Reform The Proposed 20a To Strengthen; Not Weaken, Transparent And Public Oversight

By abolishing the audit commission and exempting the President and Prime Minister’s offices from audit, the 20A will permit daylight robbery of public funds Now Chinese port authorities are trying to pressure local farmers to sell their land to make way for a Chinese industrial zone in Hambantota

- Shreen Saroor

Following parliamentary elections, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wasted no time in obtaining cabinet approval and thereafter gazetting the proposed 20th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. Many commentators have noted how the 20A as proposed will diminish parliamentary powers, erode judicial independence, and weaken independent commissions. But it is also critical for ordinary people—especially those who voted for the current government—to know that the proposed 20A will usher in an era of unchecked corruption shackling future generations. The President and the Prime Minister urge us that repeal of the 19A is necessary for economic development. What they don’t tell us is that the proposed reforms reduce transparency and oversight, at the expense of economic development. We can and must demand more from our elected leaders.