Parliament to go Paperless; Soft copies of reports & docs to MPs

COLOMBO (News 1st); Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abewardana announced today (7) that the Committee on Parliamentary Business decided to distribute soft copies of all Annual Reports, and other documentation that is submitted to the Parliament.

The Speaker said that the decision was taken considering the current economic crisis in the country and to minimize environmental matters, and he requested all MPs to support this process.

The Speaker also said that the decision was taken considering the fact that is now difficult to source raw material for printing purposes, and the inability to import CDs in bulk.

Therefore, it was decided to appoint an officer from parliament to email the soft copies of reports that are tabled in Parliament.

In addition, these reports will be uploaded into a dedicated Web Portal that can be easily accessed by MPs via PC, Laptop, or a mobile device.

Accordingly, it was decided at the Committee on Parliamentary Business meeting held recently to inform the Secretaries of all the Ministries in this regard and expedite the implementation of this program, said Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.