News

Johnston and Admiral Sarath raps CID

Published

5 years ago

2021/10/3

Chief Government Whip and Highways Minister Johnston Fernando said last week that the CID has opted to harass and hound the media that exposed the alleged garlic scam instead of probing it and taking legal action against the perpetrators.

“This is a classic example of shooting the messenger. The CID should have gone after the officials involved in alleged scam at Lak Sathosa. Instead they have gone after the media personnel who reported it. By doing so they also brought disrepute to the government. Government cannot condone such acts. It is committed to ensure media freedom,” he said. “We regret the incident. It should not have happened.”

“This is a serious incident because CID officers have gone to newspaper offices after Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera had instructed them not to do so. We should investigate this to find whether anyone in the CID has an interest to put the government in difficulty,” the Minister said speaking to journalists during a ceremony held at his ministry’s auditorium on Thursday.

The ceremony was held to hand over keys of 22 houses built at a cost of Rs 340 million for policemen who lost their homes owing to the construction of a flyover above the Slave Island Railway Station and the Beira Lake connecting Baladaksha Mawatha and Chittampalam A. Gardiner Mawatha.

Project requirements resulted in the removal of 42 housing units of the Slave Island police quarters. The Road Development Authority and the Urban Development Authority will provide new housing to those who lost their quarters, Fernando said.

Twenty two housing units in the first phase were provided under the Metro Housing Complex while the remaining 20 would be provided in the future. The keys of 22 houses were handed over to Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekera who is in charge of the police by Minister Fernando on Thursday.

Weerasekera said Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena had lodged a complaint with the CID pertaining to the alleged garlic scam. He had however not named any media institution or journalist in his complaint.

Some journalists, including the editors of several newspapers, had been summoned by the CID. “As soon as I heard of the summoning I spoke to the IGP and instructed him not to do that. Even Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa issued similar instructions.

Thereafter, contrary to the instructions given, some CID officers had visited newspaper officers. We apologize to the journalists who were subject to questioning. We have called for a report from the IGP in this regard,” the minister said.

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News

Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.

Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.

Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

News

Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.

It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.

Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.

Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions

• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981

News

Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

5 hours ago

2026/06/24

Priyan

WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology

Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.

Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.

The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.