News
Wijeyadasa: No govt. has followed national disaster guidelines for past 18 yrs
By Saman Indrajith
Successive governments had not followed national disaster guidelines formulated after the 2004 tsunami disaster, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe told Parliament yesterday (25).The Minister said so, making a statement on the status of litigation on the X-Press Pearl disaster and a report on the disaster by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.
Commenting on the report, Rajapakshe said the Sectoral Oversight Committee, comprising 12 members had presented its report in late July, but only six members had signed it.The Justice Minister said that the Sectoral Oversight Committee report had levelled serious allegations against the Attorney General’s Department.
“This report is problematic as only six have signed. What is the view of the other six MPs? I urge the Speaker to prepare some guidelines on this,” he said.
The Parliament had appointed a committee led by Minister Ramesh Pathirana to study both X-Press Pearl and MV New Diamond disasters, Rajapakshe said.
“I have also just appeared before it. However, the report of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources & Sustainable Development has caused great inconvenience to the Attorney General’s Department. In fact, most of the findings of the report reflect the opinions expressed by a former employee of the Attorney General’s Department. He now appears as an expert in maritime law.
In response, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said that they had no intention of making life difficult for those engaged in litigation in the X-Press Pearl case. However, the manner in which the estimates for the damage caused by the disaster had been made left much to be desired.
“The previous government learnt nothing from the MV New Diamond case. It also learnt nothing from the X-Press Pearl disaster. The manner in which the damage to nature was calculated was wrong. Those in charge said the damage was only limited to the area between Negombo and Panadura. However, we know that the damage was caused to a much larger area. So, was the damage properly assessed? Also the MPs do have a right to ask questions about the status of inquiry, he said.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Lakshman Kirielle asked the Justice Minister to explain the current status of the litigation. He said that MPs need to know what has transpired following Sri Lanka filing a case in Singapore.
The Minister said that a nine-member team, with representatives from the Attorney General’s Department and the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), met representatives from insurers of X-Press Pearl in Singapore. There is also an attempt to shift the case to a commercial high court there.
“This would allow us to have judges from different countries. This would actually be beneficial to us,” he said.
A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.
Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.
Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.
It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.
Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.
Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions
• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981
News
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.
Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Munoz sends Colombia into World Cup knockouts with 1-0 win over DR Congo
Animal Welfare Draft Bill to be Gazetted
Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Court vacancy row throws Parliament into turmoil; sittings disrupted
Climate, pollution, forest loss now hitting economy: BASL chief
‘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
-
News6 days agoCreditor receives USD 2.5 mn as Lankan public bears loss from theft of Treasury funds
-
News5 days agoCreditor not yet paid
-
News5 days agoConsumers bearing 22% tax burden despite 18% VAT claim: Dr. Harsha de Silva
-
Opinion7 days agoBeyond diagnosis: A strategic design for 7% growth by 2029 (Part I)
-
Features4 days agoNanda Pethiyagoda Wanasundara as three generations of family saw her
-
Opinion6 days agoSriLankan Airbus struck by lightning
-
Features3 days agoSri Lanka developing independent hydrographic capabilities
-
Latest News3 days agoSooryavanshi thumps fastest List A fifty as India A win tri-series