News
UPFA councillors continue to defy party
UPFA members of local councils who voted to defeat their budget have come out strongly to defend their action as the crisis in the councils deepened and the members ignored warnings from the party hierarchy not to defeat the budgets. The latest council budget to be defeated was the Imbulpe Pradeshiya Sabhawa on Thursday (19 December), a day after the members were warned of impending disciplinary action and expulsion from the party.
Pradeshiya Sabha (PS) members defended their actions saying that they voted against the budget because the Chairman was abusing his powers and should be removed. Under regulations if a council chairman’s budget is tossed out twice the chairman has to be replaced.
The chairmen of several PS have been removed from their positions following the defeat of their budgets. At Rajanganaya, Deputy Chairman W.A. Jayaweera has now become Acting Chairman. He and many other UPFA councillors were called for a meeting this week with the heads of the SLFP.
“We were questioned regarding the failure of the budget. It is true that we were given instructions not to vote against the PS budget but if the Chairman is not fit to work in the PS it is our responsibility to vote against him,” Mr. Jayaweera said. Party bosses have decided to hold inquiries into the incidents and find the real motives behind the failure of the budgets.
“They will take action according to the inquiry but we will go ahead with PS work. We should also remember that we are using the public’s money and that we should do them honest service,” the Acting Chairman added. At Alawwa PS, where the budget was also voted down, Deputy Chairman P.M.P.B. Bandara – who was one of those who cast a No vote – is now Acting Chairman.
Mr Bandara justified his actions saying that he was merely doing the party a favour. “The Chairman was not suitable to rule the PS. He was having a dictatorship here. All eight UPFA members knew this and voted against the budget onPP both occasions,” he said.
Only the three UNP members voted for the budget, backing the UPFA chairman. Mr. Bandara said that no councillors had been called in by the party for a discussion on the vote.
“We don’t mind an inquiry because none of the councillors worked against the party. The villagers know this and are with us. They know that the chairman was abusing his powers,” he said adding that the councillors would stand by their actions even if the party took steps to cancel their party membership.
At a meeting of heads of the SLFP including the President was held at the Temple Trees on Wednesday (December 18) decisions were made to cancel the membership of any councillor who voted against the budget and that a councillor who cast a No vote on a budget be prevented from succeeding to the chairman’s post.
On Friday (December 20) – the day after the Temple Trees meeting – the Ududumbara PS budget was passed in the second round on Friday (December 20). It had been defeated by one vote on December 9 but at its second hearing all councillors voted in favour of it.
Deputy Chairman Kithsiri Bandara Vijekoon said councillors had voted the budget down the first time because they had concerns about it. These concerns had been rectified, he said, so all members had voted in favour of it the second time around.
Culture and Arts Affairs Minister T. B. Ekanayake who is also a member of the Central Committee (the executive body of the party) said that this was the first time PS budgets had been defeated on a large scale. The minister said the party had also taken steps to make an amendment to the act so that a PS would remain a functioning unit even if its budget was defeated.
“Our party gives importance to the village. It is important that we have strong councils because it is the chief institute of every village and we can’t let the PS act to make an issue within its administration,” he said adding that the decisions were made in order to avoid the incidents from recurring in the following years.
Mr Ekanayake also said there were certain occasions where a chairman had used his powers without listening to fellow councillors. “There were some instances where the budget got only one vote. This shows that the Chairman was unpopular in the PS,” the minister said.
In some instances, he said, the deputy chairman had obtained the help of councillors to defeat the budget and secure the chairman’s position. “The chief organiser has also played a part in the defeat. The inquiry will look into every aspect before action is taken against a councilor,” he said.