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COPE chair criticizes Mahaweli Authority

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The Committee on Public Enterprise evaluates the current performance of the Mahaweli Authority following the Auditor General’s Report of 2020 & 2021.

Professor Ranjith Bandara, Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprise took exception at the outdated ‘Vision’ statement and Key Performance Indicators of the Authority following consistent failure to deliver its services with integrity and quality.
The Chairman began proceedings with a stern look at the inability of the body to ‘raise the living standards of the citizens’ – a mantra clearly highlighted in the body’s vision statement. He directed the Director-General of the Mahaweli Authority to examine its policy and practices and re-invent the fundamentals of the body itself to reflect the modern world better. On this note, the Committee further queried the lack of digital infrastructure in the land reservation process and directed the Authority to take measures to strengthen it.

Regarding the conveyance of lands, the Committee directed the Authority to submit the following:
• Report on existing land conveyance procedure to be submitted within 02 weeks.
• Report on how lands conveyed for investment purposes was completed including details of the investor, purpose of investments, etc. to be submitted within 02 weeks.
• Report on illegal constructions taking place within the purview of the body to be submitted within 01 month.

Following an incongruence between the annual report submitted to parliament and the data sought out by the Auditor General’s office, an urgent report of all lands released in 2022 was requested. This comes on the heels of the President’s directive where a stay order was made on the issuance of lands.

The Recruitment Process Management was scrutinized, and it was found that there were vacancies that had not been filled up owing to suspected reservations for promotions to the existing staff internally. The Chairman of COPE immediately directed that the vacancies be filled within the next 60 days.
The Committee directed that all issues be revisited for review and accountability on 21-07-2023.

(Prof.) Ranjith Bandara, M.P., (Chair), Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara, Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura M.P., M.P, Hon. Shantha Bandara, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage M.P., Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekera M.P., Hon. Eran Wickremaratne M.P., Hon. Jayantha Samaraweera M.P., Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna M.P., Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, M.P., Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, M.P., Hon. Premnath Dolawatte, Attorney-at-Law M.P., Hon. M Rameshwaran, M.P., Hon. (Mrs.) Rajika Wickramasinghe, M.P., Hon. Madhura Withanage, M.P., Prof. Charitha Herath M.P. were present

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Complete 3rd phase of Central Expressway by 2026 end – Vijitha

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Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation – Vijitha Herath has urged to complete work of the 3rd phase of the Central Expressway by Dec. 31, 2026.

The 3rd phase spans from Pothuhera to Rambukkana.

The minister had said this after inspecting work at the section today (Nov. 09).

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Govt refutes claims of shutting down ‘Thriposha’ company

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The government has refuted reports claiming that Sri Lanka Thriposha Limited (SLTL) is to be closed down.

Issuing a statement, the Ministry of Finance has said no action has been taken or will be taken to liquidate the Thriposha Company.

The statement further notes that the Triposha programme to provide nutrition supplements to children and pregnant mothers will continue forward in a more effective manner.

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58 Lankans arrested in Colombo over alleged online financial fraud

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A group of 58 Sri Lankans has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (Nov. 08) while residing in a luxury apartment complex on Havelock Road, Colombo, over suspected involvement in an online financial fraud.

They were arrested on a tipoff received by the Computer Crime Investigation Division (CCID) of the CID and were to be produced before the Colombo Magistrate’s Court today (09).

Meanwhile, Police Spokesman DIG Nihal Thalduwa stated that the investigation commenced after a complaint received from a foreign embassy in Sri Lanka. He stated that the funds in question belong to a Korean national residing in South Korea and that funds valued at approximately Rs. 300 million were defrauded.

He added that a 52-year-old woman from Colombo 07, who served as a director, and a 40-year-old man from Ragama, who acted as a manager, are among the arrested persons.

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