The Hon. M.L.A.M. Hizbullah

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak on the allocations of the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government. I thank the Minister (Prof. Abayaratna A.H.M.H. Imran Maharoof? [Minister referenced as A.H.M.H. Abayarathna]), the State Minister Ruwan Senarath, the Secretary, and the Governor of the Eastern Province (Prof. Jayanta Lal Rathnasekara) and his administration for their work. The Minister conducts affairs justly and beyond ethnic divides.

¶ 02 In Batticaloa, long-standing boundary disputes among local authorities persist because wartime conditions prevented proper demarcation. One local authority administers areas belonging to another, sometimes by force. Please appoint a separate committee to identify and settle boundaries, especially between Batticaloa MC and Kattankudy UC, and between Kattankudy UC and Manmunai Pattu PS, and to resolve other district-wide boundary issues, then gazette them.

¶ 03 About 25 years ago, Koralaipattu Central DS and Koralaipattu South (Kiran) DS were created with Cabinet approval, but they still function only on the basis of provisional notices, without proper gazette demarcations. People have suffered for 25 years, being shuttled between Valachchenai DS and Kiran DS. I moved an Adjournment Motion; the Minister promised to appoint a committee to resolve this without ethnic bias. Please appoint it immediately, demarcate, and gazette. Also, create two corresponding Pradeshiya Sabhas for these two DS divisions.

¶ 04 A serious issue affects Sri Lankan Muslims who are foreign citizens marrying Sri Lankan Muslims. Under the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), due to a legal issue in Section 2, the Registrar General directed Muslim Marriage Registrars not to register such marriages under MMDA. Therefore, they must register under the General Marriage Ordinance. The RG’s department, which earlier issued the required security clearance to foreigners without conditions, now demands an affidavit declaring the applicant is non-religious, e.g., “I do not practise or belong to any religion.” This forces Muslims to deny their faith to obtain clearance—a violation of conscience. In Islam, nikah requires mahr and a wali, which the General Marriage Ordinance does not provide for, making it religiously problematic. Please urgently amend Section 2 of the MMDA; until amended, suspend Circular RG/MBD/1/2012 and allow clearances without such affidavits, as previously done. I will provide all documents.

¶ 05 Management Service Officers (MSOs) play a vital administrative role, including heavy election duties. While other services received upgrades via the National Pay Commission, MSOs remain at MN 2 despite legal groundwork to move them to MN 3. The Public Service Commission has stalled this. Many MSOs, recruited by competitive exams and having the requisite degrees and years of service, deserve the long-pending MN 3 upgrade. Please intervene and grant their long-awaited solution.

¶ 06 Provincial Council elections have been delayed. Unlike the past “no money” excuse for LG polls, the President has now allocated funds for PC polls; please conduct them soon. Local authorities in the East cannot even pay salaries; many cannot frame budgets as revenues are swallowed by pay, with a 40% salary component due next year. Officers avoid transfers fearing non-payment. Please create a mechanism to support councils to pay staff so they can function.

¶ 07 Thank you.