There is an urgent need to revisit the system of devolution and the current systems of provincial councils have proven to be ineffective, State Foreign Affairs Minister Wasantha Senanayake said at a media briefing recently.
“We need to bring government closer to the people so that they can contribute to decision-making about their own problems and needs. We need a meaningful system of devolution, for better administrative functioning and for protection of the cultural and religious identity of minority communities as in the panchayat system in India,” he said.
Elaborating on the present provincial councils, he said they were white elephants and it was clear from the fact that five no longer function and the term of the sixth ending today, there is no urgency to replace them.
This shows apathy towards them and also that the country can get on well without them, the State Minister said. He suggests that that the current method of election to a provincial council is through districts, but representatives of districts are swallowed up by the larger body, which means small districts have little power.
“They function in a context in which the administrative unit for most activities is the district, not the province. There is little effective communication between the different authorities, political and administrative.”
He added that reverting to district councils would get rid of the need for provincial headquarters. “Unlike in the 1981 district development councils, there would be no outside authority, no government-appointed district minister, and no governor who sits on top of provincial councils.”
State Minister Senanayake said under this system, the cost of elections and the money spent on elections will be stopped. “Members of the district council would be chosen by the elected members of local authorities. The current situation of these bodies working in isolation and in ignorance of each other would be avoided, with the district and divisional secretaries providing the administrative backbone for services and programmes.”
The proposals suggested by Minister Senanayke are currently before the Select Committee in Parliament.
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