• Govt. and Oppo. to make appointments soon 

Leader of the House Minister Bimal Rathnayake said yesterday (19) that the Government has taken measures to increase the number of members in all Parliamentary committees where the Opposition has requested such an increase.

Speaking in the Parliament, he said that it is the Government’s policy to appoint members to Parliamentary committees as specified in the relevant Standing Orders (SOs) of the Parliament, but that the number of members in all committees was increased following continuous requests made by the Opposition.

As a result of the increase, he said that the Opposition has gained eight additional seats in each Ministerial Advisory Committee. The number of Opposition members in the Committees on Public Accounts (COPA), Public Enterprises (COPE), and Public Petitions has increased by six each. The Backbenchers Committee has gained five more Opposition members. The House Committee, the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, the Committee on Parliamentary Business, the Committee on Ways and Means, and the Committee on High Posts have each seen an increase of three Opposition members. The Legislative Standing Committee and the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) have gained two additional Opposition members each, while the SOs Committee has seen an increase of one Opposition Member.

Rathnayake further said that committee seats are traditionally allocated based on the proportional representation of Government and Opposition Members. He added that the Government is yet to appoint its full required number of members to the committees following the increase in Opposition members, but that it plans to do so in the coming days.

In response to the Government, Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilleka said that they had requested an increase in committee members on several occasions. Although the given increase does not fully meet their demands, he said that they would discuss this with all Opposition parties and make the relevant appointments within the next two days.