PARLIAMENT

• Concern over the 10-month delay in procurement process for health supplies.    
• Attention drawn on the draft of the report to be submitted to the Parliament post analyzing after presenting the budget to the Parliament.
• The Committee points out the need to inform all members of Parliament about all revenue proposals in order to increase transparency.

Following a lengthy discussion, the supplementary estimate to make provision for meeting medical supplies and other essential obligations was approved by the Committee on Public Finance.

The approval for the said was obtained when the Committee on Public Finances met in Parliament yesterday (Nov. 14) Chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, Member of Parliament.

The Committee asked why this supplementary estimate was presented at the end of this year when the budget was presented for 2024. Officials pointed out that 110 billion rupees had been set aside for health supplies for the year 2023, of which 55 billion were planned to be obtained from foreign financing institutions. Since these funds were not used in the expected manner, they pointed out that the purpose of the supplementary estimate is to allocate 20 billion rupees without any change to the total expenditure limit allocated by the Appropriation Act.

Moreover, the attention of the Committee was drawn to the 10-month delay in the procurement process for health supplies and the manner in which emergency purchases are made. The Committee also recommended to analyze why the expenditure on health care has gone up to 300-500 billion.

Apart from this, following the presentation of the budget to Parliament, the draft report to be submitted to the Parliament by analyzing it was also discussed in the Committee on Public Finance committee. Dr. Roshan Perera gave an explanation to the Committee about the draft of this report.

In this explanation, the tax revenue was estimated at 10.1% of the GDP for the year 2024, but it needs to be increased by another 2.5% to achieve the goals of the International Monetary Fund, but it was focused on whether it can be done.

Furthermore, the Committee pointed out the need to inform all members of Parliament about all revenue proposals in order to increase transparency while preserving good governance. In particular, the Committee Chair pointed out the importance of providing the report prepared by the Ministry of Finance to all Members of Parliament.

Furthermore, the Committee appreciated the work of the Ministry of Finance officials by maintaining transparency and cooperation compared to the previous government. They were also commended by the Committee on Public Finance for working hard to achieve the targets and to present the budget.

State Minister Hon. (Dr.) (Mrs.) Seetha Arambepola, Members of Parliament Hon. Duminda Dissanayake, Hon. Chandima Weerakkody, Hon. Nimal Lanza, Hon. Mayantha Dissanayake, Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna, Hon. Isuru Dodangoda, Hon. Madhura Withanage were present at the Committee meeting held.