2021-11-17
It was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts that there are 272 vacancies in the Department of Immigration and Emigration as at October 1st, 2021.
This was disclosed at the Committee on Public Accounts held in Parliament yesterday (16) under the chairmanship of the Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana, Member of Parliament.
It was stated that there are 18 senior level posts, 113 tertiary level posts, 121 secondary level posts, 19 primary level posts and one vacancy under the ‘other’ category. The officials of the Immigration and Emigration Department were also of the view that such vacancies would hinder the performance of the department. The officials further stated that requests have already been made to fill these vacancies.
It was also discussed that the "Electronic Travel Approval" system, which has been activated in collaboration with Mobitel since 2012, has not been updated with the aim of providing a more comprehensive and attractive tourist service. Therefore, the committee questioned the modernization of the system and the need to update it to suit the modern world. Accordingly, the system is already under consideration to be updated and will be done in the future, officials said. The Chairman of the COPA Committee, Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana recommended that a report be submitted within two months.
It was also revealed that two vehicles owned by the department in 2012 and 2015 had been involved in an accident a few years ago and are yet to be repaired and used. The officials said that this situation has arisen due to a problem with the insurance company and that an agreement has been reached with the insurance company regarding the repairs.
Discussions also focused on the display of the official logo of a private telephone company on a web page owned by the Department, the registration of persons with dual citizenship, and foreigners residing in Sri Lanka illegally.
Hon. State Ministers Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Dayasiri Jayasekara, Prasanna Ranaweera and Hon. Members of Parliament B.Y.G. Ratnasekera, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Dr. Upul Galappaththi, Mohomad Muzammil and Prof. Ranjith Bandara were present at this committee meeting.
2026-09-18
Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva, MP (Parliament of Sri Lanka) was awarded the 2026 New Parliamentarian Award in recognition of his contribution to promoting inclusive parliamentary democracy. The award was officially presented to him yesterday (Sep. 17) at the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa.Elected in November 2024 as Sri Lanka's first-ever blind Member of Parliament, he has advanced the principles of disability-inclusive governance through his work as Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities. Through cross-institutional collaboration, he has also delivered practical reforms, best exemplified through Sri Lanka's first national participatory budget consultation with persons with disabilities.
2026-09-18
The Select Committee of Parliament to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah and report to Parliament and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, has decided to summon representatives of Pradeshiya Sabhas and Municipal Councils before the Committee to examine how local authorities coordinated their response during the disaster situation.Committee members particularly highlighted the need for further investigation into how local authorities, including Pradeshiya Sabhas and Municipal Councils, were involved in official communication and coordination processes during the disaster.At a recent meeting of the Committee held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, information was sought from members of the National Council for Disaster Management and the District Secretaries of Kandy and Matale regarding the disaster management process in the Kandy and Matale districts.Accordingly, the Committee focused its attention on the early warning systems, communication among government institutions, and emergency response procedures in response to the heavy rainfall, landslides, and flooding experienced in these areas from 23 to 27 November 2025.The Committee also discussed the need to establish formal written procedures to be followed during emergency disaster situations, conduct disaster preparedness drills regularly, and further improve the efficiency of early warning systems.Committee members, including Hon. Deputy Ministers Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara and Anton Jayakody, and Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Anuradha Jayaratne, Rohini Kumari Wijerathne, Kanthasamy Prabu, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dr. Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, also participated in the meeting.
2026-09-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs approved the Order relating to the calling for investment proposals for the exploration and development of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka and the formalization of the relevant process.The approval was granted at a meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee held recently (Sep. 11) at Parliament under the chairmanship of Anura Karunathilaka, Hon. Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation and Energy.The Order, made by the Minister of Energy under Section 48 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No. 21 of 2021, read together with Section 17 of the said Act, and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, was published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2497/37 dated 16 July 2026.Under this Order, any person seeking to explore or develop petroleum resources in one or more identified blocks is required to submit an investment proposal together with payment of the administrative fee specified in the relevant invitation for bids.Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Illyas, Members of Parliament, officials of the Ministry of Energy, and other officials participated in the meeting.
2026-09-17
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, emphasized that universities must take the necessary measures to ensure that victim students have confidence in the investigations being conducted into incidents of ragging at universities.This matter was discussed at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, convened under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, which was held at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.The meeting included an extensive discussion on measures to be taken regarding vacancies in the higher education sector, particularly at universities, as well as incidents of ragging.The Prime Minister pointed out that universities have a moral responsibility to prevent and control ragging and emphasized that students subjected to ragging must have confidence in the investigative procedures currently in place at universities.Accordingly, the Prime Minister stressed that investigations into ragging incidents must be efficient and effective and should be conducted in a manner that enables relief to be provided to victim students without delay.The Prime Minister also inquired from university vice-chancellors about the failure to date to make appointments that have already been approved by the Ministry to fill vacancies at universities. She instructed officials to take the necessary measures to fill the approved vacancies expeditiously.The meeting was attended by Hon. Dr. Upali Pannilage, Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Social Empowerment; Hon. Dr. Madhura Seneviratne, Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education; Hon. Member of Parliament Manjula Sugath Ratnayake; university vice-chancellors; the Chairman of the University Grants Commission; and a number of other representatives.
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