By Shamindra Ferdinando

Chairman of Open Parliament Caucus Mayantha Dissanayake Monday (16) said that the open parliament concept was meant to promote democracy beyond party politics. Therefore, the way members vote for a particular Bill, their absence at the time of voting and other matters weren’t issues for the Open Parliament Caucus, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lawmaker said.

MP Dissanayake said so in response to The Island query regarding the deterioration of Parliament at a time such high profile projects were undertaken. MP Dissanayake also declined to comment on the arrest of MP Ali Sabry Raheem in March over an attempt to smuggle in gold and stock of smartphones worth Rs 78.4 mn. Raheem, elected from the Puttalam district on the SJB ticket at the last general election, is a member of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC), a constituent of the main Opposition SJB.

The Island raised the issues at hand with MP Dissanayake in the wake of a special workshop, conducted recently in Parliament, to promote open Parliament concept by educating senior public officials. The Office of the Director Legislative Services / Director Communication and local office of the US-funded National Democratic Institute (NDI) organized the workshop in line with NDI/USAID funded Open Government Partnership (OGP). Among those present were Secretaries to Ministries and District Secretaries. Premier Dinesh Gunawardena chaired the sessions.

Sri Lanka joined the multilateral platform OGP in 2015 leading to the formation of the Open Parliament Caucus meant to develop what the NDI called an open parliament plan. Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapaksa has told the inauguration that the ordinary people would be given an opportunity to get in touch with members of Parliament and officials engaged in formulation of policy and constitution-making process. The Deputy Speaker pointed out how Parliament granted selected youth an opportunity to participate in the proceedings of Parliamentary Oversight Committees.

A statement issued by Parliament quoted the Deputy Speaker as having found fault with the media for failing to provide sufficient coverage for the formulation of new laws as well as other important work done by Parliament. According to the Hambantota District MP, lawmakers and officials faced a huge challenge for want of adequate reportage of the developments taking place in Parliament.

Appreciating the lawmakers joining the OGP initiative, regardless of political differences, MP Dissanayake said that a countrywide project, with the participation of 13 groups, including civil society, will be held to educate the public of their objectives.

On behalf of the public service, Anura Dissanayake, Secretary to the Premier, emphasized the responsibility on the part of government servants to help overcome challenges experienced in the implementation of such programmes.

Acting Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne has explained the importance of the Oversight Committees (OCs) in the overall implementation of OGP while highlighting the sharing of Chairmanship of OCs by the government and the Opposition. The Government and Opposition MPs chaired nine and eight OCs, respectively, promoting democracy, Kularatne said.