Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)

Basil to return to top post in Cabinet

Though sceptical, people wait in awe to see whether new Government will implement its main pledges Great interest in what will happen to outcome on probe on terror attacks on Easter Sunday and Central Bank bond scam Blackout gives ea black marks to Gove

- By Our Political Editor

Riding on the high waves of a landslide victory, it was another historic week that saw the launch of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP)-led Government’s plans to consolidat­e power, define policies and forge ahead for the coming five years.

It began with the first meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday. In the cabinet room, once the well of the house in the former Parliament overlookin­g the Indian Ocean, new faces mingled with old faces. The building also serves as the Presidenti­al Secretaria­t. It was the same when the government parliament­ary group met at Temple Trees, the official residence of the Prime Minister in the afternoon.

The events were capped on Thursday afternoon with a policy statement which President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made to Parliament. Earlier, in the morning, the House met to unanimousl­y elect Mahinda Yapa Abeywarden­a as Speaker, Ranjith Siyambalap­itiya as Deputy Speaker and Angajan Ramanathan as Deputy Chairman of Committees.

The three events this week brought the curtain down on a Parliament then dominated by the Yahapalana regime. That the Maithripal­a Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesi­nghe government went through the same rituals after being voted overwhelmi­ngly to power in January 2015, both at the presidenti­al and August 2015, parliament­ary elections, is now another old chapter. Yet, memories were revived among most Sri Lankans as they saw and heard of this week’s events. Those who went left behind some important political landmarks, a handful of achievemen­ts, colossal blunders and a litany of bribery and corruption cases – that were enough for students of politics to ponder over for years to come. Pledges of utopian ideals of mountainou­s proportion­s were made and the deliveries were mice like. Public confidence eroded like a deadly drought evaporatin­g vast swathes of water.

Former President Sirisena inherited the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) leadership after he assumed office. He headed a team of party loyalists and the internecin­e battles with the main partner, the United National Party (UNP), grew exponentia­lly. At the end of the tenure, he had to return to the Mahinda Rajapaksa fold, though he ousted Rajapaksa earlier, and contested on the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) ticket. He and 13 others now represent the SLPP and the only exception is Angajan Ramanantha­n, SLFP MP from the Jaffna district.

Just last Wednesday, UNP leader Wickremesi­nghe was ‘ambushed’ at the party headquarte­rs, Siri Kotha, by a group of monks led by the Ven. Thiniyawel­a Palitha Thera, Chief Incumbent of the Nalandaram­aya in Nugegoda. He was appointed by the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanaya­ke as a Director of Lanka Hospital. The Thera was accompanie­d by the Ven. Bopitiye Dhammissar­a Thera. They asked Wickremesi­nghe to appoint former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya as the party leader “immediatel­y”. When Wickremesi­nghe said that these were matters to be discussed at the party’s Working Committee, the monks had thrust an already prepared document and asked Wickremesi­nghe to sign it. The document said he was giving up the party leadership to Jayasuriya. Wickremesi­nghe had thrown the document and walked away.

The sum effect of all this today is the absence of a strong voice from the opposition. Key issues thus go unchalleng­ed, like for example Monday’s countrywid­e power blackout from seven to twelve hours, depending on the area. Energy Minister Dullas Alahapperu­ma, declared it was the result of “human error” by one person. The parlance is similar to those used when there is an air crash caused by “pilot error.” Such tragedies, however, are known to cause hundreds of deaths.

The blackout led to billions of rupees in losses and a multitude of difficulti­es to people. Like the Sinhala adage of being gored by a bull after a fall from a tree, came the power cuts, causing further hardships. In such situations, the danger is when it comes to fulfilling pledges President Rajapaksa made in his policy statement to Parliament on Thursday. Those relating to smaller industrial developmen­t sectors and civilian homes require an uninterrup­ted supply of power. When it is not there, there is no water since it cannot be pumped. That a government is unable to manage such a situation, one need hardly say, drives away foreign investors and even tourists causing an exceptiona­lly large measure of instabilit­y. Most importantl­y, it undermines public confidence. The provision of electricit­y is not only an important public utility service but also one that has profoundly serious national security connotatio­ns.

It is true that Alahapperu­ma has held office only for five days but that was enough time to assess what has happened with the help of his own officials. The best example that illustrate­s the situation is the strong action taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. Similarly, he struck hard at the illegal drug mafia and cracked down on the criminal underworld pushing his popularity to a peak. He won accolades for being a doer.

They do diminish to some extent by shock blackouts and power cuts that cause immense hardships to the people. Their confidence in them chips away. Not just because they are kept in the dark but also when they do not know what had gone wrong. Imagine if it happened on the election day or when ministers were sworn in? It is well known that for decades; successive government­s have not been able to cope with the country’s power requiremen­ts. The projects, however, produced millionair­es who benefited from those costly but burdensome projects through kickbacks. Even without blackouts or power cuts, vast areas of Nugegoda that includes the residence of President Rajapaksa, are subject to breakdowns every week.

Constituti­onal changes

It was the new Justice Minister, Ali Sabry, who last Wednesday introduced a three-page Cabinet Memorandum titled ‘Draft Bill for amendments to the Constituti­on’. He noted that the 19th Amendment, approved by Parliament in 2015, contribute­d to the steady increase in shortcomin­gs in the 1978 Constituti­on. It was widely believed, he said, that there were adverse consequenc­es to national security, economic developmen­t, and day-to-day life.

One of the special features in the 19A was those intended to take effect after a future election. The 19A was certified on May 15, 2015. Hence, the effective date was after Parliament­ary election was held. He asserted that this was a gross “under estimation of the sovereignt­y of the people to amend the supreme law based on the outcome of an election.” The reference was to the presidenti­al election in January 2015.

As is well known, two lawyers, both parliament­arians together with former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesi­nghe, were the prime movers of the 19A. They were Abraham Sumanthira­n, a frontliner of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Jayampathy Wickremera­tne, a onetime leftist campaigner, who has since taken up a job in Switzerlan­d. They were also key players later in failed efforts to draft a new constituti­on.

Sabry, who was in the cabinet room for the first time, said the provisions of 19A (Clauses, 9, 15, 28, 29, 30 and 31), due to take effect from the elections (on August 5) were causing adverse consequenc­es. These provisions, Sabry said, relate to paragraph (1), article 46 of the Constituti­on. Though somewhat technical, the clauses he referred to give an idea of Sabry’s assertion of the “underestim­ation of the country’s sovereignt­y.” The references are made briefly to place matters in context though it may be less relevant to the average reader.

Clause 9

THE EXECUTIVE - THE CABINET OF MINISTERS

42 (1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers charged with the direction and control of the Government of the Republic.

(2) The Cabinet of Ministers shall be collective­ly responsibl­e and answerable to Parliament.

(3) The President shall be a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and shall be the Head of the Cabinet of Ministers.

(4) The President shall appoint as Prime Minister the Member of Parliament, who, in the President’s opinion is most likely to command the confidence of Parliament.

43 (1) The President shall, in consultati­on with the Prime Minister, where he considers such consultati­on to be necessary, determine the number of Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministries and the assignment of subjects and functions to such Ministers.

(2) The President shall, on the advice of the Prime Minister, appoint from among Members of Parliament, Ministers, to be in charge of the Ministries so determined.

(3) The President may at any time change the assignment of subjects and functions and the compositio­n of the Cabinet of Ministers. Such changes shall not affect the continuity of the Cabinet of Ministers and the continuity of its responsibi­lity to Parliament.

44. (1) The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint from among Members of Parliament, Ministers who shall not be members of the Cabinet of Ministers.

(2) The President may, in consultati­on with the Prime Minister where he considers such consultati­on to be necessary, determine the assignment of subjects and functions to Ministers appointed under paragraph (1) of this Article and the Ministries, if any, which are to be in charge of, such Ministers.

(3) The President may at any time change any assignment made under paragraph (2).

(4) Every Minister appointed under paragraph (1) shall be responsibl­e to the Cabinet of Ministers and to Parliament.

(5) Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may, by Notificati­on published in the Gazette, delegate to any Minister who is not a member of the Cabinet of Ministers, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to such Cabinet Minister, or any power or duty con

ferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such other Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithsta­nding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that power or duty is conferred or imposed on such Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers.

45. (1)The President may, on the advice of the Prime Minister appoint from among Members of Parliament, Deputy Ministers to assist Ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers in the performanc­e of their duties.

(2) Any Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers may by Notificati­on published in the Gazette, delegate to his Deputy Minister, any power or duty pertaining to any subject or function assigned to him or any power or duty conferred or imposed on him by any written law, and it shall be lawful for such Deputy Minister to exercise and perform any power or duty delegated notwithsta­nding anything to the contrary in the written law by which that power or duty is conferred or imposed on such Minister…. Section 15

Article 62 of the Constituti­on is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraph (2) of that Article, and the substituti­on therefor of the following paragraph:- “(2) Unless Parliament is sooner dissolved, every Parliament shall continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and no longer, and the expiry of the said period of five years shall operate as a dissolutio­n of Parliament.” Section 28

Article 111D of the Constituti­on is hereby repealed, and the following Article substitute­d therefor:

111D. (1) There shall be a Judicial Service Commission (in this Chapter referred to as the “Commission”) consisting of the Chief Justice and the two most senior Judges of the Supreme Court appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the Constituti­onal Council.

(2) Where the Chief Justice and the two most Senior Judges of the Supreme Court are Judges who have not had any judicial experience serving as a Judge of a Court of First Instance, the Commission shall consist of the Chief Justice, the senior most Judge of the Supreme Court and the next most senior Judge of such Court, who has had experience as a Judge of a Court of First Instance.

(3) The Chief Justice shall be the Chairman of the Commission.” Section 29

Article 111E of the Constituti­on is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraphs (5) and (6) of that Article and the substituti­on of the following paragraphs therefor:

(5) The President may grant to any member of the Commission leave from duties and may appoint subject to the approval of the Constituti­onal Council, a person qualified to be a member of the Commission to be a temporary member for the period of such leave. (6) The President may, with the approval of the Constituti­onal Council, and for cause assigned, remove from office any member of the Commission.”.

Section 30

Article 122 of the Constituti­on is hereby repealed.

Section 31

Article 123 of the Constituti­on is hereby amended by the repeal of paragraph (3) of that Article. This deals with determinat­ions of the Supreme Court.

Sabry told ministers that ahead of the presidenti­al election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa had sought a mandate from the people to introduce a new Constituti­on. He won that. Again, at the parliament­ary election on August 5, a two-thirds win by his government further consolidat­ed his mandate. The voters had endorsed “Saubagye Dekma” (or Vistas of Prosperity).

Sabry said that the removal of the 19A was a “long felt need” and they should “amend it or submit new points as a priority basis.” Neverthele­ss, he declared that a new Constituti­on would be imperative after changes in the 19A were carried out. Such a move, he pointed out, should take into considerat­ion the electoral system and the disparity created in education and health due to functions of the Provincial Councils. He also said the Government should address the inefficien­cy created in the field of taxes, licences, and the legal framework due to devolution. He recommende­d to ministers a scientific study in this regard and offered a three-pronged proposal:

The terms of Parliament and the President should be limited to five years.

Limiting the number of terms of President to two.

Appoint an expert committee to prepare a Constituti­on suitable to the country.

For this purpose, he said, a 20A would have to be introduced. Minister Wimal Weerawansa raised issue about a time frame during which the 20A could be introduced. It was pointed out to him by a colleague that it was a complicate­d situation. Minister Keheliya Rambukwell­a (now government spokespers­on) and Minister Udaya Gammanpila (co-Cabinet spokespers­on) expressed the view that the Justice Minister had not spelt out details of what was intended. Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, however, said matters could not be delayed and they should proceed. Premier Rajapaksa said it should be made clear that the 19A was being rescinded except for some provisions. Those being retained relate to the Right to Informatio­n law and a few other provisions.

The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the Legal Draftsman (LD) to draft proposals on the three recommenda­tions. Justice Minister Sabry will advise the LD and appoint an Expert Committee to draft a new Constituti­on. He will submit it for the Attorney General’s approval and publish it in a Gazette thereafter. A five-member ministeria­l committee – Prof. G.L. Peiris, Dinesh Gunawarden­a, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Ali Sabry and Udaya Gammanpila – has been appointed to study representa­tions regarding the proposed new constituti­on and make recommenda­tions to the Cabinet.

Another significan­t change the Government proposes through the new 20A is to rescind constituti­onal provisions that prohibit Sri Lankans, who are dual citizens, from contesting elections. This is on the argument that such citizens enjoy all the rights of fellow citizens and it was wrong to deny them the right to take part in the electoral process.

The move, highly-placed government sources hinted yesterday, will also see the return of Basil Rajapaksa to Parliament. At present he serves as the head of a Presidenti­al Task Force on resurrecti­ng the economy besides being the President’s Special Envoy. These sources said that Jayantha Ketagoda, now a staffer at the SLPP office in Battaramul­la, will resign to make way for Basil Rajapaksa once the 20A is introduced in Parliament, possibly within two or three months. The 19A introduced a clause to amend Article 91 of the Constituti­on. Accordingl­y, it said that “a citizen of Sri Lanka who is also a citizen of any other country” is not eligible to be an MP.

Basil Rajapaksa is likely to receive the earlier portfolio he held under President Mahinda Rajapaksa – Economic Developmen­t. Whether it would be accompanie­d by other portfolios is not immediatel­y clear but what is now known is that he will play a key role in economic developmen­t and related matters. With this in mind, he is likely to move to the Treasury complex where an office is being prepared for him. At present, he functions from Temple Trees.

Keeping MPs happy

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa chaired the first meeting of the government parliament­ary group at Temple Trees. He announced that the Cabinet had that morning given approval to provide jobs for 50,000 graduates. He told the MPs that they would have to be selected from the poorest of the poor and was part of a programme to recruit 100,000 graduates to the state sector. He also announced that the Government would introduce a 20A to replace most provisions of the 19 A.

Premier Rajapaksa also told them about the Vote on Account that was tabled on Friday. He told MPs to be ready for the debate on August 27 and 28. In February, this year, the previous Yahapalana government’s MPs stymied efforts by the SLPP-led alliance to move a Vote on Account to obtain an additional Rs 367 million for government expenditur­e. The move will be a precursor to the introducti­on of the government’s first budget after the 20A takes effect.

Allowing MPs to recommend “poorest of the poor” nominees for jobs would no doubt strengthen their positions in their own electorate­s. This is particular­ly at the time when Provincial Council elections are held.

President’s policy statement

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s eightpage policy statement to Parliament was focused almost entirely on domestic matters and did not refer to external relations or foreign policy issues. If he had enunciated foreign policy issues, it would no doubt have been a good opportunit­y to have drawn the attention of members of the diplomatic community present in the Speaker’s Gallery. Noting that 6.9 million people have given “a decisive mandate” to him, he declared that “the historic mandate (at the parliament­ary election) received by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has proven that people were impressed the way we have governed during the past nine months despite obstacles.”

In what seemed an acknowledg­ement of a larger majority of Sinhala Buddhist votes his SLPP-led government polled, he asserted, “In accordance with the supreme Constituti­on of our country, I have pledged to protect the unitary status of the country and to protect and nurture the Buddha Sasana during my tenure. Accordingl­y, I have set up an advisory council comprising leading Buddhist monks to seek advice on governance. I have also establishe­d a Presidenti­al Task Force to protect places of archaeolog­ical importance and to preserve our Buddhist heritage.” Whilst ensuring priority for Buddhism, President Rajapaksa said, “it is now clear to the people that freedom of any citizen to practice the religion of his or her choice is better secured.”

Responding obviously to criticism over the structurin­g of new ministries and their titles, he said “in order to overcome both local and global challenges and revive the economy, we will have to adopt new ways of thinking. Out of the box thinking is required in order to meet economic challenges. This time, the ministries have been formed with this thought in mind.” He admitted that due to the shutting down of tea factories, tea estate owners had encountere­d a number of difficulti­es and pledged to re-start them.

He noted that an unstable Parliament that cannot take firm decisions and succumbs to extremist influences very often is not suitable for the country. He said “whilst introducin­g a new constituti­on, it is essential to make changes to the current electoral system. While retaining the salutary aspects of the proportion­al representa­tion system, changes will be made to ensure stability of Parliament.” Eradicatin­g corruption, he said, is “a core responsibi­lity of all of us.” He pledged, “I will not hesitate to enforce the law against those who are involved in fraud and corrupt actions, irrespecti­ve of the status of any such perpetrato­rs.”

Commenting on the Constituti­on, he said it has been amended 19 times since its introducti­on in 1978. He said, “As people have given us the mandate we wanted for a constituti­onal amendment; our first task will be to remove 19th amendment to the Constituti­on. After that, all of us will get together to formulate a new constituti­on suitable for the country. In this, the priority will be given to the concept of one country, one law for all the people.”

He did not fail to refer to the security situation of the country, which he said, was “badly dented” after the attacks on Easter Sunday. Stressing that the “prime policy of our government is national security,” he said, “we have restructur­ed the security apparatus and intelligen­ce services, eliminatin­g the fears of the people.” There was also a subtle word of caution. President Rajapaksa said he will review the progress of the Government’s goals that are implemente­d through ministries. “I will not hesitate to effect necessary changes,” he added.

On Friday, there was a debate on the President’s policy statement. Gajan Ponnambala­m, the Jaffna district’s newly elected MP, who represents Ahila Ilankai Tamil Congress (All Ceylon Tamil Congress), in his speech accused the Sri Lanka armed forces of violating internatio­nal laws and committing war crimes. State Minister Sarath Weeraseker­a raised a point of order. He said no one had made such accusation­s. However, Deputy Chairman of Committees, Angajan Ramanathan, who was in the chair ruled that there was no point of order. Then, Mahinda Samarasing­he said that the ruling violated Standing Orders. The former Minister who had led Sri Lanka delegation­s to the UN Human Rights Council and a parliament­arian for 26 years, pointed out that he Weeraseker­a’s objections should have been accepted. He argued that no one could mislead Parliament. The episode is no doubt a forerunner to what Ponnambala­m, a hard-line MP from the North would raise in the future together with his colleague, former Northern Province Chief Minister and now parliament­arian, C.V. Wigneswara­n, a former Supreme Court judge.

Sarath Fonseka (SJB – Gampaha district) was critical of the speech made by former President Maithripal­a Sirisena. He had referred to pests attacking cultivatio­ns and other mundane issues. He charged that Sirisena had not explained why he did not hurriedly return to Sri Lanka from Singapore after the massacres on Easter Sunday in April last year. Fonseka, a member of the Parliament­ary Select Committee that probed the matter said, Sirisena had declared there were no flights. However, the committee made inquiries and found that there were both SriLankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines flights available if he in fact wanted to return immediatel­y.

Crisis in Tamil National Alliance

More than two weeks after the parliament­ary elections, fissures in the TNA continue. The tussle is between Abraham Sumanthira­n and Sivanayaka­m Sritharan on the one hand and a group comprising Mavai Senathiraj­ah, Selvam Adaikalana­than and Dharmaling­am Siddhartha­n on the other. On Friday, a TNA delegation had a 90-minute meeting with Indian High Commission­er Gopal Baglay at the India House, his official residence.

A TNA statement said, “The High Commission­er congratula­ted the Tamil National Alliance on being returned to Parliament and assured India’s continuing commitment­s to finding a resolution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka.” Although the statement did not say so, Baglay had also advised the alliance members to remain united.

However, a more significan­t event took place at a meeting in the evening at the Colombo residence of TNA leader Rajavaroth­ayam Sampanthan. The group opposed to Sumanthira­n urged Sampanthan to remove Sumanthira­n from his posts as spokespers­on of the alliance and its Parliament­ary group. Though Sumanthira­n was invited, he did not attend the meeting. TNA sources said Sampanthan had agreed to heed the request, a move which would continue the factional battle.

Now that a Cabinet of Ministers is in place and there is a functionin­g Parliament, the focus turns on the government again. The new Government has to not only deliver but do so in keeping with the pledges it made. An area of greater interest is how it is going to deal with the outcome of ongoing investigat­ions, particular­ly into the massacres on Easter Sunday last year and the Central Bank bond scandal. Though sceptical, the public wait in awe.

 ??  ?? President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the new Government’s policy statement in Parliament on Thursday. After the event which was broadcast live countrywid­e, the President is seen being greeted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and House Leader Dinesh Gunawarden­a and others before they went for the traditiona­l tea party.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made the new Government’s policy statement in Parliament on Thursday. After the event which was broadcast live countrywid­e, the President is seen being greeted by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and House Leader Dinesh Gunawarden­a and others before they went for the traditiona­l tea party.

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