UNDP, too, consulted

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Parliament in consultation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has reduced the number of Sectoral Oversight Committees (SOCs) to seven.In the previous Parliament there were 17 SOCs. The National People’s Power (NPP) government discussed the matter with the UNDP as the latter funded the strengthening of the SOC process.

A four-member Committee, headed by Assistant Secretary General of Parliament, Hansa Abeyratne, has recommended the establishment of seven SOCs to cover all ministries. Sources said that the Committee on Parliamentary Business, chaired by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, on 27 February, had agreed to form seven SOCs, with the government and the Opposition consenting to share the chairmanships four to three, respectively.

The NPP parliamentary group and the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) consists of 159 and 40 MPs, respectively.

The Speaker and UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche, discussed the reduction of SOCs from 17 to 7 when the latter paid a courtesy call on the Speaker several weeks before the official announcement made by Parliament following the meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business on 27 February.

The Committee of Selection previously declared that Parliament could establish as many as 20 SOCs.

The parliamentary committee system consists of Select Committees, Ministerial Consultative Committees, Legislative Standing Committees, Committees for Special Purposes and Sectoral Oversight Committees.

SOCs were introduced by the yahapalana parliament through a resolution passed on Dec 19th, 2015. Sources said that the Parliament tasked the Abeyratne committee to make recommendations meant to improve performance and cut down on waste.

Sources said the reduction of the number of SOCs was intended to curtail expenditure.

The USAID, now under a cloud over controversial projects in many countries, funded SOC heads’ visit to the US in late 2023 during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s presidency.