The Hon. Ajith P. Perera

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chair, the primary duty of a Parliament is to pass laws. The people spend a large sum on Parliament for lawmaking. As Minister of Finance, the President proposed 11 Bills in the last Budget speech, but not a single one has been passed. Over the past five years, only 22 Bills per year on average—228 in total—have been enacted, the lowest number in five years. If Parliament functioned properly and constitution-making progressed, this would not be the case. My plea is to correct these shortcomings and next year focus on Parliament’s fundamental responsibility—legislation and constitutional reform. Prepare the expert teams needed. The value of the vast sums the people spend on Parliament is measured by the quantity and quality of laws we pass. The Opposition, including legal experts, stands ready to assist.

¶ 02 Today there was talk about Independent Commissions. Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe criticized their functioning. As a Government you may critique, but Independent Commissions were established because of the excessive powers of the Executive Presidency and their misuse—generating public demand. The JVP was instrumental in enacting the 19th Amendment. Today, when a senior JVP leader—now an NPP MP—says the Commissions are weak and should be curtailed, there is a serious problem.

¶ 03 Commissions are not omnipotent; they are bounded by constitutional and statutory limits and practical realities. I accept that. But praising them in Opposition and calling them obstacles one year into Government is contrary to constitutional principles.

¶ 04 Beyond the Constitution, our Standing Orders provide a framework to review Commissions. Under Standing Order 126(3), all Commissions established under Article 41B shall submit annual reports to Parliament on their activities, including performance of powers, duties, and functions. Under 126(4), the Committee on Parliamentary Business shall consider these reports and may summon Chairmen, Members, and officials of the Commissions.

¶ 05 This is our highest committee—chaired by the Speaker, including the Prime Minister, Leader of the House, Leader of the Opposition, and three Members nominated by the Speaker—similar in composition to the Constitutional Council. I ask: has this Committee discharged its duty?

¶ 06 I am a Member of the Constitutional Council and have raised this issue there as well. A year has passed. It is Parliament’s responsibility, under the Constitution and Standing Orders, to examine the annual reports of the Independent Commissions, assess their efficiency, legality of actions, and whether they exceeded mandates, and make recommendations. Has the Committee on Parliamentary Business met and done so? If any Commission has not submitted its annual report, the public must be informed and corrective action taken.