News

COPE tells govt. to undo SLIIT swindle

Published

4 years ago

2021/08/10

Chairman of the COPE Prof Charitha Herath presiding at the probe on SLIIT. Auditor General W.P.C. Wickramaratne is sitting on his left.

By Saman Indrajith

The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has asked the government to act under the provisions of the Public Property Act against all responsible for an attempt to deprive the government of its ownership of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), established by the Mahapola Higher Education Scholarship Trust Fund, and its control by an agreement signed on 12.05.2015 without any formal authority.

The COPE, chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath, at a meeting last week, unanimously agreed to propose to the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to hold a two-day debate on the two COPE reports tabled in the ninth Parliament.

The Second Report of the Committee on Public Enterprises tabled in Parliament on 06th April 2021 is a Special Report on the SLIIT. The debate on the Second Report, presented by the Committee, is expected to spark a far-reaching discussion in Parliament and within the country on the current status of the SLIIT and the steps to be taken in that regard.

The report prepared on the basis of an investigation by the Auditor General’s Department has recommended that the SLIIT be recognised as a non-governmental institution and that the decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers on 24.05.2017 not to include the said institution under any purview of the Ministry be reconsidered. It was also recommended that SLIIT be taken over by a Ministry after considering the contents of other Cabinet memoranda, pertaining to the institution.

The report, tabled in Parliament, also recommended that the institution be taken over by the Mahapola Fund.

Public Security Minister Sarath Weerasekara, State Minister Nalaka Godahewa, MPs Jagath Pushpakumara, Eran Wickramaratne, Harsha de Silva, Nalin Bandara, Shanakiyan Rajamanickam and Auditor General W.P.C. Wickramaratne were present at the meeting, Parliament sources said.

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Cabinet nod to appoint Mrs. Tharani Kumaradasa to the Post of Commissioner of Cooperative Development / Cooperative Society Registrar

Published

3 hours ago

2025/11/11

Priyan

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the proposal
furnished by the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development to appoint Mrs. Tharani Kumaradasa, a Grade I officer in Sri Lanka Administrative Service, serving in a post of Senior Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development to the post of Commissioner of Cooperative Development / Cooperative Society Registrar

News

Cabinet nod to hold 28th joint Asia Pacific Regional Social Workshop from 18-21 November in Sri Lanka

Published

3 hours ago

2025/11/11

Priyan

It has been planned to conduct the 28th Joint Asia-Pacific Regional Social Workshop from 18th November 2025 to 21st November 2025 in Sri Lanka, and 13 local representatives and 104 foreign representatives from 30 countries will participate in the said summit.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security,
and Community Empowerment to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Social Development Institute and the Society of Professionals engaged in Sri Lankan social services to conduct the aforementioned workshop in Sri Lanka and obtain the necessary institutional support to
conduct the said summit.

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Establishment of multi-modal transport hubs

Published

3 hours ago

2025/11/11

Priyan

As per the current national policy of the government to make public transport in Sri Lanka efficient and streamlined, the necessity of establishing multi-modal transport hubs with required facilities has been identified to enable efficient public transport services to be initiated from transit cities and main cities through the interconnection between transport modes.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved in principle the proposal presented by the Acting Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to develop the following multi-modal transport hubs on a priority basis, with the objective of upgrading the interconnection of transport modes such as buses, trains, and taxi services by integrating bus stands and railway stations identified as having a growing passenger circulation on the island, subject to a formal feasibility study.

• Kandy Multimodal Transport Hub (Construction work has already been started under world bank financing)

• Anuradhapura (South) Multimodal Transport Hub (Constructions are about to be completed under the Anuradhapura combined urban development project)

• Anuradhapura (North) Multimodal Transport Hub (feasibility study has been performed and preliminary work completed)

• Multimodal Transport Hub centered around the Fort Railway Station (as proposed by the ComTrans Master Plan, which has been prepared for urban transport in Colombo and suburbs)

• Moratuwa Multimodal Transport Center (proposed by the ComTrans Master Plan)

• Ragama Multimodal Transport Center ( identified through a study conducted by the Japan International Coorperation Agency)

• Avissawella, Galle, Katunayake, Kurunegala Multimodal Transport Centers (identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority)

• Gampaha Multimodal Transport Center ((identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority and railway electrification of the Colombo Suburban Railway Project)

• Katunayake Multimodal Transport Hub (identified under the Airport Development Plan)

• Kaluthara Multimodal Transport Center (identified as a proposal of the District coordination Committee)

• Kankasanthure Multimodal Transport Center(identified according to the urban plans of the Urban Development Authority)