The government on Wednesday warned prospective migrant workers not to pay illegal brokers who demand between Rs. 4 million and Rs. 4.5 million for jobs in Israel, stressing that licensed private foreign employment agencies were permitted to charge no more than the equivalent of two months’ salary as their service fee.

Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath told Parliament that job seekers should avoid unscrupulous intermediaries and report any illegal demands, as the government had stepped up efforts to curb corruption and malpractice in the foreign employment sector.

The Minister said a special investigation unit, comprising officers of the Criminal Investigation Department and other relevant authorities, had been established to investigate complaints against foreign employment agencies and eliminate corrupt practices.

Herath also announced that the Government would shortly present a new Foreign Employment Act to Parliament to strengthen the rights and protection of Sri Lankan migrant workers by addressing shortcomings in the existing legal framework.

He said the Government was also working to introduce overseas voting rights and a contributory pension scheme for Sri Lankans employed abroad.

To improve access to official assistance, the Government has launched the “Lanka Konnect” website and mobile application, enabling Sri Lankans living overseas to lodge complaints and grievances from anywhere in the world.

The Minister said compensation payable to the families of Sri Lankan workers who die while employed overseas had been increased from Rs. 600,000 to Rs. 2 million.

Highlighting the sector’s contribution to the economy, Herath said Sri Lanka had received a record US$8 billion in worker remittances during the Government’s first year in office, while remittances totalled US$4.75 billion during the first six months of 2026.

He added that a new training centre for youth in the Northern Province would be established, while fresh employment opportunities had been secured in Japan for truck drivers, construction workers and graduates through bilateral agreements.Herath also said longstanding issues relating to the recognition of local driving licences had been resolved, paving the way for more Sri Lankans to seek employment in Italy.

Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday said the government would abolish the longstanding practice of marking voters’ fingers with indelible ink at elections, describing it as an outdated and costly procedure that has become redundant since voter identification through the National Identity Card (NIC) was made compulsory.

Responding to a question raised by Matara District NPP MP Ajantha Gammeddage in Parliament on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said the Cabinet of Ministers had approved a proposal submitted by the President to amend the relevant laws and remove the legal requirement for applying indelible ink on voters’ fingers while retaining the mandatory verification of voters using the NIC or other valid identification documents.

She said the government had already commenced drafting the necessary legislative amendments to remove the requirement from all relevant statutes.

The Prime Minister explained that the use of indelible ink had originally been introduced to prevent multiple voting and electoral fraud before 2004. However, following the Court of Appeal ruling in Case No. CA/WRIT/356/2008 and the enactment of Section 4 of the Elections (Special Provisions) Act, No. 14 of 2004, the production of a National Identity Card or another valid identity document became compulsory for every voter before casting a ballot.

“Since then, the application of indelible ink has continued merely as a tradition, despite the mandatory voter identification process already serving the purpose of preventing impersonation and multiple voting,” she said.

The Prime Minister said eliminating the practice would significantly reduce election expenditure.

According to figures presented to Parliament, the Government spent Rs. 66.08 million to import indelible ink for the 2019 Presidential Election, Rs. 14.93 million for the 2020 General Election, Rs. 33.11 million for the 2024 Presidential Election, Rs. 22.66 million for the 2024 General Election and Rs. 27.51 million for the 2025 Local Government Election.

She pointed out that the exercise also required the deployment of thousands of additional public servants solely to apply the ink at polling centres.

The 2024 Presidential Election was conducted at 13,421 polling centres, the 2024 General Election at 13,380 centres and the 2025 Local Government Election at 13,764 centres. Nearly 62,700 public servants were deployed for ink-marking duties during those three elections alone.

The salaries paid to those officials amounted to approximately Rs. 203.8 million, while the total expenditure, including transport and other allowances, exceeded Rs. 400 million.

“We have spent nearly Rs. 400 million on salaries, allowances and related expenses for a task that is no longer necessary,” the Prime Minister said.

She added that maintaining both compulsory identity verification and physical ink marking had also slowed the voting process at polling stations.

The Prime Minister said that with compulsory voter identification now firmly in place and the Election Commission having cleaned and updated the electoral register using modern technology, the possibility of duplicate voting had already been effectively addressed, making the continued use of indelible ink unnecessary.

She said that while the Government intended to abolish ink marking, there would be no relaxation of voter identification requirements, with every voter continuing to be required to produce an NIC or another legally accepted identity document before being issued a ballot paper.

The government has decided to restore the historic Bogambara Prison premises in Kandy to prison use, more than a decade after the facility was decommissioned during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure.

The Bogambara Prison complex, encompassing 14 acres, is to be rehabilitated and restored for use as a correctional facility once again.

The facility is capable of accommodating over 2,000 inmates and possesses adequate

water supply and infrastructure facilities. At present, the prison premises are under the purview of the Urban Development Authority (UDA).

By S.K. Samaranayake