The Hon. (Mrs.) Thushari Jayasingha, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member. People gave us power to resolve long-standing issues. DCCs and Divisional Coordinating Committees receive many public grievances daily, and we have the opportunity there to pursue answers. I am a member of the Kandy District Coordinating Committee and Chair of two Divisional Coordinating Committees. There is no need to travel unnecessarily from Colombo to Jaffna; we sit in Parliament eight days a month, and on other days we work in our electorates. During that time, we can attend these committees and pursue solutions to people’s issues. We do not just roam around; we have serious work to do.

¶ 02 Even when we plan and guide officials, sometimes implementation fails. As a lawyer I know: when a court issues an order, parties are bound to comply, and there are procedures and even contempt if they do not. But after we labour to analyse issues and find determinations for public grievances, if they are not implemented, what is the result? It is like having no teeth — you cannot bite. We need an implementation mechanism. That is the purpose of this Motion: to fill the gap in follow-up and accountability for decisions taken by such an important body that drives district-wide development.

¶ 03 This system previously operated in my electorate of Nawalapitiya. We know what a former politician there did: he brought officials before committees and berated them. Out of fear, officials bent to his will. We do not want that. We want a properly established mechanism that respects officials and gets results. Thank you.