37,000 firearms licensed in Sri Lanka; Defence officials tell COPA

COLOMBO (News 1st); There around 37,000 firearms licensed in Sri Lanka, it was revealed during a revcent session of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA).

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) recently directed the officials of Ministry of Defence to expedite the amendment of the Firearms (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 1996 and the Explosives (Amendment) Act, which have been delayed for many years.

The Committee on Public Accounts met recently under the chairmanship of the State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna and the Auditor General's reports for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the current performance of the Ministry of Defence were discussed.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, General (retired) Kamal Gunaratne and a group of officers participated in this meeting.

Although the committee had recommended to amend the Firearms (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 1996 and the Explosives (Amendment) Act since 2012, it was revealed that it has been delayed due to various reasons. 

Officials also said that so far about 37,000 firearms have been licensed in the country. 

The officials mentioned that the amendment of the Act is in the final stage and the draft bill will be completed soon. 

The committee emphasized the need to speed up the process as the license fees should be revised and the state revenue will be lost due to this delay. Accordingly, it was also advised to submit a report on the progress.

Source: Parliament of Sri Lanka