News

Bid to use private member’s motion to put off LG polls alleged

Published

4 years ago

2022/11/30

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has questioned the rationale behind President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s warning that the military will be deployed to curb protest vis-a-vis a Foreign Ministry undertaking to boost foreign trade and investment.

Addressing the Parliament, during the Budget committee stage debate, on 28 Nov., Prof. Peiris said the Foreign Ministry couldn’t expect to succeed in economic diplomacy while the government was resorting to repressive measures.

Prof. Peiris asked who would want to invest in a country where the people were warned of dire consequences if they held protests, and elections were arbitrarily postponed.

Referring to the long overdue Provincial Council polls, Prof. Peiris discussed how postponement of scheduled Local Government polls could further jeopardise Sri Lanka’s standing among the international community.

Prof. Peiris alleged that the government was planning to use private members’ motion submitted by Attorney-at-Law Premanath C. Dolawatta (SLPP, Colombo District) to put off scheduled Local Government polls further. The ex-Minister claimed that the motion meant to enhance youth representation in governance would be utilised to delay the polls indefinitely. He recalled how the Yahapalana government had postponed the Provincial Council elections indefinitely.

The rebel SLPP Chairman pointed out that the government had chosen MP Dolawatta’s motion, handed over recently, though SJB’s Imthiaz Bakeer Markar submitted a private member’s motion on the same lines much earlier.

MP Dolawatta handed over a copy of his motion to President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Oct 31. Prof. Peiris said that they wouldn’t find fault with the lawmaker for making proposals which the academic said were timely.

Prof. Peiris warned Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC, that Sri Lanka wouldn’t be an appealing destination for investments unless the government adopted tangible measures to curb corruption. Shocking disclosures at parliamentary watchdog committees underscored that corruption was at unprecedented level and needed immediate attention.

Speaking on behalf of the breakaway SLPP faction, Nidahasa Jathika Sabhawa aka Freedom People’s Congress Prof. Peiris said that the recent declaration by the World Bank that it would audit the procurement and distribution of fertiliser here meant that the world had no faith in our system.

Commenting on assurances given by the government that a new Anti-Corruption Bill would be introduced soon, Prof. Peiris said that existing laws were quite sufficient. The issue at hand is absence of political will to battle corruption, the former Minister said, meant flight of professionals and intolerable increase in taxes on business wouldn’t encourage Foreign Ministry’s drive.

At the onset of his speech, lawmaker Peiris asked whether the government was genuine about the recent declaration that the national issue could be resolved by the enactment of a new Constitution by the next Independence Day. Who would take such a promise seriously against the backdrop of all previous attempts undertaken by far more stable governments failing to achieve the desired results? the former law professor asked. The former minister also questioned the feasibility of forming an apparatus on the lines of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa. Prof. Peiris asked whether those now at the helm really had the wherewithal to meet the South African standards.

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Implementation of water supply projects in small town and rural areas.

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Access to safe drinking water for populations residing in small towns and rural areas of Sri Lanka has not yet been fully ensured, and this continues to pose a major challenge to the country’s social and economic development.

With a view to overcome this situation, a programme has been planned to provide clean drinking water to approximately 600,000 families living in semi-urban and rural areas through the implementation of 300 projects covering 50 small towns and rural areas.

The projects are aimed at establishing safe, reliable and sustainable drinking water supply systems, with water to be treated through modern purification technologies, including chlorination and filtration systems, in conformity with national and international drinking water standards.

Accordingly, having considered the resolution furnished by the Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the implementation of the proposed programme by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board and the National Community Water Supply Department during the period 2027–2029, subject to the conduct of a feasibility study on the proposed programme and inclusion in the Public Investment Programme based on its outcome.

News

Cabinet nod to submit Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 04 of 2026 to Parliament for its concurrence

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are chemical compounds widely used in refrigerators and air conditioning units, are being globally phased out under the Montreal Protocol due to their high potential for ozone layer depletion and global warming.

Sri Lanka has likewise committed to phasing out these chemical substances by the year 2030 in a stepwise manner. Accordingly,
regulations under the Import and Export (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969, namely the Import and Export (Control) Regulations No. 04 of 2026, published in Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2487/29 dated 2026-05-07, have been issued, prohibiting, with effect from 2026-06-06, the importation of equipment and appliances that operate solely on hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and prohibiting, with effect from 2028-01-01, the importation of compressors used as components in refrigeration systems of equipment and appliances that operate solely on hydrochlorofluorocarbons.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as
the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to submit the aforementioned Regulations to Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Declaration of Elephant Migratory Corridors to minimize HEC in Monaragala and Hambantota districts

Published

6 hours ago

2026/06/3

Priyan

Wild elephants inhabit approximately two-thirds of the land area of Sri Lanka, and it has been identified that the rapid obstruction of elephant habitats and migratory corridors due to various development projects and human activities has directly contributed to the escalation of human–elephant conflict.

It has been recognised that, in order to mitigate such conflict to a certain extent, the protection of wild elephant habitats and migratory corridors must be undertaken as a matter of urgency.

The Department of Wildlife Conservation is currently engaged in identifying wild elephant migratory corridors in collaboration with relevant Divisional Secretaries, stakeholder agencies, and organisations.

Under the Wild Elephant Migratory Corridor Identification Programme in Monaragala District, the Wild Elephant Migratory Corridor from Handapanagala to Demodara
across Menik Ganga (River Menik) up to Yala National Park has been identified, and approval has been granted by the Monaragala District Coordinating Committee for that.

The Elephant Migratory Corridor from Yala National Park’s Zone VI -Lunugamvehera National Park to Udawalawe National Park has already been declared as the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve in 2002.

Within this area, five (05) licensed land plots have been identified, and these lands have not yet been developed.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Environment to take the following measures:

To declare, under the provisions of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance, the elephant migratory corridor from Handapanagala in Monaragala District to Demodara across Menik Ganga up to Yala National Park as a sanctuary.

To provide alternative land outside the wildlife reserve area in lieu of the five (05) licensed land plots located within the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve area, and to re-declare the Wetahira Kanda Nature Reserve as an elephant migratory corridor.

To acquire, upon payment of compensation, land parcels containing buildings constructed in a manner that obstruct the Koholankala elephant corridor in the Hambantota District, and to declare the relevant area of the Hambantota Wild Elephant Management Reserve as a sanctuary.