The President’s problems

By Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha

The newspapers have been full recently of arguments regarding Provincial Councils. Unfortunately, most writers seem to approach the problem from their own long entrenched perspectives, both those in favour of Councils who have been plugging their necessity for ages, and those against them who have long argued for their being got rid of. Neither side in this debate seems to be concerned with practical realities.

Those against Councils cannot ignore the fact that India feels the system is their baby, and might be upset if they were just got rid of. Of course we should not follow something which is injurious to the country just to keep India happy, but if we believe – as I now do, being one of the few who has changed his mind about this – that Provincial Councils have served little purpose, then we should make this case to the Indians and also make it clear what we propose as an alternative.

Conversely those in favour of Councils cannot ignore the fact that their most concerned proponents have provided clear evidence that they themselves did not think Provincial Councils were a necessity. Not only did they support the former government to smuggle in an amendment that led to elections being delayed, they also treated with contumely the report of the Delimitation Commission which should have been the catalyst for the postponed elections to go ahead. So, we have not had a Provincial Council in the North for over two years. And there is no evidence at all that anyone has missed them.

Unfortunately, I see no evidence that anyone is thinking of a system that will satisfy what might be termed basic requirements as well as the principal players. By requirement I refer to the needs of people not politicians, and in this context there is little doubt that a unit with close cognizance of what people need can better work to supply such needs than a faraway centre of power, whether Colombo or Jaffna.

That is why indeed I had long argued, in terms of the principles on which I supported Devolution, that District Councils were a more suitable unit. But when the Indo-Lankan Accord was signed, and Provincial Councils were agreed on, I felt it would be impossible to turn back the clock and permitted the Liberal Party – which had not committed itself previously to the unit – to accept Provincial Councils. But I should add to this that we were totally against the proposed merger of North and East, which we felt took away from the basic purpose, which was close attention to the needs of the people.

In recent times, after much work with Divisional Secretariats, I now feel that even the District is too large a Unit, and for proper attention to the people the centre for service should be the Division. In fact, way back in 2011, when I was on the team to negotiate with the TNA, I proposed more power to these and they did not reject this though their most extreme representative said that should not take away from the power of Provincial Councils. However, between G L Peiris and Sajin Vas Gunawardena that initiative was scuttled. And since then, as the current debate shows, no one is looking at such alternatives. So, what would I think be a simple solution to the problem is not even thought of by the President.

That is par for the course for, with regard to devolution as also much else, there is no sense of priorities. And this is combined with a desire, which has become endemic in political activity over the last four and more decades, to score small advantages while losing sight of the bigger picture.

That is why the President, instead of moving swiftly on reforms, waited to get a two-thirds majority. Of course, he could not have predicted Covid, but the failure to act even after the general election suggests that he saw that majority as an end in itself. So, instead of concentrating on essentials, such as removing the anomalies of the 19th Amendment, he also tried to increase the role of the executive with stupid initiatives such as limiting the scope of auditing, which brought him and the 20th Amendment a bad name.

Fortunately, those absurdities were abandoned, and the Supreme Court also played its part in limiting excesses. But it is a pity that Gota has not understood the lesson of the 2015 debacle, that goodwill lasts only so long and it must not be squandered on absurdities.

With regard to Provincial Councils, surely, he must see, if only from the polite but very definite intervention of the Indian Foreign Minister, that he should move soon. To do this he ought, working with some sensible advisers if he has any, to set down in point form what is wrong with them. Off the top of my head I can suggest

a)

They cost a lot of money

b)

They develop yet another set of politicians who spend lots of money to get elected and then get it back by various damaging activities

c)

They are as distant from the regions in need of greatest attention as the central government is

d)

They have led to different sets of bureaucrats with overlapping functions

e)

They have no mechanisms to liaise with decision making bodies that provide services to the people

All these issues can be addressed in one fell swoop if we stopped elections to Provincial Councils as they are conducted now. Given their symbolic importance they should not be got rid of, but much waste as well as conflict could be eliminated if they were elected indirectly, through an electoral college consisting of all members of local authorities in the Province.

Going hand in hand with that should be a clear demarcation of responsibilities. As it stands the Local Government Act is archaic and observed more often than not in the breach. The seven areas of responsibility allocated to local bodies are no longer all of them relevant, with utilities for instance being largely now the responsibility of central government.

The President and his troops should begin by laying down what can and should be done best by small units, with intimate knowledge of local problems. Their work should be functional, and go hand in hand with the Divisional Secretariats.

And once that is decided, the Provincial Council should be equipped with facilitatory powers to promote productive activity, while bearing in mind that policy on all matters belongs to the central government. That is the present situation, but given that we have not done enough to formulate national policy clearly, and have no mechanisms to monitor it, that crucial element in the 13th Amendment has not had the impact it should have. That statement in the 13th amendment makes it clear that this is one country and must work to common goals, in harmony, not with the oppositioning of other elements in the country that politicians on all sides practice.