Peace for the World

Peace for the World
First democratic leader of Justice the Godfather of the Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle: Honourable Samuel James Veluppillai Chelvanayakam

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Justice Wigi: Time up for the Judgement Day !

Wigneswaran

The Chief Minister and the Councillors are not discharging their duties paid for and engaging in activities outside the scope of their contract with the Council. 

by Rajasingham Jayadevan -October 6, 2016

( October 5, 2016, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) First and foremost, let me welcome your forthcoming visit to London to inter-twine a relationship between the London Borough of Kingston and the Northern Provincial Council (NCP)to exchange knowledge and experiences between the two Councils. 
I am one of those who overwhelmingly supported your election as Chief Minister of NCP that you won with landmark support from the people three years ago. 

But unfortunately, the past three years of the NCP has caused considerable consternations for many. The issues fundamental and legal have been undermined and the NCP is only pulling through by engaging in matters that are outside its very scope of governance. 

This is my effort to initiate and energise a public debate to dissect in a critical light your performance as the Chief Minister of the NCP with the hope that there will be due diligence conduct in the management of the Council at least in your remaining years in office. 

Having discussed the very failures of governance of the NCP with authoritative sources with both section of the divide, I am numbed that these issues have not invited the much-needed interest of the media to invoke a just public debate. 

I humbly request you to forget for some moment that you are the Chief Minister of the NCP and  think that you are a Supreme Court Judge wearing the judicial attire of robe and hat to preside over a hearing and adjudge on a hypothetical Provincial Council that was formed under the 13th Amendment to the constitution of Sri Lanka. 

The Claimant’s case is that the said Council: 

1.   Was duly elected in a first ever election for the said Provincial Council. The citizens who voted were the stakeholders (or the recruitment panel) and have elected a Chief Minister and the Council members having heard their views in the election campaign. The candidates elected were found to be fit and proper to administer the Council. 

2.   The employment contract of the Chief Minister and the elected Councillors is the provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka. There are defined sets of rules under the said Amendment for the administration of the Council.

3.   The governor is provided with the experienced civil servants by the government to transact the day to day business of the Council. 

4.   There is a concurrent list of powers. These are vested with the government and managed through the appointed Governor. The issues that needs to be responded to are the powers vested with the elected members to the Council. 

5.   The government allocates funds for the effective functioning of the Council. 

6.   The Chief Minister and the Councillors are the paid servants of the government to discharge their contractual responsibilities under 13th Amendment to the Constitution. 

7.   Any international engagement with the Council on its defined mandate must have the approval of the government. 

The Claimant claims: 

1.  However limited the powers of the Chief Minister is, he has been elected to administer within those limited powers. 

2.  Greater emphasis is put on the said Council that was elected for the first time. Certain procedural and statutory processes must be established for the effective management of the Council. In that, the primary tasks were to establish:

i. A good rapport with the civil servants appointed by the government for guidance and smooth transactions of the business of the said council.

ii.  To pass the much needed statutes – some say it is 105 and the Opposition Leader of the Council claims it is 300.

Following on these: 
  • The civil servants are half-hearted as a result of insults and abuse by the elected members that is frustrating the smooth administration of the Council. 
  • Of the said statues, only three have been passed so far resulting in the Councils inability to fully use the funds allocated by the government.  These unused funds are forfeited as result of failure to pass the statues. But there are accusations that the government is unreasonably recalling the funds back.
  • The Claimant also claims that a well-intended Non-Government Organisation (NGO)  and few concerned citizens had come forward to help the Chief Minister by amending the statutes of another well-functioning Provincial Council to passage the through the floor of the said Council. But the Chief Minister has disregarded their assistance for reasons unknown and have not passed the much needed Statues.
The Claimant also Claims: 
  • The Chief Minister and the Councillors are not discharging their duties paid for and engaging in activities outside the scope of their contract with the Council. 
  • They are preoccupied passing resolutions after resolutions that are not the scope or prima facie function of the Provincial Council. 
  • They are involving in political campaign work and debates during working time and as a result are unable to administer the Council under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution they have subscribed to. 
  • They have used their time and resources of the Council to hold a public demonstration on issues that are not the mandate of the Council.
The Claimant ask you as the presiding Judge of the Supreme Court to: 

1.  Adjudge on the contractual status of the Chief Minister and the Councillors with their employer- the said hypothetical Provincial Council. 

2.  That the Chief Minister and the Councillors are functioning ultra-virus to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

 3.  Rebuke the Chief Minister for the malfunctioning of the Council. 

4.  Set a deadline to pass the remaining statues. 

5.  Adjudge on passing of excessive resolutions that are not compatible to the administration of the Council. 

6.  Pronounce on the justification of engaging in a public demonstration outside the scope of the management of the Provincial Council during working time. 

7.  Find whether the elected members have abused their working time parameters by engaging in activities that are outside the scope of their contractual obligations with the said Council.  

8.  Opinionate whether people electing the Chief Minister and the Councillors fully understood the elected persons duties or was there lack or devoid of debate on the governance of the Council in the election three years ago.
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