News
Port unions ask Minister to probe corruption at SLPA
Port trade unions yesterday urged Ports, Shipping and Aviation Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva, to conduct a proper investigation into waste and corruption in the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).
At a meeting between the Minister and representatives of 37 port trade unions, yesterday, at the auditorium of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Aviation, Colombo, the unionists demanded that actions be taken against those responsible for waste and corruption.
Minister de Silva instructed Secretary to the Ministry K.D.S. Ruwanchandra to appoint an independent probe committee and ensure the participation of port trade union representatives therein.
Trade union representatives pointed out to the delay in the progress of construction of the East Container Terminal (ECT) and urged the Minister to take steps to expedite the work. The Minister said he had already made three site inspection visits to the East Container Terminal and efforts had been made to purchase the most essential cranes and other machinery, utilising USD 50.5 million from port financial allocations.
The Minister said he had instructed the project director to take measures to expedite constructions of the ECT to successfully complete the project without further delay. Trade union representatives pointed out that the previous SLPA Chairman and the then Management had not evinced any interest in obtaining a concessionary loan as agreed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and urged the Minister to probe the matter. They also requested the Minister to resolve the issues in the recruitment procedure of the SLPA.
The Secretary to the Ministry said that proposals as regards the matter had already been sent to the Management Services Department and National Salaries Commission for approval.
The National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) has issued landslide early warnings to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts.
Accordingly level I landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy District, Yatiyanthota and Deraniyagala in the Kegalle District and Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya District.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe convened a discussion at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday afternoon (08) to address the Action Plan for Reconciliation and instructed the relevant departments to expedite the drafting of legislation necessary for the plan’s implementation.
The progress of initiatives within five key areas -legislation, institutional activities, land issues, prisoner release, and power decentralization, was also reviewed.
The discussion encompassed several important topics including the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), the establishment of a National Land Council and the formulation of a National Land Policy.
Additionally, the President emphasized the need for enhanced operations of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), including digitization efforts and the issuance of Certificates of Absence for individuals who had previously disappeared without trace.
In an effort to accelerate trade facilitation commitments and bolster the business landscape in Sri Lanka, a high-level review of the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) was conducted at the Presidential Secretariat on Wednesday (7).
The review focused on assessing the progress of trade facilitation commitments and scrutinizing the performance of the NTFC Secretariat. The private sector also voiced their views on expediting actions to ensure the completion of measures ahead of the projected timeline of 2025-2030.
In order to streamline compliance and optimize performance, several directives were issued during the meeting. Firstly, it was decided to establish the NTFC Secretariat under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance. Secondly, immediate measures to be taken to address the staffing requirements of the Secretariat and lastly, the budget allocated for the NTFC Secretariat in 2023, currently under the Department of Customs, was to be transferred to the Ministry of Finance to prioritize pending actions such as the development of the NTFC website and progress reporting system.
During the meeting, deliberations took place concerning the proposed National Single Window, a system aimed at simplifying and expediting trade processes. The participants agreed to expedite the submission of the proposal in a sequential manner to ensure its swift implementation.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya Districts
Expedite Action Plan for Reconciliation – President
National Trade Facilitation Committee Secretariat to be established
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