Cabinet Decisions

Procurement of essential/life saving drugs for government hospitals

The proposal by Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena to purchase essential/life saving drugs for government hospitals up to a maximum of Rs 159,000,000 on the recommendations of the Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC) and the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC) was approved by the Cabinet.

Obtaining membership of International Treaty on Plant Gene Resources for Food and Agriculture

The International Treaty on Gene Resources for Food and Agriculture was established in 2002 and 128 countries have become signatories to this Treaty.

It has become a timely need for Sri Lanka to obtain membership of international organisations of this nature which provide opportunities for conservating plant genetic resources and their sustainable usage. Agriculture Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena's proposal for Sri Lanka to sign the treaty was approved by Cabinet.

Tender for supply of 1,000,000 doses of Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccine Live BP or Measles, Mumps and Rubella Virus Vaccine USP

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena's proposal to award the above contract as recommended by the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee for Rs 146,403,562.50 was approved by the Cabinet.

Tender for supply of 2,400,000 doses of Japanese Encephalitis live vaccine for human use

Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena's proposal to call for fresh tenders for the above and to enhance the previous year tender by 50 percent (300,000 doses) from the same supplier at the same price, to avoid any shortages of this vaccine in hospitals to continue the immunisation programme, was approved by the Cabinet.

Submission of annual report of Central Bank of Sri Lanka for 2012 to Parliament

The above annual report submitted by the President, in his capacity as the Finance and Planning Minister, was approved by the Cabinet for presentation in Parliament. Some of its salient features: The Sri Lankan economy grew at a healthy rate of 6.4 percent in 2012; inflation was contained at a single digit level at 7.6 percent, investment as a percentage of GDP was 30.6 percent, the external sector strengthened during the year benefiting from the policy measures that were adopted in early 2012 to improve macroeconomic stability; the agriculture sector grew by 5.8 percent in 2012; the industry sector grew by 10.3 percent during the year contributing substantially to the expansion of the economy in 2012; and remittances by migrant workers increased by 16.3 to US$6 billion during the year, continuing to be the largest single source of foreign exchange inflow to Sri Lanka.