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Polls chief’s wish to be fulfilled?
Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake is once again in the limelight with elections around the corner. His repeated pleas to successive governments to allow him to go on retirement have fallen on deaf ears. So when he met journalists last Friday his first remarks were “I thought I’ll miss seeing you all again after the Presidential elections but it has not become a reality.” With no scheduled election for at least another four years, maybe Mr.Dissanayake’s wish will finally come true and he will be able to retire before the next polls.

Food for thought
The Elections Chief is also disappointed about the majority of the political parties in Sri Lanka. He said that only one recognised political party had managed to file all its nominations properly for the Local Government polls despite the fact that the Department had sent out clear guidelines to all the parties on how to file their papers. He couldn’t help wondering how a political party which cannot file its nominations papers properly can run a council. Food for thought especially for the voters.

Residents liable
Cabinet has given its approval to Health Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to bring to Parliament a new Bill to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. The idea is to make residents of each area responsible for preventing the breeding of mosquitoes in their vicinity.

The all important question
The Chief Minister of the Western Province Reginald Cooray was among those attending a press conference at the SLFP headquarters on Friday. The CM who has a running battle with the JVP was waiting for a journalist to ask about this dispute but there were no such queries. Finally the disappointed CM couldn’t help saying aloud “You have not asked me the most important question.”
The journalists were amused but no one asked him the question he was waiting to answer so eagerly.

One fine mess
Meanwhile an Additional Director of the Corporation who has defaulted a sum of Rs400, 000 on car loan payments and Rs75,000 on phone bills has got a letter recently from the Director General that they have been written off.
However, the Chairman says he must pay the money. So it’s one fine mess at this television house with stories and allegations flying to and fro.

Dollars for what
The Rupavahini Corporation Chairman who accompanied the Government delegation to Geneva, Switzerland had allegedly taken US $ 3000 from the SLRC.

His expenses were, however, paid by the President’s Office as he was Director Media of the President’s Media Unit. Insiders say he claims he had taken the money from the SLRC for camera hiring.
But shouldn’t a cameraman be carrying the camera and not the Chairman?

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