President Ranil Wickremesinghe was in the Eastern Province last weekend meeting farmers and public officials. He visited the cultivation area around the fields of Siyambalanduwa, Rathumada, and Weerakandawala and engaged in friendly conversation with the farmers.
Farmers had the opportunity to directly present their problems to the President and they informed him about the shortage of fertilisers, insecticides, and herbicides, as well as land problems, water problems, and the threat of wild elephants in the area.
At that time, the President, who summoned the relevant officials to the farm land, was unique in taking steps to provide immediate solutions to the problems, and the farmers, who mentioned that this was the first time a President had visited their area, thanked the President for coming to them and investigating the problems.
After noting down all of the problems presented by an officer of the President’s Office, the President appointed a separate Additional Secretary of the President’s Office and stated that he will take steps to provide quick solutions to those problems in coordination with District Political Authority officials.
Many problems of the province’s people were also presented to the President, including issues such as education, roads, and housing.
In a bid to address the country’s food crisis, President Ranil Wickremesinghe urged to cast aside party politics and ensure food security and nutrition.
The President was addressing public officers at an awareness programme on the multi-sector mechanism to empower rural economic revitalisation centres to ensure food security and nutrition at the Hardy Advanced Technological Institute in Ampara on 15 October.
He said no one would be allowed to starve despite the fact the country going through a difficult time and pointed out the importance of successfully implementing the national food production programme to prepare for a possible global food crisis in 2023.
Wickremesinghe also said the agriculture modernisation programme would be implemented from next year concurrent to the food security programme.
The implementation of the multi-sector mechanism was transforming the Ampara District into a prosperous one.
The Ampara District contributes 22 per cent to the national paddy harvest and discussions were also focused to make paddy cultivation in the Yala and Maha seasons a success.
Wickremesinghe paid special attention to issues faced by State officials during field work. The President was made aware of issues relating to the agriculture and fisheries industry in the Ampara district. He directed officials to address them. He instructed to appoint a special committee to study and report to him.
Following the discussion, the President visited the Hardy ATI farm and planted a sapling to mark the visit.
22nd Amendment
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was passed in Parliament on Friday (21) with two thirds majority. The Bill received 179 votes in favour and one vote against. Colombo District SLPP MP Rear Admiral (Retd) Sarath Weerasekera was the sole MP who voted against the Bill.
One of the key provisions in 22nd Amendment is disqualifying dual-citizens from contesting elections in Sri Lanka.
A total of 44 MPs, including dozens of SLPP MPs were absent.
The vote was originally to be taken at 5.30 p.m. but got delayed till 6.15 p.m. as the debate dragged on. The Bill was debated on Thursday and Friday and over 50 MPs spoke in the debate.
Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented the Bill entitled ‘Twenty Second Amendment to the Constitution’, to amend the Constitution on 10 August.
The Supreme Court cleared the Bill on 6 September ruling that it could be adopted with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and some clauses requiring a nationwide referendum. On the same day announcing the Supreme Court decision Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene said the Bill could be adopted with a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a nationwide referendum on clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill that are inconsistent with the Constitution.
The Supreme Court recommended changes to help Parliament pass the Bill with only a special majority. The Bill aims to restore independent commissions and also curbs some of the powers of the President.
The SLPP was not in favour of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, as certain provisions are introduced targeting a group of people and is not for the benefit of the public, SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said, adding that for instance, the provision disqualifying dual-citizens from contesting elections was introduced targeting former Minister of Finance, Basil Rajapaksa.
He added that disqualifying dual-citizens will deprive making use of the expertise of Sri Lankans who are dual-citizens, adding that several provisions in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution were introduced targeting the Rajapaksa family and that the 22nd Amendment is an extension of the 19th Amendment.
Kariyawasam noted that certain other amendments introduced by the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, including that of raising the minimum age for a Presidential candidate and that of disqualifying the same person competing for Presidency twice, was also introduced targeting the Rajapaksa family, noting thereby that these provisions have affected the public in general.
SLPP urged President Wickremesinghe to introduce a New Constitution instead of amending the Constitution to the whims and fancies of anyone, adding that before SLPP became the ruling party, the public was promised a New Constitution and thereby such promise should be fulfilled.
Kariyawasam further noted that the SLPP is not afraid of an Election as the party has the strength to face the polls and is confident of securing a high number of votes.
However, the SLFP and other Opposition parties pledged last minute support to the 22nd Amendment on condition that the clause on dual citizenship will not be removed during the committee stage.
Former President Maithripala Sirisena said SLFP will support the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, as it is a progressive amendment, on the part of the people.
Speaking during the parliamentary debate on the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, Sirisena said the above decision does not strengthen the current government.
“However, the 22nd Amendment is a good step from the people’s side, therefore, we will vote in favour of it,” he said.
While claiming that the UK Parliament has been ruling the country for hundreds of years without a written Constitution, Sirisena said that the Constitution of Sri Lanka has been amended twenty-two times, and most of the amendments were not made according to the needs of the people.
“The issues faced by the people of the country would not be resolved by passing amendments alone. The government must give attention to resolve the current issues. We hope that the 22nd Amendment would strengthen democracy, public service and restructure corrupt State institution,” he said.
If the contents of the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution are implemented without being changed according to personal preferences, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) will support it, said Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa.
Speaking in Parliament Premadasa said, his party will agree to support the 22nd Amendment, only on three conditions.
In particular, the power of the President should be reduced to some extent, he said. Additionally, rules and regulations related to dual citizenship should remain unchanged. President has the power of dissolution for two and a half years and it should be implemented without any change, he said.
Premadasa said that they will only agree to the 22nd Amendment only if the above conditions are agreed by the government. He said, if anyone attempts to sabotage or change the mentioned requests, they would vote against the Bill.
He also said that as the Opposition they would not attempt to disagree with everything that government implies. He said that he will do his best for the people while staying in the Opposition.
Irked by delayed polls
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the acceptance of the proposed People’s Council system, also known as ‘Jana Sabha’, as a fundamental policy.
The Cabinet also approved the establishment of the National People’s Council Secretariat, as the national level independent central institution, for establishing the People’s Councils system.
The proposal was presented to Cabinet by President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Addressing the weekly Cabinet decision briefing, Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena said it has been revealed that due to the gap between the centre of governance and the people, representative democratic institutions that have been operating in Sri Lanka do not pay enough attention to the public opinion when policy making.
He said since the people’s real issues are not adequately addressed, social criticism is arising in this regard. Based on this, it has also been seen that opinions and objections against representative democracy are emerging in the society.
“Under that situation, a strong mechanism, where public officials and the common people can discuss rural issues together, determine what should be done to address their concerns, is much needed. By doing so, we can prevent public oppression happening through an organised mechanism,” he said.
Gunawardena also said the ‘National Movement for a Just Society’ has accordingly presented a concept paper on People’s Council system with an independent institutional structure where public participation can be ensured for the formulation of public policies.
“The concept paper also proposed the establishment of the National People’s Council and Village People’s Councils to cover every Grama Niladhari Division in the Island,” he said.
However, referring to reports that certain parties were preparing to establish Jana Sabha as an alternative Parliament, Leader of the House Susil Premajayantha said according to the Constitution there was no legal provisions for this.
Speaking in Parliament, Premajayantha said according to media reports this Mahajana Sabhawa or ‘People’s Council’ was similar to the local Parliament.
“This entity violates the Constitution of Sri Lanka. In terms of the Constitution, Parliament is vested with legislative power. This power could not be transferred to any other entity,” he said.
In response, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena said Premajayantha’s concern will be referred to the Parliamentary Privileges Committee.
Opposition political parties in Parliament and the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to defeat the attempt by the government to postpone the Local Government elections.
The MoU was signed in accordance with the recent agreement of all the Opposition parties.
A discussion with regard to the matter was held in a committee room at Parliament on Thursday (20) and all the Opposition parties in Parliament except Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) participated in the discussion.
The meeting was organised by ‘Nidahasa Janatha Sabhawa’.
During the discussion, former President and SLFP Chairman Maithripala Sirisena said all the Opposition parties in Parliament decided to defeat the attempts of the Government not to hold Local Government elections within a Constitutional framework.
JJB Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged that the Local Government Elections must be held before 20 March 2023.
Dissanayake alleged that the President is attempting to find a way to postpone the election once more.
The political culture in Sri Lanka must be changed and it cannot be done alone. Therefore, JJB must be the strongest people’s movement in the country, he added.
“The previous elections were held to overthrow the then Premier and now President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the mastermind of the Central Bank bond scam and to bring justice to the people who lost their lives in the Easter Sunday Attacks. However, the same person who lost the election against the Rajapaksas became the President. The current political system is dysfunctional and it must be changed,” Dissanayake reiterated.
Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Leader of House Susil Premajayantha expressed his ‘irritation’ over the delay in holding Provincial Councils elections.
He was responding to Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahuman.
“Owing to this, I have a heavy workload now because there are no Education Ministers in Provincial Councils. I have to work even on weekends. Every Saturday I’m having meetings via zoom with education authorities in the provinces to coordinate everything. Therefore, I could be happier if PC elections are held on time and Education Ministers are appointed to Provincial Councils,” he said smiling.
Rahuman raised a question in the Parliament about the inactivity of Provincial Councils for so long. He said this has caused crises in the educational sector.
Replying to Rahuman, Premajayantha, who is the Education Minister, said due to the amendments brought by Parliament, the Provincial Council elections had to be postponed and everyone should come together and to hold the elections as soon as possible.
He said that as a former Chief Minister, he understands that Provincial Councils cannot be managed properly as long as there is no control of the people’s representatives at the moment.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is ready to face an election at any time and the party will win if an election is held even today, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Sunday (16) during a speech made at a public rally in Nawalapitiya, which was part of a series of rallies held under the ‘Let’s stand together’ campaign of the SLPP.
Rajapaksa admitted that although they may have made mistakes, there have been people in history who have made mistakes before.
“When something goes wrong, we have a chance to fix it. We don’t need to be ashamed. We know there is a section of this country against us. When we have an election, we know that we will have more. Even today, if there is an election, a General Election, we will win. That is the truth,” he added.
SLPP MPs Ramesh Pathirana, Indika Anuruddha, Namal Rajapaksa, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, and Keheliya Rambukwella also participated in the public rally.
SLPP MP Aluthgamage, the former Agriculture Minister, stressed that the party is ready to face an election at any time, and challenged the President to hold an election as soon as possible, be it Provincial Councils, Local Government or Parliamentary Elections.
“We are giving the message today in Nawalapitiya that we are ready for any election,” he said. He also challenged the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna to win at least one division, and vowed to never engage in politics again if that is the case.
“That is how we made this constituency, Mr President,” Aluthgamage added.
The Minister of Health, Keheliya Rambukwella said that many people, including scholars and netizen rallied around former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose manifesto contained important points, and was beautiful.
However, it must be admitted, the Minister said, that there were some shortcomings in the execution of the manifesto, he said, adding that these shortcomings must be admitted.
“I am sorry that he was not able to live up to the challenge which he received at that time. I should publicly emphasise that he did not face up to his challenges, I have no regrets about that,” Minister Rambukwella said.
Although many reasons contributed to this downfall, the Minister said that even today, he respects Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a person.
However, at the Ruling Party group meeting, the SLPP asked President Ranil Wickremesinghe about any immediate plans underway to hold elections to which Wickremesinghe responded “at this juncture, I am not in a position to go for an election even if someone goes down on bended knees and begs for one.”
PHU concerned about Solheim
Presidential Adviser on Climate Change Erik Solheim has come to Sri Lanka to liaise with Tamil separatist movements, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) Leader, MP Udaya Gammanpila alleged.
He said it is questionable why Solheim was appointed as the Presidential Adviser on Climate Change with his ‘negative credentials.’
“The so-called peace envoy, Solheim has re-emerged as the Presidential Adviser on Climate Change. In fact, he has no credentials to hold this post. He became the UN Environment Head because of Norway’s huge monetary contribution to the UNEP. He wasted USD 500,000 for his foreign travel within 22 months. He was subject to bitter criticism by environmental experts,” he stressed.
Gammanpila claimed Solheim had grossly violated regulations of the UNEP and because of these reasons, the UN Secretary-General asked him to resign in November 2018.
“India has informed Sri Lanka that they were not in a position to provide support any further. Signing the free trade agreement is a precondition of China. Japan has agreed only to restructure the loans. Russia has no capacity to support us because of the war. Europe is in a deep economic crisis. The IMF funds will reach us only after debt restructuring. Hence, the Government has no option but to beg before the separatists,” he said.
Speaking further, he claimed the separatists earn millions of dollars every year through human smuggling, weapon smuggling, antique smuggling, money laundering, operating shipping fleets, TV and radio channels. Gammanpila also stressed that after the war ended, they do not have many expenses.
“Hence, they now have accumulated billions of dollars. Solheim has been tasked with appeasing them by meeting their separatist demands and to obtain their money by way of loans and investment. We have no objection to attracting their funds, but not at the cost of our beloved motherland,” he said.
