News
Kumudesh accuses Health Ministry officials of sabotaging state-owned lab at BIA
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The government laboratory service was prevented from testing passengers arriving in Sri Lanka by a group of Health Ministry specialists who made large amounts of money from private laboratories and quarantine centres, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.
Kumudesh levelled this allegation responding to a statement made by Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath that the health sector was not equipped to test all those who arrived from overseas.
“This is a false claim. Actually, there are four options available for the government to test all tourists. All of these options are blocked by the Health Ministry. If we are given a free hand, we can use these options to test everyone who comes into and leaves Sri Lanka and issue results within two hours,” Kumudesh said.
The first option was to use the PCR lab established at the BIA in mid-2020, the CMLS President said. “At this time, even the most advanced nations have just started establishing such facilities at airports. However, there was a lot of resistance from certain officials of the Health Ministry and doctors who worked at private labs and got money from quarantine centres”, he alleged.
“However, private labs were entrusted with the task of conducting PCR tests on all tourists arriving in Sri Lanka. The state-run lab did not receive a single sample. This is unfortunate because we can test 4,500 people a day and issue reports within 90 minutes,” Kumudesh said.
The second option was to use the state of the art lab at the BIA premises built by the Airport and Aviation Authority. However, the Health Ministry had not authorised the lab to start operations, Kumudesh said.
Kumudesh added that the Health Ministry allowed private individuals to set up labs and test people for COVID with little oversight, but a lab that could be compared to the one at the Dubai Airport and run by a state institution was prevented from operating a PCR lab.
“They are finding faults with the lab. The government has taken a risk by opening up the airports, given the importance of the tourism sector. However, some state institutions are preventing the mitigation of this risk,” he said.
The third option was to expand rapid PCR tests, Kumudesh said. Sixteen 16 Sri Lankan hospitals already do rapid PCRs. They include the Embilipitiya Hospital, which is in the former Health Minister’s electoral district, he said.
The lab technologists’ union leader said that all 16 machines had been received by the country as donations and the Health Ministry officials had continuously undermined President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had instructed the Ministry to buy 30 rapid PCR machines.
The CMLS President said that the President had issued the order after they had written to him on eight separate occasions.
“However, the Health Ministry officials reduced the number by half and although the tenders were called in June, nothing came of it. We wrote to philanthropists and they responded. For example, the rapid PCR machine at the Embilipitiya Hospital was donated by Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, the machine at Lady Ridgeway Hospital was donated by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane,” he said. Kumudesh said that if the Health Ministry went ahead with the tender and imported rapid PCR machines, all those who arrived in the country could be checked within 90 minutes.
The fourth option was to use the five Mobile Molecular Labs donated by an Indian company. Those labs could be taken anywhere and PCR tests could be conducted at half the cost of a regular lab test. Those labs were also not used for testing. Kumudesh said.
“The Health Ministry has four options to test people arriving in and leaving Sri Lanka. However, senior officials insist that the government doesn’t have the capacity to test these people. These senior officials also formulate guidelines that prevent government labs from testing people. They do this because they are part time practitioners in private labs and they make money by sending people to private quarantine centres. There is a clear conflict of interest here,” Kumudesh said.
The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.
The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.
Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.
Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.
Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.
The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.
Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.
Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.
Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.
The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.
Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.
The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.
The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.
GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.
Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.
(SF)
Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation
Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-central and North-western provinces
Shafali, Mandhana power India to eighth Asia Cup title
Tharanga wins Ultimate Javelin title
CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process
GMOA: Countrywide cadre revision not done since 2015
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Sports4 days agoDDS set to lose Test captaincy
-
News7 days agoThailand shuts door on undesirables from Sri Lanka
-
News4 days agoSri Lanka faces new grid challenge as rooftop solar surges: former CEB GM
-
Latest News3 days agoShafali, Deepti power India into sixth T20 Asia Cup final
-
Business7 days agoCEB successor company breaks into top three in competitive BESS tender
-
Opinion6 days agoNavigating Sri Lanka’s Israeli Dilemma
-
Latest News3 days agoSri Lanka thwart Fatima Sana challenge to secure Asia Cup final spot
-
Features5 days agoLost for 90 years: Rare Goby resurfaces in Jaffna