A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Wednesday, May 10, 2017
COLLECTIVE CALL BY CHIEF MINISTERS TO MAKE PROVINCIAL COUNCILS MEANINGFUL
Image: This years’ Chief Ministers Summit was held at Habarana
and President Maithripala Sirisena participated as the chief guest.
A collective call has been made to President Maithripala Sirisena to
devolve more power to Provincial Councils and make them meaningful by
Chief Ministers of all nine Provinces at the 33rd Convention of Chief
Ministers.
The Convention was held with the participation of the Chief Ministers of
the nine provinces including Chief Minister of the Northern Province
C.V. Wigneswaran at Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana last Saturday (6).
It was interesting to note the unstinted unity of the Chief Ministers
voicing together to devolve more power to Provincial Councils.
The Provincial Council system which came into effect following the signing of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord remains as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.
With fervent calls made by the Chief Ministers of the Northern and
Eastern Provinces to devolve more power to Provincial Councils, the
general impression prevails that Chief Ministers of the Northern and
Eastern Provinces are particular about devolving more power to the two
provinces which would be a challenge to the unity and integrity of the
country.
However, realizing the significance of Provincial Councils and the
necessity to make them vibrant, all nine Chief Ministers have emphasized
the need to devolve power to the nine Provinces.
The views expressed by the Chief Ministers at the Habarana Convention
clearly highlight that despite the introduction of the Provincial
Council system as a measure to devolve more power to the provinces in
the country, the system hardly remains effective as far as
administration on crucial issues such as Police powers and land powers
are concerned.
The North and East Chief Ministers have already indicated that their
hands were tied as far as resolving various post-war humanitarian
problems including land issues in the two provinces.
From the views expressed by the Chief Ministers unanimously urging more
power to be devolved to Provincial Councils, it is clear that Provincial
Councils remain without adequate power and exist merely as symbolic
bodies under the 13th Amendment.
The Chief Ministers pointed out that as a result of not having adequate
power, Provincial Councils were losing significance. They also brought
to the notice of the President that power meant for devolution remained
mostly with the Central Government.
Northern Province Chief Minister, C .V. Wigneswaran making a stark
pointer told the President that Rs 1,500 million allocated to the
Northern Provincial Council by the Central Government last year, had not
yet reached the Council.
Despite introducing the Provincial Council system, to reap the benefits
of power being devolved to all nine provinces in the island, to make the
democratic system more vibrant by strengthening peace and
reconciliation, the strife had aggravated further with Provincial
Councils in the Northern and Eastern Provinces being defunct.
As the ruthless war continuing for nearly thirty years aggravating from
the time the Provincial Council system was introduced, the Central
Government taking a firm stance in restricting power to the provinces
and converging power to the centre, remained inevitable to deal with one
of the most ruthless militant outfits in the world, the LTTE.
However, it is high time the Provincial Council system was revived in a
meaningful manner with power meant for provinces under the 13th
Amendment.
While urging to devolve more power, the Northern and Eastern Provinces
even urge to go beyond the 13th Amendment to make power-sharing between
the Centre and the provinces more effective and meaningful.
The convening of the Chief Ministers at Cinnamon Lodge, Habarana has
clearly indicated that the Provincial Council system in the country has
to go a long way, to prove itself effective and the Chief Ministers have
done their part standing above political differences emphasizing the
need to devolve power extensively, to make Provincial Councils
meaningful.