Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe presented the proposed new governance structure. It was stated that the President and the Cabinet are accountable to Parliament.
It was stated that the Parliament could participate in governing the country by changing the structure of Parliament and creating a new system by merging the existing parliamentary system or the Westminster system with the system of the State Council.
In order to give those powers to Parliament in the exercise of monetary powers, the existing laws must first be strengthened. “We propose a stronger and stronger law, following the example of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and India,” he said.
He further said that there are currently three Committees on Public Finance – the Committee on Public Finance, the Committee on Accounts and the Committee on Public Enterprises. It was stated that the Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena has made several proposals to strengthen the powers of these three Committees and in addition he will bring forward recommendations.
In addition, we are working to establish two new committees on finance. We will appoint a Legal and Methodological Committee to look into this matter. Secondly, the main problem we face is the financial condition of banks and financial institutions. He also noted that there are a number of weak issues.
“Under our Standing Order 111 we can appoint oversight committees. Monitoring committees have not been appointed before. Therefore, we propose to appoint ten oversight committees. Policies are also reported to Parliament. Parliament should take action on that. ” He was quoted as saying.
The Chairmen of the five Finance Committees and the Ten Oversight Committees will be appointed by the backbenchers and not by the Ministers, the Prime Minister said.
“Therefore, we have the opportunity to formulate a system that is independent of the Cabinet and deals with both the Minister and Parliament. The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also need to know the problems they have now. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees. One of them will be appointed by the Youth Parliament. The other three belong to protest groups and other active groups. The methodology used to select these individuals can be decided by the youth organizations themselves, ”Wickremasinghe explained.
“We are also proposing a national assembly. The National Assembly is a committee consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Leaders of the Leading Parties. It should be said that the National Assembly is very important. The National Assembly can talk about the policies of the country. We can also talk about cabinet decisions. We can also talk about the reorganization of the parliament in this country. If so, it can be called a political institution, ”he added.
According to the Prime Minister, the National Council has the right to convene the Cabinet and the Chairmen of Committees.
“According to the new system we have proposed, the President is accountable to Parliament. The Cabinet is also accountable to Parliament. The National Assembly is also accountable to Parliament. Fifteen Committees and Oversight Committees are accountable to Parliament, said Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.