Decisions of Sectoral Oversight Committees, Ministerial Consultative Committees and other committees - June 2026

From the Parliament of Sri Lanka: your monthly summary of decisions by the Sectoral Oversight Committees, Ministerial Consultative Committees, and other committees. This is June 2026.

The Committee on Public Accounts made history. Parliament approved a motion to refer COPA's report on the Department of Motor Traffic to the Attorney General, for legal action over financial irregularities and fraud. It is the first time any committee report has been referred in this way.

COPA also examined the Department of the Public Trustee. Members questioned the tender to lease 113 acres of the Harry Hapugoda property in Baddegama, Galle, where parts of the land are occupied without authorization. Renovation of Richmond Castle is expected to begin in July.

The Committee on Public Finance approved the VAT Amendment Bill, which applies VAT to digital services from non-resident suppliers. The registration threshold falls from 15 million to 9 million rupees per quarter, bringing around 10,000 new registrations. The Committee also approved raising the levy on maize from 25 to 50 rupees, while urging officials to weigh the impact on the price of chicken and eggs.

The Committee examined a Ministry of Finance report on 2.5 million US dollars missing from funds held by the Treasury to settle government debt. A final report will go to Parliament once the Central Bank submits its own findings. Separately, the Auditor General said recruiting 200 officers over eighteen months would be enough to audit the Samurdhi Banks.

Under new Central Bank rules, exporters must convert their remaining export proceeds into rupees by the tenth day of the following month, instead of within three months. The Central Bank called it a short-term tool to tackle exchange rate volatility. The alleged NDB Bank fraud will be taken up again after the forensic audit.

In the Ministerial Consultative Committees, officials said some of the 400 to 500 drivers suspended from duty were still drawing salaries. The judiciary has 2,647 vacancies, with no recruitment since 2018. The Justice Committee also approved a mutual legal assistance agreement with the Maldives.

The Trade Committee heard that one billion rupees has been allocated through the CWE for paddy drying and storage, and that 120,000 metric tons of rice were imported in April. Other committees discussed a standard model for primary school construction, Sunday Dhamma school classes, and curbing illegal sand mining around Kilinochchi.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Climate examined how El Niño and La Niña threaten Sri Lanka's marine and amphibian ecosystems, from coral bleaching and dead zones to changing fish migration. A second session focused on climate impacts on elephants and leopards, and on easing human-elephant conflict.

The Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities gathered around 50 sets of proposals for the 2027 Budget. It was the first time persons with disabilities were directly consulted on the contents of the national budget. The proposals will go to the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance.

The Women Parliamentarians' Caucus called for coordinated investigations in a child abuse case in Anuradhapura, and for guidelines that protect children's privacy in the media and the courts. It also pushed for gender-responsive budgeting backed by real data. Meanwhile, the Speaker pledged full support to the new National Commission on Women, serving the 51 percent of Sri Lankans who are women.

From the 8th to the 12th of June, Parliament hosted a technical mission with the US House Democracy Partnership and Congressional Budget Office, ending with a roadmap towards a Parliamentary Budget Office. Members were also briefed by the Central Bank on monetary policy, the exchange rate, and the economy.

That was the June 2026 committee summary, brought to you by the One-Text Initiative.