News
Gevindu insists on abolishing provincial councils under new Constitution
By Saman Indrajith
The New constitution to be framed should abolish the provincial councils without thinking of holding elections to them, SLPP MP Genvindu Cumaratunga told parliament yesterday.
Participating in a debate at the time of adjournment of the House on the Financial Commission, the MP said that the Commission had been introduced under the 13th Amendment resultant from the 1987 Indo-Lanka Peace Accord that had been forced on Sri Lanka by India. “The Financial Commission’s objective is to allocate funds for the provincial councils. In 2015, the amount of funds allocated for the provincial councils was Rs 198.1 billion. In 2016 it was Rs 195.1 billion. As a percentage of national expenditure in 2015 it was 8.65 per cent. In 2016 it was 8.36 percent. That means the average percentage of the allocation for the provincial councils was 8.5. The question is whether it is fair to waste public funds on the PCs at a time when people are concerned about the amount of funds spent on maintaining elected representatives. We have an education minister in this assembly and nine other education ministers in the provinces. What is their use? Why should we spend public funds to maintain those so-called public representatives? Why should we spend public funds to maintain 437 other public representatives while the entire nation is represented here in this House by 225 members?”
MP Cumaratunga said that the UNP, TNA and the SLMC which had been known for championing the cause of devolution of powers had got together to prevent the elections to the Provincial Councils under the previous government. “It is a known fact that those three parties worked together during that time. They made the PCs dysfunctional by not holding elections thereto. We demand that the new Constitution be brought instead of holding the PC polls. The new Constitution should abolish the provincial council system. There is no need for reviving now defunct PCs.”
MP Cumaratunga said President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had pointed out that the government had been able to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic successfully without any backing from the PCs. Had there been PCs in existence we would not have been able to do so. We know that the operation of counter-pandemic measures from the government alone could solve that problem. “Had there been PCs, we would have witnessed power struggles between the government and the PCs.”
MP Cumaratunga said that people had approved the government’s one-country-one-law policy. “The existence of PCs as subordinate legislatures making laws different from parliament is against that mandate. Therefore, the time has come to abolish the PCs.”
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight on Saturday (May 30).
Accordingly,
the price of Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 15 to Rs.407 per liter,
the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 20 to Rs. 478 per liter.
the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been increased by Rs. 24 to Rs. 434 per liter
the price of Petrol 95 Octane up by Rs. 25 to Rs. 495 per liter
the price of kerosene by Rs. 20 to Rs. 285 per liter.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called for a comprehensive reform programme within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy, warning that repeated efforts to strengthen the Sasana have in the past been derailed by opposition from within sections of the Sangha itself.
In a statement addressed to the Mahanayake Theras of the three Buddhist chapters, Kumaratunga stressed that the long-term preservation of Buddhism depends on safeguarding both the Dhamma and Vinaya, or disciplinary code, and urged urgent internal reform to address what she described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses.
She noted that Buddhist history has consistently demonstrated that periods of institutional crisis were addressed through reform processes, citing precedents from the First Buddhist Council to reforms during the Kandyan era under Welivita Sri Saranankara Thera.
Referring to post-independence efforts, Kumaratunga said initiatives taken during the 1956 Bandaranaike administration to strengthen Buddhism were left incomplete following the assassination of former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
She further stated that during her own presidency, plans to convene a Buddhist Council under the guidance of the late Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera had received government backing but were ultimately abandoned due to resistance from certain sections within the clergy.
The former President alleged that, on both occasions, vested interests benefiting from existing weaknesses within the Buddhist establishment had worked to obstruct meaningful reform efforts.
Warning that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is currently facing serious challenges, she called for a broad internal dialogue within the Sangha to identify root causes and implement both short- and long-term corrective measures.
Kumaratunga urged the Mahanayake Theras to take the lead in convening a Dharma Sanghayana, or Buddhist Council, and said she was prepared to work with senior lay Buddhist leaders to support such an initiative.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne, Managing Director Rumi Jauffer and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Tourism Promotion Authority during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election campaign.
Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and produce the suspects before court, after it was informed that they would be named under the Public Property Act on the advice of the Attorney General.
The CID told court that attempts to take the suspects into custody from their residences had been unsuccessful as they were not present.
The Magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on the suspects and ordered that the Controller of Immigration and Emigration be notified.
Investigations have reportedly revealed that the funds were used to print 12,000 T-shirts bearing an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on one side and the name of a political party on the other.
According to the CID, the T-shirts were later distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.
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