2026-02-13
Officials from the Ministry of Digital Economy stated that there are plans to provide every person in the country with High-Speed Broadband connectivity by the year 2029.
These remarks were made during a meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Science, Technology and Digital Transformation, held in Parliament on 06.02.2026 under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament (Dr). Janaka Senarathne, to discuss the action plan related to the allocation of 2026 budget provisions for the Ministry of Digital Economy and the Ministry of Science and Technology.
At this meeting, (Dr.) Hans Wijayasuriya, Senior Advisor to the President, made a detailed presentation before the Committee regarding the programme planned to provide High-Speed Broadband connectivity to every person in the country. He pointed out that steps are being taken this year to install 100 new telecommunication towers. He further stated that between 600 to 1000 telecommunication towers would be required to fully meet the national requirement, and that this would be carried out in stages.
He also emphasized that although approximately 98% internet coverage currently exists in the country, it does not meet the requirements for High-Speed Broadband coverage. Therefore, he stated that the existing capacity must be increased by around 25% in order to provide High-Speed Broadband facilities to every child.
Furthermore, he noted that a commercial model will be prepared in relation to telecommunication towers, and opportunities will be given to the private sector to submit bids for this purpose.
The Committee also focused attention on the need to improve digital literacy in areas outside Colombo, and it was proposed that programmes be organized through District Secretariat offices for this purpose.
In addition, discussions were held regarding the action plan for allocating 2026 budget provisions for the Ministry of Science and Technology, and several annual reports and performance reports of institutions were approved.
The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, and Members of Parliament Chandima Hettiarachchi, Lasith Bhashana Gamage, Chathura Galappaththi, Aboobucker Athambawa and Ruwan Wijeweera.
2026-11-10
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met recently (Nov. 06) at Parliament under the chairpersonship of Hon. Minister Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Discussions focused on promoting children’s rights, taking action against gender-based violence, and strengthening the technical and research capacities of women parliamentarians.Accordingly, during a discussion with representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Sri Lanka, attention was drawn to the “Special Children’s Parliamentary Participation Programme”, scheduled to be held at Parliament on 20th November to mark World Children’s Day. It was noted that a Children’s Statement, prepared based on the views and opinions of more than 1,200 children from across the country, is to be presented to Members of Parliament with the participation of 50 children. The need to re-establish a Children’s Caucus within Parliament to promote children’s rights and welfare was also discussed.Furthermore, attention was drawn to expediting cases relating to child abuse, removing existing legal barriers to this process, and strengthening coordination among the relevant institutions.Subsequently, during a discussion with representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Sri Lanka, matters relating to the global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign were discussed. The discussion focused on plans to organize an awareness march under the theme “This is my right” and conduct public awareness programmes on preventing violence against women as part of the campaign, which is scheduled to run from November 25 to December 10.The visiting representatives stated that, in addition to women parliamentarians, Members of Parliament, Ministers, officials of government institutions, representatives of civil society organizations and university students are expected to participate in the march. Discussions were also held on introducing a digital directory of services, featuring a QR code, containing information on institutions and services available to women experiencing violence, as well as organizing a dialogue with the participation of relevant stakeholders.Meanwhile, during a follow-up discussion on technical cooperation with representatives of the Max Planck Foundation, attention was focused on parliamentary research support and knowledge sharing. The possibility of providing technical and research assistance to Members of Parliament in areas such as legislative drafting, comparative legal studies, and assessing the impact of proposed legislation on gender equality and human rights was also discussed.The importance of pursuing further initiatives in collaboration with international organizations to strengthen child protection, women's rights and gender-responsive policy measures was also emphasized during the discussions.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees of Parliament, Hemali Weerasekara; the Hon. Deputy Co-Chairpersons of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Attorney-at-Law Chamindrani Kiriella and Samanmali Gunasinghe; along with several women Members of Parliament serving on the Caucus, also participated in these discussions.
2026-11-10
The Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Hon. Member of Parliament Dr Nishantha Samaraweera, has emphasized the importance of developing appropriate corporate and operational plans for State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), identifying measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess their progress, and ensuring their effective implementation to enhance institutional performance.He made these remarks at a progress review workshop on the Key Performance Indicators outlined in the corporate and operational plans of 41 institutions, which had initially presented their corporate plans before the Third Sub-Committee of the Committee on Public Enterprises. The workshop was held recently at the Parliament.The Chairman also pointed out the need for public institutions to identify and act in accordance with their statutory powers and responsibilities to ensure the proper discharge of their functions, financial discipline and operational efficiency.He further stressed that, rather than focusing solely on past audit issues, it was important to assess the progress made in implementing corporate plans and evaluate whether the intended outcomes had been achieved through their implementation.The workshop was attended by Members of Parliament serving on the Committee on Public Enterprises; Auditor General Ms Samudika Jayaratne and audit officers of the National Audit Office; P. Ranasinghe and C. S. Mayadunne, Advisers to the Committee on Public Enterprises and the Committee on Public Accounts, respectively; officials from the Department of Management Audit, the Department of Public Enterprises and the Department of National Budget; as well as chief executive officers and chief financial officers of State-Owned Enterprises and other officials.
2026-11-10
The 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, sought the views and proposals of various political parties on the matter.This took place when the Select Committee met recently at Parliament under the chairmanship of, Hon. Minister Vijitha Herath.At the meeting, K. Premachandran, representing the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF); Ramasamy Rajendran, representing the Eros Democratic Front; and Shanmuganathan Sanjeevan, representing the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), presented the views and proposals of their respective political parties.The objective of the discussion was to obtain the views of political parties on matters including the electoral system that should be adopted for conducting Provincial Council elections, as well as the representation of women and youth.The meeting was also attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers Munir Mulaffer, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala and Arun Hemachandra, together with members of the Select Committee, Hon. Members of Parliament Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Samanmali Gunasinghe and Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi.
2026-11-06
The Parliamentary Caucus for Youth discussed how to strengthen engagement between young people and Parliament and advance future initiatives aimed at increasing youth participation.The Caucus met recently at Parliament under the chairmanship of, Hon. Deputy Minister Eranga Gunasekara, where members exchanged views on the matter.Discussions also focused on several proposals, including a proposal on youth entrepreneurship and industrial development prepared by Hon. Member of Parliament Oshani Umanga; a proposal on empowering youth within local government authorities, prepared by Hon. Member of Parliament, Attorney-at-Law Hiruni Wijesinghe; and a proposal on a policy framework for youth in the plantation and cultivation sectors, prepared by Hon. Member of Parliament Ambika Samivel.Furthermore, extensive discussions were held on proposals prepared by the Caucus's Deputy Co-Chairs, Hon. Members of Parliament Lasith Bashana Gamage, Thanura Dissanayake and Attorney-at-Law Bhagya Sri Herath, concerning an external youth engagement programme and a series of pilot workshops.It was also decided to further study these proposals, which could be implemented for the benefit of young people, and finalize them following further consideration.Several members of the Caucus and other invitees were present at the meeting.
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