The Chairman of the Committee of Public Finance in the Parliament Dr. Harsha De Silva said that although the Ministry of Public Security and the Immigration Department officials agreed to appear before the Finance Committee yesterday, they did not participate in the meeting. He further said that the controversial VFS visa issue has been notified to be discussed and it is deeply regretted and strongly protested by the officials who missed it, which is a breach of privilege.
Addressing the Parliament, Dr. Harsha de Silva emphasized that action will be taken against them in the Parliament. He mentioned that these officials appeared before the Finance Committee once and had earlier informed that they would come today to discuss the visa issue. However, the Chairman of the Finance Committee noted that several files were lost during the transfer of the office in 2016, and the sudden notification that he could not attend this discussion last night (13) was unacceptable. He emphasized that strict action will be taken against these officials in consultation with the finance committee members. He said that officials cannot bypass the Finance Committee in this way.
Due to this, it was decided to call this ministry and the department back to the committee one day to discuss the appointment of GBS-IVS and VFS Global as the authorized agent for submitting visa applications online for foreigners visiting Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Mobitel (Private)Limited and Sri Lanka Personal Data Protection Authority were also called for this committee. Mobitel as the service provider before the new company was offered described how their company has implemented this service until 2023. . Discussions and proposals made were presented to the Committee along with relevant written sources.
Ministers of State (Dr.) Suren Raghavan, (Dr.) Sita Arambepola Members of Parliament Johnston Fernando, Rauf Hakeem, Patali Champika Ranawaka, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Duminda Dissanayake, Chandima Weerakkodi, (Dr.) Kavinda Jayawardena Mayantha Dissanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, (Major) Pradeep Undugoda, Sahan Pradeep Withana, Premnath C Dolawatta, and Madura Withanage participated in this committee.
Action will be taken against the person made chaos at BIA: VFS is not an Indian – Minister Tiran
