Due to the non-functioning of provincial councils, the Finance Commission was instructed by the Sectoral Oversight Committee on An Open and Responsible Government to use the money given to the provincial councils in a transparent manner.

These instructions were given during the committee meeting held in Parliament recently under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament – Jagath Kumara Sumitraarachchi.

The chairman of the committee emphasized that provincial councils should be built in such a way that they can work independently. Therefore, the Finance Commission has a responsibility to identify and present the obstacles to their development, the chairman said.

Rs. 16.6bn. allocated to PCs for children’s nutritional needs

The officials of the Finance Commission said that the financial allocation for the Provincial Councils has been increased during the non-functioning period of the Provincial Councils.

Giving further information, the officials mentioned that arrangements have been made to allocate 16.6 billion rupees for the nutritional needs of children in the allocation of money for the provincial councils for the year 2024.

Accordingly, the chairman instructed the committee to inform the committee about how much money has been allocated for the provincial councils and at the same time what progress the provincial councils have made.

Speaking before the officers of the Police Commission, the chairman pointed out that it is essential for the police to continue working as a people-friendly institution.

Police should be kept separate from politicians

The chairman’s attention was drawn to the severe shortage of human resources faced by the Police Commission officers in carrying out their duties.

Accordingly, the chairman instructed the officers to prepare a report on the current progress of the Police Commission and to include the challenges and problems in the report and hand it over to the committee.

Members of Parliament – W.D.J. Seneviratne, Chaminda Wijesiri, Mohammad Muzammil, Rohana Bandara, Gunathilaka Rajapaksa and a group of government officials were present in this meeting.