General (Retd.) Kamal Gunaratne, Secretary to the Ministry of Defense was among the Secretaries to the Ministries who received approval of the Committee on High Posts chaired by Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Speaker of Parliament, Nov; (23).

Furthermore, Secretary General of Parliament stated that Mr. W.H. Karunaratna as the Secretary to the Ministry of Development Coordination and monitoring, Mr. D. L. P. R. Abeyratne as the Secretary to the State Ministry of Development of Minor Crops including Sugarcane, Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel Related Industries and Export Promotion, Mrs. D. N. Liyanage as the Secretary to the Ministry of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation have also received approval for their appointments.

Appointments of Mr. M. A. B. V Banadaranayake as the Secretary to the State Ministry of Rattan, Brass, Pottery, Furniture and Industrial Promotion, Mrs. K. A. D. R Nishanthi Jayasinghe as the Secretary to the State Ministry of National Heritage Performing Arts and Rural Arts Promotion and Mr. D. P. G Kumarasiri appointed as the Secretary to the State Ministry of Estate Housing and Community Infrastructure were also approved by the Committee.

The Committee on High Posts also granted its approval for the appointments of Mr. M. N. Ranasinghe a state Secretary to the State Ministry of Promoting the Production and Regulating the Supply of Organic Fertilizer, and Paddy and Grains, Organic Food, Vegetables, Fruits, Chilies, Onion and Potato Cultivation Promoting, Seed Production and Advanced Technology, Agriculture.

The Committee also approved the appointment of Mr. Sirimal Perera as the Secretary to the State Ministry of Urban Development, Waste Disposal and Community cleanliness.

Hon. Ministers Chamal Rajapaksa, Dinesh Gunawardena, Douglas Devananda, (Dr.) Bandula Gunawardana, Udaya Gammanpila, Hon. State Ministers Vidura Wickramanayaka, (Dr.) Sudarshani Fernandopulle, Hon. Members of Parliament Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, John Seneviratne, Thalatha Athukorala, Dharmalingam Siddharthan were present at this Committee meeting.

Accordingly, the borrowing limit which was Rs. 2997 billion will be increased to Rs. 3397 billion, it was revealed at the Committee on Public Finance held online.

Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury S.R Attygalle pointed out that an amendment to the Appropriation Act was needed to increase the borrowing limit due to the economic downturn in the country caused by the Covid 19 situation.

He further pointed out that this was due to the inability to achieve the expected revenue for the year 2021, the increase in supplementary expenditure and the devaluation of the rupee in the payment of foreign currency loan services.

Mr. Attygalle also pointed out that the increase in welfare expenditure during the Covid 19 pandemic led to an increase in supplementary expenditure. He also said that a sum of Rs. 200 billion had been approved by the Parliament recently for supplementary expenditure.

In addition to this amendment, as per the Cabinet decision taken on 27.09.2021, the gazette notification submitted by the Minister of Finance to revoke the licensing system for white sugar which came into effect from 29th October 2020 under the Import Export (Control) Act No. 01 of 1969 was approved by the Committee on Public Finance.

Dr. Harsha de Silva stated that he had repeatedly emphasized the need for a forensic report in this regard to clarify the crisis situation in the country regarding sugar. The Chairman said that the Committee on Public Finance would be able to engage in a lengthy discussion on the matter soon after it is tabled by the Committee on Public Accounts.

State Ministers Hon. Susil Premajayantha, Dr. Nalaka Godahewa, Members of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva and Prof. Ranjith Bandara as well as a number of senior government officials were present at the recent Public Finance Committee meeting held online.

The President made these remarks addressing a special conference organized by Sri Lanka on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, Scotland, under the theme “Rediscovering Nitrogen: Solutions and Synergies for Climate Change, Health, Biodiversity and Circular Economy”.

The Conference was held Oct (31) at 5.00 p.m. Scotland time.

“My Government’s policy frameworks emphasize sustainability. This is reflected in Sri Lanka’s ambitious updated Nationally Determined Contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Mechanism,” President Rajapaksa said.

“The challenge facing us now is to use modern scientific techniques and practices to enhance agricultural production without causing environmental degradation… For decades, chronic kidney disease has been a serious issue in Sri Lanka’s agricultural heartland. The overuse of chemical fertilizers has contributed significantly to this problem, ‘’ the President said, adding in this context that his Government took firm steps to reduce imports of chemical fertilizer, and strongly encourage organic agriculture.

‘Although this action has been broadly appreciated, it has also met with some criticism and resistance. In addition to chemical fertilizer lobby groups, this resistance has come from farmers who have grown accustomed to overusing fertilizer as an easy means of increasing yields, ‘ the President said. “This is particularly unfortunate considering Sri Lanka’s rich agricultural heritage”, the President added.

The President said Sri Lanka’s progressive agenda on the environment is being implemented despite the resource constraints it faces as a developing nation and pointed out that sustaining such an agenda alongside development programs is challenging for all developing nations, especially following the pandemic.

The President expressed hope that developed countries will extend their fullest support to such nations through development assistance, technology transfers, skills development, investment, and financing support. He mentioned that there is also a significant role for businesses in this endeavor, and significant returns to be made in investments into sustainability.

“All of us alive today are custodians of this planet on behalf of future generations. We must all work together towards ensuring its health by contributing in whatever way we can,” President Rajapaksa said. “If we all do this in a spirit of togetherness and goodwill, I am certain we will succeed in effecting positive change for our people and our planet,” he said.

While welcoming the foreign representatives to the forum, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that Sri Lanka has become the first country in the world to take the decision to convert conventional agricultural lands, 100% organic. The Minister said this move aims to create a green socio-economy with sustainable solutions for climate change.

The Minister appreciated all scientists, late, and alive, for their work on nitrogen and said, “Centuries after discovering nitrogen, we are rediscovering nitrogen.”

Environment Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe expressed views on Sri Lanka’s aspirations on climate resilience and adaptation: COP26 and beyond,” and High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the UK, Saroja Sirisena also expressed views.

 PMD

The inauguration of the project took place Yesterday morning (1) at the Colombo Army Hospital, headed by General Shavendra Silva, Head of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO), Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army.

Interacting with the Media at the venue, General Shavendra Silva announced that inoculation of the booster dose as the third vaccine will accordingly be given to all working at the frontline, and it will cover tourism, the airport, and other sectors.

“All those who had both previous vaccines after 6 months of the last vaccine are eligible to receive this booster as considered necessary. I earnestly appeal the general public to continue to adhere to health guidelines since an average of 500 - 600 affected people are still traced daily and nearly 14,000 are in quarantine, although many restrictions have been removed.”

Brigadier Crishantha Fernando, Director General Army Health Services, together with Brigadier Nishantha Pathirana, Director Medical Services and Senior Officers welcomed the visiting Army Chief and ushered him to the vaccination location where Army personnel at frontlines were symbolically inoculated as the inauguration.

Director-General of Health Services, Dr Asela Gunawardene had gone on record saying that the booster, Pfizer vaccine would be administered to all those frontline workers, those above 60 years of age and all above 20 years of age on a staggered basis.

SL Army