2023-07-01
News Categories : Committee News
The youth representatives present at the Sectoral Oversight Committee pointed out that the current general education system has failed to teach young convicts who have been convicted and are being punished, and training should be given to them to make progress in their spiritual and behavioral patterns.
It is more effective to provide vocational education for them and thus open them to a job, as well as introducing things like an income generation method in the remaining 2 years after the training period of about one year. Accordingly, in providing such vocational education, it would enable them to leave with some economic ability when they depart after the 3-year residency period, as well as reduce the temptation to re-offend.
These views were expressed by the Watareka Training School for Youthful Offenders and Department of Community Based Corrections under the Ministry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms as they presented themselves before Sectoral Oversight Committee on Reconciliation and National Unity.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Integration met in Parliament recently under the Chairmanship of Hon. Dilan Perera, Member of Parliament.
Young offenders who have been sentenced by the Magistrates' Courts under the Criminal Code for having committed an offense between the ages of 16 - 22 are admitted to this institution. The punishment period is not a prison sentence but a compulsory 03-year waiting period and these children can apply for a government job in the external environment after the waiting period, the Senior Assistant Secretary of the Watareka Training School for Youthful Offenders Mrs. A.V. Vajira Damayanthi said.
According to institutional data, it was pointed out that the tendency of young convicts being imprisoned during the period of 2013-2022 is decreasing and it was revealed that the family relations of many children who enter this exercise college are broken and after the waiting period, problems arise regarding the custody of some children.
Schooling is provided by the Ministry of Education in Wataraka Training School for Youthful Offenders and schooling is made compulsory there. Its children appeared for the General Examination, but the passing rate is at a very low level. In the year 2014, although the number of children who appeared for the ordinary level examination was 16, the number of children who passed was one. Only one child has passed in 2021.
Officials emphasized that it is a problem to effectively provide vocational education to those children has become challenging given that school education has been made compulsory by law. Recognizing that these policies should be changed, the Committee agreed to discuss these issues with the relevant institutions and policy makers.
The Committee raised the question of how many of the young offenders are likely to be re-offenders, and the officials pointed out that 9 out of 11 children are likely to be re-offenders.
The attention of the Committee was focused on providing necessary facilities to deliver language proficiency for these children and preparing some method to refer these children for foreign jobs in affiliation with the Foreign Employment Bureau.
The Committee also pointed out that community-based correctional departments can be used to avoid overcapacity in prisons, so attention should be paid to it.
The fact that about 50% of the people who should be sent to community-based corrections, but who have been imprisoned by the magistrate, are the people who can be sent to corrections was also taken into discussion. The Committee pointed out that this is a very concerning situation and informed that the magistrates be informed to take steps in this regard.
When considering government institutions, the youth representatives pointed out that the existence of several institutions for the same purpose and the lack of interrelationship between those institutions is a problem.
During the presentation of the projects, they also proposed that income generation processes can be created by introducing projects such as green projects, plastic recycling, and drinking water bottling.
Moreover, those who earn some income with the help of the government should have the ability to pay a part of that money back to the government and invest that money for the benefit of other such people to conduct such projects. By doing so, it was pointed out that they will have the opportunity to get rid of the dependence upon government institutions for public money and provide the money needed for those institutions. They also emphasized that it is important to link the research done through the universities with the policy makers.
Members of Parliament Hon. G. G. Ponnambalam, Hon. (Ms.) Rajika Wickramasinghe and officials were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-08-18
The Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of one Ministry Secretary and three chairpersons to government statutory boards and institutions.Accordingly, the Committee approved the appointment of Dr. Anil Jasinghe as Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media; Mr. S.A.M. Peiris as Chairman of the Colombo Lotus Tower Management Company (Pvt) Ltd.; Mr. H.M.P. Ratnayake as Chairman of Kurunegala Plantations Limited; and Dr. (Mrs.) W.M.V. Wanasinghe as Chairperson of the National Insurance Trust Fund.The meeting was chaired by the Hon. Prime Minister (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya and was attended by the Hon. Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar, the Hon. Members of Parliament Kumara Jayakody, and Dayasiri Jayasekara, Attorney at Law.
2026-08-18
The “Voice to Policy” dialogue programme organized for youth in the Gampaha District by the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative was held recently (Aug. 16) at Jetwing Blue Hotel in Negombo. The programme provided an opportunity for young people from the Gampaha District to present their policy proposals directly to Members of Parliament. The programme was conducted as the first in a series of workshops organized by the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative, covering all districts of the country with the aim of further promoting the concept of an Open Parliament. The main objective of the programme was to provide young people with an opportunity to directly present their views, concerns and policy proposals to Members of Parliament. Young men and women representing the Gampaha District participated in the workshop. The event was attended by the Co-Chairs of the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative, Hon. Minister Prof. Krishantha Abeysena and Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, as well as Members of Parliament Chamindranee Kiriella, Attorney at Law, S. M. Marikkar, Retired Lieutenant Commander N. R. Prageeth Maduranga, Retired Major General G. D. Suriyabandara and Champika Hettiarachchi.During the programme, young participants presented their views and proposals on a wide range of issues, including education and higher education, political participation, vocational training, employment opportunities, technology, entrepreneurship, and access to opportunities and information available to young people.Particular attention was given to reducing the time required to complete higher education courses and degree programmes, creating greater opportunities for young people who wish to enter politics, and expanding youth entrepreneurship.A key feature of the programme was that the young participants themselves identified their priority concerns, discussed them, grouped them into common areas, and selected fields requiring policy attention before engaging in direct dialogue with Members of Parliament on those issues.The Parliamentary Caucus indicated that it would give consideration to forwarding the proposals presented by the youth during the programme for further consideration by Parliament. Discussions were also held on providing youth representatives with opportunities to engage in the future with the relevant Sectoral Oversight Committees of Parliament on these matters.In addition, Youth Rapporteurs were appointed to document the recommendations and proposals raised during the programme and submit them to the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative.The workshop was sponsored by CII (Coalition for Inclusive Impact).
2026-08-14
The Caucus on Climate Parliament of Sri Lanka emphasized the need to move beyond reactive crisis management and establish Anticipatory Crisis Governance mechanisms to strengthen Sri Lanka’s climate resilience in the face of climate change, including El Niño conditions.At the meeting, held recently in Parliament under the joint chairmanship of Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa and Hon. Member of Parliament Prof. L.M. Abeywickrema, discussions covered a wide range of issues, including climate change, El Niño conditions, agriculture, water management, wildlife conservation, human-elephant conflict, disaster management and environmental management.Delivering the main expert presentation at the meeting, Prof. Charitha Pattiarachchi, Winthrop Professor of coastal oceanography at the University of Western Australia, highlighted the need for early preparedness in the face of climate risks, science-based policymaking and stronger disaster management mechanisms. The disaster management model of the Indian state of Odisha was also discussed. It was noted that, during a cyclone in 2019, the state was able to evacuate approximately one million people to safe locations within 24 hours.The interim report presented by Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Human-Elephant Conflict, pointed out that climate conditions could intensify human-elephant conflict and highlighted the need for short- and long-term measures, including community-based electric fences, seasonal paddy-field fencing, wildlife habitat management and water management.The interim report presented by Prof. Sampath Seneviratne, Chairman of the Independent Expert Advisory Group on El Niño Resilience, analyzed the impacts of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity, water security and the rural economy. The report also proposed a Strategic Climate Resilience Framework based on scientific evidence.With regard to wildlife conservation, attention was drawn to addressing the shortage of veterinary officers, strengthening wildlife management, and reducing environmental damage caused by human activities, plastics and waste in and around national parks. Proposals were also put forward to minimize environmental impacts in sensitive sacred areas, introduce a differential pricing system for the tourism sector, and develop infrastructure in national parks.The meeting also emphasized the need to strengthen science-based policies, institutional coordination and early-preparedness mechanisms in order to enhance Sri Lanka’s resilience to climate change.Members of Parliament, government officials, representatives of international organizations and development partners, researchers, youth representatives and representatives of civil society organizations participated in the meeting.
2026-08-13
The Committee on Public Finance stressed the need to make the security sticker system used on liquor bottles more efficient and cost-effective.The Committee on Public Finance, Chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, met recently in Parliament. The Committee discussed the security sticker system used on liquor bottles, the Regulations issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969, and matters relating to the dissolution of the Shrama Vasana Fund under the Finance Act, No. 38 of 1971. Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayaweera, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne and Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna and Attorney at Law Lakmali Hemachandra, participated in the meeting. Hon. Wijesiri Basnayake and Hon. Attorney at Law Chithral Fernando, participated online. The Committee paid extensive attention to the cost of the security sticker system, its technical standards and the economic benefits to the Government. It was revealed that the system was introduced in accordance with the 2016 Budget proposals to reduce the use of untaxed liquor, safeguard excise revenue and prevent the circulation of counterfeit liquor. The contract for the system was awarded in 2017 to the Indian company Madras Security Printers (MSP).The Committee also discussed the practical difficulties of using physical stickers in high-speed liquor production processes. Accordingly, permission was granted in 2021 to use digital (inkjet) code printing. The Committee noted that the same fee of US$ 5.99 charged for 1,000 printed paper stickers is also being charged for digital code printing.While the initial infrastructure costs for sticker printing machines at bottling plants need to be considered, a digital sticker would generally cost less than a paper sticker. Therefore, the Committee stressed the need to review the existing cost structure and the benefits received by the Government.The Committee also discussed the need to adequately adopt international ISO standards for the security sticker system, introduce a Track and Trace system to monitor the movement of liquor products from production to the consumer, and provide a facility for consumers to verify the authenticity of products through a mobile application.The Committee further stressed that the new tender process should consider not only the price but also quality, data security and technical standards. It was also emphasized that officers with the necessary technical expertise should be involved in the tender evaluation process to prevent counterfeit stickers and imitation.The Excise Department was instructed to study global best practices followed by other countries and prepare a report for submission to the Committee.Meanwhile, the Committee also considered the new Regulations issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969. The Regulations, published in Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2496/38 dated 10 July 2026, prohibit the importation into Sri Lanka of goods manufactured wholly or partly using forced labour. The objective is to strengthen the legal framework for responsible trade and compliance with international labour standards.The relevant Gazette Notification has been submitted to Parliament for approval in terms of Section 20 of the Act. It was also noted that the Gazette Notification prohibiting the importation of goods manufactured using forced labour enabled Sri Lanka to be included in the lowest and more favourable 10% category, instead of the initially applicable 12.5% category, under the United States’ forced-labour-related tariff measures implemented under Section 301, which were concluded on 23 July 2026.The Committee also considered matters relating to the dissolution of the Shrama Vasana Fund established under the Finance Act, No. 38 of 1971. It was stated that the Fund, established under the Act of 1998 and amended by the Act of 2019, had been identified for dissolution due to its lack of relevance to the present context, poor performance and underutilisation of its assets.Officials explained to the Committee that following the closure of the Fund, its essential services would continue to be provided through the Ministry of Labour. This is expected to reduce the cost of maintaining a separate institutional structure and enable public resources to be utilized more effectively.
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