PARLIAMENT

Hon. Ajith Rajapakse, Deputy Speaker recently stated in Parliament that it is very important to strengthen the role of Parliament for policy making by using evaluations.

He mentioned the above while addressing the session held at the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the 2023 National Evaluation Week. Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Hon. Kabir Hashim, Member of Parliament and President, Global Parliamentarians Forum for Evaluation, Secretary of the Forum Member of Parliament Hon. Mayantha Dissanayake, Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Mr. Chaminda Kularatne, president of the International Development Evaluation Association Ada Ocampo, Azusa Kubota, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Sri Lanka and Dr. Asela Kalugampitiya, President of the Sri Lanka Evaluation Association, were present at this occasion.

Addressing the gathering, the Deputy Speaker mentioned that the Colombo Declaration on Evaluation signed in the Parliament of Sri Lanka in the context of Eval Colombo 2018 has become the main guideline for the institutionalization of evaluation in the Sri Lankan Parliament. He also mentioned that the institutionalization of evaluation based on the principles of that statement has already started.

The National Evaluation Policy was approved by the government in 2018, and the Deputy Speaker expressed his appreciation for the exemplary role played by a group of Parliamentarians in approving the National Evaluation Policy.

Speaking at the session, Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Mr. Chaminda Kularatne stated that Sri Lanka is the first and only country in South Asia to have approved the National Evaluation Policy. The Deputy General Secretary also stated that the implementation of the National Evaluation Policy in Sri Lanka is commendable especially through the perfect vision, leadership and guidance of the President.

Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Harini Amarasuriya, Chair of the Sub Committee on Identifying the Priorities in Formulation of Short-, Medium- & Long-Term National Policies of the National Council Hon. Namal Rajapaksa participated in the panel discussion held pertaining to the importance of institutionalizing evaluation in Parliament; Implementation of the recommendations of the Parliamentary Select Committee report.

The session was moderated by Hon. Thilakarajah and Ms. Rishmya Nutan, Public Outreach Officer of the Parliament.