President appoints 18-member De-regulation Commission

Simplification of the Existing Laws and Regulations

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a 18-member De-regulation Commission for the Simplification of the Existing Laws and Regulations in the interest of the people, a statement from the President’s Media Division said. The Commission is co-chaired by former Secretary to the President and Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Chairman of John Keells Group Krishan Balendra.

Other members of the Commission are Mr. S.D.A.B. Boralessa – Secretary, State Ministry of Land Management, State Enterprises Land and Property Development, Mr. M.M.C. Ferdinando – Retired Ministry Secretary, Power sector, Mr. Suresh de Mel – Chairman, Export Development Board, Ms. C. Weligamage – Director General, Department of Public Finance, Mr. Chandana Kumarasinghe – Director General of Establishments, Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Dr. Harsha Cabral – Company Law expert, Dr. Nihal Jayawardana – President’s Counsel, Mr. Thishan Subasinghe – Chartered Accountant of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ranjith Gunathilake – Chief Executive Officer, Sanken Constructions (Private) Limited, Ms. Renuka Weerakoon – Executive Director, Board of Investments of Sri Lanka, Gerard Ondaatjie – Board of Director, Mercantile Investments and Finance PLC, Mr. Arjun Fernando – Non-executive Director, Nations Trust Bank, Mr. S.P. Liyanarachchi- SME Construction Sector, Anslem Perera – Managing Director, Mlesna Tea, Mr. Nissanka Wijeratna – Secretary General/ Chief Executive Officer, Chamber of Construction Industry, Mr. Chandra Wickremasinghe – Chairman/ Director General, Theme Resorts and Spas.

The tasks of the Commission cover the following.

01. Review all laws, regulations and circular instructions pertaining to Government finance, revenue laws and circular instructions, licensing and permit arrangements, investments, approvals and building permits etc., and how those regulations and circular instructions have evolved and circumstances influencing such regulations.

02. Assess as to whether the issuance of regulations and circular instructions has resulted in over regulation and deviated from the scope and objectives of original legislations.

03. Assess the relevance of them in the context of global standards and applicability of them in the Sri Lankan context to identify new rooms to adopt to make the most effective modern regulatory systems.

04. Assess the cost of enforcement to the state, compliance cost to the people and potentials for corruption and irregular practices associated with complex and over regulatory systems.