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COPA orders closure of unauthorised funeral parlour in Borella cemetery
A probe by the parliamentary Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has found that an employee of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) ran an unauthorised funeral parlour on official municipal property within the Borella Cemetery, and engaged in fraudulent activities.
It was revealed that the CMC employee managing this funeral palour had been accused of charging Rs 600,000 for a burial during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as engaging in fraudulent issuance of receipts at the Borella Public Cemetery, Parliament sources said.
The investigation, conducted under the chairmanship of MP Aravinda Senaratne, uncovered that the employee had been operating the illegal business since 1994 using an official residence and land belonging to the CMC.
It was revealed before COPA that the person concerned had even attempted to forge documents to claim ownership of the land but without success.
COPA ordered the immediate closure of the illegal business and called for an in-depth investigation into the misuse of public property. The committee also raised concerns over how such an operation had continued for decades without environmental clearance or legal registration.
Authorities have been instructed to submit a report within two weeks, outlining actions taken to reclaim the land and prevent similar incidents in the future.
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President appoints committee to submit recommendations to the Government on the new US tariff system
President Anura Kumara Disanayake appointed a committee to conduct an in-depth study on potential issues that may arise due to the new reciprocal tariff system introduced by US President Donald Trump and to submit recommendations to the government.
Accordingly, the committee includes the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board and the Director General of Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Additionally, Senior Economic Advisor to the President Duminda Hulugamuwa, Chief Economic Policy Advisor to the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Shiran Fernando, as well as Ashroff Omar, Sherad Amalean and Saif Jafferjee have also been appointed to the committee.
Eksath Janaraja Peramuna (EJP) yesterday complained to the Election Commission (EC) regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent threat that the government would release funds only to local government bodies to be won by a clean party at the May 06 LG polls.
The EJP, led by former Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka, complained that President Dissanayake has claimed during a public rally at Weligama that the NPP was the only clean party.
The EJP is contesting 37 LG bodies at the forthcoming election.
The new party said that the rights of the other contesting political parties and groups had been violated by the President.
The EJP asked the EC to ensure a level playing field
Having handed over their complaint, EJP spokesman Theekshana Gammanpila told the media outside the EC office that Anura Kumara Dissanayake had won last year’s presidential election and then the parliamentary election as the then government ensured a free and fair election. But now President Dissanayake was making a despicable attempt to influence the electorate in the run-up to the vital mini polls. Gammanpila alleged that the President’s intervention could have a far reaching impact on the electorate.
The EJP spokesman emphasised the responsibility on the part of the EC to intervene and take tangible measures to prevent President Dissanayake from manipulating the electorate to their advantage. (SF)
Former North Central Province Chief Minister S. M. Ranjith and his private secretary Shanthi, who is his brother, former Minister S.M. Chandrasena’s wife, were yesterday (02) sentenced to 16 years rigorous imprisonment after being found guilty of corruption charges. They were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs. 200,000 each.
The judgment was delivered by Colombo High Court Judge Aditya Patabendi.
They were convicted on charges filed by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.
S.M. Ranjith was found guilty of enabling Shanti to secure an additional fuel allowance between Sept 2012 and Dec 2014 to the tune of Rs 2.68 mn.
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