The Hon. (Dr.) Nishantha Samaraweera

¶ 01 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC ENTERPRISES

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, with the special leave of the House, I present in Sinhala only the Second Report of the Committee on Public Enterprises for the First Session of the Tenth Parliament, and I will arrange to submit the English and Tamil versions as soon as possible.

¶ 03 Hon. Speaker, the Committee on Public Enterprises of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, during its sittings on 05.03.2025 and 27.03.2025 of the First Session of the Tenth Parliament, examined the Auditor-General’s Report for the year 2023 relating to the National Gem and Jewellery Authority under the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, together with statements on the institution’s operations, financial status, commercial and operational reports, internal control systems, income and expenditure plans, etc., and presents herewith the Report of the detailed inquiry into administrative and ethical responsibilities pertaining to the current performance of the Authority.

¶ 04 The Authority’s vision is to make Sri Lanka a hub for gems and gem-set jewellery, and its mission is to achieve excellence in the industry through development, promotion and regulation of the gem and jewellery sector. We examined the extent to which this has been properly carried out.

¶ 05 Act No. 50 of 1993 established the National Gem and Jewellery Authority. Acting beyond the powers vested by that Act has created various issues within the institution, to which we drew attention as legislators at the Committee. The Committee’s objective is to ensure accountability and transparency in state enterprises while safeguarding public resources in the management of public assets in Sri Lanka’s state enterprise sector. I highly value the active participation and detailed scrutiny of all Committee Members.

¶ 06 For the successful discharge of the Committee’s mandate, I appreciate the support extended by you, Hon. Speaker, the main staff of Parliament, the Advisor to the Committee on Public Enterprises, Treasury officials and the Auditor-General and the National Audit Office.

¶ 07 Thank you.