2021-11-29
News Categories : Committee News
The Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Prof. Charitha Herath, Member of Parliament directed the Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Development Authority to expedite the Preparation of a program to utilize the 12 islands under the Tourism Development Authority in the Kalpitiya area for the benefit of the tourism industry.
It was revealed that although an investor had applied for 5 of the 12 islands which is of 2055 acres in 2011, it had been delayed due to the inability to identify a proper institution to obtain approval for his Water Bungalows project.
The COPE Chairman pointed out that the delay of such a project for 10 years due to the inability to get approval for this investor who already own hotels of similar nature in the Maldives is an obstacle to the development of the tourism industry as well as the development of the country.
The COPE Chairman stressed the need to utilize these beautiful islands for tourism. The COPE Chairman directed the Mr. S. Hettiarachchi and Chairman of the Tourism Development Authority Kimarli Fernando to implement a special project within a strong legal framework since Cabinet approval has been granted for this putting forth a Steering Committee with all relevant parties such as the Marine Environment Protection Authority, Central Environmental Authority, North Western Provincial Council, Coast Conservation and Coastal Resource Management Department.
The aforesaid was disclosed at the COPE meeting chaired by Prof. Charitha Herath held recently (26) to examine the Auditor General's Reports for the years 2018 and 2019 and the current performance of the Tourism Development Authority.
Also, the Committee paid attention towards the audit observation that there was payment of Rs. 11 million out of 29 million for the renovation of the Kataragama Resort a few years ago for work not done. It was also disclosed that the value of this 11 million has been estimated at Rs. 4.8 million by a re-appointed expert committee. It was also brought to the notice of the Committee that despite a committee being appointed through the Ministry of Public Administration which has made recommendations that the Attorney General conduct an investigation into the incident and punish the culprits, no action has been taken so far. Instead, the Auditor General revealed that only a warning letter had been issued to the officer involved in the said incident and the committee expressed its strong displeasure in this regard. The COPE chairman pointed out that this was not a criticism of the existing management but a responsibility of Government institutions to change this long-standing system and take appropriate action on audit observations and recommendations.
The committee also inquired about the payment of an additional Rs. 10 million for the construction of the Kalpitiya Thoraiadi Jetty and the road near the Wannimundalama Lagoon. The Authority said that it had inquired about this from the Puttalam District Engineer and was informed that further action could not be taken as they did not have the relevant documents. The Auditor General revealed that although the COPE had given a recommendation in 2016 to look into this matter, the investigation process only began in 2018. The COPE chairman expressed his displeasure over this and stated that state institutions are bound to implement a recommendation made by Parliament, the highest body on financial control in the country, thus, an immediate inquiry should be conducted and a report should be submitted as soon as possible.
Despite spending Rs. 1.2 billion on tourism development in 2018-2019, 1.9 million tourists have visited the country. Therefore, the existing institutions should be set up for the tourism industry under a more efficient mechanism, said the Chairperson of the Tourism Development Authority, Kimarli Fernando. Accordingly, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, which are currently working separately for the betterment of the tourism industry, will form a single entity whilst the Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management is intended to operate separately, the chairperson further said.
The Secretary to the Ministry said that the Bill on this regard will be presented to Parliament by March-April as it has been approved by the Cabinet. The COPE Chairman instructed the Secretary to the Ministry to expedite the work on this regard if it is the need of the Ministry and the institutions for the purpose of a more efficient mechanism.
The Committee drew attention to the obstacles faced by Sri Lanka in comparison to Maldives which has made rapid progress in the tourism industry. Ms. Kimarli Fernando said that only the highest priced luxury hotels in the Maldivian tourism industry are active, promoting globally through active public relations, operating under a small team of 15 international level experts, and making a significant impact by bringing in leading international investors bringing about such impact. The Chairperson also said that the institute has played a major role in uplifting the tourism industry in the face of the COVID pandemic. She added that her institution has made great strides in training hoteliers amidst the COVID crisis, having fully completed the online registration process.
The COPE also stressed the need to make more effective use of the properties owned by the Tourism Development Authority, including lands in many areas, for the betterment of the tourism industry.
Hon. State Minister Susil Premajayantha, Hon. Members of Parliament Rauff Hakeem, Jagath Pushpakumara, Nalin Bandara, S. M. Marikkar, Madhura Withanage, Premnath C. Dolawatte, officials of the Tourism Development Authority were present at this Committee meeting.
2024-09-20
The Committee on High Posts which met recently (Sep. 18) in Parliament has given its approval for the nomination of the Ambassador of Sri Lanka designated to the State of Kuwait.Accordingly, the Committee on High Posts considered the nomination of Mr. L.P. Ratnayake as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the State of Kuwait and has approved same.Hon. Vidura Wickramanayaka, Hon. (Dr.) (Mrs.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Hon. Udaya Gammanpila were present at this meeting of the Committee on High Posts Chaired by Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, Speaker.
2024-09-09
The report of the Select Committee of Parliament to look into whether the child malnutrition issue in Sri Lanka is aggravating and to identify short term, medium term, and long-term measures to be taken in that regard, as well as to oversee the speedy implementation of the identified measures was presented to Parliament by Member of Parliament, Hon. Rohini Kumari Wijerathna on behalf of the Select Committee Chair Hon. Vadivel Suresh recently (04). The Report presents that child undernutrition can be presented in four forms such as stunting (low length/height for age), wasting (low weight for length/ height or low BMI for age), underweight (low weight for age) and, micro nutrient deficiencies/ insufficiencies - a lack/ inadequacy of important vitamins and minerals. The Report further states that babies born with a birth weight of 2500 grams or less are considered to be low birth weight and according to the National Nutrition and Micronutrient Survey conducted in 2022, the prevalence of low birth weight in a nationally representative sample was 15.9%. The June 2023 Nutrition Month report identified an increase in underweight and stunting among infants and children up to two years of age compared to 2022. The most alarmingly high underweight rate of 24.6% was recorded in Nuwara Eliya district, where one in every four children was identified as moderately or severely underweight, the report said. In June 2023, the proportion of children affected by poverty in Sri Lanka is 10%, according to this report. 1.2% of all children under the age of 5 are affected by severe acute malnutrition and numerically nearly 16,000 children suffer from such acute malnutrition. The Nutrition Month 2023 report revealed a 10.3% increase in stunting among children under the age of five, an increase of 9.2% from the previous year. The report has revealed that the causes of chronic malnutrition, which are short or short in height compared to children of the same age, occur over time. Meanwhile, according to the survey conducted in 2022, a nationally representative sample of children aged 5-18 years found that shortness, overweight and obesity increase with age. The report has shown that lack of food security at the household level has also contributed to malnutrition. Due to the economic crisis in the year 2022, 98% of the entire population has been affected by the increase in food prices, and as a result, 74% of the households could not afford to buy food or daily essentials in the last six months of that year, according to the report. The number of food insecure households increased to 24% in the third quarter of 2023 compared to 17% in March 2023. A third of all families have reduced the frequency of cooking or limited their consumption and a quarter live on food from neighbors. The report provides conclusions and recommendations for improving child nutrition. It emphasized the importance of immediate attention to children before they become chronically malnourished. The report also emphasized the need for adequately skilled field health staff to provide quality Maternal and Child Nutrition (MCN) services for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs. The report also emphasized that vitamin A supplementation should be considered again before this becomes a problem again, as vitamin A supplementation has been discontinued for school children. The need for urgent action to improve the food security status of families with children under the age of five has also been highlighted. The report also recommends using existing health management information systems to identify focal areas of malnutrition in children and to map risk to address malnutrition in order to identify the most vulnerable families and causal factors. A number of short, medium and long-term recommendations have been presented in this report, including uninterrupted supply of nutritional supplements to pregnant mothers and malnourished children, control of prices of those ingredients to ensure affordable availability of ingredients for a healthy and low-cost diet, the implementation and monitoring of pre-school feeding program, school feeding program and school canteen guidelines to provide quality food.
2024-09-06
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Food Security & Agriculture went on an observation visit in Gampaha (Minuwangoda) area on August 28 for the survey of paddy harvest obtained through the use of environmentally friendly fertilizer. The main objective of the Committee was to successfully introduce environmentally friendly fertilizer to the Sri Lankan agriculture and it was decided in this Committee that the fertilizer products should be tested in the main paddy growing area. Under the guidance of the Committee Chair Hon. D. Weerasingha, the eco-friendly fertilizer usage program was implemented in 7 provinces and Mahaweli Zones B, C and H in the 2024 yala season, post observing the successful results of paddy demonstrations in Welikanda and Dehiattakandiya areas using environmentally friendly fertilizers in the 2023/2024 Maha season. This observation tour took place in accordance to the said. Officials of the Sectoral Oversight Committees of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Agriculture and Plantation Industries, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Agrarian Development, Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute, Agricultural Research Policy Council, National Fertilizer Secretariat, Department of Census and Statistics and Western Provincial Department of Agriculture were present during this program. Under the above program, the program related to the Western Province was conducted under the supervision of the Western Province Agriculture Department and the harvest survey was conducted by the Census and Statistics Department. The overall coordination of the program was done by the National Institute of Fundamental Studies.
2024-08-22
The research report on the gender pay gap was presented to Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, the Speaker of Parliament and Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition recently (Aug. 08) by Hon. (Dr.) (Mrs.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Chair of the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus. This report was prepared by a group of researchers including the Women and Media Collective under the leadership of the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus. Chair of the Committee on Public Finance, Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, Member of Parliament, Co-Deputy Chair of the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus, Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, Hon. Eran Wickramaratne Member of Parliament were also present at this event. Addressing the gathering, Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana, the Speaker stated that it is important to formulate legislation and new policies to change these wage inequalities. Furthermore, the Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition stated that provisions should be included in the constitution so that these rights can be upheld. The Caucus Chair pointed out that in order to eliminate this gender wage disparity, there should also be a change in the attitudes among the people in the society. Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, Secretary General of the Parliament and the Secretary of the Women Parliamentarians' Caucus, thanked everyone who contributed towards the success of this work. Commenting on this research report, the research team led by Dr Sepali Kottegoda, Executive Director of the Women and Media Collective stated that the gender pay gap in the Sri Lankan labor market is primarily and closely linked to unpaid care services. The researchers highlighted that women are under-represented in high-wage industries, concentrated in low-paid service roles, and a significant proportion of women are engaged in part-time work and unpaid domestic care services. Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, Women and Media Collective, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Democratic Institute (NDI) other invitees were present at this event.