Member of Parliament Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara, was re-elected as the new Chair of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) with a majority of votes. He was elected at the first meeting of the Committee on Public Enterprises held today (23) for the Fourth Session of the Ninth Parliament.
The name of Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara was proposed by State Minister and Member of Parliament Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara and was seconded by Member of Parliament Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage.
The name of Hon. Eran Wickramaratne, Member of Parliament for the position of Chair of COPE was proposed by Nalin Bandara, Member of Parliament and was seconded by Member of Parliament Hon. Rauff Hakeem.
Hon. (Prof.) Ranjith Bandara received 17 votes whilst Hon. Eran Wickramaratne received 6 votes and accordingly, was elected as the chair.
Addressing the committee, the newly appointed COPE chair stated that he expects the support of all Members to carry forward the activities of the Committee. The Committee Chair also emphasized that the work of the Committee prior to prorogation shall continue and was concurred by the Members of the Committee. Furthermore, the Committee chair was of the view that a discussion should be facilitated with the Hon. Speaker and the Attorney General regarding the process and possibilities of making COPE recommendations legally binding.
State Ministers Hon. Jagath Pushpakumara, Hon. Janaka Wakkumbura, Hon. Lohan Ratwatte, Hon. Indika Anuruddha Herath, Hon. D. V. Chanaka, Hon. Shantha Bandara, Members of Parliament Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Hon. Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Rohitha Abegunawardhana, Hon. Eran Wickramaratne, Hon. Nimal Lanza, Hon. S. M. M. Muszhaaraff , Hon. Nalin Bandara Jayamaha, Hon. Chaminda Wijesiri, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Jagath Kumara Sumithraarachchi, Hon. (Major) Sudarshana Denipitiya, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha, Hon. M. Rameshwaran, Hon. Shanakkian Rasamanikkam, Hon. (Ms) Rajika Wickramasinghe, Hon. Madhura Withanage, Hon. (Prof.) Charitha Herath were present at the meeting.
