Do not delay, says SLFP
Shirley Wijesinghe
The replacement of the Executive Presidency with the Executive
Premiership will be made soon without wasting any time, SLFP Senior Vice
President and Irrigation and Water Resources Development Minister Nimal
Siripala de Silva said.
Minister
Nimal Siripala |
The Executive Premier should be present in Parliament and answerable
to questions of public representatives, he added.
The Minister was speaking at a media conference organized by the SLFP
at its headquarters yesterday. Minister de Silva said certain committees
had been appointed to review the power and nature of the Executive
Premier to be appointed and to find out which type of amendments are to
be added to the Constitution.
The decision to change the Local Government election system has
already been recommended by one of these committees. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa had positively responded to the proposed changes and reached a
consensus with the UNP after discussions recently, he said.
The Government will not abolish any of the commissions appointed
according to the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, however methods of
their appointment will be reviewed. The amendments to the 17th Amendment
to the Constitution should be made carefully after perusal of the
problems experienced during the past.
If there is no practical value of these commissions, it will not be
useful either to the Government or people, de Silva added.
He appreciated the UNP’s cooperation in arriving at to come a
consensus on the matters of national interest and said it should be
continued with a positive attitude.
He said the Government will also invite the JVP and the TNA to
discuss matters related to the Constitutional amendments. |