2024-03-20
News Categories : Committee News
Member of Parliament Hon. Rohitha Abeygunawardana, stated that although it is possible to summon 363 institutions before the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), 102 institutions have not been summoned before the Committee so far. This was stated when the Committee on Public Enterprises met recently (Mar. 19) under his Chairmanship. Before the commencement of the Committee, the Chair made a full presentation on the objectives of COPE and the functioning of the Committee so far. It is reported to be the first time in the history COPE that a new Chai has made such a clarification.
The State Plantation Corporation of Sri Lanka was summoned before COPE today to examine the Auditor General's reports and current performance for the years 2017 and 2018. Accordingly, the Auditor General pointed out that in the entirety of 27 years, the Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation has made a profit in only 4 years. It was also disclosed that 7 of the 10 tea factories owned by the Plantation Corporation, which is continuously losing money, are inactive. However, the audit pointed out that the corporation had not taken any action to resume production or lease out the inactive tea factories.
Officials of Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation informed to the Committee that the primary reason for the corporation's continuous losses was lack of capital. The officials further commented that due to the lack of capital, the failure to use fertilizers and related herbicides at the right time was also a reason for the losses. However, the Committee pointed out to the officials concerned that the main reason for the losses of the Corporation was not the lack of capital itself. Accordingly, the Committee presented data on the very high employee cost of the Plantation Corporation and it was disclosed that the employee cost of the Sri Lanka Plantation Corporation is about 75%.
Furthermore, there was a discussion at length in the Committee regarding the acquisition of the land owned by the Plantation Corporation given on lease basis by third parties. Accordingly, the Chair instructed the officials to promptly implement the necessary legal procedures to recover the illegally acquired lands.
The Chair further instructed officials to immediately re-survey the land available to the Sri Lanka Plantation Corporation and submit a detailed report on which lands have been given by the Plantation Corporation on lease basis, who are the institutions and individuals who have given the land, the money contracted for them and the income obtained from the land given on lease basis.
Furthermore, it was disclosed that the Plantation Corporation has to pay 1.5 billion in various payments including Employee Provident Fund and Employee Trust Fund for the employees of the company. Accordingly, the Chair also instructed the officials to intervene immediately and prepare a program to complete the relevant payments within the next two months.
Furthermore, a comprehensive plan for the period 2024-2028 of the plantation corporation was presented to the council. However, the Committee questioned the officials regarding the lack of inclusion in the relevant business plan of the proposals prepared for the institution to gain profit. Accordingly, the Chair who expressed his regret that other parties have created the compact plan without knowing the needs of his company, gave instructions to prepare a compact plan within 02 months by including the future program of the company to be implemented immediately.
Furthermore, the Committee expressed its displeasure about the absence of a proper data system regarding the vehicles of the Plantation Corporation, and the Chair instructed the officials to send a detailed report to the Committee immediately.
State Ministers Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, Hon. Indika Anuruddha, Members of Parliament Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Shantha Bandara, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Hesha Withanage, Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara, Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Hon. Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, Auditor General Mr. W.P.C. Wickramaratne and other officials were present at the Committee meeting held.
2026-01-08
Approval of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour has been granted for the Regulation under Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act (Chapter 129), scheduled for debate in Parliament tomorrow (Jan. 9).This approval was granted at the meeting of the Committee held in Parliament on 2026.01.06, chaired by the Minister of Labour (Dr.) Anil Jayantha and with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe.This Regulation, made by the Minister of Labour on 2025.12.12, was presented to Parliament on 2025.12.18. The Regulation amends the current legal provision which states:“Any female employee who has attained the age of eighteen years may be employed in a residential hotel after 6.00 p.m and before 6.00 a.m, on the work of a female reception officer, ladies linen room attendant, ladies cloak room attendant or ladies lavatory attendant.”Accordingly, the Regulation introduces the required legal amendments to allow, in addition to the designated categories already permitted, female workers over the age of 18 employed in residential hotels as Food and Beverage Stewardess to be engaged in employment after 6.00 p.m. or before 6.00 a.m. on the following day.However, officials informed the Committee that under this Regulation, in any instance where the work shift of a female employer employed under this provision ends between 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., the employer shall be responsible for ensuring her health care, safety and welfare by providing suitable accommodation until 6.00 a.m. or providing transport facilities to her usual residence.Although the current female population in Sri Lanka is approximately 51%, female labour force participation is around 34%. It was discussed that easing existing legal restrictions is a timely need in order to create opportunities to increase female labour contributions, especially to support the rapidly developing tourism sector.A number of proposals on measures that can be taken to safeguard the rights of female workers and other employees, as well as matters relating to increasing the wages of plantation workers, were presented to the Committee by Hon. Members of Parliament. The Hon. Minister of Labour stated that discussions on these matters will be carried out in the future and necessary steps will be taken accordingly.A number of Members of Parliament, the Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, and officials representing the Ministry of Labour and institutions under it also participated in this Committee meeting.
2026-01-08
A meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence was held yesterday (Jan. 07) evening in the Parliament premises under the chairmanship of Hon. President and Minister of Defence Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.At this meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence, Members of Parliament raised several issues such as reviewing the progress of the implementation of decisions reached at previous committee meetings, the release of lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the opening of roads, and the functioning of schools.Accordingly, His Excellency the President issued the necessary instructions to officials to provide feasible solutions to those matters, and discussions were also held regarding existing obstacles and the steps to be taken in carrying out these activities.Matters such as the welfare of members of the defence forces and deploying more personnel for the United Nations peacekeeping forces were also discussed.Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera was also present at this meeting, along with several Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament. Likewise, a group including the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Heads of the Tri-Forces, several senior officials of the defence sector, the Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, and officials of the Ministry were also present at this meeting.
2026-01-08
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development has approved the Regulations under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) scheduled to be presented to Parliament for approval on 08.01.2025.Accordingly, this approval was granted at the recent (Jan. 06) meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport, Highways and Urban Development held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake.As such, the Regulations published in the Extraordinary Gazette bearing No. 2452/40 under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) state that in an instance where a police officer has reasonable suspicion that a person driving, operating or physically controlling a motor vehicle on any road has used drugs, such police officer shall produce that person to a Government Medical Officer or an officer of a hospital who has been empowered for the purpose, for further examination.Furthermore, the Regulations published in the Extraordinary Gazette bearing No. 2455/29 under the Motor Traffic Act (Chapter 203) state that every person travelling on an expressway must wear a seat belt. Accordingly, the Committee granted approval for the said Regulations.In addition, officials of the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development briefed the Committee on the damage caused due to the sudden disaster situation that arose within the country and the progress of restoration efforts. Officials of the Road Development Authority stated that approximately 287 road sections belonging to the Authority, covering a distance of around 1481 kilometers, have been damaged. They further informed the Committee that the estimated cost for reconstruction would be around Rs. 86 billion.Officials of the Railway Department stated that the Department has incurred a loss of approximately Rs. 300 billion. Furthermore, officials stated that the Sri Lanka Transport Board has suffered a loss of around Rs. 63 million due to the emergency disaster situation.The Chair of the Committee also stated that a web page has been created to inform the public regarding the damage caused to the road system in various parts of the country. Accordingly, he pointed out that the public may access the page https://road-lk.org/ to obtain information on the relevant damage.Hon. Deputy Chairman of the Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Hon. State Minister of Transport and Highways (Dr.) Prasanna Gunasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister of Urban Development Eranga Gunasekara, other Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and several government officials were present at this occasion.
2026-01-07
CoPF approves the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (Amendment) Bill and Regulations Issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969 post considerationIn consideration of the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (Amendment) Bill, it was stated that the amendment thus limits income tax exemptions for employees of new entrant authorized persons. However, officials present stated that a 3-year transitional period for existing entities has been given.This was discussed at length at the Committee on Public Finance, chaired by Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva, held in Parliament on 06.01.2026, when Members of the Committee sought clarity on the rationale for amending tax incentives, particularly the decision to limit income tax exemptions for employees of authorized persons to a transitional period for existing entities, while discontinuing such exemptions for new entrants.The Committee also examined proposed changes to application fees and charges, to reduce upfront costs on the part of investors by deferring certain payments until licensing, while seeking assurance that the revised structure would remain competitive and transparent.The Committee also queried the alignment of foreign exchange provisions with the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017, seeking clarification on the treatment of rupee earnings, currency conversion, and safeguards to ensure consistency with national monetary and financial regulations.The offshore banking framework attracted significant attention, with the Committee Members requesting updates on the status of banking licence applications, differences between Port City offshore banking operations and domestic banking activities, and the adequacy of regulatory oversight. The Central Bank’s enhanced supervisory role, including capital, liquidity, governance, and compliance requirements, was discussed in the context of international best practices.Concerns were also raised regarding enforcement and penalties for non-compliance, with Members of Parliament emphasizing the need for deterrent-level sanctions, effective monitoring, and strong reputational safeguards to maintain the integrity of the Port City.Officials noted that the amendments are intended to operationalize the Port City framework, enable approvals of new business activities, and balance investor attractiveness with fiscal discipline, transparency, and international commitments.The Committee also took into consideration the Regulations issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969 (as amended). Accordingly, Regulations issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969(as amended), were presented to the Committee seeking approval to enable tax exemptions, streamlined procedures, and the swift clearance and distribution of relief goods donated by foreign donors to those affected by Cyclone Ditwah, received in the name of the Disaster Management Center or any government institution.The Committee questioned the Ministry of Finance on the non-establishment of the Disaster Management Fund, despite the existence of the necessary legal provisions and approvals. The Committee also raised concerns regarding the delay in establishing the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund” as statutory fund, noting the potential issues that could arise if further delays persist. Accordingly, the Committee urged officials of the Ministry of Finance to take proactive measures in this regard.Following in-depth deliberations, the Committee approved the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (Amendment) Bill and the Regulations issued under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969. (as amended)The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Nishantha Jayaweera, Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Rauff Hakeem, Attorney-at-Law, Nimal Palihena, Wijesiri Basnayake, Thilina Samarakoon, Champika Hettiarachchi, Sunil Rajapaksha, Ajith Agalakada, and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law.
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