• All committees to be reconstituted once House reconvenes 

Several specialised committees and sectoral oversight committees of Parliament are defunct due to the standoff between the Government and the Opposition on their compositions, The Sunday Morning learns.

Thus far only the following parliamentary watchdog committees have been appointed: Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), and Committee on Public Finance (COPF).

Other oversight committees in Parliament include the Committee on High Posts, Liaison Committee, Committee of Selection, Committee on Parliamentary Business, Legislative Standing Committee, Committee on Standing Orders, House Committee, Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Committee on Public Petitions, Backbencher Committee, Committee on Banking and Financial Services, Committee on Economic Stabilisation, and Committee on Ways and Means.

However, with the prorogation of Parliament on Friday (27), all parliamentary committees stand dissolved until they are reconstituted when the House reconvenes next month.

COPA Chairman Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kabir Hashim told The Sunday Morning that there had been an understanding reached with the Government on the appointments of the committees.

“The proposal from the Government was that the position be shared amongst the different parties and for the Opposition also to take some of the positions. The Opposition’s view was that for the oversight committees to be effective, they should be led by the Opposition and other parties but not by the Government.”

COPE, COPA, and COPF

The three key committees – COPE, COPA, and COPF – are currently chaired by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Prof. Ranjith Bandara, SJB MP Kabir Hashim, and SJB MP Dr. Harsha De Silva respectively.

However, Hashim said that the Government had failed to heed the Opposition request to lead the three main committees.

“One of the problems we have is with COPE, where we had proposed Eran Wickramaratne but the Government didn’t concede. Based on that, the other oversight committee positions are also being blocked and we think that it would be a good move by the Government if it can concede the COPE chairmanship to Eran, who is very respected and very balanced and will carry out his duties. Then we can go ahead with the other committees as well, including the sectoral oversight committees.”

Hashim said it was only a matter of calling for reappointment with the backing of the Government MPs to change the chair of the COPE.

He said that allowing MP Wickramaratne to chair COPE would be a goodwill gesture by the Government, citing the fact that the President during the Yahapalanaya Government had allowed this.

“To an extent the Government has conceded. We do agree that the Government has been able to be flexible in that sense, but we believe that the three main oversight committees – COPE, COPA, and COPF – should be given to the Opposition. When Ranil Wickremesinghe was the Prime Minister, all those committees were given to the Opposition very generously. Now that he’s the President, he can exercise his powers and his influence and ask the SLPP members to concede – it would set a better example.”

Sectoral oversight committees 

The majority of the sectoral oversight committees too had not been appointed at the time of last week’s prorogation.

The sectoral oversight committees in Parliament are the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Increasing Export of Goods and Services, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis, Sectoral Oversight Committee on an Open and Accountable Government, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Children, Women, and Gender, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Education, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Sustainable Development, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Food Security and Agriculture, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Foreign Employment and Labour, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Health, Sectoral Oversight Committee on International Relations, Sectoral Oversight Committee on a Just and Law-Abiding Society, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Media, Youth, Heritage, and Citizen, Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans, Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security, Sectoral Oversight Committee on Reconciliation and National Unity, and Sectoral Oversight Committee on Religious Affairs and Co-Existence, amongst others.

Government stance

However, the Government is adamant that it has compromised enough on the matter of giving leadership of special committees to the Opposition and that both the special committees and sectoral oversight committees are not functioning due to the delays by the Opposition.

“From the Government side we have given our names for all the remaining committees to the Speaker. We have taken nine committees and given eight to the Opposition. Initially we had 10 and there were seven with the Opposition but then President Ranil Wickremesinghe requested that we give one more to the Opposition. So we did. We have compromised,” Chief Government Whip and Minister of Urban Development and Housing Prasanna Ranatunga said.

He charged that only the Yahapalanaya Government had allowed Opposition parties that backed the Government to chair oversight committees.

“We are the Government so we have to decide what we want and whom to appoint. During the Yahapalanaya Government, they gave these committees to the Opposition but only to the parties in the Opposition that were supportive of their Government such as the JVP. Likewise, we can also do the same thing. But we are not doing that because the President was against that.”

Minister Ranatunga said that it was up to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena or Leader of the House Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha to decide the Government steps from here.

“The Prime Minister and the Leader of the House will have to take another decision from here on, but I believe we as the Government have done our part and generously given two of the three main oversight committees to the Opposition to head.”