Government Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa has acknowledged that there seemed to be an error in the figures reported by NPP MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi regarding the cost of SMS sent with festival wishes to the public. 

Addressing a recent political rally, MP Kottahachchi had claimed that the government had saved Rs. 98 million by not sending the annual Sinhala and Tamil New Year SMS message from the President of Sri Lanka this year. 

Speaking to Kalindu Karunaratne of Ada Derana, Government Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said the cost mentioned by the NPP MP seemed erroneous, adding that she had taken it from a report circulated on social media. 

“The NPP is here to make a change in the political culture. As such, we must take extra responsibility for the statements we make. The shortcomings in this end cause harm. We are doing our best to rectify these mistakes,” he said. 

When asked about allegations that the government was making false statements, affecting its credibility, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the party was taking the incidents seriously and had already intervened to rectify them. 

“We have engaged in discussions with party members involved in such incidents and have taken necessary measures to rectify them. Keeping these incidents as examples, we brief and discuss with the entire party in this regard. These matters are not taken lightly,” he added. 

The Government Spokesman pointed out that the actions and statements of one or five MPs cannot lead to the assumption that the entire Government is lying or making false statements. 

Minister Nalinda Jayatissa added that in instances such as these, the government has taken responsibility, and has gone to the extent of rectifying or apologising during Cabinet Media Briefings. 

NPP MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi’s statement had referred to the cost during the previous Ranil Wickremesinghe Government. 

Responding to the claims, officials from former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s camp denied that a sum of Rs. 98 million had been spent on New Year SMS messages sent to the public. 

Taking to ‘X’, Dinouk Colombage, attached to the former President’s office, said that messages wishing the public for Avurudu from the previous Presidents were dispatched free of charge and were a service provided by the telecom providers. (Newswire)

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Officials from former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s camp have denied that a sum of Rs. 98 million had been spent on New Year SMS messages sent to the public. 

Dinouk Colombage, attached to the former President’s office, said that messages wishing the public for Avurudu from the previous Presidents were dispatched free of charge. 

“This is a service provided by the telecom providers,” he said, in a statement on ‘X’. 

His clarification comes after NPP MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi revealed that, according to a news report, last year alone, Rs. 98 million had been spent on sending the annual Sinhala and Tamil New Year SMS message from the President of Sri Lanka. (Newswire)

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NPP MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi says Rs. 98 million was saved by the government through not sending the annual Sinhala and Tamil New Year SMS message from the President of Sri Lanka. 

Addressing a political rally, MP Kottahachchi said the President’s New Year message was not sent this year, which was a practice followed by previous regimes.

“The country or the party members did not face any issues just because the President’s message was not sent this year. However, a large sum of money was saved due to this move. According to a news report, last year alone, Rs. 98 million had been spent on this SMS message,” she said. 

MP Kottahachchi said the government has done away with the SMS message which was sent using the public’s money to wish the public, hinting that ending this practice was a victory alone. 

Stating that a President is not appointed to send New Year messages, she added that the correct leader has now been appointed to take forward the country, as he has proven to allocate money for the betterment of the ordinary citizen. (Newswire)

“Rs. 98 million was spent on New Year SMS greetings last year alone,” MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi revealed, adding that skipping the SMS this year has saved the country a significant sum. pic.twitter.com/dRR3uesCY4

— NewsWire (@NewsWireLK) April 22, 2025

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The Department of Posts has warned the public of a financial scam via SMS linked to local or foreign parcels. 

The department said fraudsters were using a fake website similar to that of the Postal Department as well as a fake telephone number to carry out the scam. 

The Postal Department clarified that Sri Lanka Post does not request bank card details via SMS. 

The department has requested the public to remain vigilant and refrain from providing their personal bank details based on such fake SMS. (Newswire)

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Cabinet approval has been granted for the appointment of a technical committee for the implementation of an International A2P (Application-to-Person) short message services digital centre to prevent fraud, spam and illegal activities in Sri Lanka.

A2P is a software application that directs messages or notifications to end subscribers, which is commonly used for various objectives including the evaluation of enterprises and transactions as a decisive communication media for citizens, businesses and government institutions. 

These messages are distributed by an individual across an app or a system to a mobile device as short message (SMS), multimedia message (MMS) or any other type of message. 

It has been observed that the excessive use of the short message system has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities. 

Therefore, the need for a centralized short message system network security appliance firewall (SMS Firewall) to regularize short message exchanges to confront such challenges, has been recognized. 

Accordingly, a proposal has been submitted for the implementation of an international A2P short message services centre by Infobip which is a United Kingdom-based private company.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal by the President to appoint a technical committee comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies, Ministry of Technology, and Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulation Commission to evaluate the said proposal and table recommendations. (NewsWire)

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