Police Sergeant D.G. Ranasinghe (No. 67763) has been posthumously promoted to the rank of Sub‑Inspector of Police following his death in the line of duty.

According to the Police, the officer, attached to the Special Task Force camp in Kantale, lost his life on July 12 while attempting to apprehend illegal sand smugglers in the Mulukkusetti area of the Kinniya Police Division. He was swept away by the waters of the Mahaweli River during the operation.

In recognition of his service and sacrifice, the Inspector General of Police issued the promotion order effective the same day, under state administrative circular provisions. (Newswire)

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The Select Committee of Parliament on gender equity has issued recommendations to the Ministry of Public Security to rectify with immediate effect the injustice done when promoting female Police officers.

According to a Parliament statement, the committee was informed by female Police officers that injustice is done to women officers only in promotion.

This was disclosed during a meeting of the Select Committee of Parliament appointed to look into and report its recommendations to ensure gender equity and equality with special emphasis on looking into gender-based discrimination and violations of women’s rights in Sri Lanka.

The matter was raised when the Committee met in Parliament recently (Dec 07) under the Chairmanship of its Chairperson, MP (Dr.) (Mrs.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle.

It was disclosed that 92 female chief inspectors have completed twenty-six years of service and completed four years in the position of chief police inspector, but no specific system or vacancies have been identified regarding their promotion. 

The method of recruitment of these female officers, the salary level is the same as the male officers and the training is done together in the same training school without any difference and the deployment after the training is done in the same way without any difference and the method of retirement is also the same. But the aggrieved police officers pointed out that there is no problem related to vacancies when giving promotions to male officers and only female officers have problems related to vacancies each time.

It was disclosed that a remedy for that has not been prepared so far and for this reason, female officers have to stay in the same position for a long time while male officers with less seniority are promoted.

Furthermore, to avoid this situation of concern, since more than 15% of the Sri Lanka Police are female officers, it was proposed to create vacancies for 15% female representation in all positions.

Attention was also paid to the preparation of a system to resolve the current problematic situation, prepare a certain promotion system that impacts one situation, a system to appoint the officers who meet the qualifications required for the respective positions by preparing the above system or another suitable system and make it just to give promotions within a specific period to a specific system.

Officials of the Ministry of Public Security pointed out that proposals for creating new vacancies have been sent to the Department of Management Services.

The Committee Chair recommended to the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security that as 15% of the total force of the Police Service is currently employed by female officers 15% of the available vacancies should be reserved for female officers to solve this problem. (NewsWire)

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Plans are underway to enable female officers to head Sri Lanka’s tri-forces, State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said.

Addressing the Parliament on Monday (Dec 04), State Minister Tennakoon said in Sri Lankan history, women have played prominent roles.

He said, however, they are yet to receive equal status in many areas, including the tri-forces and Divisional Secretariats of key areas of religious prominence such as Anuradhapura and Kandy.

Stating that Sri Lanka needs to do more to ensure equal status for women, the State Minister said with the guidance of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the ministry was taking all measures to change this situation in the tri-forces.

State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon revealed that the government is planning to enable women to head the Army, Navy and Air Force in Sri Lanka.

“Currently, a woman can only reach the rank of major, especially in the army, in Sri Lanka. At present, women can only work until the age of 45 years or for 20 years in the Army,” he said.

The State Minister further said that new legislation has been created and has been handed over to the Attorney General’s Department to provide equal opportunities for female officers. 

The government is planning to change military laws to allow women to get promoted and in time head the three forces, he said.

The State Minister of Defence also commended the Sri Lanka Navy for having already taken the first step to provide equal opportunities for female officers. (NewsWire)

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The Police constable who was killed in a road accident, while on traffic duty near Independence Square yesterday, has been posthumously promoted.

Police Spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa stated that the deceased Police officer has been posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

The 25-year-old Police officer was killed while managing traffic in the area after being run over by an SUV driven in a reckless manner. 

The Police officer who was immediately admitted to the Colombo National Hospital succumbed to injuries this morning. 

The driver of the SUV who was arrested after the accident has been remanded until October 10. (NewsWire)

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Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has called for a report on the recent promotion of a female official of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) one day prior to her retirement.

Taking to Twitter, Minister Wijesekera stated that the report was called for during a meeting with the Chairman, General Manager, and Directors of the CEB held this morning. 

He further stated that instructions were given regarding promotions for senior management at the CEB to obtain the Ministry approval and to implement immediately the board decision taken in 2020 that was to be implemented from 2025.

The Minister revealed that as per the decision, the minimum service period remaining required for the promotions to the positions of Deputy General Manager (DGM) is 3 years and Assistant General Manager (AGM) is 2 years. 

Since the current GM is retiring next month, instructions were also given to nominate persons and get the approval of the Ministry for the post of GM for individuals that have prior administrative experience and a minimum of 3 year service period remaining for retirement, he said. 

Minister Wijesekera added that the reform process of the CEB, power generation plans, assets management, reducing administrative and operating costs, and related issues to the CEB were also discussed. (NewsWire)

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A Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion event has been organized inUnited Kingdom (UK) on Saturday, the 25th of February 2023 which will be headed by Sri Lanka Tourism Ambassador and former Sri Lanka cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya. 

It has been organized together with the Midlands Ceylonese and Brits Foundation, which was formed with the goal of supporting Sri Lanka through the collective effort of Sri Lankans and British communities in the UK. 

‘#SriLankaCan’ is a project led by the former cricketer to promote tourism in Sri Lanka and reinvigorate the Island nation’s growth plans. 

The event focuses on promoting Sri Lanka as the number 01 tourist destination in the world, gathering Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to support Sri Lanka in its rebuilding process, hosting events targeting niche areas on the island to reinvigorate the growth plans, and using the British communities to actively support Sri Lankan projects. (NewsWire)

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