Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

## Summary Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva made a brief procedural remark noting that Gazettes of this nature have been presented previously and that such matters are routinely referred to the Committee on Public Finance. The statement was made in acknowledgment or response to a presentation, with no specific proposals or demands raised.

The speech excerpt provided is too brief to produce a meaningful summary — it contains only a single sentence ("That is the practice, Hon. Prime Minister.") without sufficient context regarding the subject matter, legislation, or policy being discussed. A fuller transcript would be needed to provide an accurate summary.

Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva made a procedural clarification directed at the Prime Minister, asserting that the matter under discussion falls under the mandatory jurisdiction of the Committee on Public Finance and cannot be referred to the Ministerial Consultative Committee. He indicated this is established parliamentary practice, not a matter of discretionary referral.

Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva raised a procedural question directed at the Prime Minister regarding newly tabled Gazette Regulations made under the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act. He questioned why the Regulations had not been referred to the Committee on Public Finance, arguing that this Committee has been the appropriate body handling Port City matters since its inception due to the multiple finance-related issues arising from the Act and its Regulations.

Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva presented the Report of the Committee on Public Finance concerning an Order made under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017, which had been published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2467/67 dated 18th December 2025. The report, having been referred to the Committee, was formally tabled in Parliament.

## Summary Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva concluded his remarks by noting that he initiated the audit being referenced and affirmed his familiarity with it, presenting his statements in good faith. No specific proposals or demands were made in this closing statement.

Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva drew attention to a specific procurement requirement detailed in the document under consideration, citing page 22, section 5.5 on "Minimum qualifications for supplier registration." He specifically referenced clause 5.5.1(a), which stipulates that prospective suppliers must have supplied at least one million metric tons of coal with a Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of 5,900 kcal/kg or higher within the past 36 months.

Dr. Harsha de Silva clarified that the IMF governance assessment on corruption was requested by the former President, not the incumbent. He referenced his tenure as COPF Chair, during which he initiated a special audit on coal procurement (2022–2025) for the Norochcholai power plant, resulting in a finding that the tender was unlawful and its subsequent halting, along with a recommendation barring Procurement Committee members from participating in tenders for one year. He tabled the Special Audit Report (30 September 2022) and the COPF Report (4 October 2022), drawing particular attention to the Auditor-General's observations in section 5.5.1(a) regarding minimum supplier experience requirements (1 million metric tons, GCV ≥ 5,900 kcal/kg over 36 months), and noted that once Parliament adopts a special audit report, its annexures carry binding force.

Dr. Harsha de Silva, speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, intervened under Standing Order 92 to defend the Minister's right to provide a full response to a complex, multi-part question posed by Hon. Ravi Karunanayake. He argued that, given the Committee's mandate to keep Parliament informed on national debt matters, the Minister should be given adequate time to answer comprehensively, and asserted that the Chair lacks the authority under Standing Orders to restrict the length of the Minister's reply.

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