Devolution of Power- The Prospects under the Proposed New Constitution

Abstract

Sri Lanka is engaged in making the third Republican Constitution to resolve the national issue and the areas which need reform have been identified and dealt with. The subject of devolution of power, a contentious subject, occupies significant place in the reform process. The Public Representation Committee has substantially dealt with this subject and various recommendations have been made out of numerous representations made, including for strengthened provincial councils and local governments thus making the governance closed to the people and accountable to them. The report of the SubCommittee on Centre-Periphery relations too have recommended for an independent provincial structure without interference from central executive and legislature and local governments in line with principle of subsidiarity and more participation of people in governance. Although the above two reports have made recommendations toward substantive devolution of powers at provincial and local government tiers, the recommendations have not received wider acceptance. The report of the Public Representation Committee itself reveals the amount of disagreements among its members over the matter of devolution of powers to the provincial councils. The sub-committee report on Centre-Periphery relations too did not receive consensus, some members from joint opposition and JVP did not sign the document. The Sub-Committee report have been attacked on several grounds, the total abolition of the control of centre by removing concurrence list, suggestion to bring the district secretaries and the divisional secretaries under the control of the provincial councils, the fear on devolution as an incentive for division of the country are few factors among many cause criticism on the report. The main objective of the research is to explore the recommendations made by Public Representation Committee and the Sub-Committee on Centre-Periphery relations and the different expressions made in terms of devolution in and out of the reports. The research will also explore the ideologies based on

Copyright © ICSUSL-Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka 2017 596 which different expressions are made on devolution, they are on numerous grounds such as the sovereignty of state, unity in diversity, self-governance, regional/provincial autonomy, devolution within unitary framework, devolution under federal system, corporative devolution, greater devolution, minimum devolution, devolution as in the 13thamendment, division or session of country, etc. Overall, the research attempts to assess the prospects for devolution of power under the proposed new Constitution based on the progress taken place so far and against the absence of any final document consists of information with regard to devolution of power.