News
Brace for fourth wave unless…
By Rathindra Kuruwita
If the Health Ministry did not expand PCR testing and gene sequencing, it was likely to lead to the emergence of a new wave of infections within four weeks, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS,) Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.
Kumudesh said that lab technologists had been asking the Ministry to expand testing capacity for two months and had presented a number of proposals on how to do it overnight. Kumudesh said that there was no immediate need for more PCR machines, and the ones already available could be used to conduct more tests if the Health Ministry so desired. “With the existing machines and the personnel handling them, we can easily increase PCR testing by 300% overnight”, he said.
“We have repeatedly told the government that we can address any issue in conducting PCR tests and releasing reports by deploying a few mobile PCR labs. This will help sort out many issues in regional towns especially those concerning PCR tests conducted on corpses. The government in fact had allocated money for this, but the Health Ministry is delaying the purchase of the required equipment,” Kumudesh said.
Kumudesh charged that it could only be seen as a deliberate attempt to sabotage the introduction of mobile PCR labs.
The collection of samples, even at hospitals had dropped significantly. There was no attempt to test potential hotspots and preempt any outbreaks, Kumudesh said, adding that the data issued by the Ministry did not reflect the ground realities.
“We saw similar developments in late March and early April. We will again end up making wrong decisions. It is highly likely that we will see a new outbreak in about four weeks. The only thing we have to tell people is that they should not let their guard down.”
The CMLS President said that none of the government labs had a gene sequencing machine and that only the University of Sri Jayewardenepura conducted those tests. The university only sequenced a very limited number of samples and the government had gagged academics, thus preventing the general public from knowing what the university had discovered. Kumudesh said that a gene sequencing test would cost only about Rs. 10,000.
“Again, this is not a financial problem. The University never studied samples collected countrywide. We have told the government from last year that, if the government labs are given facilities, we can do comprehensive gene sequencing within a month. We have also given a proposal on how we can increase daily PCR testing to 75,000. The government has allocated some funds, but again the Ministry is not doing the needful,” he said.
Sri Lankans had controlled three COVID-19 waves by making great sacrifices. However, those in charge dropped the ball at the tail end of each wave, Kumudesh said, flaying senior Health Ministry officials for making illogical claims that made people lose faith in the system.
“Earlier this week, a journalist asked a senior Health Ministry official whether policemen, who scuffled with protesters near Parliament, should also be placed under quarantine. The official said that policemen had been given both COVID-19 vaccines. This is ridiculous; you can get the virus even if you get both jabs. Even those who have taken both jabs have to adhere to health guidelines. If they are immune to the virus, the Health Ministry should mention this in their guidelines.”
COPF final report on USD 2.5 mn cyber fraud recommends action against all responsible
The US$2.5 million loss incurred during Sri Lanka’s foreign debt repayment to Australia was a clear case of a cybercrime and theft, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament yesterday.
Presenting the COPF final report on the cyber fraud, Dr. de Silva said the incident amounted to a serious financial crime and called for a comprehensive investigation, by law enforcement authorities, to identify and prosecute all those responsible.
The report revealed serious governance, procedural and operational failures that enabled the fraudulent transfer of public funds, while recommending sweeping reforms to strengthen cybersecurity, financial controls and public debt management systems.
According to the report, officials of the Treasury and the Central Bank bore responsibility for governance lapses that contributed to the failures. It also highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Finance was operating an outdated Microsoft Exchange Server after security support had ended, while basic safeguards, such as multi-factor authentication, had not been implemented.
The COPF said suspicious payment instructions linked to debt repayments involving India, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium had also been detected, preventing further losses. However, the US$ 2.5 million fraud materialised only in the repayment transaction involving Australia.
The report has noted that officials had failed to verify lender email domains, relied on unverified email communications and lacked adequate internal controls, allowing the fraud to continue for months.
Although the investigation uncovered system-wide weaknesses across several institutions, only four mid-level Finance Ministry officials had been suspended so far, the report said.
The COPF has recommended a special audit of the foreign debt repayment process, strengthened cybersecurity measures across state institutions, updated financial regulations and improvements to public debt management systems.
by Saman Indrajith
News
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, together with Opposition MPs, yesterday signed a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament against Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara.The move comes in response to the unrest at the Negombo Prison, where both prison officers and inmates were killed.
Opposition members said the Minister had failed to fulfill his responsibility and accountability regarding their safety.According to the Opposition group, the NCM seeks to hold the Minister directly accountable for lapses in ensuring protection within the prison system.
The Attorney General yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the government has decided to review the legality of agreements entered into by the previous administration to hand over the country’s electronic visa issuance operations to private companies.
Additional Solicitor General Viveka Siriwardena, appearing for the Attorney General, made the submission when the Supreme Court took up the fundamental rights petitions filed by former MPs President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran, Patali Champika Ranawaka, and Rauff Hakeem, challenging the previous Cabinet’s decision to outsource the e-visa system.
The petitions were heard before a three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeyesekere.
The Additional Solicitor General informed court that the current Cabinet had appointed a subcommittee to examine the legality of the agreements with the private companies and requested time to report on its findings, stating that the review was still underway.
President’s Counsel Sumanthiran, appearing as one of the petitioners, told the court that although the present government had indicated its intention to cancel the transaction, the petitioners wished to proceed with the case.
He noted that members of the current Cabinet had been named as respondents in the petitions.The Supreme Court directed the petitioners to issue notice on the members of the current Cabinet, named as respondents, and fixed September 29 for further proceedings.
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Showers will occur in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review
Navy, Coast Guard seize smuggled pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in Puttalam
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