News
SJB accuses govt. of postponing important tasks and decisions

The main opposition SJB yesterday accused the NPP government of postponing important tasks and decisions.
Addressing a press conference at the SJB Headquarters in Colombo on Monday, Chief Opposition Whip and Galle District MP Gayantha Karunathilake said that the government has failed to address the issues faced by the people, highlighting a pattern of delay and inaction.
“There seems to be no end to the government’s procrastination when it comes to solving the problems of the people,” Karunathilake said.
“Many of the government’s actioshave been subject to the Balagiri Doshaya . For example, the extradition of former Central Bank Governor Arjun Mahendran, who is a prime accused in the bond scam, to Sri Lanka has turned into a delayed process. Similarly, the former Speaker obtaining his doctorate degree certificate from Japan has also become a matter of postponement. Even issuing certificates for paddy farmers has been delayed, and sending a letter to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to vacate his official residence has fallen into the same trap of procrastination”, he said.
Karunathilake said that the government’s inefficiency is evident in its leadership as well. “Since they understood their own inability, six chairpersons appointed by the current government, including the chairpersons of the Public Transport Board and the Youth Services Council, have already resigned,” he said.
The Chief Opposition Whip said: “Whenever a problem is brought to the attention of the ministers, their response is that these are not issues created by them, but rather problems that existed before they came to power. That has become their most common excuse. There is no tradition in any government to avoid solving the problems within its own system. The people elect a government to resolve these issues. Yet this government, which once claimed to bring change to the system, is now clearly making changes to the system itself.”
Karunathilake also pointed to the government’s tendency to allow problems to develop into full-scale crises due to their lack of experience. “The ruling party lacks the experience and the will to address problems head-on. Instead, they resort to empty rhetoric. The people have recognised this, which is why the ruling party has suffered a series of losses in cooperative board elections across the country,” he said.
News
Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation plague most schools, say Principals

By Pradeep Prasanna Samarakkone and Chaminda Silva
Around 500 schools across the country lack access to safe drinking water for students, Piyasiri Fernando, Secretary of the Sri Lanka Principals’ Association, has said.
Fernando told The Island that a significant number of schools did not have facilities to store water properly. He said many schools lacked sanitary facilities.
Fernando also noted that in some schools in the Eastern, North Central, Uva, North Western, and Central provinces, as well as in approximately 20% of schools located near coastal areas, there are no proper toilet facilities. Despite the issuance of circulars specifying the number of toilets to be built, based on the number of students, some schools still did not have sanitary facilities as per those guidelines, the Secretary of the Principals’ Association said.
According to the School Census -2023 (2024) conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics there were 3,882,688 schoolchildren, 830,021 in National Schools and 3,052,667 in Provincial Schools.
Out of 10,096 schools, 1,506 have 1-50 students, 1,638 have 51-100 students and 2,128 have 101-200 students. Only 67 schools have 3,001-4,000 students, while only 33 have more than 4,000 students. 3,117 or 30.9 percent schools have fewer than 10 teachers.
News
Julie meets Namal at SLPP HQ

US Ambassador, Julie Chung, visited the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) office on Friday (14) for discussions with party representatives.
Ambassador Chung arrived at the SLPP Headquarters around 10:00 a.m. and engaged in talks for over an hour and a half. Her visit followed a request by the SLPP to meet her.
During the meeting, she held discussions with SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, former Members of Parliament Sanjeewa Edirimanne, C.B. Ratnayake, and Jayantha Ketagoda, as well as current MP D.V. Chanaka. Milinda Rajapaksha, an advisor to former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, was also present.
The visit comes amid calls from SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa for an investigation into USAID fund recipients in Sri Lanka.
News
Speaker agrees to probe allegations of ‘unethical funding’ by USAID

By Saman Indrajith
Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne informed Parliament on Friday (14) that he intended to take necessary action regarding requests made by MPs concerning allegations over USAID funding in Sri Lanka.
He made this statement in response to a question raised by Opposition MP Dayasiri Jayasekara, who sought a clarification on the matter.
Jayasekara noted that SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa had sent a letter to the Speaker calling for the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to investigate reports about unethical USAID funding in the country. He questioned whether such a committee would be formed and the matter formally examined.
In response, Speaker Wickramaratne confirmed that he was planning to take appropriate action on the issue.
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