A National Economic Council to override the CCEM; or what?
Friday, 4 August 2017
President Maithripala Sirisena submitted a Cabinet Paper last week seeking approval to appoint a new National Economic Council (NEC) under his purview to take key decisions on all the economic and development projects of the Government. The President is of the view that policy decisions have to be made by him.
According to insiders, NEC will be an “advisory body on economic policy in the country to further strengthen policy coherence in Government”. This new body will sit above the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) which is chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The President had in his proposals in the Cabinet Paper emphasised that the new Economic Council must comprise the President, Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the secretaries to those ministries and selected economic experts only.
The President had informed the Cabinet that he must be consulted before a final decision is taken on any economic issue and development projects before implementation. The decision on the Cabinet Paper had been postponed because the Prime Minister had sought time to further study the Cabinet Paper, however the proposal had got the nod.
A Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) has been functioning under the Prime Minister ever since the Government took office. The Prime Minister’s advisers R. Paskaralingam and Charitha Ratwatte are prominent members of the Economic Council. There’s been criticism from a broad cross section of society that the CCEM has even been usurping powers vested only in the Cabinet of Ministers.
Sri Lanka Freedom Party ministers say that even the President is unaware of certain decisions taken by the CCEM and they want a guarantee from the President that no ad-hoc decisions are taken on issues which are extremely vital to the country’s interests.
The Prime Minister has said many times that the CCEM has been able to fast-track many of the approvals in record time because of this powerful committee, however the committee has sometimes been marred with controversy.
The CCEM is a brainchild of the Prime Minister and has been a key feature in all the UNP governments since the ’90s. The CCEM when resourced well and managed with rigour has been a great decision-making body to attract investment into the country.
National Economic Council
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The Director of the NEC is titled the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of the National Economic Council. The NEC comprises numerous department and agency heads within the administration whose policy jurisdictions affect the nation’s economy. The NEC Director, in conjunction with these officials, coordinates and implements the President’s economic policy objectives.
The Director is supported by a staff of policy specialists in various fields including agriculture, commerce, energy, financial markets, fiscal policy, healthcare and labour. However, the Council proposed by the President is an Advisory body on economic policy to further strengthen policy coherence and harness the existing talent of the country for national development. The Council however to fulfil its mandate would be required to audit the performance of the CCEM and could become a powerful oversight body for economic management.
Government
Whatever the objectives may be, the failure to distinguish between strategy and tactics is an acute deficiency in this Government. Maithripala Sirisena took a grave and patriotic decision when he left the corruption-ridden Rajapaksas and contested the last presidential election. The country, more than he, was rewarded for such a momentous decision. But that is history now. The people have already forgotten about it.A more difficult and challenging road is before him and to his constant dismay, he discovered that running a Coalition Government between the traditional arch-rivals, the UNP and the SLFP, is not as smooth as ascending to power. He must be extraordinarily patient to succeed.
The President and the PM cannot assume power on a ‘partnership’ platform and surround themselves with ‘yes’ men and women and expect to traverse on stormy seas. Of course, the President is the presiding head of the Cabinet of Ministers who are de facto and de jure executives of Government policies. The UNP therefore must recognise this and give him the space fit in and to operate.
Conclusion
The majority of those who voted for President Maithripala at the presidential elections and the UNP at the general elections are palpitating with a tremendous amount of disappointment today for very valid reasons. They cannot be disregarded, for the expectations raised during the campaign were sharper and more cutting in the context of the alleged corruption and nepotism related to the former First Family and their kith and kin. Therefore both need to look forward and work collaboratively to deliver on those promises and to get the country back on track in way the public is somewhat satisfied.(The writer is a thought leader.)
