2023-01-19
News Categories : Committee News
On Jan 18th, under the chairmanship of Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara, The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) called the Foreign Employment Bureau to review the progress of the implementation of the orders given at the committee meeting on 08.12.2022. Under that, 13 matters were discussed.
1. COPE re-submitted its opinion on its recommendation that the Foreign Employment Bureau Act should be amended in a suitable manner to act as a regulatory agency.
The Secretary to the Ministry commented on the reasons for appointing two foreign employment representatives to the Board of Directors. COPE was of the opinion that there would be a conflict of interest due to it.
COPE was of the opinion that if an expert understanding regarding certain matters of the Bureau is required, the sub-committee for that purpose should appoint task forces and provide the necessary instructions. Therefore, it was recommended that the Act be amended to suit the operation of the Foreign Employment Bureau as a regulatory agency.
2. The recommendations of COPE to maintain a separate account for the Welfare Fund of the Foreign Employment Bureau were discussed again. The Auditor General specifically mentioned that a separate financial statement and set of accounts should be maintained for the agency's welfare account. Furthermore, it was mentioned that the fund should be used only for emigrant welfare to which the Foreign Employment Bureau agreed.
3. Actions to be taken to effectively avail the Kuwait Fund were discussed. The secretary agreed to send a detailed report about it to the committee.
4. Matters were also discussed regarding the Bureau's efforts to obtain formal approval from the relevant institutions regarding payments and allowances. It is proposed to implement the opinion of the Auditor General's for that.
5. It was decided to implement the opinion of the Auditor General's on the appointment of a special committee on the decisions made regarding the investment of money in the Foreign Employment Bureau.
6. It was decided to call for a special report from the Auditor General regarding the insurance.
7. The recommendations made regarding the appointment of an investigation panel to investigate certain corruptions and irregularities that are believed to have occurred in the agency by contacting the Ministry of Public Administration was taken up for a re-discussion.
8. The Secretary promised that he would promptly submit his recommendations to COPE on the procedures to be followed on the appointment of officers to foreign missions.
9. It was also recommended to submit the composite plan to COPE on 09/02/2022 taking into consideration the recommendations given by COPE to amend the necessary Acts and prepare the rules for preparing the role of the Foreign Employment Bureau as a regulatory agency away from conducting business affairs.
10. It was recommended that the training programs currently conducted by the bureau, gradually handed over to the relevant government agencies. The Secretary to the Ministry was requested to report the facts on how the Foreign Employment Bureau is dealing with the institutions established for business activities outside of commercial and business activities.
11. It was recommended to check the quality of the training institutes currently owned by the Bureau and submit a report.
12. In cases where Treasury representatives are members of the board of directors of government institutions, in cases where they cannot agree with the decisions taken by those institutions in accordance with the rules and regulations of the government, they should inform the Auditor General and COPE through the Secretary to the Treasury in writing.
The progress of all these recommendations was discussed at length in the committee and the committee explained the further steps to be taken regarding these recommendations.
State Ministers Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara, Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, Hon. Lohan Ratwatte, Members of Parliament Hon. Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Eran Wickramaratne, Hon. Nimal Lanza, Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, Hon. Ms. Rajika Wickramasinghe, Hon. Madhura Withanage were 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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