2023-11-29
News Categories : Committee News
Prime Minister Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena said that a sub-committee consisting of Members of Parliament will be established to amend the local government laws that have been in force for almost a century to suit the current social conditions. He said this recently (Nov. 27) while presiding the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government.
Kegalle District Member of Parliament Hon. Sudath Manjula proposed at the committee to appoint an official with local government expertise to the post of secretary, as the transfer of trained and experienced officers of those institutions has been identified as a serious problem in order to perform the services of local government institutions more effectively. Thus, it was emphasized the need to transfer the officers who have been given training opportunities in each subject of the respective local government bodies only between the local government bodies. This sub-committee is to be appointed to make recommendations regarding these transfers as well as some changes that should be made in the local government laws in view of the current rapid urbanization.
The Prime Minister has paid special attention to perform the daily activities of the local government bodies, which currently operate without public representatives, in a more people friendly manner. It was also discussed that the people are in a trouble due to the slowness of the local authorities in dealing with issues like natural disasters and dengue menace. Accordingly, the Prime Minister mentioned that special attention will be paid to the implementation of a formal program to reduce the situation in the future.
With regard to the transfers of divisional secretaries, it was decided to implement the maximum period of service in the divisions as 6 years and the maximum period of service in the district as 10 years. The Prime Minister also instructed the Ministry Secretary to promptly implement the proposal made by MP G. Karunakaram to transfer the Divisional Secretaries who have been working in the same place for a long time in the Batticaloa district.
The Prime Minister also instructed that administrative service officers who have been working for a long time in the provincial councils should be included in the transfer process on the same basis as other government officials without giving any special privilege.
The Prime Minister stated that the funds allocated to the provincial councils for the year 2024 should be spent with the approval of the District Coordination Committees and Regional Coordination Committees operating in each district.
MP K. Dhileeban mentioned that as a result of the visit of the Prime Minister to Vavuniya, the issuing of birth and death certificates is currently being speeded up, and special thanks should be given to the Prime Minister for speeding up the process.
State Ministers Hon. Janaka Wakkambura, Hon. Ashoka Priyantha and several Members of Parliament and government officials were also present at this meeting.
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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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