The United National Party (UNP) will conduct its May Day celebrations at the party headquarters 'Sirikotha' on May 01, under the patronage of UNP leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The May Day celebrations are scheduled to be held with the participation of all trade unions affiliated to the UNP while adhering to strict health guidelines.
Wickremesinghe has instructed the organisers to give prominence to the youth wing of the party in addition to the trade unions.
UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardena, Chairman Vajira Abeywardena and other UNP leaders are also scheduled to participate at the event.
'New draft bill on port city is dangerous'
Meanwhile, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the Draft Bill, titled Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act 2021, is dangerous. The former Premier made this observation in a video released to the media today (22).
"It seeks to bypass the parliament through various rules and regulations thereby doing away with the powers of the judiciary," he said.
While noting that he had proposed to the Cabinet in 2016 to establish a financial center in Colombo, he called on the government to discuss the matter with all relevant stakeholders for the next few months.
He said that according to the Bill, casinos have been included among off shore service centers and financial centers. However, the government has not mentioned anything about new laws that allow offshore financial services such as banking and insurance.
The absence of such laws and removing Port City from the purview of the MInistry of Finance and making it independent from Parliament will make one conclude that the sole objective of the Port City is to convert it to a gaming center where black money is turned white.
“This is open to the interpretation that this is for money laundering. You can’t prevent it that type of interpretation being made,” he said.
