2022-07-07
News Categories : Committee News
According to the data, petrol and diesel can be sold at a price of approximately Rs. 250 in Sri Lanka, said Mr. Janaka Ratnayake, Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
He stated this when the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) met in Parliament yesterday (06) under the chairmanship of the Member of Parliament (Prof.) Charita Herath to examine the Auditor General's report for the years 2018 and 2019 and current performance of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka.
Explaining this further, Mr. Rathnayake mentioned that this is revealed when checking the statistics on the import prices of petroleum and the taxes levied by the government. Accordingly, he pointed out that petrol and diesel can be provided in Sri Lanka at Rs. 200 less than the current price. According to this, petrol and diesel can be sold at a price of approximately Rs. 250 . He also said that the government has collected a tax of Rs. 280 for one liter of diesel imported on July 1st.
He said that this is his personal statement and he would make the statement after consulting the data. Accordingly, the members present asked about the awareness of the officials of the commission and the officials of the board of directors said that they are not aware of it. It was also mentioned here that the Ministry of Finance has not formally informed about this.
COPE members asked Mr. Ratnayake about his qualifications for becoming the chairman of this commission. He pointed out that he has obtained a Special Degree in Public Administration from the University of Sri Jayawardenepura and a Postgraduate degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Colombo. He also said that he has also studied at Harvard University. As his political qualifications, he stated that since 2005, Rajapaksa has been greatly supported in forming governments.
COPE chairman mentioned that the statement made by PUCSL Chairman regarding the fuel price is more serious and the attention of the country is being drawn on this. Therefore, officials from the Ministry of Power and Energy and the PUCSL Chairman are expected to be summoned before the COPE to inspect the matter in the future, said Prof. Herath.
Also, it was discussed at length about the purchase by the commission of a “Benz” car manufactured in the year 2005 without fuel or driver from a company called General Business (Private) Ltd without entering into any agreement for a period of one year from December 07, 2021. Thus, the annual rent for this vehicle was Rs.4,500,000 and on 31 May 2022, Rs. 2,187,500 had been paid to the aforesaid company. However, the COPE questioned the fact that the files regarding the hiring of this vehicle were not submitted for audit, recommendations were given to hire a 15-year-old vehicle, as well as the irregularities in calling for bids for the hiring of this vehicle, and the issues of transparency in the payment of rent for this vehicle. In particular, the committee instructed the officer who signed the approval to provide money for this institution to act responsibly.
Accordingly, the COPE Chairman recommended that an investigation be conducted and a full report be submitted to the COPE.
Also, although it was informed that the Organization Structure and Salary Structure of the PUCSL should be developed under the recommendation of the National Salary and Cadre Commission and the approval of the Department of Management Services and that the Finance Minister should submit an amendment to the Cabinet and approve it, the committee discussed spending on certain functions without doing it by the end of 2021.
In particular, the COPE paid attention to the fact that Rs. 45,873,483 were paid to the staff of the institution under 11 types of allowances. Also, the committee paid more attention to the fact that Rs. 86,808,538 of the total operating cost, (49% of the total amount) had been spent on public awareness programs.
In particular, attention was paid to the approved electricity generation plan for the years 2018-2037. The officials present mentioned that data on another new generation plan was submitted in the year 2021 and was not approved as the appropriate requirements were not met. Here, the Committee mentioned that when the political authorities change, problems arise due to the change of these plans, so all parties should pay more attention to this.
Furthermore, under the Electricity (Distribution) Performance Standards Orders mentioned in a special gazette notice issued in 2016, the commission was assigned the responsibility of preparing and implementing the performance rules. Thus, the work that should be implemented within 36 months after the decree came into effect, although almost 4 years have passed, the committee drew attention to the fact that even the adaptation phase, which was planned to be completed in 2018, has not yet been completed. The officials who were present mentioned that this was planned to be done in 3 phases in 3 years and that it has not happened yet due to the need to change the system and the problems in the relationship between the parties involved.
The members of the committee Hon. Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Hon. Indika Anuruddha, (Dr.) Hon. Harsha de Silva, (Dr.) Hon. Nalaka Godaheva, Hon. Jayantha Samaraweera, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatta and Hon. Mr. Madura Withanage were present. Also, several MPs who are not members of the committee also participated with the permission of the chairman of the committee.
2025-10-29
A discussion aimed at sharing agricultural development experiences and expanding future cooperation opportunities between the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation and a Chinese delegation led by Yan Yalin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Yunnan Province, was held recently (Oct. 24) at the Parliament premises. The meeting was chaired by Hon. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Namal Karunaratne, during which discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fields of tea, coffee, and tobacco cultivation. Expressing his views at the discussion, Hon. Deputy Minister Namal Karunaratne stated that preliminary discussions had already been conducted at the ministerial level and that this meeting aimed to facilitate in-depth dialogue between the delegation and Members of Parliament on these sectors. Appreciating the continuous support extended by China to Sri Lanka’s development process over the years, the Hon. Deputy Minister also emphasized the longstanding friendship between Sri Lanka and China. He further noted that such interactions would contribute to strengthening bilateral cooperation and to the modernization and expansion of Sri Lanka’s agricultural sector. Both parties exchanged views regarding the development of the tea, coffee, and tobacco industries, with particular focus on the application of modern technological innovations. The need to utilize advanced technology to address challenges arising from the declining labor force and to improve the productivity of tea cultivation was also discussed. The Chinese delegation proposed the use of fourth-generation fertilizers as suitable for improving soil fertility and enhancing crop yields. Attention was also drawn to coffee cultivation, where it was noted that Sri Lanka’s coffee industry had demonstrated notable progress over the past decade. The need to expand the allocation of land for coffee cultivation was discussed as well. Officials indicated that currently over 5,000 hectares are under coffee cultivation and that plans are underway to expand it to 10,000 hectares within the next two years. Furthermore, discussions were held regarding Sri Lanka’s tobacco industry, where it was pointed out that exporting value-added finished products to the market instead of raw materials would enable Sri Lanka to gain better access to international markets. It was also highlighted that the tobacco industry in Sri Lanka still operates on a small-scale basis, and the Chinese delegation stressed the importance of developing it into a large-scale, factory-centered industry. Hon. Members of Parliament of the Ministerial Consultative Committee and other Hon. Members, Chinese representatives, and officials from Parliament and the Ministry participated in this meeting.
2025-10-29
The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) questioned the North Western Provincial Council over its decision to adopt a “Design and Build Procurement Process” for a six-storey office complex, resulting in a higher financial burden on the Council, despite no feasibility study report having been obtained Although the North Western Provincial Council, together with the Kurunegala Municipal Council, had called for tenders and entered into an agreement with a contractor for the construction of the six-storey office building, it was disclosed before COPA that the construction work has now been suspended due to an ongoing supervisory inquiry. It was also disclosed that a feasibility study report, which is a prerequisite for such a project, had not been obtained. Furthermore, COPA emphasized that choosing the Design and Build Procurement Process which shifts the entire design and construction responsibility to the contractor, for a standard six-storey office building (not of a special nature) was problematic, as it imposed an unnecessary financial burden on the Provincial Council. These matters were discussed during the meeting of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), chaired by Hon. Kabir Hashim, Member of Parliament, held on 23.10.2025, to examine the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2023 and 2024 and the current performance of the North Western Provincial Council. Accordingly, COPA decided to summon the respective officials for further examination of this construction project and recommended that within one month, all recommendations, procurement documents, technical committee reports, and all other related records pertaining to the project be submitted to the Auditor General. COPA also inquired into the recovery of loan funds and overdue interest provided by the Department of the Food Commissioner through the Department of Co-operative Development of the North Western Province to paddy-producing co-operative societies. It was recommended that a report including the measures taken to recover these funds, along with a timeline, be submitted to COPA within two months. Further, although the Provincial Land Commissioner’s Department had been instructed to prepare a comprehensive record on state lands, COPA observed that such records were not being properly maintained to allow identification of all state lands, details on lands given on long-term lease with or without approval, and arrears in lease rentals. COPA emphasized that officials must take action without hesitation to recover monies due to the government and assured that the Committee will extend all necessary support to ensure this. Accordingly, the Committee recommended that a report on the total amount expected to be recovered by the end of this year be submitted. It was further revealed that due to ongoing supervisory issues, approximately Rs. 85 million in tax arrears could not be recovered, and COPA directed that a detailed report on this matter also be submitted to the Committee. The meeting was attended by COPA Members including Hon. Deputy Ministers Aravinda Senaratne and Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd), and Hon. Members of Parliament (Dr.) Janaka Senarathna, T.K. Jayasundara, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law Sagarika Athauda, Attorney-at-Law and Sunil Rathnasiri.
2025-10-27
World Bank representatives have emphasized the importance of maintaining an updated and accurate data system when selecting eligible beneficiaries for the Aswesuma Social Security Programme. They further stated their readiness to provide the necessary technical support and international expertise for this purpose. These observations were made during a joint meeting held recently (Oct. 22) at Parliament, attended by Members of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development; Members of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations; other Honourable Members of Parliament; representatives of the World Bank; and officials of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies. The meeting was held with the participation of the Hon. (Dr.) Upali Pannilage, Minister of Rural Development, Social Empowerment and Welfare; and the Hon. (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney-at-Law, Chairperson of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Economic Development and International Relations. The World Bank delegation included Ms. Francesca Lamanna, Senior Economist for the Social Security Project, and Mr. Srinivas Varadan, Senior Social Security Specialist, along with several others. During the discussions, the World Bank representatives stated that establishing a comprehensive data system for social Security would enable the accurate identification of genuinely poor and vulnerable individuals and families. They noted that the mere inclusion of citizens’ information in the database would not automatically qualify them as Aswesuma beneficiaries. Instead, the data must be verified and analyzed to correctly identify those eligible for relevant benefits. They further emphasized that such a Social Security data system constitutes a productive investment for the country and, therefore, highlighted the need for continuous updating of the data system. Members of Parliament who took part in the discussion also expressed their views regarding issues encountered in distributing Aswesuma benefits. They suggested that the beneficiaries of Aswesuma be selected through local committees and that the list of selected beneficiaries be publicly displayed within the respective village to ensure transparency in the process. Officials involved in implementing the Aswesuma programme stated that certain challenges had arisen due to inadequate information provided to the implementing officers, Divisional Secretaries, and Grama Niladhari officers. However, they noted that measures are currently being taken to properly inform these officers of their respective roles and to obtain their cooperation in ensuring the successful implementation of the programme. This occasion was also attended by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, Hon. Ministers, Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament, Ms. Shalika Subasinghe – Advisor to the World Bank, and officials of the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies.
2025-10-24
The Committee on Public Finance has granted its approval for the Appropriation Bill for the year 2026. This approval was given during a committee meeting held in Parliament yesterday (Oct. 23) under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva. Officials from the Ministry of Finance, who attended the meeting, briefed the Committee on the allocation of funds for various sectors and the targets set for the year 2026. After an extensive discussion on these matters, the Committee granted its approval for the Bill. The Appropriation Bill for the year 2026 is scheduled to be presented to Parliament for the second reading (Budget Speech) by the Hon. President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance on 7th of November.
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