News

SLSI has flouted rules like nobody’s business!

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/29

There have been instances where the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) allowed the release of imported goods to the market prior to the issuance of test reports during the inspection of imported goods, the Auditor General has said in a report on the Role of Sri Lanka Standards Institution on Quality Product Sales in the Local Market.

There were also deficiencies in the issuance of the Certificate of Standards, management deficiencies, delay in conducting laboratory tests, minimum level of market inspections, reduction of awareness on the use- of pre-standards, and test reports, the Auditor General has said.

The Auditor General has recommended that “informing the relevant parties of the importance of obtaining the Product Certificate logo of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution to minimise the problems that may arise in connection with the above observations, further strengthening the mechanism for awarding the logo, strengthening coordination with other relevant affiliates and issuing product certification logos and this report makes recommendations on how to provide the necessary resources institutionally for conducting and laboratory testing and thereby expedite those processes.”

The report says the SLSI has been given the powers to inspect the quality of imported goods and that it is mandatory for imported goods to obtain the Sri Lanka Standards Certificate. SLSI has prepared a guideline on imported goods, it said.

According to these guidelines when a company imports a consignment of goods they will be allowed to be sold or used without inspection if there is a Certificate of Conformity obtained by that manufacturing company from a government agency, laboratory or testing institute registered with the SLSI in that country.

“However, only two foreign certification agencies for brown sugar were registered and certification agencies for canned fish were not registered,” the report has pointed out.

Moreover, the guideline says if the manufacturing company is registered with the Sri Lanka Standards Institution and obtains a Certificate of Conformity when importing goods, it will be allowed to sell or use without a sample test.

From January 2019 to June 2021, brown sugar was imported on 1014 occasions by 89 companies but no manufacturer was registered with the SLSI and obtained a Certificate of Conformity.

“From January 2019 to June 2021, canned fish was imported from 36 manufacturing companies on 1,522 occasions under 48 brand names. However, only five manufacturers and 20 brand names have been registered. 4,395,416 containers valued at US $ 92,205,253.54 were imported from 31 unregistered manufacturers.

Brown sugar has been imported on 31 occasions without adhering to any of the SLSI guidelines. However, they were allowed to be sold or used without inspection, the report has said. 6323.3 metric tons of brown sugar valued at US $ 2,391,388.95 has been released without testing, the report said.

“As imported goods are released to the market with the approval of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, it is observed that the company does not have a proper guideline or methodology to ensure that the imported goods are not released to the market until the inspection report of the Standards Institution is received.”

Although a computer database was established in 2018 to keep tabs on imported goods, so far only the data up to the point of sampling has been included in the database.

The Auditor General’s Department has observed that after the sample test, approvals based on the test results, re-sampling, refusal of goods and recommendation for re-export are not made through the relevant database till the audit date of May 2021.

“It was observed that although there should be a good interaction between the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the Consumer Protection Authority and the Sri Lanka Customs on all imported goods, but there is no such system in place. As a result, there is a high risk of substandard goods being released into the market and instances of such substandard goods being released into the market were observed during the inspection of Sri Lanka Custom’s files. The Standards Institution had not developed a suitable methodology for follow-up in this regard.”

The SLSI has Product Certification (SLS) to assure the hygienic quality of imported foods, however, this certification is not mandatory to import goods, the report says.

The report says, “As of December 2019, the number of SLS branded items was approximately 1105, but the number of market trials was relatively low and the estimated number of inspections carried out in 2016, 2017 and 2018 are 19, 39, and 35 respectively. Furthermore, market inspections were not planned for 2019 and as a result, the audit observes that low quality products are more likely to be released into the market.”

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News

Govt. assures UN of readiness to introduce ‘vetting process’ for troops on overseas missions

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thuyakontha

Defence Secretary (retd.) Air Marshal Sampath Thuyakontha has discussed with UN officials in New York the deployment of Sri Lankan troops in Haiti, under a new UN authorised force, tasked with tackling heavily armed gangs operating in the violence ravaged country.

The UN is in the process of building up a force comprising approximately 5,500 officers and men for deployment in Haiti.

The Sri Lankan delegation included Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN, former Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. The UN has tagged the deployment Gang Suppression Force (GSF).

According to the Defence Ministry, Sri Lanka negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the GSF. Although Sri Lanka has contributed to UN-led missions, the proposed deployment differed due to the nature of the operation, sources told The Island.

The delegation has assured that all personnel, assigned for UN missions, including the proposed GSF deployment in Haiti, would be subjected to a comprehensive screening process, in line with UN standards. War-winning Sri Lanka has declared, in New York, that the country was in the process of developing, what the Defence Ministry here called, National Human Rights Vetting Mechanism in consultation with the UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo.

The US has backed the deployment of Sri Lankan troops under UN command. Various interested parties, over the years, protested against the deployment of Sri Lankan troops on the basis of unsubstantiated war crimes allegations.

Thuyakontha has assured that troops would maintain highest standards of discipline during overseas missions. Sri Lanka brought the war here to a successful conclusion in May 2009 against predictions of contrary outcome by so-called experts.

The US and Panama proposed the GSF to replace a Kenya-led multinational force undermined by a lack of funding. Its strength hovered around 1,000, rather than the desired 2,500. The U.N. Security Council authorised the 5,500 strong force on September 30, 2025, with the new power to arrest gang members.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

News

Lawyers cannot be denied right to represent a suspect – Udaya

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Sallay

Sallay’s case:

Attorney-at-law Udaya Gammanpila yesterday (27) said a lawyer could not be deprived of his or her right to represent a client.

The former Minister and leader of Pivuthuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Gammanpila said so addressing the media at the party headoffice at Pita Kotte. Gammanpila was responding to recent media reports that he had been prohibited from representing retired State Intelligence Service (SIS) Chief Maj. Gen. Suresh Sallay. Therefore, there was absolutely no basis for claims that he had been barred from meeting the retired officer, now named the third suspect in the Easter Sunday case, the ex-parliamentarian said.

Gammanpila emphasised that in terms of the Constitution a suspect’s right to be represented by a lawyer was recognised as a fundamental right. The Criminal procedure Code, too, guaranteed the suspect’s right to consult a lawyer, the ex-lawmaker said, pointing out that the Judicial Organisation Act underscored the same.

Declaring that the retired officer’s wife had named him as Sallay’s lawyer in a letter addressed to Director, CID, Gammanpila said that the courts, police and the Attorney General’s Department couldn’t under any circumstances interfere with his right to represent Sallay.

The CID arrested Sallay on 25 February and detained him under Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) for a period of 90 days. Sallay has filed a writ petition before the Court of Appeal through his lawyers, challenging his arrest and detention by the CID under the PTA.

Former Minister Gammanpila said that even if a Magistrate had the power to prohibit a lawyer from representing a particular suspect, such a course of action couldn’t be resorted to without giving the lawyer concern an opportunity to explain his/her actions.

Declaring that in case of misconduct on the part of a lawyer only the Supreme Court could take disciplinary action, the PHU leader said, adding that he sought a certified copy of the proceedings of the day when a section of the media reported the Magistrate’s declaration of the purported ban. Gammapila said that he was really keen to know what happened during the proceedings on that day.

Sallay served as Director, Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) from 2012 to 2016 and received the appointment as head of SIS following the 2019 presidential election. Sallay held that appointment till early October, 2024.

Gammanpila said that he couldn’t be barred for speaking to the media after meeting Sallay, currently held under PTA, or for authoring a book on the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage. According to Gammanpila as long as the suspect had no objections to his lawyer sharing some information with the media it shouldn’t be an issue for Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

News

Police seek Interpol help to probe monks nabbed with narcotics at BIA

Published

9 hours ago

2026/04/28

Sahan Weerasooriya

Police investigating the thwarted a bid made by 22 Buddhist monks to smuggle in narcotics, with a street value of Rs 660 mn via BIA, from Thailand, over the weekend, believe the monks who organised the clandestine operation had sent groups of monks to Thailand before.

Sources said that they had brought in narcotics on earlier occasions.

Police have seized the mobile phones used by the suspects and sought INTERPOL assistance.

Earlier, the Negombo Magistrate’s Court remanded those 22 monks, arrested in connection with the largest drug bust in the airport’s history.

The monks were produced before the Negombo Magistrate’s Court and ordered to be held in custody until 02 May, as investigations continue into the alleged smuggling operation and any wider networks involved.

However, other sources said that more than 110 kilogrammes of suspected Kush and Hashish, with an estimated street value exceeding Rs 1.1 billion, had been found, concealed in false-bottoms of their suitcases. The bags reportedly packed with school supplies and sweets are said to have contained over five kilogrammes of narcotics per individual.

The arrests followed a raid by the Police Narcotics Bureau on Saturday night. Investigators have also recovered mobile phone evidence indicating that the group had travelled to Bangkok on 22 April using airline tickets allegedly given by a sponsor. Authorities allege that the suspects were photographed in civilian clothing, while overseas, engaging in activities deemed suspicious.

Police say this marks the first reported instance of a large-scale narcotics operation via the airport involving Buddhist monks. The suspects are young monks from different parts of the country.

By Norman Palihawadana