31 August 2020 12:00 am
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana
No room will be left for any foreign organisation to violate sovereignty of Parliament, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene said last week.
Speaker Abeywardene came up with this remark in response to a national list MP Gevidu Cumaratunga who charged that two persons from USAID and Transparency International had been employed by Parliament prior to 2019.
“Salary for the person from USAID was paid by Parliament. However the former speaker had stopped this when the question was raised by the then opposition MP Dinesh Gunawardena. However the previous government had paid salaries to this person thereafter. Also it is questionable as to how these foreign organisations organise workshops to the lobby reporters” Mr. Cumaratunga said.
“ It was the USAID which has also played a role in organising the recent workshop held for the new MPs” he added.
Also he said the Secretary General of Parliament had informed him that USAID had played a role in developing the communication section of the House.