2024-07-23
News Categories : Committee News
It is the responsibility of every government institution summoned before the Sectoral Oversight Committee on An Open & Accountable Government within a year to implement the recommendations given by the Committee, as well as to act according to the Public Administration Circular No. 27/2023 related to providing an open and responsible public service. This was pointed out by Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on An Open & Accountable Government.
The Chair of the Committee stated the said when the Sectoral Oversight Committee on An Open & Accountable Government met in Parliament on 11.07.2024.
The top officials of the institutions were summoned before the Committee to investigate the progress of implementation of the recommendations given to the institutions of State Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Ministry of Education, Western Provincial Council, Ministry of Transport and Highways, Ministry of Mass Media and the Election Commission. It was also necessary to inquire regarding the measures taken by the said public institutions according to the Public Administration Circular 27/2023 issued through the intervention of the Committee. Furthermore, the Election Commission's performance report for the year 2023 was also considered.
Attention was drawn to the earlier recommendation by the Committee that further coloring of fingers is not necessary as the identity will be clearly verified during the election. According to the said, the Election Commissioner General Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake stated that although the Cabinet has submitted the document to remove finger coloring, it has been decided not to implement it at this juncture as per the decision of the Cabinet. It was also discussed that eliminating the coloring of the finger would save a lot of money, time and effort. Accordingly, the Committee Chair informed the Election Commissioner General to submit all the proposals related to the amendment of the Election Act to the House.
He also stated that many positive steps have been taken in the upcoming elections for the disabled community and that a special tactile ballot paper will be introduced for the visually impaired community for the first time in this presidential election. He also mentioned that a new sign language vocabulary of 320 words related to the election has been introduced for the benefit of the hearing-impaired community and to provide maximum facilities for the disabled community's activities including access facilities has been planned.
Furthermore, the Committee also gave necessary instructions to appoint a separate group at the ministerial level to educate all officers regarding open and responsible public service and conduct officer awareness programs. Moreover, Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Chair of the Committee, expressed his appreciation to the organizations that are successfully carrying out these activities.
Additionally, the officials to the Ministry of Education were instructed to take steps to inform the education authorities including the principals regarding this.
The Director General of Pensions was also informed regarding the need to prepare a program to obtain the names of persons who die during the payment of pension from the Registrar General's office. The Committee pointed out that it would prevent the inconvenience of obtaining the life certificate and confirm the ability to carry out the work in a more transparent manner.
The Committee Chair also emphasized the need to prepare a reasonable program to give the benefit of fuel price reduction to the people. The officials stated that they expect to take further steps to update the equation used for the revision of bus fares to match the present.
The Committee Chair also pointed out the need to run a few special trains during a railway strike. The Chair further instructed that special trains should be deployed for tourists, especially as the tourism industry, which is a major source of income in this country, will collapse.
Members of Parliament Hon. Wajira Abeywardana, Hon. Mohomad Muzammil, Hon. Rohana Bandara, Hon. Jayantha Weerasinghe, PC, Hon. Marjan Faleel and Hon. W. H. M. Dharmasena were present at this Committee meeting held.
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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