2021-12-03
News Categories : Committee News
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Services, Provincial Councils & Local Government took to discussion the fact that although the local government bodies cannot spend money for the coming year without the passing of the budget, the Ambalangoda Urban Council has spent money without approving the budget for the year 2021. The discussion took place at Parliament yesterday (02). It was disclosed that there is a possibility of dissolving the local government body after informing the Governor by the Local Government Commissioner as it is illegal. This situation is now happening in several other local government bodies as well, the Members present said.
Hon. Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon stated that special attention will be paid to this as it sets a wrong precedent. Responsible officials including Local Government Commissioners and Governors are expected to be summoned before this Committee in the future to discuss issues related to Local Government Institutions, the Minister added.
The following matters were taken into discussion at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Services, Provincial Councils & Local Government held under the chairmanship of Hon. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and Hon. State Minister of Provincial Councils & Local Government Roshan Ranasinghe yesterday (02).
Hon. Members of Parliament pointed out the need to extend the deadline for the completion of local government projects. Furthermore, it was discussed that the project should be extended to January next year as the projects could not be completed due to the lack of cement and due to the COVID situation.
The committee members also drew attention to the improper maintenance of properties such as stadiums under local government bodies. The Minister instructed the relevant officials to conduct a progress review at least once a month with the intervention of the line ministries to ascertain whether the Local Government Institutions are carrying out such activities properly.
The Line Ministry also pointed out the need to implement a special program to regulate this as the Local Government Commissioners do not take action to administer the finances of the Local Government Institutions as the Provincial Councils are inactive.
It was discussed at the Committee that the revenue of the Local Government Institutions has decreased rapidly due to the prevailing COVID situation. The committee members pointed out that the revenue generated due to the reduction in the number of employees for assessment was much less than the actual revenue due to the assessment tax.
Many issues such as the shortage of public health inspectors, pharmacists and family health workers in the Municipal Councils were also discussed at this meeting. The Secretary to the Ministry said that steps will be taken to direct the newly recruited graduates to the Local Government Institutions and as these problems have been identified, steps will be taken to resolve them expeditiously.
Committee Members Shan Vijayalal De Silva, Sudath Manjula and many Members of Parliament were also present at the meeting. Officials including the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration Mr. J J Rathnasiri were also present at the Committee meeting held.
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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