Colombo, May 30(UNI) Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in a special statement had said that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution will be passed and the parliament will be reinforced. PM Wickremesinghe had reiterating the re-introduction of the 19th Amendment, and said that the party leaders are now preparing the 21st Amendment. In order to work towards the abolition of the Executive Presidency, he said the timing and methodology must be decided by the Party Leaders. “The functioning of the Parliament has been paralyzed due to the weakening of the Parliamentary powers by the 20th Amendment. The Executive has been given more powers. The main allegation today is that the Parliament has not acted to prevent the economic crisis. There is an allegation that even though the ruling party had a majority in Parliament they neglected the work of the Parliament. The Cabinet Ministers systematically controlled everything.” Wijayadasa Rajapaksa, President’s Counsel and Minister of Justice stated that discussions will be held with political parties that are not represented in Parliament regarding the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. The Minister said that he hoped to get their views and suggestions on the 21st Amendment during the discussions, which are due next week.
The Prime Minister in his address added that there is an immediate need to change the structure of Parliament and create a new system by combining the existing system of Parliament or the Westminster system and the system of State Councils. In those cases, Parliament can participate in governing the country. “The existing laws need to be strengthened to give those powers to Parliament in the exercise of monetary powers. Following the example of countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and India, we are proposing a stronger and more powerful law.” He also added that there is a system in place to control the Government through the Cabinet, to examine the work of the President, to oversee the work of the political affairs through the National Council, and to oversee the financial affairs and other matters of the other fifteen committees. “There are articles prepared on this matter. I appreciate that a number of other organisations have made similar proposals” he said. The Justice Minister is to present an amended Bill to the Cabinet in the second week of June, with the suggestions made by various parties during the Party Leaders’ Meeting next Friday.
Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s final decision will be taken about supporting the 21st amendment after discussions with the President and the Prime Minister on the subject. The main opposition, the Samagi Jana Balawega charges that the powers of the President have been further bolstered by the current 21st Amendment to the Constitution, and therefore the party cannot agree to the proposed amendment. The cash-strapped island nation is trying to secure aid from major donor agencies including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund(IMF). World Bank Country Manager in Colombo Chiyo Kanda has said that the World Bank will expend around USD 700 million to Sri Lanka within the next few months, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement recently. The World Bank Country Manager in Colombo, Chiyo Kanda has made this observation in response to a request made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris during a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 27 May 2022. During the meeting, Minister Peiris sought assistance from the World Bank until long-term assistance materialises through the IMF, other international institutions, and donor countries.
The severity of the challenges in reducing the budget deficit at the impending budget was discussed at length by the minister who emphasised that short-term financial assistance from the World Bank would be welcome until sustainable solutions are found. The World Bank is also working with other organizations such as ADB, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the UN office and encourages them to ‘re-purposing’ their already committed projects to help the people of Sri Lanka at this difficult time, the country director said noting that the World Bank will disburse approximately USD 700 Million to Sri Lanka within the next few months. Mr. Pieris has briefed US Ambassador Julie Chung on the proposed 21st amendment to the constitution and has sought continued support for multilateral assistance. “The Foreign Minister encouraged continued support from the US and other countries, both bilaterally and through multilateral channels, to mitigate the economic challenges in Sri Lanka,” the foreign ministry said in a statement after the meeting with Ambassador Chung. “He also briefed the Ambassador on the discussions with different political parties about the draft 21st Amendment to the Constitution.” “The Foreign Minister assured Ambassador Chung that despite current economic challenges, the Government remains fully committed to addressing reconciliation-related issues.”