{"id":108631,"date":"2020-11-13T15:59:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T22:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=108631"},"modified":"2020-11-13T16:04:53","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T23:04:53","slug":"why-political-power-should-be-decentralized-and-not-devolved-submissions-to-the-experts-committee-to-draft-a-new-constitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/11\/13\/why-political-power-should-be-decentralized-and-not-devolved-submissions-to-the-experts-committee-to-draft-a-new-constitution\/","title":{"rendered":"Why political power should be decentralized and not devolved – a submission to the Experts Committee to draft a new Constitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lt Col. A.S.Amarasekera (Retd.)Puselahena Estate, Kindelpitiya, Millewa.<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

6th<\/sup>\nNovember 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Secretary,
Experts Committee to draft a new constitution,
Room 32 (Block 02) BMICH,
Bauddhaloka Mawatha,
Colombo 7,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Sir,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\npolitical power should be decentralized and not devolved<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The observations made by me first as a military\nofficer and subsequently as the Director of Operations of the Thawalama\nDevelopment Foundation while working in the Northern and Eastern Provinces\nsince the enactment of the 13th<\/sup> Amendment to the Constitution is\nexplained below for your kind consideration when drafting a new constitution\nfor our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The English meaning of decentralization and\ndevolution of power seem very similar when looked at superficially. However the\nimportant fact that needs to be realized when it comes to the governing power\nof a country is that decentralization amounts to the transfer of that power from\nthe central government to a provincial council while devolution is on the other\nhand the removal of central government power and handing that power to a\nprovincial council. Therefore decentralized power if misused by a provincial\ncouncil could be recalled by the central government while devolved power to a\nprovincial council cannot be recalled by the central government. Taking into\nconsideration the difficulty or virtual impossibility for a central government\nto recall devolved power to a provincial council let us consider the possible\nrepercussions in such an eventuality to this country with several simple\nexamples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly let us consider irrigation which is\nthe life blood of the farming community in the northern and eastern provinces.\nOnce this subject is devolved to either the northern or eastern provincial\ncouncil, if the provincial administration fails to maintain the reservoirs\n(Wewas) and irrigation canals in the Sinhala villages, there is nothing the\ncentral government can do to help the Sinhala cultivators in distress. The only\nalternative left for them would be to leave those villages in the northern and\neastern provinces and migrate to some other province.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly let us consider the subject of\nhealth. Once this subject is devolved to either the northern or eastern\nprovincial council if the provincial administration fails to provide adequate\nfunds to maintain the rural hospital buildings serving the Sinhala community or\nfails to provide adequate doctors, nurses and other staff or even medical\nsupplies to rural hospitals in their provincial council area, the Sinhala\nvillagers will have no other alternative left other than to leave the province\nand to migrate to some other province where these facilities are available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirdly let us consider the subject of\neducation. Once this subject is devolved to either the northern or eastern\nprovincial council, if the provincial administration fails to appoint the\nteachers needed to schools in Sinhala villages and also does not allocate\nadequate funds to maintain and repair school buildings in the Sinhala villages,\nthere is nothing that the central government can do in this regard. The Sinhala\npopulation will therefore leave the province and migrate to some other province\nwhere good education facilities are available for their children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are only three simple examples that I\nhave provided to bring to the attention of the experts committee the danger of\ndevolving power to the northern and eastern provinces. However the situation\nwould be the same with regard to distribution of electricity, repair of roads,\npurchase of agricultural produce and many other such subjects, if there is\ndevolution of power to the northern and eastern provinces where the Sinhala\npopulation is a minority. Therefore while devolution will only hasten the\ndivision of the country by creating administrative avenues to encourage the\nmigration of the Sinhala population from the northern and eastern provinces of\nthe country to other provinces, decentralization of power will not encourage\nsuch action as these powers can be withdrawn by the central government if found\nto be misused by any provincial administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have during the time I was serving in the\nSri Lanka Army and subsequently while working with volunteer organizations to\nalleviate poverty in villages affected by LTTE terrorism observed how the provincial\nadministration functions in the northern and eastern provinces in this country.\nTherefore I am well aware of both the good and the bad qualities of such\nadministrations. The provincial administration introduced after the 13th<\/sup>\nAmendment has been a total disappointment and an additional burden upon the\npeople of this country with unnecessary duplication of effort and a waste of\nfinancial resources the country can ill afford. The district administration to\nwhich government power is decentralized on the other hand has been time tested\nand found to be very effective under the guidance of an efficient Government\nAgent. I was able to solve many problems in affected villages with assistance\nfrom district administrations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good example in this connection is the\nvillage of Elapathwewa deep in the jungles of the Anuradhapura district. This\nvillage had not been visited by even a Grama Niladhari for many months. I\ndecided to bring the problems faced by these villagers to the attention of the\nGovernment Agent of Anuradhapura. On the day I went to see Mr. S. D.\nChandradasa, he had just lit the traditional oil lamp and taken over duties as\nthe new Government Agent of Anuradhapura. I was his first visitor. After having\npatiently listened to my complaint, he immediately decided to travel with me in\nmy vehicle to visit this village and to ascertain the truth. After his visit to\nthis village with me that day he personally ensured that all the difficulties\nthe people in that village had for many months were speedily resolved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As opposed to the district administration I\nobserved that the provincial administration was highly politicized. When I was\nserving in the Army as the Officer Commanding Troops in Anuradhapura, the Chief\nMinister of the provincial administration on a request made by his political\nsupporters tried to interfere even in the deployment of troops in my area of\nresponsibility. Not realizing that I was not obliged to heed to his political\nagenda he wanted me to redeploy a detachment that I had withdrawn for strategic\nreasons from the village of Kukulkatuwa. He even spoke to my Divisional\nCommander and tried to get my decision reversed. However I must give him credit\nfor finally accepting my refusal to agree to his request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The villages in Weli Oya were situated in a\nvery strategic area of the Yan Oya basin. It was in fact a land mass that was\nthe gateway from the north to the east, which was the key area that the LTTE\nwas trying to ethnically cleanse by attacking Sinhalese villages in the area,\nin an effort to create a mass exodus of its Sinhalese population to other parts\nof the country. Some of these villages in Weli Oya were in the Anuradhapura\ndistrict, while some others were in the Vavuniya district. There were a few\nvillages even in the Mullativu district and the Sinhalese villages adjacent to\nthem were in the Trincomalee district. With the intensification of LTTE\nactivity the district administration in both the Vavuniya and Mullativu\ndistricts found it difficult if not impossible to administer the Sinhalese\nvillages under their purview. Therefore during the initial stage of the LTTE\nproblem despite all the difficulties and with little or no support from the\nnorthern and eastern provincial administrations, the Sri Lanka Army and the\ndistrict administration in Anuradhapura was able to sustain these villages with\nthe meager resources available, thus preventing a large scale exodus of its\npopulation as envisaged by the LTTE. This proves beyond reasonable doubt that\nprovincial administrations were not an absolute necessity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will now place before the experts\ncommittee few more personal observations made by me while working in the\nnorthern and eastern provinces. When a subject is devolved to the local\nadministration the ultimate responsibility to ensure that the law of the land\nis properly implemented becomes the responsibility of that local\nadministration. For example if the distribution of electricity is devolved to\nthe province, the Minister of Power and Energy can shout from the roof top of\nhis Ministry in Colombo that those who tap electricity illegally will be\nseverely dealt with but the implementation of the law has to be carried out by\nthe electricity board of the local authority. These employees will not take\naction against their own people. Therefore in the Muslim areas of the eastern\nprovince tapping of electricity illegally will continue with impunity as it is\nhappening at present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next observation of devolved power\nbeing misused after the establishment of provincial councils is the alienation\nof land by the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat. Land development permits were\nfraudulently prepared by certain Muslim officers in the Divisional Secretariat\nto alienate state land to people in their community. When the subject of land\nalienation has not even been devolved to provincial councils if fraudulent land\ndevelopment permits were prepared with impunity, what will happen if and when this\nsubject is devolved to Provincial Councils? I was told by the former Government\nAgent and District Secretary of Ampara Mr. Sunil Kannangara that this matter\nwas under investigation.  When LTTE\nactivity intensified in the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat area, Sinhala\npeople who had obtained land development permits to develop land left that\narea. Their buildings were ransacked and the land was subsequently occupied by\nMuslims who are now refusing to hand back these lands to the Sinhalese permit\nholders. The Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat also has a lackadaisical attitude\ntowards helping the original Sinhalese permit holders to reoccupy their land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another observation that was made by me\nwith regard to the inefficiency of devolved power to a province is its\ninability to prevent the encroachment into state land by the Muslim community.\nThe archeological reservation of the Muhudu Maha Veharaya and the coastal and\nforest reservations in the Pottuvil Divisional Secretariat area have been\nencroached by Muslims and even forest reservations in the Lahugala Divisional\nSecretariat area has been cleared and encroached with impunity. Action by the\nprovincial administration to prevent such activity has been slow if not\nlethargic due to the fact that most of the officers at the provincial level who\nimplement the law of the land are also Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With governing power on most subjects\ndevolved to the provincial administration the central government is now finding\nit difficult if not impossible to prevent such illegal activity as mentioned\nabove where as if power had been decentralized the misused power could have\nbeen withdrawn from the provincial administration for direct action by the\ncentral government to implement the law of the land. With all the information\nprovided by me in this letter the experts committee I believe will not hesitate\nto repeal the 13th<\/sup> Amendment when drafting the new Constitution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yours faithfully,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anil\nAmarasekera\/-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt Col. A.S.Amarasekera (Retd.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lt Col. A.S.Amarasekera (Retd.)Puselahena Estate, Kindelpitiya, Millewa. 6th November 2020. The Secretary,Experts Committee to draft a new constitution,Room 32 (Block 02) BMICH,Bauddhaloka Mawatha,Colombo 7, Dear Sir, Why political power should be decentralized and not devolved The observations made by me first as a military officer and subsequently as the Director of Operations of the Thawalama […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-constitution"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108631\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}