COPE proceedings open to media from today

 Speaker Karu Jayasuriya

• Speaker says latest attempt to promote transparency and accountability

By Ashwin Hemmathagama 

– Our Lobby Correspondent

Meetings of the Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE) will be open to media from today for the first time in the history of the Sri Lanka Parliament.

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, announcing the ceremony to mark the handing over of the broadcasting quality camera system installed at the CoPE Committee Room 5 in the Parliamentary complex, said: “The ceremony will take place on Friday, 9 August at 2pm, and the subsequent COPE sessions will be opened to the media. I strongly expect the media to behave responsibly. This is another step taken forward to establish a parliamentary democracy.”

Commending the decision taken to open the CoPE to media, United National Party (UNP) lawmaker Prof. Ashu Marasinghe said: “We are very happy the CoPE is opened for media. It is good to allow media to report the proceedings of CoPE led by its Chairman, JVP lawmaker Sunil Handunnetti.”

“We would request the Speaker to consider opening the doors of the Sectoral Oversight Committees systematically. The entire nation should get to know the nature of the Sectoral Oversight Committees,” he added.

In response, Speaker Jayasuriya held that Sectoral Oversight Committees will also be opened to the media in the days to come. 

This is the other Financial Committee in the Parliament which consists of twelve members nominated by the Committee of Selection. The duty of this Committee is to examine the accounts of the Public Corporations and of any Business Undertaking vested in the Government. CoPE was first established on 21 June 1979 to ensure the observance of financial discipline in Public Corporations and other semi-Governmental bodies in which the Government has a financial stake, with the necessary power to summon before them and question any person, call for and examine any paper, book, record or other documents and to have access to stores and property. The Committee on Public Enterprises, which consists of 31 Members reflecting the party composition in the House, is established under the Standing Order 126 at the beginning of each Parliamentary Session, and the Chairman is elected by the Members of the Committee at its first session. (AH)