DEW asks Speaker to replace negligent members of COPE
Tuesday, 3 December 2013 00:57
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Head of Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Senior Minister D.E.W. Gunasekera has requested the Speaker to consider the appointment of new members to the Committee in place of some members with low attendance.
Gunasekera has in writing explained to Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa that some of the existing members in the COPE have recorded an attendance of less than five percent at the Committee meetings.
The Senior Minister had attached a copy of the attendance record of COPE members for 2012-2013 and noted that 11 members have put in less than five percent attendance.
“A number of Members have expressed their desire and willingness to serve in the COPE. I feel that it is unfair to deprive them of their need to acquire knowledge and gain experience on public finance,” Gunasekera has stated in the letter.
The attendance record as stated by the local media has noted that four members namely Minister S.M. Chandrasena, Deputy Minister Weerakumara Dissanayaka, UPFA MP Ven. Athuraliye Ratana Thero and TNA MP E. Sarvanapavan have not attended a single meeting of the main committee.
The list also includes the names of COPE members who have recorded low attendance at meetings and a majority of them are members of the governing party.
