01. Treaty on extradition between the governments of Sri Lanka and Ukraine (Document No - 08)
The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence, to enter in to an agreement with the government of Ukraine on extradition of criminals, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
It will provide the opportunity to request the authorities in Ukraine to receive criminals who have engaged in illegal activities in this country and sought protection in Ukraine.
0 2. Renovation of 'seth sevana' government elders' home in Mirigama and constructing a water tank for the same (Document No - 11)
The elderly population of Sri Lanka is 12.4% of the total population. The elderly population is rapidly increasing and it is expected that it will exceed 24.8% in 2041. Considering the ageing population it is necessary to make space for them to spend their old age with pride and dignity. The 'Seth Sevana' Elders' Home, which was established to commemorate Right Honourable D.S. Senanayake, is the largest elders' home owned by the government in the Western Province and 265 elders currently reside in it. The proposal made by Hon. S.B Dissanayake, Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare, to obtain financial allocations for basic renovations including water supply of this elders' home, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 3. Project for computerization of activities in the department of labour to improve transparency and efficiency (Document No - 12)
The Department of Labour is vested with the responsibility of implementing provisions related to service statuses, conditions, and employees' welfare, that have been enacted by the government for securing human rights of employees with conform to charters and recommendations of the International Labour Organization as well as protecting employees from occupational accidents. Developing a Labour Inspection System Application has been commenced in 2010 with the cooperation of the ILO with the view of computerizing key subjects of this department. Obtaining accurate data, preventing same institution being inspected regularly, enhancing efficiency and transparency of the Labour Department and preparation of an employee motivation method are its main objectives. The information presented by Hon. W.D.J. Seneviratne, Minister of Labour and Trade Union Relations, that the programme is to be completely implemented at August 2016 by obtaining required staff and infrastructure, were considered by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 4. Implementation of the saarc agreement on trade in services (SATIS) (Document No - 17)
Heads of States of SAARC countries have signed the above agreement at the 16th session of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation held in 2010 at Bhutan as a further step towards expanding regional trade to services. To implement the Framework Agreement on SATIS, the schedules of commitments should be finalized by individual member countries. Sri Lanka falls under Category I of this agreement and in Doha Round of World Trade Organization Sri Lanka agreed to liberalize the fields of communication services, financial services, and tourism and travel related services. In addition Rental/Leasing services without operators – relating to ships and space transport are to be added to the schedule. The proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, to implement the said agreement and to issue requests to public institutions that are related to its implementation, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 5. Agreement on economic cooperation between the republic of Bulgaria and the democratic socialist republic of Sri Lanka (Document No - 18)
The total trade turnover between Sri Lanka and Bulgaria, a member of the European Union, has increased to US$ 7.75 million in 2015. The proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, to enter into an agreement with Bulgaria for searching of new paths to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the two countries and to establish an interstate mechanism for development of economic relations through new fields which have been identified, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 6. Commemoration of 94th international co-operative day (Document No - 19)
The Co-operative Movement can be introduced as a movement that has been built by the public for their own economic and social progress. The International Day of this movement is being commemorated by the United Nations since 1975. The International Co-operative Day falls on 02nd of July this year and the proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, to declare a Co-operative Week from 25th June 2016 to 01st July and to commemorate the Cooperative Day on 02nd July 2016 at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre, Colombo with co-operators, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 7. Reservation of land for construction of the access road to the dedicated economic centre from Veyangoda town (Document No - 21)
The Veyangoda Economic Centre, which was established in 2007 and comprised of 70 business units and 06 stores, is a very important business centre for trade and consumer community. As the current access road has a certain distance from Veyangoda town consumers are less interested in coming to the Economic Centre and with the absence of an access road from Nittambuwa – Katunayake highway traders of Dambulla, Welimada, Nuwara Eliya areas, using the highway are also less interested in reaching the Economic Centre. The joint proposal made by Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, and Hon. P. Harrison, Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, to reserve a land of 40 perches owned by the Food Commissioner's Department to the Ministry of Rural Economic Affairs for construction of an access way to the Economic Centre from Nittambuwa – Katunayake highway, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 8. Amendment to the Provincial Councils Elections Act No. 02 of 1988 (Document No - 23)
According to the government's policy of increasing the women contribution in political decision making at least from 25%, arrangements have been made to amend the Provincial Councils Elections Act No. 02 of 1988 for enact provisions for increasing the women contribution in nominations presented by each party or independent group for each province to a minimum of 30%. The proposal made by Hon. Faizer Mustafa, Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, to publish the draft bill for amendment of the above act in the gazette and present the same in parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
0 9. Resettlement of internally displaced families in welfare camps (Document No - 25)
At the end of March 2016, 251,000 IDP families have been resettled in North and Eastern Provinces. However, more than 14,000 families are to be further resettled. Currently 1,109 families are residing in 31 welfare camps in Tellippalai Divisional Secretary Division and 641 families out of them are reported as landless families. Jaffna District Secretary has identified a land of 65 hectares belonging to the Cement Corporation in Kankesanthurai for resettlement of these families. The proposal made by Hon. D.M. Swaminathan, Minister of Prison Reforms, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, to acquire the said land to the government for resettlement of 400 families in Tellippalai Welfare Camp, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 10. Allocation of a land for establishment of a tyre factory at gonapola, Horana (Document No - 26)
Sri Lanka earns an income of US$ 471 million by exporting pneumatic & retreated rubber tyres and tubes, which accounts for 61.9 percent of the total rubber exports. The proposal made by Hon. Malik Samarawickrama, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, to establish a tyre factory with a capacity of 3 million tyres per annum with an investment of US$ 75 million as a Board of Investment project, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 11. Development of the airport in Palaviya, Puttalam (Document No - 31)
A domestic aviation system is vital for the country that combines the whole country with the international airports. In addition to international airports in Katunayake and Mattala, there are 14 domestic airports in various extents covering 7 out of 9 provinces in Ampara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Hingurakgoda, Palali, Iranamadu, Koggala, Katukurunda, Palaviya, Ratmalana, Sigiriya, Trincomalee, Weerawila and Vavuniya. Budget 2016 has proposed to establish three domestic airports in Badulla, Kandy and Puttalam Districts with public-private partnership to promote tourism in these districts. The proposal made by Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, to develop the Palaviya Airport, by adding a land of 26 hectares at an estimated cost of Rs. 750 million, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 12. Development of infrastructures at the universities of Peradeniya, Kelaniya, Colombo, Jaffna, rajarata, visual and performing arts, eastern university and the institute of agro-technology and rural sciences of the University of Colombo (Document No - 33)
The government has given priority to cater requirements of current students and who are expecting to enter universities in technology and other fields by improving space and facilities of government universities. It is expected to enrol 1825 students at the end of 2016 to follow courses in technology stream and the University Grant Commission has taken steps to enrol students at a 5% annual growth rate from 2017. Furthermore, it has been advised to commence these courses in other universities. The proposal made by Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, to improve infrastructure such as faculty buildings, computer units, libraries, and research buildings in eight (08) universities at an estimated cost of Rs. 484 million in 2016 and Rs. 3,381 million and Rs. 1,074 million respectively in 2017 and 2018 with the view of generating professional graduates to suit the development needs of the economy and international job market, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 13. Award of eighteen (18) civil works contract packages in north central, north western provinces and Kaluthara districts (Document No - 35)
The Integrated Road Investment Programme, funded by the Asian Development Bank, is implemented with the view of improving the access roads among key socio-economic centres in rural areas. The proposal made by Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, to award 18 civil work contracts related to 18 road sections, in North Central, North Western provinces and Kaluthara District, as recommended by the Cabinet Appointed Standing Procurement Committee, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 14. Reintroduction of Capital Gains Tax (GGT) Regime (Document No - 40)
During the last few decades there has been a massive increase in the private capital in the country. The increase in prices of land attributable to the large infrastructure developments carries out through government funds have enabled the land owners to make significant capital gains free of taxation. This resulted in the increase in the inequality of income distribution. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Management agrees to reintroduce the Capital Gains Tax to rectify the situation and the proposal made by Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, to draft a new Capital Gains Tax Regime, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
1 15. Annual Report 2015 – Ministry of Finance (Document No - 46)
In terms of Section 13 of the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act No. 03 of 2003, the Minister of Finance is required to submit a report on Final Budgetary Position (Annual Report) to parliament and to the public before 31st May of the following year. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance, to submit the Annual Report 2015 of the Ministry of Finance in the parliament that consists of 13 chapters with updated information on government's fiscal position in 2015, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
