Special
Assignment 
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| What
ails Provincial Councils?
The Provincial Council system was thrust upon Sri Lanka as a result of the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord, which called for the devolution of power to the provinces, including the North and the East, as a solution to the ethnic problem. Proponents of the system justified it on the basis that devolution of power would make governance efficient as people would be able to find solutions to their problems within the province and they would not have to look to Colombo for everything. But 16 years after enacting the provincial council system, have the people benefited by the system or the whole exercise was a white elephant with the Central Government still playing a larger role in many a provincial affair. The system is today reeked of corruption, mismanagement and lack of efficiency and focus, bureaucratic red tape and uncertainty over who is responsible for what -- a dispute between the central government and the provincial councils with regard to devolved or undevolved powers. The common cry of the people is that provincial councils should be revamped and redefined so that the benefits expected of the system could reach the people while ensuring efficient governance at provincial level. If such reforms are not undertaken, only politicians will benefit from the system, enjoying luxury perks and privileges while the whole exercise will be a drain on public resources. As things stand today, the provincial council system appears to be a lost cause with many people getting reminded of it only once in five years -- when the province gets ready for a provincial council election. The Sunday Times today begins an investigative series on provincial councils with the first article focusing on the PA-controlled Wayamba Provincial Council which administers the Kurunegala and Puttalam districts. People we spoke to during our visit to the province came up with complaints and negative feelings regarding the services rendered by or the relevance of the provincial council. One of the main allegations was that the council had not utilised the funds allocated by the central government for the development of the region. Though the people do not have facts and figures to back up their allegations, opposition UNP politicians do. They claimed a staggering sum of more than Rs. 320 million had been spent to construct the Wayamba Provincial Council building whereas only Rs. 500,000 had been allocated for each of the 54 provincial council members to develop his electorate or serve his people. This means a total or Rs. 27 million had been spent last year toward this end. The UNPers alleged the ruling PA administration had slashed the development fund and allocated more money for the construction of the provincial council building. The construction of the building has stirred a controversy with the UNP alleging that the money had been misappropriated. A provincial council committee is now investigating the UNP charges. However, Chief Minister Athula Wijesinghe said if the charges were proved, he could not be held responsible because the allocation of funds took place during the tenure of his predecessor, S. B. Navinna. Besides the allegations of misappropriation of funds, the council is also blamed for mismanagement and lack of foresight. People we spoke to said they hoped the new administration after the coming elections should rectify the mistakes and transform the council into a meaningful administrative body. Referring to the increase in the number of PC members in the next administration, the Wayamba people said what was necessary was not an increase in the number of members who would gobble up millions of rupees in perks and privileges but a proper refurbishment of the system. Agriculture being the main livelihood of many people in the province, a project was launched by the ruling PA to reconstruct 90 lakes to provide water to paddy fields. But the Rs. 450 million project was stopped when adverse weather conditions intervened but it was never resumed when the weather improved. The council now claimed that all the money allocated for the project had been spent. Thousands of farmers in the province have been affected by the abrupt suspension of the project with lakes and irrigation tanks being silted with mud and sand that were piled up by earth-moving backhoes during the initial phase of the project. "We are finding it difficult to get water from lakes for our paddy fields and for our use. We depend on lake water. After all, the problem was created by the Provincial Council. They should not have started the project during the rainy season," a Kurunegala farmer complained. (See separate story). Unemployment is another problem that the province is grappled with. The highest number of registered unemployed graduates that is-- about 8,000 -- is reported from the province's two districts. Besides, there are more than 25,000 O/L and A/L passed youths without jobs. By way of a solution, little action has been taken with neither the private sector nor the state sector unable to offer jobs to these youths. Already over-staffing in some of the institutions coming under the provincial council has proved to be an additional burden on the council budget. Ruben Silva, a UNP council member, said recruitment to the provincial level state service had been highly politicised with merit and qualifications of the recruits counting little. On the subject of education, too, the Wayamba council lacked a proper policy, the opposition UNP said. UNP councillor L.M. Ayub Khan said that while there was a surplus of teachers in the Kurunegala district, the Puttalam district was hit by a shortage of Sinhala and Tamil medium teachers. The tug-o'-war between the Central Government and the provincial council -- a common feature that has handicapped the system -- is another factor that has contributed towards the dismal performance of the provincial councils. The situation becomes worse if the central government is from the one party and the provincial government is the rival party. In this clash of political rivals, it is the people who suffer. In Kottukachchiya in the Puttalam district, more than 2500 families and patients coming to the government hospital have been suffering without a proper bridge for a long time. The existing bridge is in dilapidated condition and it may collapse at any time. (see separate story). Repeated complaints by hospital authorities and residents saw both the central government and the provincial council holding the other responsible for repairs. As a result of this tug-o'-war, nothing has happened. Moreover, the powers and functions of the Wayamba Provincial Council have been restricted by the establishment of the North-West Regional Development Ministry and the Wayamba Economic Commission. Chief Minister Wijesinghe said he felt that the two institutions were an obstacle to the smooth functioning of the provincial council as their duties had not been properly defined. Besides agriculture, the council is also responsible for improving the other economic sectors such as animal husbandry, fisheries industry and co-operative affairs. But opposition members allege that the present administration had no proper plan to improve these sectors. One opposition member said that subsidies given to fishermen did not reach them but went to wrong hands. He said that co-operatives, which were once profit-making concerns, were now indebted to banks, while elections to the co-operative were postponed time and again. The health sector also painted a sick picture. Provincial health authorities said the hospitals were hit by a shortage of medicines and the lack of basic facilities such as ambulances. A spokesman for the Anamaduwa Government Hospital said that the hospital did not receive what it wanted on time and patients were asked to buy syringes and bandages. He said the hospital's two ambulances needed urgent repairs and they were more often in breakdown condition than running condition. He also said the hospital's Rs. 800,000 worth generator was also not functioning. Though the Wayamba Provincial Council stands accused of not performing upto expectations, its chief minister says it had made significant progress in improving education and health. Mr. Wijesinghe said that Wayamba Provincial Council was the only provincial council in the country to introduce a statute on pre-school education and offered scholarships to children of war heroes. To improve health in the province, hospitals in Chilaw, Nikaweratiya and Puttalam have been improved, Mr. Wijesinghe said. Whether the present administration has done its job can be seen in the results of the upcoming elections, but the general feeling among the people is that the provincial council system should be strengthened and streamlined to serve the people. We
have made progress, says chief minister
Mr. Wijesinghe who took over from Mr. Nawinna in 2002 told The Sunday Times that he believed that the council had made some progress during his tenure but the Wayamba Regional Development Ministry and the Wayamba Economic Commission appointed by the government had not done little to develop the province. Excerpts from an interview: Q:
What can you say about the achievements of the PC during your tenure? Q:
President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who is also your party leader,
had herself dismissed the Wayamba elections as unfair. How do you
comment on the Wayamba Elections of 1999? Q:
There has been some corruption charges against your administration.
What is your comment? Q:
Do you think the Wayamba Regional Development Ministry and the Wayamba
Economic Commission are interfering with the functions of the Provincial
Council? The
broken bridge over troubled politics
The staff of the hospital said the hospital, which catered to more than 2,500 families in the area, almost faced a closure, because medicine and equipment could not be transported to the hospital. Even health officials did not visit the hospital, because they did not want to take a risk, the hospital staff said adding that no patient could be brought to the hospital in a vehicle. The hospital's ambulance takes a longer cut -- an additional 16 kilometres -- whenever it transports patients to and from the hospital, though it was unsafe at night due to dangers posed by roaming wild elephants. A hospital employee said the Provincial Council started repair work on the bridge, but a Central Government minister intervened and said that the government had allocated money to do the repairs. The employee said the minister had probably acted in this manner because he thought a snap general election was in the offing. He said subsequent inquiries had shown that the government had not made any decision to repair the bridge. Violent
ghost of Wayamba poll While they condemn impersonation, violence and intimidation, they express hope that the coming elections will be held in a free and fair manner. Admitting and condemning mass-scale rigging and other malpractices were prevalent at the last provincial council election, Wayamba Chief Minister Athula Wijesinghe said the PA was committed to a free and fair poll. People whom we spoke to said they were terrorised by outsiders who were instrumental in rigging the last provincial polls. They urged all political parties to shun violence and malpractices and allow the election results to reflect the true will of the people. |
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