Honorable Minister, Members of Parliament, ladies and gentlemen, It is an honor to address this gathering as you discuss the creation of a Right to Information bill designed to enhance citizens’ access to transparency and insight about their government. Any democracy requires that government officials be accountable to the citizens who elected them, and that accountability requires transparency.
COPA Chairman Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Hon. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, USAID Acting Mission Director Reed Aeschliman, and MP Harshana Rajakaruna launch the conference to strengthen the effectiveness of the COPA and COPE Parliamentary Committees.
International Women’s Day began as an annual tradition more than 100 years ago initially as a way to honor women’s role in labor, advocate for political rights, and end discrimination in the workplace. Every year on March 8, people around the world reflect on the progress women have made, celebrate acts of courage and determination by women making a difference in their communities and countries, and urge greater effort to ensure the success of women. In countries everywhere, when women succeeds, society as a whole succeeds. When girls and women are educated, entire societies are educated, and flourish.
Representatives from the Embassy of the United States of America and senior Sri Lankan officials presided at the February 18 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between dairy farmers, CIC Dairies, and Milk Industries of Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. The MoU will help dairy farmers in Polonnaruwa to increase their milk sales. The Honorable Minister of Rural Economic Affairs P Harrison joined USAID Acting Mission Director Reed Aeschliman at the ceremony, where farmers also received equipment from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to help increase milk production.
Parliament participated in a U.S.-supported workshop to help Members of Parliament better hear and address the concerns of their constituencies. This training, conducted in both Sinhala and Tamil, is part of the approximately 73 million LKR ($509,000) project from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to assist the Sri Lankan Parliament become more effective and responsive to the people they represent.
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Last updated: July 28, 2017
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