- Rahman questions how NPP will justify inclusion of armed forces chiefs
- President’s learning period is over, Govt should clarify: Rasamanickam
The main Parliamentary Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK), have raised concerns over the exclusion of minority community representatives from the newly formed ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ Presidential Task Force (PTF).
They have also questioned the inclusion of the commanders of the armed forces in the same.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently appointed an 18-member PTF to plan and implement the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme.
Speaking to The Daily Morning, Opposition SJB Parliamentarian Mujibur Rahman said that the Government should have appointed Tamil and Muslim community representatives to the said PTF to achieve its intended objectives. He also questioned the effectiveness of the PTF in addressing the needs of Tamil-speaking communities without adequate representation from these groups. “I don’t know how they are going to get the views of the minority communities. How are they going to work in relation to Tamil-speaking areas without having Tamil-speaking people involved? What I feel is that they (the Government) have got it wrong at the starting point itself.”
He also commented on the inclusion of armed forces commanders in the said PTF saying: “When former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was appointing tri-forces commanders in these types of committees and PTFs, the NPP opposed it. I can remember they always spoke against it. Now they are doing the same. I do not know how they are going to justify it.”
Speaking on the same, ITAK MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said that the Government should be mindful of ethnic representation in its decisions such as the Clean Sri Lanka PTF. “It is true, we are all Sri Lankans, but that cannot be an excuse to ignore ethnic representation in these matters. The reality is that there are different ethnicities in this country, and that needs to be recognised.”
He also pointed to the absence of Muslim representation in the Cabinet of Ministers as another instance of neglect. “For example, there were no Muslims in the Cabinet. When we raised this concern, the answer given was, ‘We are all Sri Lankans’. That response is not acceptable,” he added, urging the Government to clarify these decisions. “The President’s learning period should be over by now. If someone says, ‘We are a new Government’, there can be no such excuses anymore. I hope the Government will issue a clarification on this matter.”
Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was not available for comment.
The ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ initiative was first introduced by President Dissanayake in his inaugural address to Parliament.
The members of the PTF and its objectives were officially announced in Extraordinary Gazette Number 2415/59 on 19 December 2024. The PTF is led by Secretary to the President Dr. N.S. Kumanayake, and includes the commanders of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with other key members such as Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasooriya, Urban Development Authority Chairperson Eng. Kumudu Lal De Silva, I.S. Jayaratna, Gihan De Silva, Sandya Salgado, Dr. Gamini Batuwitage, Dr. Anuruddha Gamage, Dilruk Wanasinghe, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Sisira Amarabandu, Krishantha Cooray, Jayathu Perera, Ruwan Weerasooriya, and Dayan Karunarathna. Senior Additional Secretary to the President G.M.R.D. Aponsu is the Convener/Secretary of the PTF.
Its responsibilities include planning, guiding, implementing, reviewing progress, and completing the ‘Clean Sri Lanka’ programme within a set time frame. The goal is to improve society by promoting social, environmental, and ethical awareness, and creating a structure to implement the programme from the national level down to rural areas.
23 Dec 2024 | BY Buddhika Samaraweera /The Morning