News
Speaker’s dual residences draw much mirth in the House
Kurunegala District SJB MP Dayasiri Jayasekara yesterday (05) asked in Parliament whether Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne was utilising two official residences, triggering a heated exchange in the House.
Raising an oral question, Jayasekara alleged that despite earlier claims that he did not use an official residence, the Speaker was currently occupying both the official Speaker’s residence for official purposes and a separate unit in a government apartment complex, under the Ministry of Public Administration, for personal use.
He further queried whether a housing unit in the same complex had been allocated to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Responding on behalf of the Government, Prime Minister Dr Harini Amarasuriya said the Speaker used the official residence strictly for official duties, while a separate house in a Ministry of Public Administration housing complex had been allocated for his private residence.
Chief Government Whip Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, addressing concerns over staff privileges, said neither the Speaker’s secretary nor any other member of his staff had been provided with official housing.
The exchange grew increasingly heated as members on both sides pressed their arguments, with the issue drawing attention to broader concerns over transparency, accountability and the use of State resources.
Amid the tense exchanges, Opposition MP Ravi Karunanayake injected a note of levity, suggesting that if the Speaker was unwilling to reside in the official residence, he could instead take up residence at Karunanayake’s own home, located adjacent to the Speaker’s quarters.
“The best solution to this issue is for you to come and stay at my house—it is right next to the Speaker’s official residence,” he quipped, drawing laughter in the Chamber.
By Saman Indrajith
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
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Cabinet approves sale of Paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board
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