Speaker Mohamed Nasheed stated during the parliamentary sitting Tuesday that switching to a parliamentary system is the solution to delays in response from government ministers to queries by MPs.

During Tuesday’s sitting, Thimarafushi MP Abdulla Riyaz expressed concern over the delay in getting a response from government ministers.

He said that while parliamentary regulations require ministers to respond to question from MPs within 14 days, ministers usually take two-three months to send a response.

Riyaz asked the Speaker to solve the issue.

“I called the Secretariat of the Parliament even yesterday, because of the lack of response to some of the questions I have sent. I was told the ministers hadn’t had time to send a response because they are so busy. I don’t believe the regulations states that ministers must send answers when they have the time,” he said.

Nasheed responded that he doesn’t believe the delay in response is from ministers alone, and said it would continue to be a recurrent problem so long as the Parliament doesn’t switch to a parliamentary system.

“All of you would agree that expediting this requires changing the entire system of the Parliament. This will continue to happen as long as the Parliament does not switch to a parliamentary system,” he said.

MPs are waiting for answers to 45 questions from ministers, 22 of them in writing.

Nasheed said the Parliament will not be able to clear the backlog even if 10 ministers are summoned for questioning in a single day.

Nasheed has long advocated for a parliamentary system in Maldives, something which he often finds himself at odds with other political leaders over.

Source(s): sun.mv

COLOMBO, May 30 (Xinhua) — Importers of fruit into Sri Lanka will be required to obtain a report on heavy metals starting from June 1 as part of the country’s efforts to improve food safety, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

The new requirement came after a recent survey by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Health, which found that many imported fruit samples were contaminated with lead, the ministry said in a statement.

The heavy metals report must come from an accredited and independent laboratory from the exporting country and will be a mandatory requirement for the release of fruit consignments into the country.

Importers are advised not to import any fruit with heavy metals above the Codex levels, as they will be rejected at the port of entry, said the ministry.

The country has been working to strengthen its food safety regulations in recent years, in response to concerns about the safety of imported food.

Source(s): Xinhua

NEW DELHI, May 29 (Xinhua) — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on Monday successfully launched a second-generation navigation satellite NVS-01, officials said.

The navigational satellite weighing about 2,232 kg was launched on board an expendable Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh state.

According to the ISRO, NVS-01 is the country’s first second-generation satellites envisaged for the Navigation with Indian Constellation services.

Officials said an indigenous atomic clock was flown in NVS-01 for the first time.

Source(s): Xinhua