News

State Minister fires broadside at SLPP

Published

4 years ago

2021/12/30

Sahan Weerasooriya

‘Yugadanavi is one among many contentious issues’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

State Minister Jayantha Samaraweera says the country wouldn’t have been in such turmoil today if the top political leadership consulted constituents of the ruling coalition.

Kalutara District National Freedom Front (NFF) lawmaker Samaraweera said that a simmering dispute over Yugadanavi deal that ended up in the apex court was one among many contentious and questionable issues.

NFF is a breakaway group from the JVP and has six members in Parliament as opposed to three seats held by the latter.

MP Samaraweera said that the SLPP had conveniently turned a blind eye to concerns expressed by constituents not only in respect of Yugadanavi betrayal, but a number of other issues as well. The MP said that the SLPP couldn’t act in an arrogant manner on the basis of superiority in numbers. Of the 145-member government parliamentary group, 117 represents the SLPP.

Asked to elaborate, lawmaker Samaraweera pointed out how the government had allowed importers to fleece those struggling to make ends meet by doing away with price controls.

“What is the point in granting duty concessions to various importers unless the government ensures the consumers benefit by them,” the former JVPer asked.

Referring to the reduction of duty on white sugar by issuing a gazette dated Oct 13, 2020, MP Samaraweera alleged that the whole exercise was meant to give sugar importers an opportunity to make a killing.

The garlic scam, massive fraud in liquid fertilizer imports from India, controversy surrounding opening of Letter of Credit for import of Chinese carbonic fertiliser before receiving approval from the National Quarantine Centre and the pathetic failure to prevent gas-related explosions much to the embarrassment of the entire government caused a debilitating setback. “We begin the new year on the back foot,” the State Minister said.

State Minister Samaraweera admitted that they hadn’t been successful in convincing the SLPP to review its policies. The parliamentarian said that the NFF recently called a special media briefing to pressure the government to re-impose price controls immediately or face the consequences. Alleging that the government ignored their request made on behalf of the people, MP Samaraweera said that the ruinous move that did away with agro-chemicals overnight without a proper study of ground realities was perhaps the single worst decision taken by the current dispensation since the last presidential election.

The bankrupt Opposition exploited the situation to the hilt, the MP said, urging the government to address the grievances of the public and rectify mistakes. There was no point in denying the fact the country never experienced such turmoil even during the war against the LTTE, the State Minister said.

The MP also questioned the prorogation of Parliament under controversial circumstances. The State Minister said that some speculated the government wanted to reconstitute parliamentary watchdog committees, the COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises), COPA (Committee on Public Accounts) and COPF (Committee on Public Finance) as some sections of the government felt the revelations made therein caused difficulties.

Responding to another query, MP Samaraweera said that as a member of the dissolved COPE chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath he was aware of the importance of the work undertaken by the watchdog committee.

Perhaps the government couldn’t stomach what was taking place there, the NFF senior said, pointing out it was COPF Chairman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa who fired the first salvo against the fraud in sugar duty. The MP pointed out that if none of the heads of three committees received the top position again the public would realize what was going on.

The Kalutara District MP recalled how the COPE pulled up Litro for blocking a government audit. For two years, Litro, in spite of being owned by Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) , managed to deprive the Auditor General, the MP said, adding that the government suffered due to the actions of those who believed they could manipulate everything. The Yugadanavi fiasco was a case in point, he said.

State Minister Samaraweera pointed out the absurdity in faulting Ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila over so-called collective responsibility of the cabinet in respect of the decision on agreement with US-based New Fortress Energy when the cabinet of ministers never took that decision.

MP Samaraweera said that they had faith in the judiciary. The MP noted the Supreme Court would resume the hearing on January 10, a week before new parliamentary sessions begin.

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News

Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

15 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

17 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️