Justice Minister: State outfits disregard parliamentary control over public finance

‘New laws needed to rein them in’

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, said that contrary to the Constitution, the Parliament didn’t exercise full control over public finance.The former President of the Bar Association said a new law was required to subject all state enterprises to parliamentary control to prevent further deterioration of public finances.

 The ongoing controversy over the Governing Board of the Central Bank, in consultation with trade unions, including those affiliated to political parties represented in Parliament, granting a thumping salary increase to its employees, while asking the rest of the country to tighten their belts, underscored the need for the Parliament to oversee the overall process, hence the need for a new law, Minister Rajapakse said.

 The Central Bank has publicly denied the over 70 percent salary increase, but Minister Rajapakse said the salaries of its employees had been increased by proportions of 29.53 percent to 79.97 per cent under a triennial pay revision (effective January 1, 2024). “We should be able to discuss the issues at hand candidly and reach conclusions when CB representatives appear before the Committee on Public Finance tomorrow (March 5),” Minister Rajapakse said.

 Responding to The Island queries, the Colombo District MP said that Parliament should accept blame for the current sorry state of affairs. Successive governments had quite conveniently allowed selected sections of the public sector to exploit lacuna in relevant laws for their benefit.

 The one-time Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) said that due to increasing negligence on the part of successive governments’ state-owned enterprises operated outside parliamentary control. The minister acknowledged that successive governments had been responsible for failing to ensure proper control over the entire public sector.

 Dr. Rajapakse said that the failure on the part of the government to address this issue now could have a destabilizing impact on the entire economy. Referring to a crisis caused by the Cabinet approving to double doctors’ Disturbance, Availability & Transport (DAT) allowance from 35,000 to 70,000 rupees, Dr. Rajapakse said the government couldn’t address knotty problems without taking into consideration other relevant factors.

 The Justice Minister said that all political parties in Parliament, regardless of the size of their representation, should unreservedly support the proposed new law to rein in the public sector entities.

 Asked to explain, Dr. Rajapakse said that some state sector enterprises had been allowed to decide on salaries and a range of other perks and privileges, at the expense of the economy. Therefore, a new law should be introduced to compel public finances, at all levels, to adhere to Article 148, 149 and 150.

Alleging that state enterprises brazenly exploited Collective Agreements for the exclusive benefit of the respective managements and employees, Dr. Rajapakse pointed out that Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera had recently decided against extending the Collective Agreement in respect of CEB employees.

 Emphasizing the urgent need for a comprehensive study on the public sector salary structure and various perks and privileges, the one-time Bar Association President said that the issue should be addressed in the platforms of the forthcoming national elections.

 The Justice Minister said that even after Sri Lanka in April 2022 had declared that it couldn’t meet debt obligations and therefore admitted insolvency, tangible measures hadn’t been taken to restore financial discipline. The recent revelation made by Minister Wijesekera that CEB employees had been provided with loans amounting to Rs 12 bn and 2/3 of the borrowers’ loan interests were paid by the CEB exposed how those at the helm of operations at such enterprises violated basic rules.

 Dr. Rajapakse said it was just one example. Proceedings of House Committees, COPE, COPA and COPF expose waste, corruption, irregularities and mismanagement at all levels but unfortunately governments lacked the political will to address those issues.