{"id":92707,"date":"2019-08-30T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T22:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=92707"},"modified":"2019-09-15T15:03:29","modified_gmt":"2019-09-15T22:03:29","slug":"yahapalana-as-a-puppet-regime-part-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/08\/30\/yahapalana-as-a-puppet-regime-part-10\/","title":{"rendered":"YAHAPALANA AS A PUPPET REGIME Part 10 (SECTION 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

This essay presents some administrative decisions\ntaken by Yahapalana   government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LOCAL\nGOVERNMENT <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yahapalana government made sweeping changes to local government\nelections in October 2017.  A whole new\nsystem of elections was introduced as committee stage amendments to a Bill that\nhad been gazetted to correct some technical defects in the local government\nelections law.  A whole new system of\nelections was introduced as committee stage amendments to a Bill that had been\ngazetted to correct some technical defects in the Local Government Elections\nlaw .It was rammed through Parliament by the government in the face of stiff\nopposition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new system introduced by Yahapalana the\nnumber of councilors and representatives in local government has increased. The\nnumber of representatives has doubled and since they all have to be paid, the\ncost too has doubled. Colombo Municipal Council increased from 55 to 110,\nHomagama Pradeshiya Sabha from 25 to 46 Attanagalla from 23 to 50, Badulla from\n9 to 16. This increase of Council members from about 4,000 to 8000 will lead to\nmore corruption, critics said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This new\nmixed electoral system is very wrong. A person who gets 150 votes can get\nelected to the Council whilst someone who gets 1,500 votes can be left out\u201d,\nsaid one MP. A political party with just three members elected was able to gain\npower in one Council. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new law led to the creation of multi-member\nwards for local bodies. This is something very new.It was not a part of the\nLocal Government system of the past. There are multi-member constituencies in\nparliamentary elections. They were designed to facilitate representation of\nlarge concentrations of minority electorates such as Colombo Central, Colombo\nSouth, Beruwela, and Harispattuwa. The new local government elections law had\ncreated multi-member constituencies in Local government .This will introduce\nethnic and religious factors into lclcal government. That will affect the\nfunctions that local bodies are required to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Councils that are formed now are weak ones, said critics.\nYahapalana government eliminated the 5% cut off point as well as the bonus\nseats that were given to strengthen the winning party under the old\nproportional representation system.  When\nwe designed the original 2012 system of elections, analysts said, we made it a\npoint to look at the 1977 election result where the TULF got a small percentage\nof the vote and became the main party in the opposition, with its leader\nholding the office of Opposition leader, while the SLFP which got a much larger\nproportion of votes at that election obtained only eight seats. We made sure\nthat such a thing would not take place under  \nthe system that we proposed in 2012. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the old first-past-the-post system, the votes of the loser were\nnot given any value. When the 2012 local government elections system was put in\nplace, we worked on the assumption that with 70% of the representatives being\nelected from wards on the first past the post basis, stable administrations\nwould come about automatically. Therefore,\nthe number of representatives each party is entitled to on the proportional\nrepresentation quota was to be decided only after the votes of all those who\nhad either got less than 5% of the vote and or had won in the wards on a first\npast the post basis were eliminated from the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the present has given us very unstable local authorities. Under\nthe present law, once a Chairman is elected, stability can be guaranteed only\nin the first two years. If infighting breaks out after that, local government\nwill come under the Special Commissioners. We may therefore, end up seeing\nabout two thirds of the local government institutions coming under the control\nof the Commissioner in a couple of years\u2019 time. We will have to restore the 2012 system if the local\ngovernment institutions are to be made to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearly two months after the local council polls,\nconfusion reigns over the formation of councils with less than half of 340\nbeing constituted, reported the media in 2018. Contrary to democratic\nprinciples, losers have also found seats in Councils amidst allegations of\nbribery, corruption, intimidation and violence. In several of the Councils\nincluding the Kandy Municipal Council members who were defeated at the\nelections have been named through the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councils have encountered difficulty in forming\nthe Council and electing the Mayor or its Chairman. At least one complaint has\nbeen lodged with the Bribery Commission, with more than 20 other complaints of\ncases of intimidation, violence and cases of damage over incidents following\ndisputes over the formation of the councils and election of Mayors or Chairman.\nIn at least 10 Councils the party which secured the highest number of seats has\nfailed to form the Council and instead the main opposition party has formed the\nCouncil with the support of a few members of the party that gained the highest\nnumber of seats or another party in the Council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these Councils were won by the UNP while\nsome others by Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna. The Negombo MC, Galle MC, Dehiwala\n\u2013 Mount Lavinia MC, Tangalle UC, Balangoda UC, Seeduwa UC, Hatton \u2013 Dickoya UC,\nAranayaka PS, Pottuvil PS, Maskeliya PS are among the councils where the ruling\nparty that gained the highest number of seats failed to form the council. Both\nUNP and UPFA members have violated party instructions and voted in favor of\nopposition candidates for the Mayoral or Chairman positions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha a heated\nargument broke out when selecting the Chairman of the Council where the CWC and\nthe UNP had returned seven members each. One member got herself admitted at the\nNawalapitiya hospital to avoid taking part in the elections. As a result only\nsix UNP members were present at the voting enabling seven CWC members with the\nsupport of one SLPP member to form the council.
\nViolence broke out during the voting, inside and outside the Council, leading\nto clashes between the two groups. Two vehicles were damaged as the violence\ncontinued with fighting spreading to the Norwood area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Hatton Dickoya Urban council too a heated exchange of words\ntook place when electing the Chairman. The UNP had won the Council with seven\nmembers while the CWC had six members followed by two SLPP members and one\nCommunist party member. However, at the voting the UNP and the CWC received\neight members each after one SLPP member voted with the UNP forcing to draw\nlots to elect the Chairman. Again violence broke out after the CWC member was\nelected by drawing lots. We will\nneed to introduce laws to prevent persons obtaining votes from one party and\nsupporting another, said critics.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 180 councils yet to be formed and the election of Mayors and\nChairman to be decided. We may witness more ugly scenes including cases of\nmoney being exchanged for votes, said critics in April 2018. We are likely to\nexperience similar problems in the Councils when it gets on with its day-to day\nfunctions as well. The new Local Government electoral system is a failure. It must be changed, said critics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

URBAN\nCOUNCILS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Ceylon Urban Council Chairmen\u2019s National\nPlatform meeting at Haputale, in March 2019. Chairmen of Urban Councils\ncomplained   that their powers are being\ngradually eroded.”We find that the powers we enjoyed earlier have now been\nrestricted”, they said. With our wings clipped, we are unable to serve the\npeople. The Organization planned to discuss the matter with Minister for Local\nGovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PUBLIC\nSERVANTS <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Central Provincial Council Member M. Uvais\nreported to Parliament In December 2017 that  \npublic servants in high positions hesitated to take decisions for fear\nof being summoned before the FCID (Financial Crime Investigations Division).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    • In September 2019 it was observed that the number\nof instances where District Secretaries and Divisional secretaries were\nsummoned to Colombo for various events, meetings and presentations has been on\nthe rise. Apart from meetings summoned by the President and the Prime Minister,\nministries also summon them for various events, Secretaries complained.  The Finance Ministry has been on the top of\nthe list. Due to this, District Secretaries and Divisional Secretaries are\nobliged to keep away from their respective offices for several days. Those\nstationed in the far away districts are the worst affected. In addition to the\nimpact on their duties, there is also the cost of travel down to Colombo. There\nis no fuel allowance for the additional trips they do.  Secretaries have complained to the Ministry\nof Home Affairs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      PUBLIC\nSERVICE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Premier Wickremesinghe had In May 2018 sent a directive to every\nMinister giving the names of MPs who have been assigned to coordinate\ndevelopment projects and programmes in their ministries. The directive said\nthat the ministers must assign duties to these MPs, provide them with the\nrequired staff and arrange transport facilities. Some Secretaries are\nchallenging the legal validity of a Minister assigning functions, others are\nquestioning about how they could authorize transport, office facilities and\nstaff which involve expenditure. One secretary said I don\u2019t want to end up in\nthe FCID for abusing state funds.\u201d Even if they have very little to do, these\nMPs would be happy to get more perks, said critics. <\/li>
      • There are over 7500 personnel employed in\ngovernment institutions above the Cadre positions approved by the Treasury said\nYahapalana. In July 2018 Yahapalana issued a circular that prohibited public\nand semi-government institutions from recruiting cadres and making payments to\nthem without the prior permission of the Treasury.  The Secretary to the line Ministry, Chief\nSecretary to the Provincial Council, Head of the Department and the Head of the\nFinance Unit of the relevant institution   \nwould be held responsible for any\nemployee recruited   without permission. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Further,\nall ministries and public institutions, including institutions under the\nProvincial Councils, were to inform the Treasury about employees recruited\noutside the approved cadres. Also the increased salaries and allowances paid\nwithout obtaining recommendations from the National Salaries and Cadre\nCommission and prior Treasury approval. Secretaries to Ministries, Heads of\nDepartments, Chairpersons, Executive Officers and Accountants of Government\nInstitutions should hereafter take the responsibility of paying salaries to the  redundant workers they have employed.  They must also make the EPF and ETF payments\nfor such employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        APPOINTMENTS (1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        • It was pointed out In October 2018, that there\nhave been three Chief Justices in 45 months since President Sirisena assumed\noffice. He appointed Justice Sripavan on January 30, 2015, followed by Justice\nDep on March 02, 2017.  And then Justice\nNalin Perera who retired in the early part of 2019. He is the third CJ to be\nappointed within 45 months.  Jayantha\nJayasuriya was appointed chief justice in April 2019.<\/li>
        • The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) wrote to Constitutional\nCouncil In August 2019, saying that the existing vacancy in the Court of Appeal\nhas not been filled for the last two and half months. BASL said the\nrecommendations made by Chief Justice and the Attorney General, should be\nconsidered in making such appointments. BASL objected to the Council bypassing\nthe nomination of the Chief Justice and not considering the career judges for\nthe existing vacancy in the Court of Appeal. One nominee for the vacant post\ncourt of Appeal, BASL said, is a person who has been attached to the\nPresidential Secretariat over a period of time. He has no judicial experience\nto be appointed as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. <\/li>
        • Lanka Sathosa\u2019s fifth successive chairman within\na space of 34 months stepped down In December 2017, amidst speculation that he\nbuckled under intense pressure exerted by politically powerful forces that hold\nsway there. Lanka Sathosa runs the biggest consumer retail chain in the country. <\/li>
        • Officers of the Customs Department, except those at the Bandaranaike\nInternational Airport, Katunayake went on strike In\nJanuary 2019,<\/strong> against the appointment of a retired Navy Officer as the new Customs\nDirector General. The Customs Trade Union Alliance (CTUA) refused to work under the new DG. According to the CTUA,\nfive appointments were made to the post of Customs DG from 2015 and all of them\nwere politically driven decisions. Director General, Customs is a position that\nshould be held by either an officer attached to Sri Lanka Administrative\nService or a special grade officer of the Sri Lanka Customs service.  Any other appointment is a breach of existing\nlaw. <\/li>
        • Ministry of Public Administration released a\ngazette notification in 2017 where, the post of Librarian\u201d was classed as a\nclerical post. Librarians wanted this gazette cancelled. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          APPOINTMENTS (2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The\nPresidential Commission investigating Frauds under the Current\nAdministration   was told, In June 2019,\nthat former Minister of Highways, Lakshman Kiriella had recruited 45 UNP\nmembers to the Road Development Authority (RDA) in October 2015 as public\nliaison officers.   The appointees were\nUNP members from Kiriella\u2019s electorate and UNP local government councilors from\nKandy. A large number of consultants too were recruited at the same time. The\nposition of public liaison officer\u201d did not exist in the approved cadre of the\nRDA. However, the title in Sinhala is \u2018mahajana sambandatha niladari,\u2019 which\nmakes people believe that these positions are for public relations officials,\nwhich is a listed position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The appointments were made\nwithout holding interviews, checking qualifications and without assigning any\nduties. The appointment letters, which are\nusually posted by the RDA, were done by the Ministry. These 45 public liaison officers were paid\napproximately Rs. 1.1 million per month. \nThey were not assigned to duty stations. They were not asked to present\na work plan. After a while they were asked to create their own attendance\nsheets to show that they were doing something, reported the RDA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The Minister couldn\u2019t make these\nappointments without approval from the Board of Directors. Therefore when the\nCommittee on Public Enterprises (COPE) started looking into the matter, in May\n2016, the Ministry obtained covering approval from the Board;   nine months after the appointments were made. The letter sent to the Board said that the Cabinet\nhadn\u2019t given approval for these appointments. The Presidential Committee was\nalso told that appointing a large number of such persons was customary at the\nRDA since 2006.Over a 100 of them left after the government changed in 2015.\n(Island 13.6.19 p 3)  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          APPOINTMENTS (3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In April 2919 it was reported that  the  \nSecretary General, National Economic Council (NEC), the apex body\nresponsible for economic development, will receive a monthly salary and\nallowance of half a million rupees In addition he will be provided with an\nofficial vehicle, a driver, and a monthly fuel quota of 200 litres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          COLOMBO\nMUNICIPAL COUNCIL <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Colombo Municipal Council has signed in August 2019 a 20-year\nagreement with a private company for a smart LED lamp post project. The smart\nlampposts will be equipped with CCTV cameras and charging ports for\nelectric vehicles, along with Wi-Fi and Blue-tooth facilities. This\nwould cause potential losses amounting to Rs 3.7 billion to the\nmunicipality. CMC had authorized the private\ncompany to sell data collected via some 200 CCTV cameras installed on\nthose lampposts. Though tender notices for the project stated that the CMC\nwould not have to bear any cost for the project CMC will have to incur expenses\nduring the first three years of the project. The agreement allows the private\ncompany to utilize other assets of the CMC including its buildings, reported\nthe media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          TRANSPORT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Finance Ministry, allowed the private sector to import luxury buses\nwhilst making every effort to undermine the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB)\u2019s\nmoves to add 2,000 luxury buses, to its fleet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          FILM DISTRIBUTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In June 2018 National Film Corporation said that\nthe distribution of films, which was handled by four private companies, would\ncome under the purview of the National Film Corporation. This applied to both\nlocal and foreign films. “This will result in the death knell in the\nSinhala cinema industry,\u201d critics said. \nThe private circuits have been contributing immensely to enhance the\nlocal film scene. They had funded films, built cinemas and renovated film halls.\nThey have also managed to bring globally acclaimed films from Hollywood,\nBollywood and Tollywood to local cinemas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          LAND\nACQUISITION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The Ministry of Lands now widely invokes a\nproviso under Section 38(a) of the Land Acquisition Act, which allows for\nimmediate possession of land on grounds of any urgency\u201d without consultation\nwith affected people.  Thousands of\npeople are helpless in the face of Section 38(a) notices. Specialists have\nslammed the Government\u2019s new policy for resettling those displaced by\ndevelopment projects. Resettlement Policy Framework of 2018 makes the\nValuation Department the final arbiter for deciding compensation payments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          WILPATTU\n\u2018PROTECTED AREA\u2019 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In August 2019, Tourism Development, Wildlife and\nChristian Religious Affairs Minister John Amaratunga has sought Cabinet approval\nto remove from \u2018Protected Area\u2019 status, several acres of the protected Wilpattu\nNational Park where a church is located. The request states, The approval of\nthe Cabinet of Ministers is sought to issue a Gazette Notification to exclude\nthe area of land in extent of 6 acres and 3 roods where the St. Anthony\u2019s\nChurch is situated from the Wilpattu National Park by amending the Gazette\nNotification No. 89 dated 07\/12\/1973, together with the access road to the\nchurch approximately 1 km in distance from the turn off at the Suruwama\njunction on the old Puttalam Road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          This has shocked conservationists.  They point out that according to Section 2,\nSub-sections 4 and 5 of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO) no part\nof a Protected Area can be de-gazetted without an environmental assessment.\nSuch de-gazetting would set a \u2018bad\u2019 precedent, encouraging the removal of\n\u2018protected\u2019 status from other areas as well where religious sites are within\nNational Parks (NPs),\u201d said conservationists. De-gazetting a section of a\nNational Park for any purpose is completely unacceptable and sets an extremely\nbad precedent for the future. It will pave the way for large acreages within\nall the NPs to be de-gazetted on the whims of politicians and religious\ninstitutions. It will destroy the integrity of a contiguous wilderness area and\nset a very bad precedent, said critics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Wilpattu was declared a National Park after\nacquiring all the land and the Roman Catholic Church was allowed to have its\nfeast under \u2018traditional activity\u2019 under Section 3, Sub-section 3 of the FFPO.\nThis in no way gives the church the right to own or acquire the land within a\nProtected Area, said critics. The small Pallekandal church which had been used\nby seasonal fishermen in the distant past is in the Pomparippu area. When the\nNP was declared, the \u2018traditional right of worship\u2019 was granted but subject to\nthe FFPO and under the strict supervision of the DWC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Since the end of the war the church has expanded\nrapidly, with larger numbers attending the annual feast. Monthly masses too\nhave begun now. NP regulations are violated, such as clearing bush in vast\nswathes, the lighting of fires, the selling of meat and car parks being created\nout of grasslands that are the prime feeding areas for herds of elephants\nconcentrated only in the Pomparippu area. The DWC\u2019s attempts to make the church\nconform to the regulations have been met with threats and political pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Critics also questioned how Minister Amaratunga\ncould submit such a Cabinet paper when there are legal battles being fought in\nthe two Superior Courts. One is in the Supreme Court challenging the\nconstruction of a road through the Wilpattu NP and the other in the Court of\nAppeal over the unlawful and unregulated religious festivities taking place at\nthe Pallekandal Church within the NP. The cases have been filed by the\nEnvironmental Foundation (Guarantee) and the Wildlife & Nature Protection\nSociety. The Minister is a respondent in both cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Critics also point out that it is inadvisable to\nhave ministries with conflicting mandates. John Amaratunga is the Minister for\nboth Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs. He is Christian.  There is a major conflict of interest in this\nmatter, one and the same person is handling \u2018wildlife\u2019 and \u2018Christian religious\naffairs\u2019.  I have always advocated\nagainst the establishment of ministries with conflicting mandates. This\nsituation is a case in point, why ministries with conflicting mandates should\nnot be combined said a critic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          ELEPHANT\nHOLDING  GROUND<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The Department of Wildlife Conservation   plans to establish a new elephant holding\nground inside the Lunugamwehera National Park. Stiff opposition from elephant\nexperts and environmental organisations as the curtailment of habitat will\nadversely affect the lives of pachyderms therein and outside. The World Bank\nwhich has been asked for a loan of Rs. 2000 million, has withdrawn from backing\nthe project in view of the opposition. However, plans are underway to\nspend more than Rs. 2,000 million for the highly questionable\nproject.  The money required for the project will be taken from\nthe Wildlife Fund of the DWC, which was created by the field DWC\nofficers. \n\nThe project was very\nharmful to the resident elephant population of the National Park. Chairman, Biodiversity Conservation and Research Circle\nof Sri Lanka, saidthat the\ndepartment\u2019s plan would take up 3,500 hectares of\ntraditional home ranges used by the resident elephant population in the\nNational Park.  “This move will hamper the natural breeding\nprocess and affect the resident elephant population in Lunugamwehera\nNational Park culminating in starvation and death of these giant majestic\ncreatures”. Such elephant holding grounds would not help contain the\nhuman-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, the best evidence was the Horowpatana\nelephant holding ground, critics said.” It would lead to an increase in\nthe human-elephant conflict around the park, as well. ” (CONTINUED) \n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          KAMALIKA PIERIS This essay presents some administrative decisions taken by Yahapalana   government. LOCAL GOVERNMENT Yahapalana government made sweeping changes to local government elections in October 2017.  A whole new system of elections was introduced as committee stage amendments to a Bill that had been gazetted to correct some technical defects in the local government elections […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92707","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=92707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}