News
Speaker to give MPs laptops
By Saman Indrajith
Parliament would explore the possibility of giving its members laptops, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday.
The Speaker said so when MPs complained that they could not take away the laptops that had been provided as they were fixed to their desks.
SJB Matara District MP Buddhika Pathirana raising a point of order said that various documents including annual reports and performance reports of ministries and statutory bodies were provided to MPs in Compact Discs. “These CDs are a waste of money. Years ago, these reports came in book format and kept on our tables.
Thereafter, a positive move was taken to replace books with CDs. As we know many MPs do not use them. They do not take those CDs with them. It could be seen that some of the CDs are now lying along the corridors here. That is not only a financial loss but an environmental hazard. Each MP has been given a laptop. These reports could be saved in those laptops. As per the past few days, CDs for more than 100 reports have been given to each MP. I propose that we should move on to a more modern system that would not cause environmental damage and save money.”
Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera: That proposal is a valuable suggestion. What the opposition MP said is true. Very few members make use of them. These are a problem for the environment. The MPs can access them through their laptops.
Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena: These reports are already in the laptops.
Minister Amaraweera: Therefore there is no need to distribute them in CDs.
SJB Colombo District MP S. M. Marikkar: We have to email these reports to another address and then take printouts. The problem is these laptops are fixed to the tables. We cannot take them away. If an MP is given a laptop the MPs should be able to take it away and use them. We cannot use this fixed laptop. Please make it possible for the MPs to use their laptops.
The Speaker: We’ll look into the matter and find a way to provide MPs with laptops.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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