Parliament to debate COPE report on May 8

Disna MUDALIGE

A special full day debate would be held in Parliament on May 8 on the latest report of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Human Resources Senior Minister and COPE chairman D E W Gunasekara told the Daily News yesterday. He said that the date on this debate was agreed at the party leaders’ meeting held recently. He said that when tabling the COPE report he promised to facilitate an extensive debate on its content and its recommendations.

The latest COPE report was tabled in Parliament in December last year after probing audit reports of 229 public enterprises. It has also provided recommendations on the smooth functioning of those institutions.

The public institutions were categorized into four sections by COPE, namely, those functioning profitably, those functioning at break-even, those with dwindling revenue and those running at a loss.

The report has also highlighted the need for more power to the COPE committee, including powers to summon former Heads of state-run institutions to inquire about the issues during their tenure of service. Parliamentarians would be able to present their opinions and suggestions and to ask for clarifications on the findings of the COPE during the debate. The minister also said that the probing into the public enterprises for the year 2012 is now in progress.