Bond report to Parliament today

Wednesday, 17 January 2018 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

To be tabled next Tuesday, report to be made available to all MPs
Party leaders meeting before parliament sittings to decide on bond report debate

By Skandha Gunasekara and Himal Kotelawala

The report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Central Bank bond scam will only be tabled in Parliament on 23 January even though Parliament is expected to receive copies of the report today.

Deputy Speaker Thilanga Sumathipala told the Daily FT that Parliament would make it available to all members on 23 January, soon after it was tabled in the House.

“Our priority is to make it available to the MPs as soon as possible. It will be online in the public domain later on,” he said.

Furthermore, the Deputy Speaker revealed that Speaker Karu Jayasuriya had called for a party leaders meeting on 23 January.

“The Speaker wants to hold a party leaders meeting before parliament sittings on Tuesday (23).

There we will decide on when and at what time the debate on the bond report will be held,” he said.

Parliament was convened for a special session on 10 January, almost two weeks ahead of schedule, with the aim of tabling the bond report in Parliament.

However, following the Speaker’s failure to table the report, a brawl erupted in Parliament while the Joint Opposition MPs were protesting in the Well of the House, leaving three MPs with minor bruises.

Speaker Jayasuriya is expected to make a decision at the next parliament sittings on disciplinary action regarding the grave misconduct of MPs in Parliament last week.

Meanwhile, the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) is to appoint a team of legal experts to study the contents of the Bond Commission’s report on the instructions of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The experts will determine what course of action to take on the recommendations made by the Bond Commission as per the Bribery Act.

Bribery Commission Chairman Sarath Jayamanna confirmed that CIABOC received the report on 10 January.

“We received the report last week. Our officers are studying it at the moment. That much we can tell,” Jayamanna told the Daily FT.