News
State Minister Jayakody tells Opposition not to fan racial tensions
By Saman Indrajith
The Opposition was trying to incite racial tensions during the COVID-19 pandemic situation prevailing in the country, State Minister of Indigenous Medicine, Rural and Ayurveda Hospital Development and Community Health Sisira Jayakody told Parliament yesterday (13).
Participating in COVID-19 second wave debate, State Minister Jayakody said: “We would like to commend the measures taken by the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, the security forces and the health sector to control the pandemic. The Opposition is saying that they would have closed the airports quickly due to the pandemic. But we follow a balanced methodology. We are systematically repatriating Sri Lankans living abroad. We cannot abandon them.”
The State Minister said: “It is the Health authorities that advise on the imposition of curfews. This Opposition does not have one solid opinion on how to manage the pandemic. Sometimes they say not to impose a curfew but sometimes they oppose their own statements. As we speak, Quarantine Curfew is being imposed in Peliyagoda and the government has taken steps to provide the affected families the food package worth Rs.5000.”
“The Opposition on one hand says that deceased Muslim persons should not be cremated but should be buried and at the same time questions government’s decision to facilitate the Muslims to follow their faith during this trying time. The Opposition is trying to spread racism and use it for their benefit. However, the recommendations of the Health Department regarding the amount of groundwater in the country have to be followed with regard to burial. Therefore, we request the Opposition not to play with the lives of the people of this country,” Minister Jayakody said
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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