2025-06-23
News Categories : Committee News
The House Committee of Parliament, chaired by the Hon. Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, which met recently (June 20) in Parliament, decided to revise the food charges applicable to parliamentary staff based on requests made by the staff.
According to the decision taken by the House Committee on 2025.05.23, food charges for parliamentary staff were to be implemented from 2025.06.01 as Rs. 4,000 monthly for an employee in the executive grade and Rs. 2,500 monthly for an employee in the non-executive grade.
However, the requests made by the parliamentary staff to revise these charges were discussed extensively at the committee meeting held, and accordingly, it was decided to revise the charges to Rs. 3,000 per month for an employee in the executive grade and Rs. 2,000 per month for an employee in the non-executive grade. These revised charges will come into effect from 2025.07.01.
Furthermore, in line with the decision made by the committee on 2025.05.23, it was further decided that the existing food charges levied from the drivers, police officers, officers of the President’s/Prime Minister’s security divisions, and media personnel who purchase meals from the Parliamentary Public Cafeteria shall remain unchanged.
In addition, discussions were also held regarding the allocation of a section of the Vacation Bungalow for the Parliamentarians in Nuwara Eliya for use by the parliamentary staff. Up to now, only Hon. Members of Parliament were entitled to reserve this bungalow. However, as per the instructions of the Hon. Speaker, arrangements will be made in the future to allocate one section of this building for use by the parliamentary staff as well.
Moreover, the committee also discussed the renovations that need to be undertaken at the official residence complex in Madiwela allocated for Hon. Members of Parliament, as well as the necessity of providing a temporary resting place during the daytime for the drivers of Hon. Members of Parliament who arrive during parliamentary sitting days.
This House Committee is a joint committee comprising Members of Parliament from both the Government and the Opposition.
2026-06-11
The Committee on Public Finance convened in Parliament recently (Jun. 08) to deliberate on the report submitted by the Ministry of Finance regarding the missing of US$ 2.5 million held by the Treasury for the settlement of government debt. The Committee, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers: Chathuranga Abeysinghe, (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Nishantha Jayaweera, and Hon. Members of Parliament: Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake and (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law.The discussion was attended by Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and a number of other officials, including officials of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT). An extensive discussion was held on the report submitted, during which officials of the Central Bank informed that, upon examining the report, they would submit another report on the matter to the Committee on Public Finance. Accordingly, the Chair of the Committee on Public Finance stated that, after considering both reports, a final report would be prepared and submitted to Parliament.
2026-06-09
The motion to refer the report containing the findings of the investigations conducted by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic to the Attorney General for observations and any necessary further action was approved by Parliament today (Jun. 09).The report contains the findings of the investigations carried out by COPA regarding the Department of Motor Traffic on 10 and 21 March 2025 during the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. It had previously been presented to Parliament on 25 July 2025 as Parliamentary Series No. 243.In terms of the provisions of Standing Order 119(4) of Parliament, the relevant report had been referred to the Minister of Finance and the subject Minister for their observations and following the tabling of their responses in Parliament, the COPA reconsidered the matters contained in the report on 04 March 2026.During its deliberations, the Committee emphasized the necessity of taking prompt legal action in relation to the financial irregularities and frauds that had been revealed in the Department of Motor Traffic. Accordingly, it was unanimously decided to seek the approval of Parliament to refer the Committee’s report to the Attorney General for necessary legal action.Accordingly, Parliament today approved the motion, “The report bearing Parliamentary Series No. 243, which was tabled in Parliament on 25 July 2025 and contains the findings of the investigations conducted by the COPA on 10 and 21 March 2025 in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic, be referred to the Attorney General for observations and necessary action.”No committee report previously tabled in Parliament has been referred to the Attorney General for observations and further legal action, and marks the first occasion on which a committee report has been referred in this manner.
2026-06-08
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met in Parliament recently (5th June) to review the progress of investigations and discuss the next steps relating to the case concerning the abuse of a girl in the Anuradhapura area.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Officials representing the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services and the Sri Lanka Police were invited to attend the meeting.During the meeting, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus instructed the relevant authorities to ensure that all ongoing investigations related to the incident are conducted strictly in accordance with court orders. The Caucus also requested that forensic reports and other medical reports relevant to the case be obtained without delay.As court proceedings concerning the victimized girl are currently being conducted not only in Anuradhapura but also in Attanagalla and Dambulla, the Caucus instructed the National Child Protection Authority to intervene in monitoring those proceedings as well. A request was also made to take measures to minimize the repeated trauma experienced by the victimized girl as a result of her involvement in all three legal proceedings.Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Department expressed its agreement with a request made by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to appear before the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court in order to facilitate judicial and legal processes and strengthen coordination among government institutions.The Caucus also informed the Department of Probation and Child Care Services to continue paying close attention to matters relating to the girl’s education, health, and safety.The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus further highlighted the importance of maintaining effective coordination among law enforcement agencies dealing with child abuse cases and agreed to take the necessary interventions in this regard in the future.Moreover, it was decided that guidelines should be developed for media reporting and judicial proceedings relating to child abuse cases in a manner that safeguards the child’s privacy, security, and dignity. A subcommittee functioning under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus will intervene in this process.The subcommittee will also undertake future measures required to address and overcome the legal and practical challenges that arise in child abuse litigation.Members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Hasara Liyanage, (Attorney-at-Law) Lakmali Hemachandra and (Attorney-at-Law) Sagarika Athauda attended the meeting. The Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Thushari Jayasinghe and (Attorney-at-Law) Anushka Thilakarathne joined the meeting online.
2026-06-05
Discussions Held on Establishing Rebuilding Sri Lanka as a Statutory FundOfficials led by Auditor General (Ms) Samudika Jayaratne briefed the Committee on Public Finance on the progress of the National Audit Office’s Annual Programme for 2026.The briefing took place at a meeting of the Committee held in Parliament on 2nd June, chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva. The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayaweera, along with Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Champika Hettiarachchi and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra. The auditing of ‘Samurdhi Banks’ was also discussed during the meeting, and officials informed the Committee that the audits for 2023 and 2024 must be completed in order to conduct the audit for 2025. They noted that the procurement process required to outsource these audits to external parties has not yet been finalized.While initial estimates indicated that approximately 300 officers would be required to carry out the audits, the Auditor General stated that the recruitment of 200 officers over a period of one and a half years would be sufficient. Officials further highlighted the absence of a dedicated audit framework for Samurdhi Banks. In response, the Committee Chair recommended that a comprehensive study be conducted and that a proposed audit framework for Samurdhi Banks and affiliated societies be submitted to the Committee for consideration.The Committee also reviewed matters relating to cyber security. Officials from the National Audit Office stated that the department currently lacks in-house information technology specialists to support audit activities. As a result, system audits are carried out by external auditors.In addition, the Committee discussed the account maintained for the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ programme. Officials from the National Audit Office informed members that no statutory fund currently exists under the name “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” and the programme operates through an account maintained under the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. Officials further confirmed that no payments have been made through this account to date.
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