Secretary General of Parliament Mr. Dhammika Dasanayake, said that the Committee on High Posts has approved the appointments of two new secretaries to the ministries and a new ambassador.
Accordingly, the Committee has approved the appointment of W.S. Satyananda as the new secretary to the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing.
The Committee on High Posts also approved the appointment of Mr. M.M Naimudeen as the new Secretary to the Ministry of Investment Promotion, Mr. Dasanayake said.
In addition to that, the Secretary General informed that the approval of the Committee has been given to the appointment of (Dr.) Chanaka Harsha Talpahewa as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Philippines.
The Committee on High Posts of the Parliament met recently (04) under the chairmanship of Speaker – Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. MPs John Seneviratne, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Thalatha Athukorala and Dr. Sudarshani Fernadopulle were present.
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has said that an investigation into the recent incident where a student fell from the footboard of a ‘Sisu Sariya’ school bus, has revealed that the accident had resulted from the careless and negligent behaviour of both the driver and the conductor.
Issuing a statement, the NTC noted that, based on the preliminary findings, the Road Passenger Transport Authority of the North Western Province has taken steps to temporarily suspend the services of the driver and conductor involved.
Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation – K.D. Lal Kantha has announced that the government has decided to import 300,000 MT of maize.
Speaking to the media after attending a District Development Committee meeting at the Kandy District Secretariat yesterday (July 03), the Minister explained that this decision was taken to prevent traders from artificially inflating maize prices.
He stated that certain large and medium-scale businesses dealing with animal feed have been hoarding maize, buying it from farmers at fair prices and reselling it at much higher rates.
According to the Minister, these traders were trying to push maize prices up to Rs.190-200 per kilogram, which would have driven up the cost of eggs to Rs.200 each and increased meat prices significantly.
The Minister emphasized that while businesses are entitled to make a profit, the government will not allow unfair price manipulation. He also noted that, in the past, even ministers profited from animal products, but those days have ended and racketeers will not be allowed to control the market.
To prevent excessive price drops that could hurt farmers, the Food Security Committee has proposed imposing a tax on imported maize, he said.
