Provincial Councils are workable - Gamini Jayawickrema Perera
by Vindya Amaranayake
Nearly 22 years have elapsed since the 13th Amendment to the Constitution has been passed in Parliament. It envisaged power devolution at the province level while keeping to the unitary nature of the state. Since the Amendment became part of the country’s supreme law, it has been subjected to various criticisms by diverse groups; some even claimed that it ultimately leads to separatism.
The most vehement censure came from once revolutionary Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who termed the Amendment that was introduced as part of the Indo-Lanka Accord signed in 1987 as India’s strategy of intervening into Lanka’s internal affairs. Hence the Amendment that was introduced as a possible solution to the raging ethnic strife during the late 1980s was left without being fully implemented. Until 2008, it was functioning only in seven provinces in the country, sans the most important Northern and Eastern Provinces, the geographical areas that were mostly affected by the war.
East was liberated and there the Provincial Council was established, in keeping with the 13th Amendment. Now that the entire north too has been liberated, the debate is again on the need to closely review the hallowed Amendment. Basically there are two camps: Those who envisage a political solution that goes beyond the terms of the 13th Amendment, as the minority groups have pointed out the inadequacy of it to address the fundamental grievances of the Tamil community that they believe have led to the festering civil war.
And those who insist on the total abolition of the Amendment with the claim that since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been militarily defeated there is no need for a political solution of any nature. And then there are those who still believe in the workability of the 13th Amendment. Those who know the system best are the ones who have had practical experiences in the workings of that system.
Hence to learn the workability of the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council system, The Nation spoke to a former Chief Minister of a Provincial Council. Gamini Jayawickrema Perera, currently serving as a United National Party (UNP) Member of Parliament from the Kurunegala District, is one of the first to put the new system into practice. He is confident that the Provincial Councils have enough powers to carry on their designated task and the Chief Minister is like the ‘President’ of his province.
Since it is an independent post, the Chief Minister has the authority to move around many trappings and loopholes present in the Amendment to best serve his province. “During my tenure as Chief Minister of the Wayamba Province I bended many rules. I did so to develop my province. Despite many obstacles, my aim to make Wayamba as developed as the Western Province was successful,” Jayawickrema Perera said.
Following are excerpts:
Q: As someone who has practical experience with the Provincial Council system, what is your impression of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution?
A: This system was introduced to the country as a result of the Indo-Lanka Accord. I think it is important for me to mention something about how it came about. There were many changes before the country during the late 80s. There was the LTTE in the North and the JVP was conducting all kinds of rebellious acts in the South. It was also the time when Gen. Denzil Kobbekaduwa was conducting the Vadamarachchi Operation. They were about to corner Prabhakaran then. It was at that time that the Indian Government did something that they should not have. It was they who bred the LTTE. Then President J.R. Jayewardene was quite helpless to do anything against the giant neighbour. During that time the international community was under the impression that the Sinhalese community is oppressing the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Therefore, nobody came to our assistance. It was China and Pakistan who were on our side.
At that time, the President personally discussed this problem with me. He said the military was lacking the proper weapons to fight the LTTE whereas the enemy was fighting with more sophisticated weapons. India promised to help us, but in tern we had to decentralise powers to the provinces. I told him straight away, if such an agreement would be beneficial to the country I would support him at whatever cost. Earlier we had the District Minister system. But it was not very successful. The amount of money allocated per district was not adequate to initiate development projects. In the PC system the focus is on the province. And when we develop the country by focussing on each province individually it expedites the process of development. It will prompt a competition between the provinces. This is very healthy for development. The competition will ensure that each province would not want to be second to the other. However, ultimately the benefits of this competition will be enjoyed by the entire country. This is how the other countries have developed. Therefore, when the PC system was introduced we resigned from Parliament to serve the provinces. Unfortunately my five-year term was disturbed by the second JVP insurrection where politicians were murdered and the law and order situation of the country was disrupted. It was difficult to reap the maximum use of the PC system as we had to deal with this addition problem of the JVP.
There was also another problem. The administrative officers of this country are used work for a centralised system. They are trained according to the British bureaucratic system. It was very difficult for them to understand the workings of a decentralised system of governance. This caused many problems at first.
Q: The PC system was introduced as a possible solution to the ethnic problem. However, it was not put into use in the two provinces where the problem was more prominent. Is it not a redundant system when implemented in only the remaining seven provinces?
A: It is like this. India had something else in the mind, when they introduced this to us. They wanted to create a puppet-government here. Varatharajaperumal was appointed Chief Minister of the merged North-Eastern Province. However, later the government had to dissolve the PC. I must say, the political solution that is in need at the moment is not only relevant to the Northern and Eastern Provinces. It is something that affects the entire country. There are enough powers vested with the PCs. Only thing is nobody is utilising that power to the maximum. Nearly 85% of the work is allocated to the Provinces. Central government minister have nothing much to do. There is so much that can be done to develop the provinces. The Chief Minister has enough powers to get all the necessary work done.
I charge that since 1994, including the times that my party has been in power, no considerable work has been done by provincial governments. No plans were made, no policies were developed. Everything has become politicised. We regard everything through the political looking glass. That is why it appears the PC system has failed. A Chief Minister is like a ‘President.’ It is like he controls an entire country. During my tenure I created an industrial zone in Wayamba. There is enough power; the problem is there are no good intentions.
Q: Should the PCs be given Police and land powers. Do they already enjoy these powers, if so, to what extent?
A: Sri Lanka is a country that battled a gruesome terrorist force for nearly three decades. We cannot allow any such thing to come up again. The 13th Amendment envisages Police powers at the Deputy Inspector General level – under a DIG commission. However, I would say this level should be brought down to the ASP level. We cannot allow another instance of insurgency to emerge. Today, due to excessive politicisation, our society has become extremely undisciplined. It is not prudent to give more Police powers to the provinces in a context such as this.
When it comes to land powers, the provinces enjoy this power to a certain degree. We must remember that before the ethnic trouble started there were Sinhalese in Jaffna. The introduction of the Sinhala Only act caused many problems for the country. It only brought communalism to the country and divided the people. The people of this country should be able live anywhere in the country they desire. We must bear this in mind when we talk about land powers.
However, when developing the country it is possible to utilise the lands belonging to the province. During my tenure as Chief Minister of the Wayamba Province I bended many rules. I did so to develop my province. Despite many obstacles, my aim to make Wayamba as developed as the Western Province was successful. I used government land to establish an industrial zone. It was quite successful. You must work with the central government. There must be a proper development strategy and a policy framework. As the Chief Minister you must work this out with the central government.
Q: Is it possible for PCs to attract foreign aid for development?
A: The Chief Minister is not vested with the authority to sign agreements with foreign aid donors. However, this is something we can work out with the central government. When I was Chief Minister I went to China and held negotiations and worked out and agreement. Then Harrold Herath was the Foreign Minister. He ultimately did not sign this agreement. That was very unfortunate. However, what I’m trying to say is that, if the PCs can work together with the central government they can negotiate development aids from foreign donors and get it though the Foreign Ministry. It is possible. But there has to be understanding and good intention between the Chief Ministers and the central government. [courtesy: The Nation]
3 Comments
The pleasant Mr. Jayawickrema Perera (JP) was one of those many junior MPs during the height of JRJ’s power. then there were senior men like Athulathmudali, Gamini Dissanayake, Premadasa, ACS Hameed and his trusted aide Menikdiwela. Not to mention brilliant legal minds like his brother Harry J, his close friend Subasinghe, BJ Fernando – and a battery of successful private lawyers for whatever advise and direction needed on knotty issues. Besides, JRJ himself was a learned, well-read political and intellectual giant. JP was not a Minister at that time and tells us “at that time JRJ personally discussed this problem (the Indo-Lanka Accord) with me.” He goes on beyond his well to comment “the Indians did something they should not have done…It was they who bred the LTTE...….Pakistan and China stood with us” Now this old hat may convince and please many in the Wayamba and other parts of the country but will scarcely do good to the wider debate. Volumes have been written as to what gave birth and teeth later to VP/LTTE, our tense relationship with GoI etc., GP may or may not have known the geo-politics at that time was completely different to what it is today. Indira Gandhi was a favoured of the Soviet leadership. She stood with the Soviets against the Chinese because the USA
and friends were aligning against her - supporting Morarji Desai and the “Syndicate.” Both Russia and China were contenders for the mantel of the universal communist-socialist leadership. Under the Indo-Russia Defence Agreement Indira shrewdly succeeded in massing a reported half a million troops on the Chinese border areas – an attractive insurance for India after the 1962 border skirmishes. And here loose canons like the racially-bigoted Cyril Mathew were threatening in Cabinet meetings to “give Trincomalee to the US marines for R&R” – something aimed at India that could not have pleased the ears of Indira, who had her own way of showing her mind to detractors. Sri Lanka’s incapability or unwillingness to come to a settlement with the Tamils by gradually addressing their problems that began in the mid-50s was now growing to be a severe headache to Delhi. Tamilnadu politicians were taking advantage of the vulnerability during Indian General Elections where now the culture of Coalition Governments was replacing All-Congress Cabinet formations. Few will fail to agree with JP the PC system – within which - and, in his own words “85% of the Province can be developed” without interference from Colombo. This is probably why Mr Perera, the Wayamba today is a highly developed Province – many thanks to you. But look at the State of the areas beyond the Wayamba boundary – in the East and the North. Are you surprised VP showed up with guns and all? But the failure was not in making this applicable only to the North-East but in making it juicy to the politikkas in the rest of the 7 Provinces. Yes! Wasteful duplication of functions, I agree. Here JP concludes correctly where the 7 Provinces that did not ask for this got it while the 2 that needed it most (and which could have clipped the wings of armed Tamil militancy) did not. It was the failure of the Sinhala polity to see the light at that time that is the problem. As far as we know, India felt JRJ’s Cabinet and the UNP then had adequate men of learning and political wisdom to make the difference. That they failed cannot be attributed to the long and growing Buddhist Sinhala list of India’s intrigue and wickedness – the raison d’etre - upon which Southern sinhala supremacist politics survive. By the way, it is not fair by our able administrative service at that time to say they could not have worked efficiently under a devolved environment. They were capable, honourable and faithful men who would have worked diligently and according to established law under either system. Let us recall the charge of the distinguished left leaders at that time, to be repeated by CBK later, that
JRJ’s Govt in the post-1983 period was in fact “several Govts within the Govt” that went out to defeat many progressive moves within. What more, Varadan’s NEPC
could have delivered something if not for the perfidy where Premadasa went on to shockingly arm the LTTE against the Indian Army, that JRJ had arduously brought in to save the skin of both himself and his Govt. As some Indian columnists wrote at that time “the Indian army had to fight many enemies in the Lankan conflict zone” Nearly 20 million Lankans will have no quarrel in agreeing with JP “the introduction of Sinhala Only Act caused many problems for the country. It brought in communalism to the country and divided the people”
ISS
PC's are workable if it was created under workable
conditions and suitable environment.This has not come
out of UNP's pregnancy for the development of our
country.Before going into complexed details of how
these PC's can serve our great nation,it's a bit worth
while to take a close look at how far have we succeeded
with our existing wonderful local bodies such as UC,MC
and PS.The truth is, PC was aimed at consoling North
and East but JRJ played it differently so that nobody
got nothing including India.Anybody trying to convince people that PC's are workable,yes,even local bodies are workable.PC's are workable because parliament is
not enough for politics.
To ISS about the half a million troops, on the lighter side of it.
Chinese were infuriated with the Soviet troops along the border and they found a novel way to hit back. All the Chinese troops were ordered to finish their morning duties(never mind even if it was noon) along the border to the full view of the Soviet troops. Stench and the ugly sight were beyond the Soviet tolerance. Ultimately Soviets placed small size pictures of Mao all along the border. Things changed for better.
Easwaran