The Hon. J.C. Alawathuwala

¶ 01 That’s okay. My point is not your internal politics but the consequences of undue pressure on officials. There is an issue with the local government electoral law; we said it here too. It should have been amended; you went to the election without amending, and you suffered damage as well. Under the old system, you might have secured more councils. You have been given power to do the right thing. Yet the Finance Commission allocates funds while there are no Provincial Councils—that is wrong. Postponing Provincial Council elections is not right. We criticized it even under Yahapalana. It was wrong then and is wrong now.

¶ 02 Now you must fix it. The Minister of Provincial Councils said elections will be held and spoke about delimitation. But look at the mess in local bodies due to delimitation. Councils can’t be established; you lose votes; you can’t run councils; you have to appease members to run them. That is why President Premadasa, when presenting the 1987 No. 15 Pradeshiya Sabha Act, ensured functionality after studying municipal and village council issues. That setup was later changed—even during the Yahapalana period with your Members’ support.

¶ 03 Now Provincial Council elections must be held. If you bring proposals to go back to the previous system for Provinces, we can support it; the old system isn’t necessarily bad. Many here have served in PCs, including you and us. Parliament uses proportional representation; it’s a highly democratic system—voters cast for parties and also have preferential votes to choose their candidates. Let’s correct these things. As Opposition, we won’t oppose everything. We will support reforms for the people. We will not act against them.

¶ 04 Regarding Parliament’s Head of Expenditure, I must note injustices to Parliamentary staff. Since 2003 a leave allowance was paid to incentivize attending work without taking leave—paid annually for 21 years. Last year it was not paid—for the first time in 21 years. That is highly unfair. You say you give to public servants and pensioners; yet this allowance to those who work here has been stopped. Please reinstate it. Otherwise, staff will simply take their full leave—45 days if they have it. Saving in this way gains nothing. I appeal especially to the Chief Government Whip to address this.

¶ 05 Further, recruitment to the Parliamentary administrative cadre is through competitive exams, with degrees required. Yet their salary is that of an ordinary clerical service with very limited promotions. The structure has few senior posts (e.g., Director (Administration) 1; Director (Legislative Services) 1; Deputy Director (Administration) 1; Assistant Director (Administration) 4; Chief Officer 22; Deputy Chief Officer 15; and so on), around 96 officers in these streams, who often near retirement before reaching Assistant Director grade. Many are lawyers. Although many discussions have been held to elevate their pay scales appropriately, nothing has been implemented. These officers also serve as Secretaries to COPA, COPE, and Sectoral Oversight Committees, bearing heavy responsibilities. Please provide proper positions and remuneration.

¶ 06 We have spoken on other Budget proposals as well. Focus on ensuring the democratic expectations of the people are met. That is why they gave you a big victory. Please act so that trust is not broken. Thank you.