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.

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.