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Independent commissions to be reconstituted with new members
View(s):All independent commissions–except the Judicial Service Commission–will be reconstituted with the passing of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution on Friday, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said.
The Commissions are the Election Commission; the Public Service Commission; the National Police Commission; the Audit Service Commission; the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka; the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption; the Finance Commission; the Delimitation Commission; and the National Procurement Commission. All of these, other than the Election Commission, are responsible and answerable to Parliament.
New members will be inducted into the independent commissions after the Constitutional Council is set up. The present members will continue to function until the CC approves the new appointments, he said. If the CC is set up in two weeks, as anticipated, new members to independent commissions could be in place within a month.
The CC as envisaged by the 21st Amendment will consist of the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, one Member of Parliament appointed by the President and two Members of Parliament nominated by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
It will also have a professional nominated by the Sri Lanka Organisation of Professional Association; a person nominated by the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce; a professor of a State University nominated by the University Grants Commission; and one Member of Parliament nominated by agreement of the majority of MPs belonging to political parties or independent groups, other than the respective political parties or independent groups to which the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition belong.
Meanwhile, the Justice Ministry is drafting regulations to govern the proceedings of the Constitutional Council and the independent commissions, the Minister said. These will be presented to Parliament for approval after which the Speaker will gazette them. A set of policies to be followed by all the commissions is also envisaged. Each independent commission will be expected to produce progress reports every six months.
Mr Rajapakshe claimed that the Government was not satisfied with the conduct of most incumbent independent commission members and that it hoped “suitable people” would be appointed to them soon. Some criticisms levelled against the conduct of independent commissions in the past were justified, he said.
The minister added that action must be taken to prevent the commissions from being overstaffed with retired officers and becoming “homes for retirees.”
“The commissioners must be both independent and efficient,” he said. “Any commissioner who does not perform his or her duty can be removed through Parliament on justifiable grounds.”
The Government hoped to present a proposal to Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena next week calling for the setting up of a new Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to formulate a common policy governing the conduct of parliamentary, provincial council and local council elections. The PSC should submit its report to Parliament within three weeks, the minister said.
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