HAVE INFORMED SPEAKER TO CONVENE PARLIAMENT IMMEDIATELY: PM

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday said he had informed Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to convene Parliament immediately to facilitate the debate on the bond issue. Joint opposition Parliamentary Group Leader Dinesh Gunawardene asked me whether it would be possible to convene the House

three parliamentary debates and will be conducting three probes on one single event for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka.

“We have already proven that we have not done any wrong. This is why we allowed the commission to probe the bond issue,” he highlighted.

Focusing on the local government elections, the Prime Minister said the government would launch a programme to develop the villages shortly. He said local bodies would be given the chance to implement the Singharaja tourism development project.

Also he said government has initiated economic development programmes such as the setting up of five industrial zones in Hambantota, one industrial zone in Kandy and several tourism zones in Galle. All these, he said would generate employment. UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim said the UNP was ready to uphold the law and order of the country. “It was UNP that pioneered the yahapalanaya concept together with Venerable Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera and will continue to back that concept,” he said. He said the party would start it’s campaign this week. Mr. Hashim added that party’s manifesto would reach to each household. Mr. Hashim added that local government laws would also be amended. The country would be having three parliamentary debates and will be conducting three probes on one single event for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister said this at the UNP special convention held at Campbell Park yesterday morning.

“Joint opposition Parliamentary Group Leader Dinesh Gunawardene asked me whether it would be possible to convene the House. I have agreed to it and I will inform the Speaker to convene the House with immediate effect,” the Prime Minister said.

He said Parliament should be convened in order to debate a particular point raised by the bond commission report. “The bond commission has revealed that similar events such as the event pertaining to February 2015 bond issue had taken place between 2008 to 2015 and these should be probed. The commission further said EPF had incurred most of the losses during this period,” the Premier said.

“I would like to state now that issues worth more than Rs.4 trillion has been made during this period without the approval of the Central Bank monetary board. The government will have to settle these in due course. Accordingly the total debt of the government will exceed Rs.10 trillion. I will request for a probe on this during the Parliament debate. I also ask the media as to what they would say about it,” he said.

The Prime Minister also said the Attorney General would be given the task to take legal action against the wrongdoers. He said Rs.11 billion which the government has lost as a result of February 15 bond issue could be recovered through legal action.

Mr. Wickremesinghe recalled that President Maithripala Sirisena briefed him about the presidential commission before it was appointed and that he agreed to it. Also Mr. Wickremesinghe recalled that he had asked the Attorney General in 2016 to take action against those who were responsible for the 2015 bond scam.

He said the country would be having