Category: News

Opposition political parties and civil society organisations said that the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government should conduct the much-delayed Local Government elections without trying to deceive the public.

PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said that there was no point in conducting workshops for Local Government officials in the absence of people’s representatives. The civil society activist said so responding to the conclusion of a three-day workshop for LG officials in the Southern Province. Hettiarachchi emphasized that he didn’t find fault with having workshops. The issue is the government has indefinitely put off both Local Government and Provincial Council polls.

The workshop in the Western Province was conducted two weeks ago. On both occasions Provincial Councils and Local Government State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura attended the closing ceremony.

The three-day workshop for the Northern Province would be conducted in the third week of September.

The NGO ‘One Text Initiative’ provided the funds for the project carried out by Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance.

JJB MP Vijitha Herath said that the government couldn’t deceive the public by such worthless exercises

Singapore and Sri Lanka today discussed regional stability during a meeting between Ranil Wickremesinghe and Singapore’s Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen.

Dr Ng Eng Hen called on President Wickremesinghe who is in Singapore for a two-day working visit.

During the meeting, Dr Ng and President Wickremesinghe discussed geopolitical developments and the importance of regional stability for small maritime countries.

“The meeting demonstrates the friendly defence ties between Singapore and Sri Lanka,” the Singapore Defence Ministry said.

Earlier, Wickremesinghe had a call with Singapore President Halimah Yacob.

“We had a fruitful discussion, covering food security, renewable energy, regional economic cooperation, amongst others. Our friendship is anchored by strong people-to-people ties and cooperation across various sectors. There is much scope to deepen our ties. I wish President Wickremesinghe a productive visit in Singapore,” President Halimah Yacob said in a brief statement.

Joining the President on this are Sagala Ratnayaka, Chief of Presidential Staff and Senior Advisor on National Security, Ruwan Wijewardena, Senior Advisor on Climate Change and Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Senior Advisor on Economic Affairs.

The share of Sri Lanka’s 100 trackable commitments in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme for which no data has been made available to assess progress — despite passing the agreed deadline —has increased from 9% in March to 15% in July, according to Verité Research.

The lack of information to make a reasonable assessment about these commitments, the think tank notes, highlights a growing lack of visibility on the government’s progress on the IMF programme.

What can explain the increase in “Unknown” progress?

The findings are based on the IMF Tracker of Verité Research, which tracks the programme’s progress and classifies commitments as “met”, “not met”, or “unknown” on verifiable criteria.

Verité Research points out that the rise in the number of commitments, on which the achievement is “unknown”, could mean one of two things. One, the government has failed to meet these commitments and is not making the information public to delay the recognition of failure. Two, the government does not see the public or parliament as important stakeholders in programme implementation — and is uninterested in providing them with critical information.

Can Sri Lanka pick-up the rate of progress?

Sri Lanka had verifiably met 35 of the 57 commitments on the IMF programme that were due to be completed by the end of July; up from 33 in June. In July, the parliament approved the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Bill and the Anti-Corruption Bill. These bills were originally due to be approved in April and June 2023, respectively. This means that Sri Lanka is moving forward slowly and with a significant delay against the agreed timelines.

Since March, when Sri Lanka started off well with 25 commitments already completed, the average rate of verifiable completion has been less than three per month. There are 71 commitments due to be completed by the end of September, when the IMF conducts its first review of the programme and would normally disburse the second tranche of funding. To get there, Sri Lanka needs to verifiably complete 18 commitments a month in August and September.

In evaluating progress, any policy-related action that lacks public disclosure of their completion status even two months after the due date is deemed not met. Consequently, the commitment set for April regarding the “completion of the asset quality review component of the diagnostic exercise for the two largest state-owned banks and the three leading private sector banks” has been reclassified from “unknown” to “not met.” A total of seven commitments were classified as “Not Met” at the end of July.

Bangladesh has received the first instalment of $50 million from the $200 million loan taken by Sri Lanka in September 2021.

The financial assistance was extended by the Bangladesh Bank to Sri Lanka to address a pressing foreign exchange reserve crisis experienced by the South Asian country then.

Md Mezbaul Haque, executive director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Bank, on Monday said that the first payment from Sri Lanka was received on August 17.

He also said that Sri Lanka was expected to pay back another instalment by August 30.

The Bangladesh Bank foresees the repayment of the entire $200 million loan by September, he added.

Under the terms of a currency swap agreement, Bangladesh provided this monetary support to Sri Lanka in three distinct tranches.

The first tranche of $50 million was sent on August 19, the second instalment of $100 million on August 30 and the rest $50 million in September of 2021.

On August 19 in 2021, the BB released $50 million as the first tranche and another $100 million as the second instalment on August 30 in 2021 and the third tranche worth $50 million on September 21 in the same year.

The initial tenure of the currency swap agreement was set at three months while the agreement contained a rollover condition, allowing Sri Lanka to extend the period of repayment of the financing facility.

Source: New Age

The recent statements made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and those attributed to the leaders of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) make it clear that the 13th Amendment to the constitution (13A) that devolves some powers to the Provinces has the tacit support of the Sri Lankan political parties notwithstanding overt opposition to it.
In his Special Address to Parliament on August 10, the President stated the reasons for thinking that the 13A is necessary even as he said that the working of the Provincial Councils (PCs) set up under the 13A left much to be desired and suggested changes.

The SJB’s General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara said: “We are in favour of devolution and the 13th Amendment. However, we do not want them to be used as smokescreens to delay elections.” The SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said that for the time being, no “expansion” of the 13A should be attempted because the country is faced with a grave economic crisis. He did not say that 13A should go. In fact, when he was President, SLPP patriarch Mahinda Rajapaksa had said that if he abolished the PCs, those politicians who were demanding abolition would be the first to agitate for its retention!

If 13A exists today, it is not because of India’s pressure but because the Lankan political system finds it useful. President Wickremesinghe said this about the 13A in Parliament: “The Provincial Councils have nurtured skilled political leaders and served as stepping stones to executive and parliamentary roles. Throughout history, numerous individuals who embarked on their political journey as Provincial Council members ascended to positions of power like the executive presidency, premiership, cabinet membership, and other significant roles. Many of the Ministers currently seated in this House have traversed a path from provincial council members to Chief Ministers and beyond. None of the parliamentary political parties advocates for the abolition of Provincial Councils. Representatives from all these parties have engaged with and been part of Provincial Councils.”

“The PCs have become an enduring component that cannot be excised from Sri Lanka’s governmental structure or political landscape,” the President said.

Consensus on the need for 13A was reached by the Steering Committee formed for framing a new constitution during the 2015-2019 Yahapalanaya regime. However, the President stressed the need for the 13A to be implemented “in a manner that aligns with Sri Lanka’s development and future.”
Referring to the drawbacks in the working of the PCs, the president pointed out that the LKR 550 billion spent on them every year, needed to be examined for their rationale. Further, the division of power and authority between the PCs, the central government, and the local bodies lacked clarity. “Subjects overlapped resulting in duplication of efforts and delayed actions.”

Steering Committee’s Recommendations

The interim report of the Steering Committee on a new constitution released in September 2017 recommended (1) Ensuring the participation of PCs in the formulation of national policies concerning matters within the Provincial List; (2) Avoiding transfer of constitutionally decentralized powers from the PCs to the Central Government; (3) Abjuring the practice of taking over the implementation of the National Policy on a Provincial subject.

There were proposals to grant authority to the PCs to provide education-related services at the school level, establish Provincial Boards for Vocational and Technical Training Services and Universities, provide grassroots agricultural innovation services and promote provincial tourism.

The President said that the Industries Act needed to be amended to increase the limit for industries of national importance from LKR 4 million to LKR 250 million. This could be raised to LKR 500 million.

He proposed to establish District Development Councils to chalk out a three-year plan for each provincial council in alignment with the central government’s national policies. Central government development programmes should be customized for each district and execution should be entrusted to the PCs.

There should be a legal framework to enable MPs, PC members and members of Local bodies representing each district to collaborate effectively in this endeavour. The President further said that a committee, led by the Prime Minister, will be established to re-evaluate the List of powers held by the central government, and provincial councils. The concurrent list would also be examined. The President suggested allowing Members of Parliament to contest in provincial council elections.

On the delicate subject of granting police powers to the PCs as per 13A, the President said: “It would be more practical for us to initially focus on reaching consensus concerning other powers. It’s advisable to progress step by step.Prioritizing sensitive matters could potentially hinder the attainment of any mutual agreement.”

EPDP’s Step by Step Reform

The Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda had submitted a step-by-step approach to the reform of the 13A.

Stage I involves retaking functions taken over by the Centre through executive means in the last 36 years. This could be done through Administrative means. Stage II involves amending (a) certain Acts that were enacted prior to the passing of the 13A so that these are in line with the provisions of the 13A. (b) repealing certain provisions of the Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987 and Transfer of Powers (Divisional Secretaries) Act No. 58 of 1992 to facilitate the smooth functioning of the PCs. These amendments could be done by a simple majority in parliament of those present and voting.

The EPDP cited some cases as examples. Agriculture and Agrarian Services is a Provincial subject. But it was taken over by the Central Agriculture Ministry. That was challenged in the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that “Agrarian Services” is in the Provincial List. And yet, the Central Agriculture Ministry continued to hold on to the subject by changing the name of the Department to “Department of Agrarian Development!”.

The Turnover Tax on wholesale and retail sales is the main revenue earner for the Provinces provided in the 13A. But that tax was done away with, and the Centre began collecting the Value Added Tax (VAT) and sharing a percentage with the Provinces. The PCswere thus deprived of an independent source of revenue.

As per the Constitution, the Finance Commission’s duty is to make recommendations to the President on the principles on which funds should be granted to the Provinces. But in practice, the Finance Commission gives directions as to how the fund should be spent also. This is not the intended function of the Finance Commission.

As per the Provincial Councils Act, No. 42 of 1987, the appointment, transfer, dismissal and disciplinary control of officers of the public service of the Provinces are vested in the Governor of that Province and the Governor, in turn, could delegate that power to the Provincial Public Service Commission. But in defiance of this provision, the Secretary of the Central Health Ministry directly decides all appointments.

On the controversial issue of devolving Police Powers, the EPDP says that the PCs should be permitted to enroll Provincial police personnel for deploying them on duties “without carrying weapons, such as traffic duties, controlling crowds etc.”

Stage III involves Constitutional Provisions that need to be Repealed or Amended. The Centre’s power over National Policy on all Subjects and Functions, including those in the Provincial List, should go. The Concurrent List should also go. The requirement of the Governor’s assent for the statutes passed by the Provincial Council to be done away with. And the Governor should be appointed by the President with the concurrence of the Chief Minister.

Some of EPDP’s suggestions are too radical, but its case that there is a wide measure of agreement on most of its proposals may not be off the mark.