President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the necessary steps will be taken to pass the best anti-Corruption Act in South Asia in Parliament soon.
The President revealed that the cabinet approval for the Bill has already been granted and said that he will discuss it with the Opposition representatives in the future and present it to the Parliament.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said this during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat today (23) with the heads of media organizations.
President Wickremesinghe said :
“This process is very difficult. We all feel it. This is a four-year process. It will end in 2026. Those who were with me over a long period and supported these policies are now speaking against me. So is it a big thing for those who were against me to support me? We must remember one thing. We are in a difficult place now. We can’t play the old games again. If we do that, we will fall again. Let’s forget the old games and the past and move forward.”
“We all made mistakes. At least now agree with this and support us. This money we received will be used to pay the salaries this month. It’s not stealing. These were lost because of the allegations of theft. Don’t spread such stories. These people who point fingers steal more than this. My salary is lower than those of you here. We need to change attitudes.”
“They accused me of coming to protect thieves. But we are bringing the best anti-corruption bill in South Asia in consultation with the IMF. The opposition’s shouting did not bring anything. The Minister of Justice is also discussing this with the opposition.”
“We presented this to Parliament to get the support of all parties. No one can oppose this. Some new laws have also been introduced. We have taken several new steps.”
“We do not want to suppress the media. I hear the most criticism from the media. I also lost the media. I am the one who removed the criminal law imposed on the media. I was the one who gave the right to know the information. Independent commissions were brought to Parliament three times. So how do I suppress the media?”
A gazette extraordinary has been issued containing the names of Mayors, Deputy Mayors, Chairpersons, and Vice-Chairpersons of several local government institutions.
The names have been gazetted based on recommendations sent to the National Election by political parties and independents groups that secured a majority in local government bodies at the recently concluded Local Government (LG) election.
Accordingly, the Election Commission has taken steps to publish the names from among the political parties and independent groups that secured a majority at the Local Government election held recently.
The names of the elected and nominated members for the respective local authorities, following the Local Government election were also published in the government gazette based on the respective administrative districts.
As per the gazette notification issued by the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government on February 17, 2025, the term of office of local government bodies is scheduled to commence on June 2, 2025
Prevailing showery condition in the southwestern part of the island is expected to reduced gradually from today (01st)
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North-western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.
Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts during the afternoon or night.
Fairly strong winds of about (30-40) kmph can be expected at times over Western slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central and North-western provinces and in Hambantota and Trincomalee districts.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage and former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando, sentenced this week to jail for 20 and 25 years, respectively, have been assigned duties in the printing section at the Welikada prison, sources said.
Both of them are being held together away from the main section of the prison’s ‘chapel’ section, where prisoners serving life sentences and those convicted of murder and rape are held. The prison’s printing section prints its own documentation.
Prison sources said that in placing them in relevant wards to serve their jail term, the authorities had taken into consideration the security of the two convicts, as they might have had political enemies.
Mr Aluthgamage was handed a 20-year term of rigorous imprisonment, while Mr Fernando was given a 25-year term of rigorous imprisonment by a High Court trial-at-bar after being found guilty of causing a Rs 53 million loss to the state.
They were accused of importing carrom boards and checkers boards through Sathosa during the 2015 presidential elections and distributing them to clubs.
Their lawyers said yesterday they were awaiting the certified copy of the judgement to prepare the appeal papers. The appeal will be considered by the Supreme Court.
(sundaytimes.lk) (This story, originally published by sundaytimes.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)