News
Keheliya and Addl. Health Secy. to be questioned by CID
By Hemantha Randunu, Shiran Ranasinghe and Sujeewa Thathsara
The CID is to question former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, and Health Additional Secretary Saman Ratnayake along with several other officials in connection with the purchase of substandard Human Immunoglobulin.
The CID last Monday arrested former Secretary to the Ministry of Health Janaka Sri Chandragupta and he was remanded by the Maligakanda Magistrate.The CID sent a special team to the Health Ministry yesterday to seal the offices of Additional Secretary Ratnayake and commenced investigating documents there.
The Maligakanda Magistrate ordered on Monday to seal Ratnayake’s office in the ministry.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association on Thursday said that there was a serious question pertaining not only to law and order but also to the health sector as authorities still have not arrested the masterminds and those who are directly responsible for the substandard Human Immunoglobulin racket.
GMOA media spokesman, Dr. Chamal Wijesinghe, told a press conference that 22,500 vials of substandard Human Immunoglobulin, which is produced using human blood, were ordered by preparing false documents. The value of the stock of medicine was estimated at nearly one billion rupees.
President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh said that the former Health Ministry Secretary now in custody has no other option but to reveal the names of those who were involved in the substandard Human Immunoglobulin racket.
Kumudesh said that the Health Secretary cannot absolve himself of the crime but the latter alone did not make the decision pertaining to the grave crime.
The CID has informed the court that two doctors who had been members of the procurement committee that approved the purchasing of substandard Human Immunoglobulin have now fled the country. Investigations revealed that one of those doctors had gone to the US and the other to the UK.
The Colombo Stock Exchange (GL 12) has contributed LKR 25 million to the Rebuilding Sri Lanka Fund.
The cheque was handed over to the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake by the Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange, Dimuthu Abeyesekera, the Chief Executive Officer Rajeeva Bandaranaike and Senior Vice Chairman Kusal Nissanka at the Presidential Secretariat.
News
Karu argues against scrapping MPs’ pension as many less fortunate members entered Parliament after ’56
Former Speaker of Parliament Karu Jayasuriya has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake expressing concerns over the proposed abolition of MPs’ pensions.The letter was sent in his capacity as Patron of the Former Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
In his letter, Jayasuriya noted that at the time of Sri Lanka’s independence, political participation was largely limited to an educated, affluent land-owning elite. However, he said a significant social transformation took place after 1956, enabling ordinary citizens to enter politics.
He warned that under current conditions, removing parliamentary pensions would effectively confine politics to the wealthy, business interests, individuals engaged in illicit income-generating activities, and well-funded political parties. Such a move, he said, would discourage honest social workers and individuals of modest means from entering public life.
Jayasuriya also pointed out that while a small number of former MPs, including himself, use their pensions for social and charitable purposes, the majority rely on the pension as a primary source of income.
He urged the President to give due consideration to the matter and take appropriate action, particularly as the government prepares to draft a new constitution.The Bill seeking to abolish pensions for Members of Parliament was presented to Parliament on 07 January by Minister of Justice and National Integration Dr. Harshana Nanayakkara.
Five suspects, including former Minister Johnston Fernando and his two sons, who were arrested by the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID), were further remanded until 30 January by the Wattala Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The former Minister’s , sons Johan Fernando and Jerome Kenneth Fernando, and two others, were arrested in connection with the alleged misuse of a Sathosa vehicle during Fernando’s tenure as Minister.
Investigations are currently underway into the alleged misuse of state property, including a lorry belonging to Lanka Sathosa, which reportedly caused a significant financial loss to the state.
In connection with the same incident, Indika Ratnamalala, who served as the Transport Manager of Sathosa during
Fernando’s tenure as Minister of Co-operatives and Internal Trade, was arrested on 04 January.
After being produced before the Wattala Magistrate’s Court, he was ordered to be remanded in custody until 09 January.The former Sathosa Transport Manager was remanded on charges of falsifying documents.
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