2021-11-17
News Categories : Committee News
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.
2026-06-12
The Committee on High Posts has approved the nomination of Mr.P.R.S.S. Gunaratna as the new Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the French Republic and as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).The approval was granted at a meeting of the Committee on High Posts held recently (10th June) and chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe. Hon. Ministers Dr. Anil Jayantha, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Dr. Upali Pannilage, Saroja Savithri Paulraj and Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni and Hon. Members of Parliament Rishad Bathiudeen, Kumara Jayakody, Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan and M. Nizam Kariapper, PC were also present at the meeting.
2026-06-11
The Committee on Public Finance convened in Parliament recently (Jun. 08) to deliberate on the report submitted by the Ministry of Finance regarding the missing of US$ 2.5 million held by the Treasury for the settlement of government debt. The Committee, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers: Chathuranga Abeysinghe, (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Nishantha Jayaweera, and Hon. Members of Parliament: Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake and (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law.The discussion was attended by Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and a number of other officials, including officials of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT). An extensive discussion was held on the report submitted, during which officials of the Central Bank informed that, upon examining the report, they would submit another report on the matter to the Committee on Public Finance. Accordingly, the Chair of the Committee on Public Finance stated that, after considering both reports, a final report would be prepared and submitted to Parliament.
2026-06-09
The motion to refer the report containing the findings of the investigations conducted by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic to the Attorney General for observations and any necessary further action was approved by Parliament today (Jun. 09).The report contains the findings of the investigations carried out by COPA regarding the Department of Motor Traffic on 10 and 21 March 2025 during the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. It had previously been presented to Parliament on 25 July 2025 as Parliamentary Series No. 243.In terms of the provisions of Standing Order 119(4) of Parliament, the relevant report had been referred to the Minister of Finance and the subject Minister for their observations and following the tabling of their responses in Parliament, the COPA reconsidered the matters contained in the report on 04 March 2026.During its deliberations, the Committee emphasized the necessity of taking prompt legal action in relation to the financial irregularities and frauds that had been revealed in the Department of Motor Traffic. Accordingly, it was unanimously decided to seek the approval of Parliament to refer the Committee’s report to the Attorney General for necessary legal action.Accordingly, Parliament today approved the motion, “The report bearing Parliamentary Series No. 243, which was tabled in Parliament on 25 July 2025 and contains the findings of the investigations conducted by the COPA on 10 and 21 March 2025 in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic, be referred to the Attorney General for observations and necessary action.”No committee report previously tabled in Parliament has been referred to the Attorney General for observations and further legal action, and marks the first occasion on which a committee report has been referred in this manner.
2026-06-08
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met in Parliament recently (5th June) to review the progress of investigations and discuss the next steps relating to the case concerning the abuse of a girl in the Anuradhapura area.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Officials representing the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services and the Sri Lanka Police were invited to attend the meeting.During the meeting, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus instructed the relevant authorities to ensure that all ongoing investigations related to the incident are conducted strictly in accordance with court orders. The Caucus also requested that forensic reports and other medical reports relevant to the case be obtained without delay.As court proceedings concerning the victimized girl are currently being conducted not only in Anuradhapura but also in Attanagalla and Dambulla, the Caucus instructed the National Child Protection Authority to intervene in monitoring those proceedings as well. A request was also made to take measures to minimize the repeated trauma experienced by the victimized girl as a result of her involvement in all three legal proceedings.Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Department expressed its agreement with a request made by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to appear before the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court in order to facilitate judicial and legal processes and strengthen coordination among government institutions.The Caucus also informed the Department of Probation and Child Care Services to continue paying close attention to matters relating to the girl’s education, health, and safety.The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus further highlighted the importance of maintaining effective coordination among law enforcement agencies dealing with child abuse cases and agreed to take the necessary interventions in this regard in the future.Moreover, it was decided that guidelines should be developed for media reporting and judicial proceedings relating to child abuse cases in a manner that safeguards the child’s privacy, security, and dignity. A subcommittee functioning under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus will intervene in this process.The subcommittee will also undertake future measures required to address and overcome the legal and practical challenges that arise in child abuse litigation.Members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Hasara Liyanage, (Attorney-at-Law) Lakmali Hemachandra and (Attorney-at-Law) Sagarika Athauda attended the meeting. The Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Thushari Jayasinghe and (Attorney-at-Law) Anushka Thilakarathne joined the meeting online.
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