Nalinda Jayatissa named chair of Parliament Committee on Cyclone Ditwah preparedness

Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, the Minister of Health and Mass Media, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Parliament Committee responsible for studying the unpreparedness for Cyclone Ditwah that occurred last year. The announcement was made by Speaker of the House Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne at the start of today’s Parliament session. Alongside Minister Jayatissa, the committee includes Deputy Ministers Prasanna Gunasena, Anton Jayakody, and Aruna Jayasekara, as well as Members of Parliament Anuradha Jayaratne, Hector Appuhamy, Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, MKM Aslam, Anushka Thilakarathne, Kanthasamy Prabhu, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam. On January 21, a group of opposition members proposed a motion to create a Select Committee of Parliament. This committee will thoroughly investigate the lack of preparedness for Cyclone Ditwah and will report its findings and recommendations to Parliament. The motion was put forward by Chief Opposition Whip Gayantha Karunathilleka. The motion highlighted that the loss of lives, property damage, and the impact on people caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which is viewed as one of the worst disasters in Sri Lanka’s history, have not been fully assessed. Therefore, the Select Committee's role will be to conduct a detailed study on the preparedness and the related events. The Speaker will appoint the Chair and Members of the Select Committee according to Standing Order 101 of Parliament. Additionally, the Select Committee will have the authority to set its own quorum, summon individuals to testify, request documents, and gather both written and oral evidence as part of its inquiries. The motion stated that the Select Committee must submit its report to Parliament within three months from its first meeting or within a timeframe suggested by Parliament.