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The worst time to meddle with NMRA

17 Mar 2021

Games involving power have always existed and have seldom resulted in anything good. Even though in the public’s day-to-day lives, it may not seem to result in significant issues, the chaos it can create in the larger administrative hierarchy is immense and highly detrimental, especially when it involves many stakeholders. The Morning on 17 March exclusively reported that the Chairman of the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), Prof. Asita de Silva, had tendered his resignation, a decision that came a week after State Minister of Production, Supply, and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals Prof. Channa Jayasumana’s alleged attempt at removing four NMRA Board Members. Also, it was reported that a letter, which was sent by the Attorney General’s (AG) Department to Prof. de Silva in response to the latter’s request for legal advice with regard to the powers pertaining to the appointment of members to the NMRA, had mentioned that in accordance with Section 9(2) of the NMRA Act No. 5 of 2015, the minister in charge of the subject of health is vested with the said powers, when in reality Prof. Jayasumana was in fact the Acting Health Minister for a short period of time when Health Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi was indisposed due to recuperation after contracting Covid-19. Section of 9(2) of the NMRA Act, quoted by the AG’s Department, says that “the minister may, for reasons assigned, remove any appointed member from the office”. However, in the said incident, it is not clear as to whether the reason/s for the decision were cited. It would not be wrong to say that Sri Lanka faces more issues in the public sector due to the improper implementation and/or non-implementation of policies, laws, and powers, than the non-existence of the same. While it is a fact that the officials in higher places in the administrative hierarchy are vested with powers and responsibilities with regard to appointing and removing officials in public institutions, how sensibly those decisions are taken and should be taken is a topic of discussion among the tax-paying citizens. Arbitrary decisions and unwarranted pressure by those vested with power to take high-level decisions is one of the issues Sri Lanka is plagued with, and in the past few decades, the country has witnessed more than enough incidents that support this notion. Even though public/State institutions need to be administered by a higher authority, who most of the times happens to be the be subject Minister/s, in the administrative hierarchy, every institution is vested with a certain autonomy, in order to maintain the proper, prompt and smooth functioning of these institutions, among other priorities. However, they should not be something that amounts to an interference and exertion of pressure. The public complaining about politicians misusing their powers and public/state institutions failing to fulfill their duties have long been discussed. However, in certain situations, the two issues have emerged together and the public/state institutions’ ability to serve the public properly faces a threat due to the politicians’ shortsighted and/or arbitrary decisions that impact on the functions of public/state institutions. There is never a good time for adverse political meddling in state institutions, but in the context where the Covid-19 vaccination programme has commenced, the importance of the NMRA to the country is greater than before, and hence there could not have been a worse moment for this political meddling to take place. In the end, it is the public who are fated to experience the bitter reality of the disputes and power games in or centred on public/state institutions, as the public are both tax-payers and service-seekers. In this context, the use of all powers vested in authorities should be aimed at but one goal: Serving the citizens. Decisions that do not serve the interests of the public and public/state institutions need to be reconsidered, along with the systems that led to such decisions.

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