarathna, Attorney-at-Law Hasara Liyanage, Attorney-at-Law Hiruni Wijesinghe and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.
2026-05-25
The progress of implementing the new education reforms was reviewed at a recent meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi. During the meeting held in Parliament on the 19th, extensive discussions were held on the implementation of the new education reforms.Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, briefed the committee on the manner in which the new education reforms are being implemented.The meeting was attended by Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, committee members, provincial education secretaries, school principals, and several other officials.
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