2021-11-19
News Categories : Committee News
It was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts meeting held recently (17) that 4,619 medical supplies worth Rs. 10,193 million had been purchased during the period from 2011 to 2016 without the recommendation of the Formulary Revision Committee.
The Committee met under the chairmanship of Prof. Tissa Vitarana recently (17).
This Committee Meeting was held to review the Auditor General's Special Audit Report dated 14th March 2018 on the Medical Supply Process carried out by the Medical Supplies Division of the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine.
It was revealed that although the number of medical supplies items consumed by many countries in the world was very low, 19,844 medical supplies items had been consumed in the island by the year 2017. The committee also revealed that 8,945 “Trastuzumab injection 440mg with solvent in 20ml vials” called “Herticad” had been purchased from one supplier in the local market on 14 occasions in 2018 and 2019 at a cost of Rs. 891 million. The committee had to bear an additional cost of Rs. 230.9 million due to the rejection of the minimum bid in these transactions.
The Committee on Public Accounts also inquired from the Ministry of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals regarding the additional expenditure of Rs. 5,166 million during the period of 10 years from 2007 to 2016. This situation has arisen due to the delay in the procurement process and the need to procure medical supplies from the local market to avoid the shortage of medical supplies.
The National Audit Office pointed out at the Committee on Public Accounts that it has been confirmed that medical supplies enter the country annually without confirmation of the quality of medical supplies and that the damage caused to patients cannot be quantified.
The Committee also questioned the officials regarding the fact that no action had been taken to improve the physical and human resources status of the Drug Quality Assurance Laboratory in 2016.
The Committee focused on a number of issues such as failure to introduce a methodology to test the quality of a sample of all purchased medical supplies, deficiencies in the recovery process for substandard medical supplies, issuance of substandard medical supplies to patients, non-printing of the emblem of Sri Lanka on medical supply containers, non-maintenance of medical supply stores, non-issuance of GRNs immediately upon receipt of medical supplies, failure to properly store and distribute medical supplies received as donations, expiration of medical supplies, non-updating of Medical Supply Management Information System (MSMIS).
State Ministers Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Prasanna Ranaweera, Members of Parliament Tissa Attanayake, Ashok Abeysinghe, Niroshan Perera, Dr. Upul Galappaththi, Cader Masthan and Weerasumana Weerasinghe were present. In addition, officials from several institutions including the Ministry of Health 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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