Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agrees to amend the draft Development (Special Provisions) Bill – considering proposals made by Southern, Western, Eastern and Uva Provincial chief ministers’ at a meeting on Friday.
The proposed bill attempts to establish development offices and appoint officials in order to centralize development policies.
Malik Samarawickrama, the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade said that the bill aims to help expedite the Foreign Direct Investment process without administrative delays. He further states, “This is to ensure that foreign investors can confidently invest in Sri Lanka without being worried about any delays on securing permits and reports from the relevant line ministries.”
Appointed ministers would be given broad powers under the bill. Further, the draft bill stated that cases cannot be filed against officials appointed to such agencies if it is deemed that they are working in goodwill.
At Friday’s meeting the Prime Minister assured that the central government would actively involve Provincial Councils in the process of program development.
Chief Minister of the Western Province said that provincial councils led by the SLFP would not support the Development (Special Provisions) Bill. While the Uva Provincial Council and Northen Provincial Council rejected the proposal. C.V.K. Sivagnanam, Chairman of the Northern Provincial Council said the Bill violates the constitution.
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