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NJC tells President not to devolve power to provinces; go for decentralisation
View(s):The National Joint Committee (NJC) has written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recommending that power “should be decentralised and not devolved from the centre to the periphery.”
Writing to the President regarding the constitutional reforms the President’s National People’s Power (NPP) proposes to introduce, the NJC notes that the NPP’s manifesto says that the proposed constitutional reform will guarantee equality and democracy and the devolution of political and administrative power to every local government, district, and province so that all the people can be involved in governance within one country.
The English meanings of decentralisation and devolution of power seem very similar when looked at superficially. However, the important fact that needs to be realised when it comes to the political and administrative power of a country is that decentralisation amounts to the transfer of that power from the central government to the periphery, be it a local government, a province, or a district, while devolution is, on the other hand, the removal of central government power and handing that power over to a local government, a district, or a province, elaborates the NJC’s letter, signed by its Co-President, Lt Col Anil Amarasekera (Rtd.).
“Therefore, decentralised power, if misused by a local government, a district, or a province, could be recalled by the central government, while devolved power cannot be recalled by the central government if misused by a local government, a district, or a province.”
The letter notes that the NPP manifesto also says that its initiative will build on the constitutional reform process started in 2015, which remains incomplete. The proposed draft Constitution of 2015 had intentions to federate a unitary state by using the word united instead of unitary in the proposed draft, the NJC charges.
“The NJC is of the view that the unity and the territorial integrity of the nation that was protected and preserved for posterity by the security forces through the shedding of blood, sweat, tears, and toil and some personnel even sacrificing their very life and limb should not be compromised through the proposed new Constitution if it has any intention to federate a unitary nation because federation is the first stepping stone for the division of our nation,” the organisation says.
It requests the President to “refrain from encouraging the separatists to win through the ballot what they failed to win through the bullet.”
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