According to the mechanism introduced in 2016 budget proposals, budgetary allocations for Provincial Councils will be made under the vote of the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Governments. At the Meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held with the participation of Chief Ministers of Provincial Councils earlier, it has been decided to apply the old method used till the end of 2015. Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved to amend the Appropriation Act No. 16 of 2015, to facilitate the allocation of budgetary provisions directly by the General Treasury to Provincial Councils.
02. 'Project to construct the defence headquarters complex at Akuregoda' (Presenting the report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the consultancy firms and related payments
The Committee appointed in the above purpose has observed that selection of consultancy firms and their payments have been done without providing true information to the Cabinet of Ministers. The proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, to suspend the services of the selected private firm and to review the payments made for the said firm, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
03. Amendment of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka Act
The proposal made by Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, to amend the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka Act No. 37 of 1995, recognizing challenges and limitations of the university and without disrupting its objectives and to achieve them in more advanced manner to suit the present global status, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
04. Implementation of wastewater disposal infrastructure for chilaw town, Puttalam town and Wastewater disposal system for Maharagama-Boralesgamuwa areas
The joint proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply and Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance, to implement the above projects and to obtain a loan amount of US$ 105 million from Exim Bank of China under concessionary conditions, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
05. Provide Technical Assistance for the implementation of the Weliwita Water Supply Project
The Weliwita Water Supply Project is the first water supply project implemented under the Public-Private Partnership and the proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply, to obtain technical assistance of International Financial Corporation of the World Bank Group, and to appoint a Cabinet Appointed Standing Procurement Committee and a Project Committee to implement this project, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
06. Resuming construction of Walasmulla Weekly Fair
The foundation of the Walasmulla Weekly Fair has been completed and the construction works have been suspended due to a absence of funds. The proposal made by Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Minister of Megapolis and Western Development, to resume its construction with the assistance of Sri Lanka Army, subject to an estimated cost of Rs. 50 million, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
07. Holding the 3rd Meeting of Expert Group on Natural Rubber Price Stabilization of the Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC), in Sri Lanka
ANRPC is comprised of 11 member states, which are rubber producing countries including Sri Lanka. The proposal made by Hon. Navin Dissanayake, Minister of Plantation Industries, to host the 3rd Meeting of its Expert Group on Natural Rubber Price Stabilization by Sri Lanka in 2016, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
08. The Accelerated Programme for the development of middle income housing and infrastructure
Proposals have been called according to the approval granted by the Cabinet of Ministers in 08 blocks of lands in various areas of the island owned by the Housing Development Authority, with the participation of local and foreign investors and developers. The Steering Committee appointed in this regard has recommended to implement housing projects in Panadura, Homagama (Jalthara Phase II), Yakkala, and Ragama and to recall proposals for housing projects in Kundasale, Homagama, Galle, and Nittambuwa. Above information presented by Hon. Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing and Construction, was considered by the Cabinet of Ministers.
09. Developing Jetty Facilities in the Jaffna Peninsula and adjoining Islands to transport passengers and cargo safely
People in Jaffna's nearby islands, including Delft and Nagadeepa, use boat transportation for their daily needs. In addition pilgrims also use boat transportation for visiting religious places of worship. However, there have been some issues regarding this transportation such as absence of sufficient boat transportation, minimum jetty facilities, and the light house is in a situation to be renovated. As a solution, the proposal made by Hon. Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Ports and Shipping, to develop and regulate coastal passenger transportation by the Director General of Merchant Shipping and to make suitable amendments to the Boat Ordinance, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
10. Utilization of Provisions required for conducting the National Piriven Day Festival
Vast contribution has been made by Piriven to the Buddhist education and culture of the country. At present 64,606 ascetic and laic students are studying and 6,495 ascetic and laic teachers are teaching in 750 Piriven including Mulika Piriven, Maha Piriven and Vidyayathana institutions. The proposal made by Hon. Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Minister of Education, to hold the annual National Piriven Day Festival, with the view of appreciating the service rendered by Piriven and Piriven teachers and to appreciate abilities of their students on 16, 17 and 18 July 2016 at the Getambe Stadium, Kandy, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
11. Relocation of City Centred Prisons to Interior Areas with more space
The Government has recognized the need to undertake urgent reforms in the prisons with the view of converting prisons into correction centres. Relocation of city centred prisons to under populated areas is a priority task. The proposal made by Hon. D.M. Swaminathan, Minister of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, to assign design and consultancy services regarding the relocation of Prisons in Colombo, Galle, Matara, Badulla, Trincomalee, and Batticaloa, to government owned construction firms, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
12. Meeting of Heads of National Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA), Asia and Pacific
United Nations Office on Drug and Crime is the key inspecting agency on global drug trafficking while the Commission on Narcotic Drugs supervises the implementation of conventions regarding control of drug trafficking. Meeting of HONLEA, which is attached to this commission, discusses new trends and issues related to drug trafficking and exchanges ideas and knowledge on law enforcement against drug trafficking. The proposal made by Hon. Sagala Ratnayake, Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development, to host the said meeting to be held in Colombo on 22-28 October 2016, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
13. Establishment of a Domestic Airport in Badulla District
Except in Uva and Sabaragamu Provinces, all the other provinces have domestic airports. A minimum of 06 hours is required to travel on land from Colombo to Badulla and the duration for air transportation is about 25 minutes. Establishment of a domestic airport in the district will help in promoting the tourism industry in the region and to improve economic crops cultivation for exportation. The proposal made by Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, to establish a domestic airport at Bandarawela in Badulla District, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
14. Supply of medical equipment and services to the Epilepsy Unit of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka
The proposal made by Hon. Rajitha Senarathne, Minister of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, to award the contract on the above purpose as recommended by the Cabinet Appointed Standing Procurement Committee, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
15. Implementation of Budget Proposals 2016 – Construction of Cold Stores
The price fluctuation of vegetables and fruits including Big Onions and Potatoes badly impacts on farmers as well as consumers. The Budget 2016 has allocated funds to build cold stores as our crops production is based on a seasons. The proposal made by Hon. P. Harrison, Minister of Rural Economic Affairs, to build cold stores in Dambulla Economic Centre for selected vegetables and fruits including Big Onion and in Keppetipola Economic Centre for selected vegetables and fruits including Potatoes, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
16. Central Expressway Project – Obtaining Consultancy services for the construction of section 2 from Mirigama to Kurunegala (39.91 km), including a link from Mirigama to Ambepussa (9.3 km)
The above project will construct an expressway section from Mirigama to Kurunegala via Pothuhera with a length of 39.91 km of 4 lanes and link from Mirigama intersection to Ambepussa of 2 lanes with a length of 9.3 km. The proposal made by Hon. Lakshman Kiriella, Minister of Higher Education and Highways, to commence required procurement activities for selection of a suitable firm to provide consultancy services in supervising these constructions, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
17. Financial Assistance for disaster relief and recovery
Local and foreign donors have donated financial donations for providing reliefs to people affected by recent flood and landslide situations occurred in several places in the country in May 2016. Three Bank Accounts (03) have been opened for receiving local donations and five (05) Accounts have been opened for receiving foreign donations. The money deposited in these accounts is daily remitted to the account opened in Central Bank of Sri Lanka in the name of Deputy Secretary to the Treasury with the objective of utilizing in relief acivities. The information was presented to the Cabinet of Ministers by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake, Minister of Finance.
18. Obtaining a credit of Special Drawing Rights for the competitiveness, transparency, and fiscal sustainability development policy financing programme
The proposal made by Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to obtain a loan of US$ 100 million from the International Development Agency to develop the Sri Lankan economy by implementing recognized reforms under three (03) aspects for removal of obstacles for the competitiveness in private sector, transparency and improvement of management in public sector, and improvement of the fiscal sustainability, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
19. Clearance of debris of houses and waste heaped due to recent disaster in Salawa area in Kosgama
The clearance of waste in several areas of the Western Province due to recent floods has been completed successfully. The proposal made by Hon. Faizer Mustafa, Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, to deploy about 20 tippers for around one week for the clearance of debris of houses and waste in Salawa area in Kosgama utilizing the balance allocations, as per the request made by the Army, was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.
