2024-07-22
News Categories : Committee News
The Committee on Banking and Financial Services directed its attention for the purpose of returning the money of the depositors by financing the assets belonging to Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia (Various Services) Cooperative Society.
This was discussed when the Committee on Banking and Financial Services met in Parliament recently (July 12) under the Chairmanship of Hon. Gamini Lokuge, Member of Parliament.
The Committee discussed this on a number of occasions, and in all those discussions, the main 4 issues; the impact of the economic crisis in the country, fraud and corruption in cooperative societies, imprudent decisions taken by officials and failure to conduct an audit of accounts in due time were focused.
Officials who attended the Committee meeting pointed out that loans were given to some customers in an illegal manner. In consequence to this, they pointed out that they are currently working to arrest two officers involved.
The officials who were present pointed out that more than 400 instant loans have been given to the one person in particular to the Dehiwala Mount (Various Services) Co-operative Society.
The Committee pointed out that the investigation in this regard should be expedited. Therefore, the Committee instructed the officials to consult with the Criminal Investigation Department and update the information regarding the investigations.
It was also recommended to submit a report to the Committee on the monthly expenses for the maintenance of the Dehiwala Mount (Various Services) Co-operative Society, including the payment of salaries.
Furthermore, the Committee on Banking and Financial Services was praised by all the parties present for the active intervention of the Committee to resolve the crisis situations in the cooperative sector that had no solution.
Hon. Udaya Gammanpila, and Hon. Karunadasa Kodithuwakku, Members of Parliament, were present at this Committee meeting held. Moreover, officials representing several institutions including Western Provincial Council, Department of Cooperative Development, Colombo and Dehiwala Mount (Various Services) Co-operative Society were also present.
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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