2023-04-03
News Categories : Committee News
Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister stated that it is the responsibility of the heads of institutions and the Secretaries to the Ministries to provide the annual reports of each institution under the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils & Local Government to the Parliament without delay, and therefore, arrange to provide the reports to the Parliament as soon as possible.
This was taken into discussion at the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils & Local Government held on the 24th March 2023 under the Chairmanship of Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Prime Minister.
The Ministerial Consultative Committee took to account the annual reports of several institutions for approval, where attention was paid to certain annual reports pertaining to the years 2018 and 2019. The Prime Minister explained to the Committee matters regarding the concerning situation caused by the delay in submission of annual reports to Parliament. Furthermore, the Members pointed out that although it is necessary to provide the previous annual reports, it is more important to provide the reports of the relevant years as soon as possible. Thus, the Prime Minister instructed the officials to submit the relevant annual reports to the Parliament without delay.
It was also discussed about giving appointments related to the Occupation for a hundred thousand program and the Committee Members were of the view that the selected candidates should be given appointments within the districts they are in, and recommendations for that should not be made by other parties. Thus, the Prime Minister gave instructions to the officials to implement the decision to make the appointments considering the respective areas.
Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Sajith Premadasa commented on the need to increase the offices of the Divisional Secretariats for several districts, the factors to be considered in determining a rural service domain, the need to practice English language literacy and information technology in the public service to which the Prime Minister instructed the relevant departments to look into the said and take relevant action.
Moreover, there was a discussion about making several urban councils existing in several districts into municipal councils.
State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, State Minister of Home Affairs, Hon. Ashoka Priyantha, Sate Ministers Hon. Indika Anuruddha Herath, Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Hon. Shantha Bandara, Hon. D. B. Herath, Members of Parliament Hon. J. C. Alawathuwala, Hon. Yadamini Gunawardena, Hon. M. Rameshwaran, Hon. Mayadunna Chinthaka Amal, Hon. U. K. Sumith Udukumbura, Hon. Thisakutti Arachchi, Hon. Kumarasiri Rathnayaka, Hon. (Ms.) Kokila Gunawardena, Hon. Jagath Samarawickrama, Hon. (Ms.) Muditha Prishanthi, Hon. Sivagnanam Sritharan, Hon. Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, Hon. Sampath Athukorala, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-07-22
The draft Terms of Reference (ToR) prepared for the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative was approved recently at a meeting held in Parliament with the participation of Parliament's development partner organizations.The approval was granted during a meeting of the Caucus chaired by its Co-Chair, Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakkiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam.The draft Terms of Reference was developed based on proposals and recommendations received during a workshop organized by the Caucus in recent months to gather stakeholder input for its preparation.The meeting also agreed that, following the approval of the Terms of Reference, the document would be submitted to Hon. President, and that a discussion would be held with the President on behalf of the Caucus.
2026-07-22
The Sub-Committee appointed by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on the methodology, implementation timeline and coordination arrangements relating to the research study proposed for the restructuring of the Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE), when it met recently, at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Ruwan Mapalagama.During the meeting, discussions were held on the establishment of the proposed Institutional Operations Committee and a six-member Coordination Team to facilitate the implementation of the research. Attention was also focused on the proposed Mixed-Methods Design, the preparation of questionnaires and the data collection process.The Sub-Committee further reviewed the progress of obtaining public views on the restructuring of SLIATE. Matters relating to obtaining the contribution of the Human Resources and Management Information Systems (MIS) divisions for the research, the preparation of the research implementation timeline through a Gantt Chart, and the stakeholder consultations to be held with representatives of the industry sector were also considered.The programme to obtain the views of stakeholders, including Chambers of Commerce, industry associations and professional bodies, as well as the conduct of field visits to selected SLIATE institutions across the country, was also discussed.The Sub-Committee decided to proceed with the future activities of the research in accordance with the agreed timeline and to present the relevant progress reports at its next meeting.Hon. Member of Parliament Lieutenant Commander (Retired) Prageeth Madhuranga also attended the meeting.
2026-07-22
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) focused its attention on referring the matters revealed in relation to land misuse, financial irregularities and administrative deficiencies at the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for a formal investigation.The matter was taken up when the Committee met recently at Parliament under the Chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera to continue its examination of the Auditor General's Reports for the years 2022 and 2023 and to consider the remaining matters relating to the current performance of the National Housing Development Authority.During the meeting, lengthy discussions were held regarding the leasing of valuable NHDA-owned lands located at Maligawatta, Elvitigala Mawatha and Rangirigama, Dambulla to external parties at low nominal values without Cabinet approval, the use of such lands for purposes contrary to the conditions stipulated in the relevant agreements, and the failure to adequately safeguard the Authority's assets.The Committee observed that many of these transactions had been carried out in contravention of the objectives of the National Housing Development Authority and the relevant legal provisions. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that comprehensive reports on the identified irregularities be referred to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption for the institution of appropriate legal action.The Committee also instructed the officials to expedite internal audit investigations into these matters, identify the officers responsible and initiate disciplinary action against them. Furthermore, the Committee recommended that the necessary measures be taken to strengthen asset management and internal control systems in order to prevent the recurrence of such irregularities in the future.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Dayasiri Jayasekara, S.M. Marikkar, Attorney-at-Law Sujeewa Senasinghe, Mujibur Rahman, Chaminda Wijesiri, Dr. S. Sri Bavanandarajah, Sunil Rajapaksha, Thilina Samarakoon, Chandima Hettiarachchi, Asitha Niroshana Egodavithana, Ruwan Mapalagama, Jagath Manuwarna, Dinesh Hemantha, M.K.M. Aslam and Sudath Balagalla.
2026-07-21
Discussions focus on strengthening disability-inclusive legislation and policy implementationThe Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities held discussions with the United Nations Resident Coordinator and representatives of several United Nations agencies at Parliament with a view to strengthening cooperation in promoting the rights of persons with disabilities and advancing disability-inclusive legislation and policies in Sri Lanka.The meeting was held in Parliament under the Chairmanship of the Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva recently.Addressing the meeting, the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr. Marc-André Franche, commended the Parliament for establishing the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities and emphasized the importance of treating disability inclusion as a national priority across all sectors. He reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to provide technical expertise and institutional support in areas including legislative reforms, accessibility, inclusive education, employment, community-based rehabilitation and strengthening national coordination.The UNICEF Representative, Ms. Begoña Arellano, highlighted the need to safeguard the rights of children with disabilities, particularly in relation to health, nutrition and education, while emphasizing the important oversight role of Parliament in ensuring the effective implementation of disability-inclusive policies.Representatives of UNFPA, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers also briefed the Caucus on ongoing initiatives relating to youth, education, disability data collection, employment opportunities and social inclusion.During the meeting, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, informed the Caucus that the proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill and the Sign Language Bill are currently with the Attorney General's Department and are expected to be presented to Parliament on September 2026. He further stated that measures are underway to improve accessibility in public institutions, expand employment opportunities, introduce educational grants for university students with disabilities and establish ten day-care centres for children with disabilities within this year.The Caucus also discussed future initiatives, including the preparation of disability-inclusive budget proposals by Government Ministries, the finalisation of a national disability database and the conduct of a sensitisation programme for journalists to promote a rights-based approach to disability related reporting.The meeting concluded with the Chair, Hon. Sugath Wasantha de Silva, reiterating the Caucus's core theme, "An unhindered social life," and calling for continued, unified collaboration to make an inclusive society a reality.The meeting was attended by the Deputy Co-Chairs of the Caucus, Hon. Gayantha Karunathilleka, and Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Members of Parliament and representatives of the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP, ILO and UN Volunteers.
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