2026-01-26
News Categories : Committee News
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection approved the two Bills, Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) and the Judicature (Amendment) Bills.
These matters were discussed at the meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Protection, held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Najith Indika, Chair of the Committee.
At the meeting held on 09.01.2026, extensive discussions took place regarding the two Bills. Officials pointed out that several further amendments that should be included in these Bills must be referred to the Attorney General’s Department for consultation and then submitted for Cabinet approval.
Accordingly, after reviewing the matters again at the Committee meeting held recently (Jan. 22), approval was granted for these Bills.
Through the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) and Judicature (Amendment) Bills, the existing laws relating to the control of dangerous drug trafficking and production activities in international waters are to be amended, and new laws and regulations are to be introduced.
Hon. Committee Members Tushari Jayasinghe, (Attorney-at-Law), Chandana Sooriyaarachchi, M.K.M. Aslam, and Major General (Rtd.) G.D. Sooriyabandara were present at this meeting.
2026-01-26
The Committee on Public Finance express its appreciation regarding the expediting of VAT refund payments within a period of 45 daysThe delay in issuing licenses for the appointment of Authorized Persons (AP) of the Colombo Port City was discussed at the Committee on Public Finance.These matters were discussed at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance, held on 20.01.2026 in Parliament, presided over by its Chair, Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva, and attended by the Hon. Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, and Hon. Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith Agalakada, M.K.M. Aslam, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake, Sunil Rajapaksha, Thilina Samarakoon, and Champika Hettiarachchi.According to the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act, when a company intends to engage in a business, the applicant must obtain a license to qualify and be permitted to operate as an Authorized Person within the designated area of the Colombo Port City.The Committee pointed out that 72 applications are currently pending for obtaining this registration.Officials representing the Colombo Port City Economic Commission noted that, due to the Letter of Intent signed for the Fourth Review of the IMF Programme, they were informed that this process would be suspended from 04.07.2025 onward. Therefore, these applications had not been considered.The Committee further pointed out that, as of July 2025, 54 applications had already been received, yet none had been reviewed.Responding to this, the officials further stated that amendments to the Act were expected, and there was uncertainty as to whether the procedure for carrying out this process would change. Therefore, no further action had been taken. They added that, since the Amended Act came into force on 20.01.2026, the related activities would be carried out expeditiously.At this point, the Chairman of the Committee emphasized that attracting new investments to the country is the shared objective of all, and therefore it is important that these matters be proceeded with promptly.Further, attention was drawn to the current progress of the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) System.Previously, when officials appeared before the Committee in October 2025, they stated that under the VAT system, refund payments were subjected to a 100% audit, leading to delays. However, through the SVAT System, steps have been taken to minimize these delays and ensure that refunds are processed expeditiously within 45 days.Officials present noted that, as of 15 January 2026, approximately 96% of refunds had been completed, and that most of the older payments had also been settled.Based on the information presented before the Committee, it was observed that the SVAT System has achieved clear progress, and the Committee expressed its appreciation to the officials of the Department of Inland Revenue for these improvements.
2026-01-23
The Caucus directs attention on preparing a proposal regarding programmes expected to be implemented this yearThe Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative has planned to hold a two-day residential workshop for its Member Parliamentarians on the 6th and 7th of March.This was discussed when the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative met on 20.01.2026 in Parliament under the joint chairmanship of its Co-Chairs, the Hon. Minister of Science and Technology Prof. Chrishantha Abeysena and the Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam.Expressing his views on this occasion, the Co-Chair of the Caucus, Hon. Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rajaputhiran Rasamanickam, stated that this workshop, supported by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has been organized with the primary objective of gathering the views of Member Parliamentarians of the Caucus as well as contributions from resource persons with expert knowledge, in order to plan the future programmes expected to be implemented by the Parliamentary Caucus for Open Parliament Initiative.The Caucus also decided to further strengthen the pilot programme being carried out under the leadership of Hon. Member of Parliament Chandima Hettiarachchi, which focuses on obtaining expert knowledge to successfully enforce the existing provisions for appointing members representing civil society to committees when establishing committees within local government institutions.A group of Hon. Members of Parliament and several officials of Parliament participated in this meeting.
2026-01-19
A special programme to obtain district-level suggestions from Persons with Disabilities regarding the improvement of service delivery for Persons with Disabilities is to be held under the leadership of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, at the District Secretariat Auditorium in Kalutara on January 30, the Chair of the Caucus, Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva said.This programme is scheduled to be held as the second phase of a series of programmes aimed at obtaining direct views from Persons with Disabilities across the island, in line with the aspiration of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities of the Tenth Parliament, titled “A Parliament Sensitive to Disability.”These matters were discussed at the meeting held on 09.01.2025 in Parliament, chaired by the Chair of the Caucus, Hon. MP Sugath Wasantha de Silva, to review the programmes expected to be carried out in 2026 by the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities.Expressing his views at the meeting, the Chairperson stated that the first phase of this programme series was successfully conducted focusing on the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts. Furthermore, it was decided to conduct the third and fourth phases of this programme series on February 27 in Batticaloa and March 27 in Polonnaruwa, respectively.Additionally, as a component of the operational plan of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities, another programme of the sensitization programme series planned to be held across Ministries is expected to be conducted at the Ministry of Health, the Chair further stated.Attending this occasion were the Co- Chairs of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities Hon. Gayantha Karunathilaka, Chief Opposition Whip and (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, and Hon. Members of the Caucus Ajith P. Perera, (Prof.) L.M. Abeywickrama, Chandima Hettiarachchi, Padmasiri Bandara, (Dr.) Elayathamby Srinath, and several others.
2026-01-19
The implementation of transfers of Principals in National and Provincial Schools and related matters, together with the existing human resource shortages in schools, were discussed recently at the meeting of the Sub-Committee.These matters were discussed when the said Sub-Committee under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, met under the chairmanship of Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne. A group of officials including Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Education Mr. Kamal Ariyasinghe also participated in this meeting.At this meeting, discussions were held on the proposals submitted by the Committee, including the preparation of a new digital data repository that reflects the placement structure of all five Education-related professional services according to qualifications and positions, and which would make it possible to forecast the vacancies that will arise over the next five years. Attention was also drawn to several proposals such as requiring all officers holding the post of Principal in the First Grade to hold only the post of Principal, and subjecting all officers in every service to transfers after six years of service.Accordingly, officials were informed to submit the Ministry’s proposals and observations regarding these recommendations to the Committee within two months. It was further stated by the Chairperson of the Sub-Committee that, thereafter, the final recommendations pertaining to this matter are scheduled to be prepared.Hon. Deputy Minister Mahinda Jayasinghe and Hon. Members of Parliament Mayilvaganam Jegatheeswaran and Sugath Wasantha de Silva, who are members of the Sub-Committee, were also present at this meeting.
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