Steps to reform parliamentary committee system

COLOMBO: Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala now in Australia on a study tour with the parliamentary delegation is of the view that the study tour would help them to carve out methods to reform the parliamentary committee system in Sri Lanka to make the Parliament an effective watch-dog over legislative and administrative matters.

The Minister is also of the view that to transform the Parliament of Sri Lanka into a viable institution of democracy, it is vital to focus on the parliamentary mechanisms of other living democracies and learn from their rich experiences and initiate new suitable structures and methodologies based on 'home-grown' basis that would stimulate and rejuvenate the present committee system, which has not been changed effectively during the last six decades.

"The selection of Australia for this purpose is most opportune, as Australia has developed unique development procedures to make the various committees in Parliament more useful to the public at large and also transparent. Further, it has been pointed out that the Account Committees in Australia are very strong and active," he said.

The Sri Lankan Parliament is seeking to strengthen itself by enhancing oversight functions. Further, the Standing Orders Committee of the Parliament is in the stage of making amendments to its present rules of standing.

It is common knowledge, that although the proceedings that take place in the Chamber are very useful for the functioning of a parliamentary system of Government, the actual work fulfilled by Parliament is when the Members sit in Committees.

Looking from this point of view, the present committee system in Sri Lanka need urgent and fruitful reforms to meet the present challenges of the developing world. It has been pointed by observers that since committee meetings are generally held during parliamentary sessions, finding a quorum sometimes becomes difficult.

It has been suggested that with the changing times and in the interest of transparency and strengthening of public trust and confidence, the Parliament of Sri Lanka should hold public hearings which are also televised. As a first step of achieving these aims, the Standing Committee is considering the introduction of Sectoral Oversight Committees.

Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala believes that this study tour will help the participants to enlarge their experience on the following matters.

* Acquire detailed knowledge on the machinery that has been introduced to carry out the oversight functions of the Australian Parliament.

* Strengthening cooperation and mutual assistance with other Commonwealth Parliaments such as Australia.

* Facilitate a comprehensive study enabling Sri Lankan Parliamentarians to enhance their knowledge on the Australian system, which we could adopt here.

* Contribute fruitfully in the drafting of New Standing Orders.

During this study tour, the Sri Lankan Parliamentary delegation is expected to meet the Speaker of Australian Parliament, the President of the Legislative Assembly and the Clerk of the House of Representatives.