Prez asks Parliament to get its act together

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has, in a letter to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, said that Parliament has not made satisfactory progress in making far-reaching systematic changes that the country needs.According to the Presidential Media Division, the President has said Parliament is responsible for the establishment of a National Assembly, the appointment of the Banking and Financial Services Committee, the Economic Stabilisation Committee and the Committee on Ways and Means related to banking affair and the selection of five youth representatives for the Sectoral committees and the establishment of the Parliamentary Budget Office.

President Wickremesinghe has said although 17 Parliamentary Sectoral committees should have been established by now, chairpersons have not been designated and the criteria for selecting the youth representatives to be appointed for this purpose are yet to be prepared.

The President has also stated that these proposals can be carried out when next year’s budget is implemented and consequently the systemic change expected by the government can be achieved immediately.