Tensions exist between the Central and Local governments
Sri Lanka has been struggling to have a proper Constitution for several decades and plans are afoot now to enact a new Constitution. The question arises whether decentralisation has contributed to socio and economic development of the provinces, said Prof. Sirimevan Colombage who reviewed the book on “Decentralisation and Development of Sri Lanka within a Unitary State” that contains 15 Chapters and 400 pages.
The book hinges on more political science than on economic perspective, he said at the book launch held at the University of Colombo last week.
Economic development was not the major concern of the devolution process which was mainly aimed at addressing ethno-political issues than on economic development of the provinces.
He said the Provincial Council system was introduced in Sri Lanka in 1987 largely due to Indian pressure owing to the Indo Lanka accord which the Sri Lanka government did not have any choice during that period. The book contains rich and valuable articles on devolution from an economic perspective. As far as the devolution process in Sri Lanka was concerned it was related to a political process. "The Sri Lankan economy liberalised in 1977 has completed 40 years and also the 13th amendment enacted in 1987 has completed 30 years." The co-authors of the book, Prof. N. S. Cooray and Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne have highlighted issues connected to the devolution process in Sri Lanka way back in 1987 and whether it had benefited the provincial and local bodies so far. The book contains 14 articles written by international authors.
The book also highlights the fact that although devolution was introduced in 1987 there appears to be some tension between the Central and the Provincial Council governments. A classic example was the allocation of funds from a ministry to provincial councils by passing the relevant ministry under the previous regime. Referring to the Japanese module he said more powers are vested in municipalities to take decisions than the central government.
Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne said that while he was in Japan along with Prof. N. S. Cooray they decided to focus on two research books viz International Trade that concentrates on geographical concentration of growth where governments have an important role to play. He said the other book was on “Decentralisation and Development of Sri Lanka within a Unitary State” which is a collection of papers by wellknown Sri Lankan and international authors on the subject of decentralisation. He said over the years the development was concentrated in Colombo than in the provinces. The case in point was on the Japanese model as to how they spend a large amount of money on devolution process. "However the book is not available in Sri Lanka but can be ordered via the Internet from Singapore. The book is funded by the Japan Society of Science," he said.
Meanwhile this comprehensive volume provides diverse insights into various aspects of decentralisation and development from both developed and developing countries. For a quarter century, Sri Lanka was battered by its prolonged civil war that ended in 2009 and now there is peace and stability. There is however a strong need, particularly in the context of postwar conflict, to formulate policies for reconciliation, peace building and development at all levels - local, provincial and at national levels. However decentralisation itself is not a new subject to devolve power to local administrative units to provide better services for its citizens. The book presents papers from a 3- year research project undertaken by internationally respected experts with financial support by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science under a grant in aid for scientific research. Prof. N.S. Cooray, the co -author also spoke.