News
Opposition derives perverse pleasure from seeing people suffer – Minister Weerasekera
By Saman Indrajith
Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera told Parliament on Monday that the government was duty bound to look after the people and that it would not hesitate to bring in any laws necessary for that purpose.
Participating in the debate on the Presidential proclamation to declare an emergency, the Minister said that food security was an integral part of national security, and therefore the government would bring all necessary laws or enact any existing laws to achieve that objective.
“There is a food mafia. We are fighting it. It is an uncivilised act to create a food shortage at a time like this. The government has a responsibility to enforce laws to protect the interests of the people. We will defeat this mafia without considering their party affiliations. Unfortunately, the Opposition is not helping us overcome this obstacle. It looks as if the Opposition had joined forces with the virus to fight against the government.”
Minister Weerasekera said: “We faced two world wars, two rebellions and fought a war against terrorism for 30 years. We never had food shortages. The prevailing shortages are artificially created. We are determined to fight those who are hoarding food and essential supplies. The Opposition members are eagerly waiting to see the crisis worsen day by day. They are deriving some perverse pleasure from the suffering of the public. They are wishing for food scarcities to gain political mileage. They want the people to take to the streets. They want to see the number of COVID-19 deaths increase to thousands. Their objective is to see anarchy in the country. I do not think that there is another Opposition anywhere in the world like the one this country is burdened with.”
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) in the Special Grade of Sri Lanka Engineering Service serving at present as the Additional Secretary (Water Resources Development) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to the post of Director General which will be vacant from 06.10.2026.
Approval has been granted at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 08.06.2026 to prepare a draft bill for restructuring Sri Lanka Cricket.
Accordingly, the Legal Draftsman has formulated Sri Lanka draft bill providing legal provisions for the administration of Sri
Lanka Cricket, control, regulation, promotion, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for the development and administration, through the concepts of better governance, integrity, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and providing equal opportunities for the betterment of the cricket sport, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for securing the wellbeing of all participants and securing cricket from corruption and other mal practices.
Clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the said draft bill. Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been received for the resolution furnished by the Minister of
Youth Affairs and Sports to publish the said draft bill in the government gazette notification and thereby forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
The Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation performs vitally important functions such as minimizing the risk of inundation in urban and lowland areas, maintaining drainage systems efficiently, carrying out urgent operations during inundation events, and maintaining canals.
The need to strengthen the capacity of the corporation’s internal
operations has been identified by the corporation to perform the aforementioned functions efficiently and expeditiously.
The corporation has planned to purchase small -scale machinery that can be used to clean small canals, which significantly contribute to urban inundation.
The General Treasury has agreed to grant 625 million rupees as an equity contribution for purchasing the relevant machinery.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to purchase the relevant machinery by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, following formal procurement procedures at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,233
million, utilizing the aforementioned amount granted by the General Treasury and the funds of the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation.
Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) appointed Director General of Irrigation
Sri Lanka Cricket Draft Bill to be gazetted
Cabinet approves purchase of machinery for the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation
Cabinet approval for Project to Build Secure, Skilled, and Empowered Community for families resettled at the at Kalinga Mawatha, housing scheme
Appointment of Cabinet Sub-Committee for the Organization of 79th Independence Day Commemoration
Establishment of New Management Framework for the Dr. Nevil Fernando Hospital
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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