The Hon. M. Nizam Kariapper, PC

¶ 01 Sir, there was a mystery behind this Motion of Hon. Kabir Hashim; now it is fully revealed. As the Motion clearly states, the Governor suspended a proposal by PS members to spend their funds on projects. It is now clear this is political retaliation because the Government could not secure control of Mawanella PS.

¶ 02 Let me quote from page 40 of the 2026 Budget Speech by the President:

¶ 03 “30.2 Expenditure of Local Authorities (Local Development)

¶ 04 Although local authorities are independent entities, they are in a situation of depending on the Treasury even to pay salaries.

¶ 05 When providing budgetary allocations from the General Treasury for salaries, instead of the existing method of reducing by percentages of 20 and 40 from the estimates, a new system is proposed.”

¶ 06 We wondered what this “new system” would be. Now we see: if the ruling party controls a local authority, it will be allowed to spend central contributions as it wishes; otherwise, the Governor’s powers will be used to halt and obstruct. That is the “new system.” Sir, the Governor should not have such powers. The powers should lie with a Chief Minister and a Board of Ministers elected by the people. That too has been removed. This is wholly anti-democratic.

¶ 07 Further, the President says:

¶ 08 “Accordingly, based on a recent study by the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, taking into account the income and actual expenditure of local authorities, a formal mechanism is proposed to commence for providing government contributions to each local authority.”

¶ 09 This is not formal. It is informal, anti-democratic, and arbitrary—usable via a Governor to channel funds with partisan bias. If there is a mechanism, it must apply equally to all local authorities. The mystery behind this Motion—political retaliation—has now been revealed to the public. I conclude. Thank you.