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“Obtaining passports after paying money, a right of the people”

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Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Open and Accountable Government, Member of Parliament Jagath Kumara Sumitraarachchi, recently informed the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration to take immediate action to issue passports in a way that does not inconvenience the public.

This was discussed when the Department of Immigration and Emigration was summoned to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on An Open and Accountable Government to consider the new “Immigration” Bill.

Addressing the meeting, the Immigration and Emigration Controller General Mr. Harsha Ilukpitiya said that nearly 1 million passports had been issued in 2023, but only 23% of them had been used and the remaining 77% of passports had not been used. 

Also, he added that since the electronic passport (E-Passport) is to be introduced by the end of October, there is a possibility to request the new e- passport from some countries and accordingly, the department requests the non-essential public to refrain from getting passports.

The Chair of the Committee pointed out that people should be informed about this as much as possible. 

However, the Chair also emphasized that it is the responsibility of the Immigration and Emigration Department to issue the requested passports so that the people are not inconvenienced, as it is the right of the people to get passports after paying money. If not, the Chair of the Committee – Jagath Kumara Sumitraarachchi pointed out that the department as well as the government will be deeply displeased by the people.

Also, the officials of the Immigration and Emigration Department said that the obstacles to obtaining passports for pilgrims traveling to India and Nepal will be promptly removed.

While considering the new “Immigration” Bill, the Committee inquired about the provisions of the bill from the officials. 

Immigration and Emigration Controller General Mr. Harsha Ilukpitiya said that the drafting of this bill, which was presented to Parliament on June 20, 2024 by the Minister of Public Security, commenced in 2017. 

This new bill has been prepared by amending the issue of travel documents, the Immigrants and Emigrants Act and the Passport (Regulation) and Exit Permit Act, No. 53 of 1971 to suit the current social and technological situation. 

He also mentioned that since this bill has been challenged in the Supreme Court and the relevant determination has been announced to the Parliament, the related amendments will be made.    

It was also revealed that this bill has provided provisions to fill the gaps in the immigration laws of this country. The Controller General pointed out that for the first time, the necessary legal provisions have been made by this new bill especially for Human Smuggling, which has not had any laws in this country so far. Also, this new bill has enacted new laws including the legal provisions necessary for the department to move forward with the new technology as well as the provisions applicable to people staying illegally in the country. Mr. Ilukpitiya further mentioned that this bill was prepared after considering the opinions and suggestions of several experts. It was also discussed in the committee that this bill, which has been delayed for a long time, is a very important bill.

Also, the committee’s attention was drawn to filling the vacancies of the employees of the Immigration and Emigration Department. The chair of the committee also advised to submit the related proposal to the committee. Giving approval to the bill, the committee chair said that in order to implement this bill more successfully, the department should proceed with new technology. The committee also informed the Immigration and Emigration Department to provide the related proposals to the committee within 2 weeks to remove the existing obstacles.

Also, the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration stated that the procurement process of electronic passports (e-Passports) is in the final stage and 5 million electronic passports will be received by the end of October 2024.

Officials representing the Ministry of Public Security, the Attorney General’s Department and the Legal Draftsman’s Department also attended the meeting. 

Members of Parliament – John Seneviratne, Udayana Kiridigoda, Gunathilaka Rajapaksa, Jayantha Weerasinghe, Ishaq Rahuman, Sudath Manjula, Kumarasiri Ratnayake and HMadhura Withanage were also present in this committee meeting.

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Ex-chairman of Lindula-Talawakelle UC, remanded

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Former chairman of the Lindula-Talawakelle Urban Council – Asoka Sepala has been arrested today (June 02).

The Colombo Chief Magistrate has ordered to remand the suspect until June 11.

The former chairman has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for causing a loss of Rs. 2.38 million to the government, during the issuance of a tender to lease stall belonging to the Urban Council.

It is said that instead of awarding the tender to the highest bidder, it was given to a lower bidder, resulting in the aforementioned loss.

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Halloluwa further remanded

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Former Director of the National Lotteries Board (NLB) – Thusitha Halloluwa, has been further remanded until June 04, by the Fort Chief Magistrate’s Court.

Halloluwa remains in custody over alleged misappropriation of government assets belonging to the NLB.

He was previously arrested and released on bail on May 02 over the alleged misuse of a computer and a mobile phone valued at over Rs. 470,000 during his tenure as the Acting Director of the National Lotteries Board.

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Electricity (Amendment) Bill challenged

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The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which was recently tabled in Parliament, has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court today (June 02) ordered that the petition filed by the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union requesting a ruling that certain provisions of the Electricity Bill are unconstitutional be taken up for hearing on June 06.

The order was issued when the petition was taken up before a three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Arjuna Obeyesekere and Priyantha Fernando.

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