Decisions taken by the Cabinet at its Meeting held on 2014-05-29

November 05, 2024

Cabinet Decisions

Decisions taken by the Cabinet at its Meeting held on 2014-05-29

May 29, 2014

01. Establishment of a Welfare Fund for Journalists, Artistes and Writers - the proposal made by H.E. the President, to establish a Fund to assist aged Artistes, Journalists and Writers who had been previously engaged in creative work as professional Artistes and Journalists on full time basis and are spending their retired life, to ensure their well-being, and to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft necessary legislation for the purpose, was approved by the Cabinet.

02. Publishing in the Gazette, Regulations made under. the Control of Pesticides Act No.33 of 1980 - the proposal made by Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, Minister of Agriculture, to publish the regulations made under the above Act in the Government Gazette and to present the said Gazette thereafter in Parliament for approval, with the view to discouraging the registration of low quality pesticides, was approved by the Cabinet.

03. Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Switzerland on the Labour Migration Programme "Decent Work, Safety and Well-being of Labour Migrants and their families in Sri Lanka" - Sri Lanka's total migrant worker population is approximately 1.7 million and in 2012 the, migrant workers have contributed US $6.4 billion (LKR 827 billion) to the national economy. With the intention of providing better welfare facilities for families left behind and to facilitate the re-integration of returnee migrant workers, arrangements have been made to implement the National Labour Migration Policy with the assistance of international donor agencies. The proposal made by Hon. Dilan Perera, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, to enter into a Bilateral Agreement for the purpose with the Government of Switzerland, was approved by the Cabinet.

04. Birth Centenary Programme of the late Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra - the proposal made by Hon. T.B Ekanayake, Minister of Culture and the Arts, to conduct several programmes on the occasion of the Birth Centenary of the late Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra which falls on 3rd June 2014, was approved by the Cabinet.

05. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Law and Order of Sri Lanka on Combating Crimes and Promotion of Police Cooperation - the objective of this MoU is to promote cooperation between the two countries by way of exchanging information on major criminal issues such as terrorism, crimes against lives and property, corruption, drug trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering etc. The proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Law and Order, was approved by the Cabinet.

06. Establishment of an Inter-Ministerial Operational Committee on Law and Order - the proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Law and Order, to establish an Inter-Ministerial Operational Committee on Law and Order, to implement the policies and programmes of the Ministry, the Department of Police and the Special Task Force, with active participation of other relevant Ministries and Institutions, for creating a disciplined and law abiding society, was approved by the Cabinet.

07. Appointment of Consultants for Design, Construction Supervision and Management Support for the Anuradhapura North Water Supply Project - Phase I - the proposal made by Hon. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage, to award the tender for consultancy services for Phase I of the above Water Supply Project, as recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC), was approved by the Cabinet.

08. Proposed Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka on Procurement of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices - Sri Lanka spends approximately Rs.30 billion annually for medical supplies, of which about Rs.17 billion is spent on pharmaceuticals. The local pharmaceutical industry supplies nearly 10% to 15% of the national requirement and the rest is procured by the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation (SPC) through world-wide tenders. With the view to providing an uninterrupted supply of good quality medical supplies at an affordable price to the people of Sri Lanka, the proposal made by Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health, to sign the above Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries, was approved by the Cabinet.

09. Protocol for Consultations between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria - this Protocol includes all aspects of bilateral cooperation and other important subjects such as issues on the agenda of the United Nations and other international fora, issues connected with the prevention and peaceful settlement of international disputes, global issues such as climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development etc. The proposal made by Hon. (Prof.) G.L. Peiris, Minister of Extemal Affairs, to sign the above Protocol, was approved by the Cabinet.

10. Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance and Planning for the year 2013 - the proposal made by H.E. the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to present the Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance and Planning for the year 2013, which provides updated information of the Government's fiscal performance pertaining to the financial year 2013, was approved by the Cabinet.