Regulations under Fauna & Flora Protection Ordinance presented to Parliament
Regulations under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance was presented in Parliament yesterday (22).
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Wildlife & Forest Conservation held on September 21 chaired by Minister of Wildlife & Forest Conservation C. B. Rathnayake was in agreement to present the aforesaid in Parliament. The Extraordinary Gazette Notification was issued on August 19, 2021 in this regard.
Addressing the Committee, the Secretary to the Ministry of Wildlife and Forest Conservation Somaratne Vidanapathirana stated that the purpose of this Extraordinary Gazette Notification is to introduce a new set of regulations for the welfare of tame elephants, to introduce new technology to avoid possible irregularities in the registration of tame elephants, and to facilitate court proceedings regarding tame elephants.
(Prof.) Tissa Vitarana addressing the Committee stated that the policy formulated by Dr. Prithiviraj Fernando with practical experience obtained for over seven years entirely subsidized the conflict and that the cost has been kept to a minimum. He said that by implementing such policy, the human-elephant conflict could be largely mitigated.
In response, Minister of Wildlife & Forest Conservation C. B. Rathnayake said that these policies are currently being implemented and further action will be taken in this regard.
Given the inquiry made by State Minister Kanaka Herath regarding the construction of an elephant fence for the Kumbukkana Nursery, the attention of the Committee was drawn towards the concern regarding the lack of energizers for the elephant fence. Accordingly, Minister of Wildlife & Forest Conservation recommended that the Industrial Technology Institute of Sri Lanka be summoned before the committee at the next committee meeting to discuss further details regarding the matter.
Wimalaweera Dissanayake, State Minister of Wildlife Protection, Adoption of Safety Measures including the Construction of Electrical Fences and Trenches and Reforestation and Forest Resource Development, Members of Parliament and a number of Government officials participated at this Committee Meeting.
Govt. has successfully curtailed ‘drug mafia’ monopoly - Jayasumana
The present Government has successfully curtailed the monopoly on the importation of drugs which had been limited only to a few companies, State Minister Channa Jayasumana in Parliament yesterday (22).
State Minister Jayasumana made this observation while participating in the Second Reading debate of the Consumer Affairs Authority Amendment Bill.
State Minister Jayasumana pointed out that only five major companies had the right to import the most valuable drugs imported into the country and when the present Government came to power, they took steps to register those companies.
Jayasumana also said that the Drugs Regulatory Authority Act established in 2015 had paved the way for this drug mafia.
He pointed out that there are many weaknesses in the National Medicines Regulatory Authority and that the shortcomings in this institution were the reason for the deletion of the data of the NMRA.
An internal audit by the Ministry of Health has revealed that more than Rs. 15 billion has been lost in the importation of anti-cancer drugs. Jayasumana said that a building in the Bulathsinhala area had been purchased by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation for Rs. 90 million and that another Rs. 40 million had been paid to repair the building.
A complaint had been lodged with the CID in this regard.
IGP should catch perpetrators of garlic scam - Dr.Bandula
Trade Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena said in Parliament yesterday (22) that he would resign from active politics if anyone proved that he had stolen, scammed or taken a commission of 50 cents from any institution under his Ministry.
Minister Gunawardena made this observation in relation to the recent allegation regarding a garlic scam at SATHOSA.
Minister Gunawardena noted that the IGP should catch the real perpetrators of the garlic scam.
Gunawardena stated so during the debate on the Consumer Affairs Authority (Amendment) Bill in Parliament yesterday.Dr. Gunawardena said, “A speech by the Executive Director of the Consumer Affairs Authority Thushan Jayawardena was published in a national newspaper yesterday. Following the election of the new Government, the Ministries were divided in a new manner. The powers and responsibilities of the Ministers were gazetted separately. Funds have been allocated from the budget and a Secretary has been appointed to all the State Ministries. My Minister of State Lasantha Alagiyawanna and he has the power to set prices. He also has all the powers of the Co-operative Department. A separate amount of money will be allocated to him for this purpose. When a cabinet paper is needed, I get it done. I am responsible for national policy. The same is true in other ministries. If the Minister and the Minister of State think differently there will be a conflict. No problem here.”
Dr. Gunawardena further said, “I have not attended any meeting of the Consumer Affairs Authority. My State Minister invited me to come and discuss the Consumer Protection Act. That was the only time I went there. I have never seen this person who had given such a statement to the media.”
Gunawardena added, “People are appointed to different positions politically. This person has obtained this appointment from another minister. This person says that I did not allow the CWE to investigate the garlic scam. Surprisingly, that is not the case. An editorial is being written about this in a responsible national newspaper. We should all take this as a life lesson. The editorial states that this person is being threatened to resign after the investigations on SATHOSA garlic scam begin. It also states that such a large-scale fraud does not take place without the knowledge of a powerful person. Then we can assume that there was a powerful person behind this.
And apparently there has been a threat too. Thus, I would like to tell only one thing to this House.” If it is proved tomorrow that I or a member of my family has committed any fraud, corruption or irregularity under this Ministry, I will not just leave Parliament tomorrow but I will say goodbye to active politics forever, Dr. Gunawardena said.
Sumanthiran queries about firearm in Ratwatte’s possession
M.A.Sumanthiran made a request of the Speaker to ensure that the firearm in the possession of State Minister Lohan Ratwatte be taken away from him. “With regard to the personal firearm issued to this MP who is still a State Minister and the manner in the manner in which he has used it, I earnestly request you to make directions for this firearm to be taken away from him.”
He also requested the authorities to ensure that the CCTV footage from the Welikada and Anuradhapura Prisons are not erased.
“The Minister involved in the incident had publicly said that the CCTV footage at the prisons cannot be erased. After he said that there are some authorities who are saying that Welikada and Anuradhapura don’t have CCTV footage. So the Minister’s statement is being contradicted now. So, we want assurance that the CCTV footage won’t be erased. It is strange that people are saying there are no CCTV cameras in Welikada. That is very strange.”
Sumanthiran also requested the Speaker to make a direction to take the firearm in the possession of State Minister Lohan Ratwatte taking into consideration the manner in which he had used it recently.
Cabinet Paper tabled on formalization of elephant registration - C.B.
Several regulations under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance were debated in Parliament yesterday (22). Wildlife Minister C.B.Ratnayake opened the debate on the relevant orders.
The Minister stated that a Cabinet Paper has been tabled for 2020 on the formalization of elephant registration and the formulation of new rules and regulations.
Speaking at the debate Minister Ratnayake said, “Tame elephants have been an integral part of Sri Lanka’s culture since time immemorial. Tame elephants have been used for various cultural festivals in the country for thousands of years. Today, the extinction of tame elephants is a serious threat.
There are 210 tame elephants in the country, of which 102 are owned by national zoos and the remaining 108 are privately owned. The previous government had taken legal action against 49 privately owned elephants.”
Minister Rathnayake pointed out that the elephants had been kept in the same place for a long time under the judicial action of the previous Government and the owners of those elephants had also been affected.
Minister Ratnayke also said that in order to prevent such incidents in the future, new rules will be formulated for the proper registration of elephants and a new set of regulations will be prepared for tame elephants.
Minister Ratnayake also said that the focus will be on minimizing legal action against tame elephants, minimizing controversial ideologies in the society, welfare of tame elephants and prevention of animal cruelty.
Protection of consumers paramount - Alagiyawanna
State Minister of Co-operative Services, Marketing Development and Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna requested all Parliamentarians to present productive proposals in Parliament.
He said that the amendment to the Consumer Affairs Act was a timely one, adding that even if their suggestions and proposals are all not included in the amendment, they are prepared to accommodate the suggestions of all Parliamentarians in the future.
“It is irrelevant if it is the Government MPs or Opposition MPs, if there is a duty to be fulfilled for the protection of consumers it has to be done. Although price controls are not something that is practiced currently, we had no choice but to do it. When we did that there were certain accusations that were levelled against us.
However, although the price controls have been gazetted, it may not be practical in the marketplace as there are inadequate penalties for those who flout it.”
Hence, he said that for single businesses, the fine that was imposed at Rs.1,000 to Rs.10,000 will now be increased to between Rs.100,000 to Rs. 500,000 through the provisions of this Bill. “If the same offender commits the same crime for the second time, the Rs.2,000 to Rs.20,000 fine imposed earlier will now increase to from Rs.200,000 to Rs.one million. If a company sells beyond the gazetted price, the Rs.10,000 to Rs.100,000 fine imposed earlier would now be increased to between Rs.500,000 to Rs. 5 million. Similarly, the fines that were fixed at Rs.20,000 to Rs. 200,000 have now been increased from between Rs. One million to Rs. 10 million.”
Hence, he said that once the Speaker signs this Bill, the new structure of fines would come into effect if traders or businesses sell goods at higher prices than those stipulated in the budget.
Minister Amaraweera denies TNA MP’s allegation
Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera denied an allegation made by TNA-MP Rasamanikyam that sand has been taken from the Eastern Province to fill up an island in the Maldives.
He told Parliament yesterday that when an allegation is made in Parliament it should be done with proper evidence in hand.
Amaraweera was responding to an earlier statement made by TNA Batticaloa District MP S. Rasamanikyam in Parliament, alleging that sand from the Eastern Province had been taken to fill an island in the Maldives.Amaraweera said that sand had not been taken from anywhere in our country for such an purpose and that he had received information that a private company had taken eight cubes of sand to the Maldives for water filters in the recent past.
That too, he said, was not sand from the Eastern Province.
Amaraweera said that there is a shortage of 14 million cubic meters of sand for the national requirement, adding that although the unmet requirement is 55 cubic meters, only forty one cubic meters can be supplied.
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