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Review Meetings on Provincial plans under the ADB Result-Based Lending Programme : Strengthening Integrated Health Care and Governance for Universal Health Coverage

Varun Prasanth — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:37:20 +0000

Meetings to review the Provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs) for the health sector for the year 2026, which are to be implemented under the Result-Based Lending Programme for Sri Lanka: Strengthening Integrated Health Care and Governance for Universal Health Coverage, were held on 05 March and 07 March 2026 under the chairmanship of the Chairman of the Finance Commission, Mr. Sumith Abeysinghe. The discussion was conducted by the Secretary to the Finance Commission, Mr. A.T.M.U.D.B. Tennakoon. In this event, senior officials representing the Department of National Budget, Department of National Planning, Department of Project Management and Monitoring, Ministry of Health and Mass Media representatives from Asian Development Bank (ADB), relevant officials of Finance Commission participated in person while the Chief Secretaries, and senior officials of the nine Provincial Councils attended the meeting via a virtual platform. During these meetings, the Annual Development Plans were reviewed to ensure the proposed activities are aligned with the Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) to achieve the objectives of the programme. Concurrence of the Finance Commission was granted for respective plans subject to revisions and improvements to the plans considering the Finance Commission observations made.

Discussion on the Establishment of Arogya Health Centres

Varun Prasanth — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:26:14 +0000

A discussion on the establishment of “Arogya Health Centre” was held on 18.02.2026 at the Auditorium of the Finance Commission. The meeting was chaired by the Secretary to the Finance Commission, and a team of officials from the Ministry of Health (MOH), and other relevant officials of the Finance Commission participated in this event. The proposed framework for establishing “Arogya Centers” across the country, in line with the national health sector reforms and Government policies was explained by the officials of the Ministry of Health including the service delivery model, infrastructure requirements, staffing arrangements etc., focusing the expected improvements in primary healthcare access and quality.

Discussion on Procurement Issues of Provincial Councils in the implementation of “Ditwah” Recovery Programme

Varun Prasanth — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:10:20 +0000

A virtual discussion was held with the National Procurement Commission and the Provincial Councils on 17.02.2026 under the chairmanship of the Chairman, Finance Commission in order to sort out certain restrictions and practical issues of the procurement mechanism in the process of implementing “Ditwah” recovery programme. The meeting was conducted by the Secretary of the Finance Commission, and the officials of the General Treasury including the Director General of the Department of National Budget, and senior officials from the Department of National Planning, and the Department of Project Management and Monitoring participated in person while the Chairman and senior officials of Procurement Commission, and the Chief Secretaries and, senior officials of the nine Provincial Councils attended the meeting via a virtual platform. In the “Ditwah” recovery process, Provincial Councils are facing significant procurement challenges, including a shortage of contractors and difficult geographical conditions etc. Considering the urgent circumstances, it was proposed to allow justifiable deviations as per the Procurement Guidelines. Further, considering the urgency of recovery process, Provincial Councils were advised by the Procurement Commission to submit special requests to increase the existing financial limits from Rs. 2Mn to 5Mn for direct contracts by Community Based Organizations (CBOs) only limited to the “Ditwah” recovery programme. The National Procurement Commission agreed in principle to grant approvals expeditiously based on requests which will be submitted by the Provinces.

Discussion on Additional Financial Requirements for the “Ditwah” Recovery Programme at Provincial Level

Varun Prasanth — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:45:48 +0000

A meeting was held at the Finance Commission on 26 January 2026 to discuss the “Ditwah” Recovery Programme of the nine Provinces. The meeting was attended in person by the Secretary to the President, Chairman and two appointed Members and the Secretary of the Finance Commission together with the officers of the General Treasury; including Director General of the Department of National Budget, senior officials from Department of National Planning, and Department of Project Management and Monitoring. Chief Secretaries and senior officials of nine Provincial Councils attended the meeting via virtual platform.

Provincial officials highlighted their financial requirements and challenges in implementing the “Ditwah” disaster recovery process and requested national-level assistance to resolve the issues to expedite the implementation. In the meeting, Provinces were requested to submit their funding requirements to the Treasury as early as possible, and the Chief Secretaries were of the view that the Provinces would be able to commence the remaining work once the allocations are provided.

Discussions on the Provincial Annual Development Plans for the year 2026

Varun Prasanth — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 05:22:47 +0000

Meetings to review the Provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs) for the year 2026, which are to be implemented under the Provincial Specific Development Grants allocated to the Provinces from the Annual Budget, were held from 27th November to 19th December 2025 under the Chairmanship of the Chairman of the Finance Commission, Mr.Sumith Abeysinghe, with the participation of the Hon. Governors of Provinces, the appointed Members of the Finance Commission, Mr. M. Vamadevan and Mr. T.N.Ossen, Provincial Chief Secretaries and all relevant senior officials of Provincial Councils (PCs). The discussions were conducted by the Secretary of the Finance Commission, Mr. A.T.M.U.D.B. Tennakoon, and senior officials representing the Department of National Budget, Department of National Planning, Department of Treasury Operations, Department of Project Management and Monitoring, Presidential Secretariat, and the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government also participated in in these discussions.
The main objective of these meetings was to review the ADPs for the purpose of granting concurrence before ending of the 2025, enabling the Provinces to commence the implementation of proposals from the very beginning of the year 2026.
During the aforementioned series of meetings, the ADPs of each Province were discussed in detail and instructions were given to the relevant provincial authorities to submit further information/clarifications to the Finance Commission regarding certain projects and to further analyze feasibility of some proposed projects where necessary. Furthermore, PCs were advised to incorporate necessary amendments to respective ADPs considering the development requirements emerged due to the “Ditwah” catastrophic situation as appropriate. Accordingly, concurrence was granted in principle for the Broad Activity Areas of the respective Development Plans, subject to necessary amendments.
The meetings were held on the following dates:
Provincial Council Discussion Date
 Eastern Province 27.11.2025
 Southern Province 02.12.2025
 Central Province 03.12.2025
 North Western Province 05.12.2025
 Western Province 10.12.2025
 Uva Province 13.12.2025
 Northern Province 15.12.2025
 North Central Province 17.12.2025
 Sabaragamuwa Province 19.12.2025

Review of Provincial Development Plans for the year 2025

Varun Prasanth — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 06:15:00 +0000

Meetings to review the Provincial Annual Development Plans for the year 2025, which are planned to be implemented under the Provincial Specific Development Grants allocated to the Provinces from the national budget, were held in March via zoom technology under the Chairmanship of the Chairman of the Finance Commission Mr. Sumith Abeysinghe, with the participation of the Hon. Governors of Provinces, the appointed Members of the Finance Commission, Mr. M. Vamadevan and Mr. T.N.Ossen, Provincial Chief Secretaries and all relevant senior officials of PCs. The discussions were conducted by the Secretary of the Finance Commission, Mr. A.T.M. U.D.B. Tennakoon, and senior officials representing the Department of National Budget, Department of National Planning, Department of Treasury Operations and Department of Project Management and Monitoring also participated in these discussions. During the aforementioned series of meetings, the Annual Development Plans of each Province, which are expected to be implemented in the year 2025, were discussed in detail and instructions were given to the relevant provincial officials to submit further information/clarifications to the Finance Commission regarding certain projects and to further analyze feasibility of certain proposed projects where necessary. Accordingly, concurrence was granted in principle for the Broad Activity Areas of the respective Development Plans, subject to necessary amendments.

03.2025 – Sothern Province

03.2025 – Northern Province

03.2025 – Sabaragamuwa Province

03.2025 – Eastern Province

03.2025 – North Central Province

03.2025 – North Western Province

03.2025 – Western Province

03.2025 – Uva Province

03.2025 – Central Province