DO NOT ENDORSE THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION BILL
Posted on November 3rd, 2019
RANJITH SOYSA
We would like to request the President in connection with the highly irregular and ‘unethical’ manner in which the Prime Minister and the ministers have approved the above bill when the country is facing an election to choose the President to take over the affairs of the country.
According to section 42 of the Constitution, the President is the head of the Cabinet and hence we believe that you have the power to reject approval of the above bill which is being rushed before the pending Presidential election. Besides, for all intentions and purposes the present Government is functioning in the mode of Caretaker Government and we firmly believe that such a legislative assembly cannot take action on a bill such as MCC which will have far-reaching impact on the economy as well as the social, defense and security-related areas of the country’s governance.
The basic question is should the country be ‘sold’ for $480 million especially
affecting the administration and control over 1/3 of the country’s land area
including the millions of members of the peasantry who will be bought over by
the multi-national companies like what happened in the Latin America countries
reducing the peasantry to indentured labor. Further, the area demarcated for
MCC control includes the priceless Cultural Triangle which encompasses
the ancient institutions of Sri Lanka’s civilization,
We also request the general public to promote and to convert the coming election to a referendum on the MCC Bill and REJECT the proponents and the objectives of the MCC
November 3rd, 2019 at 7:48 pm
What kind of idiots does Mangala think we are? He wants the agreement signed and then sent to the Parliament. In the Parliament Ranil will be doling out wads of cash from the bank robbery to buy the Parliament members as is his usual practice. Only Maithri can stop it. Question is will he have the spine to do it?
MCC deal will be signed before debating at parliament – Mangala
Posted on November 3rd, 2019
Courtesy Adaderana
As the Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) Agreement has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, it will be submitted to Parliament for approval after it is signed, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.
Copies of the Agreement, which the Attorney General has deemed to be legal under the constitution, have been issued for the reference of the public, he said.
He pointed out that although some who do not know of parliamentary procedures comment that the Agreement should be tabled at the parliament before being signed, an uncertified document cannot be debated at parliament.
Reportedly, the Agreement itself mentions that the Agreement will only be considered valid only after the passage of an Act of Parliament to enforce that Agreement.
The Finance Minister stated that once the Agreement is gazetted any citizen who is deemed to be aggrieved by the Agreement can go to the courts against it.
There are no legal issues to the signing of the Agreement as the Attorney General has already agreed to this, said Samaraweera.
The people who create a phobia of the MCC Agreement among the public, when it has already been approved by the Cabinet, should come forward and point out the adverse effects of the Agreement on the public and the country, he further said.