The committee appointed to examine the utilization of ministerial residences for alternative purposes has submitted its report to the Presidential Secretariat.

Minister of Public Administration, Prof. Chandana Abayarathna said that a decision regarding these official residences will be made in due course.

A five-member committee was recently appointed to study the possibility of using these ministerial residences for economic purposes and report on that matter.

Sri Lanka Customs has seized three shipping containers imported by an organized crime gang under false declarations.

The consignment from Dubai is said to be worth over Rs.120 million, and contains a large stock of goods including food items such as turmeric, ginger, coffee, chocolates, cashew nuts as well as cosmetic products, soap and clothing.

The containers were discovered at a private cargo clearance facility in Dematagoda, Colombo.

A team of officials, including Director General of SL Customs – Sarath Nonis as well as Customs Media Spokesman and Additional Director General – Sivali Arukgoda had inspected the seized goods.

Upon inspection, the seized containers were found to hold 06 MT of turmeric, 03 MT of ginger, 03 MT of cashew nuts, and 1.5 MT of coffee beans.

These food items had been imported without the approval of the Plant Quarantine Division, while the cosmetic products, valued at millions of rupees, had been brought in without obtaining the necessary approval from the National Medicine Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka (NMRA).

The Customs Media Spokesman had also stated that if these goods had not been intercepted, the government would have lost over Rs.120 million in tax revenue.

Investigations also revealed that the addresses provided for the shipment’s consignees were fake.

The Customs Media Spokesman also stated that steps will be taken to arrest individuals involved in this racket.

He also stated that around 07 cargo clearance companies are operating in Colombo, with organized crime gangs allegedly linked to these firms.

Customs officials have stated that the seized turmeric and ginger stocks will be inspected by the National Plant Quarantine Service before being distributed to the public through Sathosa, while the clothing and footwear will be sold through a Tender process.

Meanwhile, cosmetic products and soaps imported without NMRA approval will be destroyed, according to Customs Media Spokesman.

It’s reported that the government has decided to revise the payment rate per unit of electricity generated by rooftop solar panels.

Sources from the Ministry of Energy indicate that a cabinet paper has been submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers to implement these revisions based on recommendations from the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

Accordingly, the unit price paid for rooftop solar electricity will be revised, with proposed adjustments based on the amount of electricity generated.

At present, the payment per unit is Rs.27, but under the new revisions, it is expected to be reduced to Rs.19.

For solar power systems generating less than 20 kilowatts, the proposed payment per unit is Rs.19. Systems generating between 20 – 100 kilowatts will receive Rs.17 per unit, while systems generating between 100 – 500 kilowatts will receive Rs.15 per unit.

However, these new tariff rates will apply only to newly installed rooftop solar systems, while existing installations will continue to receive payments at the current rate.

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