2024-05-17
News Categories : Committee News
The second session of the program series organize by the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities to discuss the challenges, issues, opportunities faced by persons with disabilities and the measures and proposals that can be taken to properly address them was held recently (May 13) at the Kilinochchi District Secretariat.
The programme was presided over by the Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, Member of Parliament Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma, and the co-chair of the caucus, Member of Parliament Hon. Madhura Withanage, Acting District Secretary of Kilinochchi District, Mr. S. Muralidaran, Secretary to the Ministry of Social Services of Northern Province, Mr. M. Wagish, Divisional Secretaries of Kandavalai, Karachi , Pachchileipalli, Punakari areas, Consultant of National Democratic Institute (NDI) Mrs. Shyama Salgadu, President of United Front of People with Disabilities Ms. Rasanjali Pathirage were present.
Persons with disabilities living in Kilinochchi district, representatives of organizations representing the disabled community in Kilinochchi district, officials of several educational institutions that provide education for children with disabilities in Kilinochchi district, and a group of liaison officers of public representatives of the area also participated in this event.
The necessary information and proposals were gathered to establish a coordination mechanism for improving the inclusion of people with disabilities into the country's governance structure and society.
The disabled people and organizations who participated in the discussion presented their issues, views and suggestions .
Addressing the meeting, the chair of the caucus, Hon. Dullas Alahapperuma, requested that a steering committee for persons with disabilities be established in relation to each District Coordination and Regional Coordination Committee in the Northern Province and that a special space be reserved on the agenda to discuss the issues of the disabled community in each coordination committee. The chair also pointed out the value of implementing the same process in every district of the island.
The caucus chair pointed out that every district of Sri Lanka has at least one school that receives government support for children with special needs, but there is only one school for all the five districts of the Northern Province. Ranjith Chandrasekhara, a Sri Lankan philanthropist living in the UK, has expressed his desire to build the school if land is given in Kilinochchi district, so he requested the District Secretary and the Social Services Secretary to allocate land for it. Also, the chair emphasized that the attention of the Hon. President will be drawn to restart the Kilinochchi Vocational Training Center, which is currently inoperative.
According to the 2012 census in Sri Lanka, 8.2% of the total population, nearly 1.7 million people, have been identified as persons with disabilities, the chair said. The chairman also emphasized the issue of the lack of a correct data system that includes information regarding persons with disabilities throughout the island.
Meanwhile, the disabled community expressed issues regarding the existing weaknesses in public transport facilities. Accordingly, arrangements have been made to import buses to be added to the Sri Lankan transport system and the necessary measures will be taken to deploy a number of the buses to facilitate the transportation of the disabled, the caucus co-chair, Member of Parliament Hon. Madhura Withanage said.
2026-05-26
The Central Provincial Council was summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) to examine the Auditor General’s triennial report for the years 2021–2023, the Auditor General’s report for 2024, and the Council’s current performance.The committee meeting, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim, was held recently at Parliament.During the meeting, attention was drawn to the progress made in implementing recommendations issued at the COPA meeting held on 5th September, 2019. Discussions focused on the incident involving the destruction of files belonging to the Central Provincial Passenger Transport Authority.It was revealed that directives issued by the relevant court and the Presidential Secretary regarding the incident had not been implemented by the responsible authorities. In this regard, the Committee Chairman instructed officials of the Central Provincial Council to submit all reports and correspondence related to the incident to the committee.In addition, the committee discussed an incident involving the unlawful transfer of a rest house owned by the Road Development Authority to a third party in violation of lease conditions. Accordingly, the Chairman instructed officials to identify the officers responsible for making the relevant decisions and to submit a report to the committee on the legal action being taken in connection with the matter.The committee also held extensive discussions on irregularities identified by the National Audit Office in road development and passenger transport services in the Central Province, as well as issues affecting the health sector.Expressing his views during the meeting, the Chairman emphasized the importance of expediting ongoing investigations within institutions and focusing on follow-up action. He further stressed that if a state institution generates profits, such profits should accrue to the government, and if such revenue is used for institutional activities, established legal provisions and procedures must be strictly followed.The meeting was attended by committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Dr. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Sunil Rathnasiri, Oshani Umanga, Susantha Kumara Navarathna, Ajantha Gammeddage, Chanaka Madugoda, T.K. Jayasundara and Lal Premanath along with a group of government officials.
2026-05-26
The Parliamentary Select Committee of Parliament to look into and report to Parliament on the matter of selecting the Electoral System under which the Provincial Council Elections should be held and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, recently sought views from the Attorney General’s Department and members of the Election Commission.The discussion took place when the committee met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Vijitha Herath.During the meeting, the Attorney General’s Department briefed the committee on the existing legal obstacles to holding Provincial Council elections and the possible ways in which such obstacles could be removed to facilitate the conduct of the elections.The Election Commission informed the committee that it is prepared to conduct Provincial Council elections at any time under the legal provisions enacted by Parliament based on the committee’s recommendations.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Arun Hemachandra, Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law and Muneer Mulaffer as well as committee members Hon. Members of Parliament Mano Ganesan, Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Samanmali Gunasinghe and Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi. The committee member M. Nizam Kariapper, P.C also participated virtually.
2026-05-25
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has decided to examine the ongoing legal proceedings and matters relating to the protection of the girl involved in the sexual abuse incident reported from the Anuradhapura area.This decision was taken during the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus meeting chaired by Hon. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj, held in Parliament today (May 25). Accordingly, a special discussion has been scheduled for 05.06.2026 with the participation of relevant institutions including the Sri Lanka Police, the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation and Child Care Services.In addition to the incident, which has generated significant public concern, the discussion is also expected to focus extensively on strengthening the laws and empowering the institutions required to prevent all forms of violence against women and children.Meanwhile, it was also decided to appoint a subcommittee under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to oversee the future legal proceedings relating to the Anuradhapura girl’s case and to identify the institutional and legal reforms required in the country to eliminate violence against women and children.The subcommittee will be led by the deputy co-chairs of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus Hon. Members of Parliament Samanmali Gunasinghe and Attorney-at-Law Chamindrani Kiriella. The other members of the subcommittee will be Hon. Hemali Weerasekara, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna, Attorney-at-Law Sagarika Athauda, Attorney-at-Law Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney-at-Law Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law Anushka Thilakarathna, Attorney-at-Law Hasara Liyanage, Attorney-at-Law Hiruni Wijesinghe and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.
2026-05-25
The progress of implementing the new education reforms was reviewed at a recent meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Manpower and Human Capital, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Hesha Withanage Ankumbura Arachchi. During the meeting held in Parliament on the 19th, extensive discussions were held on the implementation of the new education reforms.Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, briefed the committee on the manner in which the new education reforms are being implemented.The meeting was attended by Hon. Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, committee members, provincial education secretaries, school principals, and several other officials.
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