State media institutions directed to generate own funding: Bandula Gunawardena

State Media Institutions have been directed to raise their own funding to avoid dependence on Treasury funds for their maintenance, Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena said today.

Minister Gunawardena told the weekly cabinet news conference that institutions have been told even to dispose off their assets whereever possible to fund voluntary retirement schemes and reduce staff as they are already overstaffed.

The Minister said under one of projects to raise funds, the cabinet has granted approval to lease out a land from the Trincomalee transmission station of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation for solar power generation purposes.

Accordingly a  and on which the SLBC Short Wave Transmission Center located in the Kuchchaveli Divisional Secretariat will be used for the project.

 Project proposals have been invited accordingly to select a proper investor for this purpose. Seven proposals received and the technical evaluation committee has recommended 3W Power Management Ltd. as the most suitable investor to execute the project.

Accordingly the cabinet of ministers approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Mass Media to implement this project with   investor recommended by the Technical Evaluation Committee.

The Minister added that it is one of the projects to ensure an additional self-income to government media organisations, expressing the inability to pay wages of employees under the prevailing economic crisis.

Another proposal regarding providing a contract regarding civil activities and signalling systems of the Sri Lanka Railway Department to the State Development and Construction Corporation, by the Minister of Transport and Highways, Bandula Gunwardena was also approved by the Cabinet.

Currently, the Railway Department lacks labour to conduct an efficient railway service, and thereby has decided to provide a contract to the State Development and Construction Corporation, with over 600 employees in service, in a direct procurement method.

Bringing an example, the Minister explained that through this method, a train in the Kelani valley railway can be entered into the tracks every eight minutes, instead of the current 28 minutes.

Among the other cabinet decision taken were:

*All Government Institutions should implement the proposed information and cyber protection policy drafted by the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT)  to ensure information and cyber protection in state institutions.

*A proposal has been made to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries Resources and Water Resources of the Sultanate of Oman and the Ministry of Agriculture of this country in relation to the agriculture sector cooperation.

*The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Wild Life and Forest Conservation to amend the subject area of the State Timber Corporation to cater to contemporary requirements.

*Approval was also granted to gazette the draft bill to establish a rehabilitation bureau in order to perform treatment, rehabilitation, post – protection, and related activities in relation to drug addicts, warriors of war, violent extremist groups.

The procurement process of urea fertilizer for the 2022/23 season has been implemented  in accordance with cabinet decision   dated 07.06.2022. Under this procurement, 150,000 Metric Tons  of urea are planned to be procured. However, the bidder recommended by the Standing Procurement Committee has bid to supply only 12,500 Metric Tons of urea. Accordingly, the cabinet of ministers approved the proposal made by the Minister of Agriculture to award the contract for the purchase of that stock of urea and to call for bids again following the electronic procurement method for the immediate purchase of another 125000 tons of urea fertilizer.