Sports Minister to review three key areas
Sports Minister Sunil Kumara Gamage told Parliament this week that they are in the process of reviewing the new regulations gazetted by his predecessor, Harin Fernando, in May last year, as well as the decade-old Sports Law and the new Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) constitution proposed by the Chitrasiri Committee.
This statement came after opposition MP Hesha Vithanage moved an adjournment debate on cricket, urging the Sports Minister to take decisive action to clean up the sport ahead of the proposed election of office bearers set for March 31.
SLC administration, headed by Shammi Silva, is expected elect unopposed at the March 31 election.
Vithanage also pointed out that, although the proposed election is to be held under the new regulations, these regulations are yet to be approved by Parliament—a legal requirement under the Sports Act No.25 of 1973.
Section 41, Subsection 3, mandates that every regulation made by the minister must be presented before Parliament for approval as soon as possible after its publication in the gazette. This means parliamentary approval is essential since Parliament, having approved the Sports Act No.25 of 1973, ultimately holds the final authority.
“We are in the process of studying these regulations, which is why they have not yet been presented to Parliament for approval,” said the Minister, speaking in Parliament.
“We should be able to enlighten this House on what action we will take regarding these regulations, as well as what we intend to do with the Sports Law and the recommendations of the Chitrasiri Committee, which has proposed a new constitution.”
Fernando, the former Sports Minister who signed off on the new regulations, presented them in Parliament on September 3, 2024, but ran short of time to get them approved due to the dissolution of Parliament. Typically, regulations are tabled in Parliament, and once the session begins, the gazette is published in all three languages and distributed to all members of Parliament. This process has been followed since 1973, with regulations consistently being published and gazetted before being submitted for approval.
The Minister stated that he had met with several veteran cricketers to discuss the recommendations of the Chitrasiri Committee and promised to address each of these issues at the earliest. A committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge K.T. Chitrasiri drafted a constitution for SLC to restructure the cricket administration, which has long been criticised for its lack of transparency and accountability.
“Sports is a game. But we are not here to play games, and we will not let anyone play games with sports,” he added.