The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I request an opportunity to briefly express my views regarding Motion 13. According to the Standing Orders of Parliament, and as reflected in relevant orders, while appointing Members to Committees is a matter of Government policy, the Opposition’s requests have been considered at the Committee on Parliamentary Business and also at the Committee of Selection chaired by you. Accordingly, the number of Opposition members in all requested Committees has been increased.

¶ 02 In brief, the current increases for the Opposition (not the total membership) are as follows: for each Ministerial Consultative Committee, eight Opposition members; for COPA, COPE, and the Committee on Public Petitions, six Opposition members each; for the Committee on Backbenchers, five; for the House Committee, the Committee on Ethics and Privileges, the Committee on Parliamentary Business, the Committee on Standing Orders, and the High Posts Committee, three each; for the Legislative Standing Committee and the Committee on Public Finance, two each; and for the Committee on Standing Orders, one additional Opposition member per committee. In total, eight Committees have now been increased.

¶ 03 Ordinarily, membership is allocated proportionately between Government and Opposition. However, under today’s Motion, the Opposition has been granted additional places. Accordingly, we propose correspondingly moderated increases for Government members, lower than the proportionate entitlement: in the House Committee, though 58 should be added for the Government, only three are being added; in the Ethics and Privileges Committee, seven are due but five are added; in COPA and COPE, eleven each are due but five each are added; in the Committee on Public Finance, six are due but four are added; in the Committee on Standing Orders, eight are due but four are added; in the Committee on Public Petitions, ten are due but five are added; in the High Posts Committee, nine are due but four are added; in the Legislative Standing Committee, five are due but three are added; and in each Ministerial Consultative Committee, twelve are due but only four are added. These are the moderated increases implemented so far.

¶ 04 We will, within limits and as needed, proceed to appoint Government members to the above Committees in due course.