It was revealed in the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) that a private company named ‘Savorite’ was issued Waiver of Registration (WoR) certificates to import 38 types of medicines in 2022 without the evaluation of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA).
The former Secretary to the Ministry of Health also informed the Committee that the former Minister of Health had given instructions to select this private company called ‘Savorite’ to import medicines in this way.
This was disclosed when the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) of Parliament met in Parliament on March 26, under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Dr. Nishantha Samaraweera, to examine the Auditor General’s reports for the years 2022, 2023 and 2024 and the current performance of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority.
The Committee Chair informed the committee that on December 30, 2022, the NMRA had issued Waiver of Registration (WoR) certificates to a private company named ‘Savorite’ for the import of 38 types of medicines submitted through unsolicited proposals without the evaluation of the NMRA. The Committee Chair said that the NMRA has abdicated its responsibility, stating that the purpose of establishing the NMRA is to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of those medicines and that it cannot be handed over to the Medical Supplies Sector.
Former members of the Board of Directors of the NMRA said that since the import of medicines through a special pathway with prior approval was carried out, the Board of Directors could not grant permission for it without conducting a proper evaluation. Therefore, they said that they did not accept responsibility in this regard.
Accordingly, this matter was discussed at length in the committee, and it was revealed that the former Minister of Health had instructed to select a private company called ‘Savorite’ to import the medicines in short supply for 3 months.
Meanwhile, the Committee also discussed at length the Cabinet Memorandum submitted by the former Minister of Health on 26 September 2022. The Committee Chair inquired from the Ministry of Health officials about the fact that a large number of medicines would reach zero levels within the next 3 weeks from the date of submission of the relevant Cabinet Memorandum. The officials who responded said that the information had been added to the Cabinet Memorandum based on the information obtained from the existing database regarding medicines. However, the committee Chair said that it was unacceptable for a large number of medicines to reach zero levels at the same time and that the relevant responsible officials had acted irresponsibly until such a level was reached.
The Auditor General, who spoke at the time, stated that the medicines that were ordered and to be received in advance have also been imported, citing that the medicines have reached zero levels.
Accordingly, the committee chair instructed the officials to submit a full report to the Committee on who were the officials involved in preparing this Cabinet Memorandum. The Chair further stated that a full report regarding the import of these medicines will be prepared by the Committee and submitted to Parliament, and that necessary action will be taken expeditiously.
The third unit of the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant, which had been temporarily shut during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays due to reduced electricity demand, has been successfully restarted at 11:00 am today (April 21).
With this development, all three units of the plant are now operational, boosting national capacity to meet the recent surge in electricity demand.
Renewable energy curtailment also endsIn an official statement, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) also announced that the renewable energy curtailment program which began on April 10 to maintain grid stability during the holiday period was concluded early due to increased electricity demand.
Originally scheduled to continue until 3.00 pm on April 21, the curtailment was lifted a day earlier – at 3.00 pm yesterday – due to a notable increase in electricity demand.
“CEB wishes to inform the public that renewable energy management which commenced on April 10 ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holidays due to reduced electricity demand, and need to ensure grid stability has now been concluded earlier than scheduled,” CEB Spokesman, Engineer Dhammika Wimalaratne said.
“We extend our sincere thanks to nearly 100,000 solar suppliers and prosumers, including domestic rooftop owners, net-plus and net-plus-plus commercial producers, whose cooperation during this critical period was instrumental in safeguarding national grid stability”, he expressed.
His Holiness Pope Francis has died aged 88, the Vatican has announced. According to the Vatican news service, the Pope has passed away at his residence in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta.
“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and His Church,” His Eminence Cardinal Farrell has stated.
His death comes a day after the Pope appeared in St Peter’s Square to wish “Happy Easter” to thousands of worshippers.
He was the first Pope from the Americas or the southern hemisphere. Not since Syrian-born Gregory III died in 741 had there been a non-European Bishop of Rome.
