Radical transformation of system of governance imperative: Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan

A radical transformation of the system of governance to ensure people’s participatory approach is imperative, Opposition Leader R Sampanthan said. Sampanthan used the Parliamentary debate on disaster situation yesterday to draw the attention of the House to the need of giving more responsibilities and powers to the provincial authorities to efficiently handle disaster management related activities. He said greater interaction between people and government institutions must be established.

“Under the system we now have, everything is controlled by the Centre. All governmental powers are exercised by Colombo. This leads to corruption as it lacks transparency. Greater interaction with people in the area not only reduce corruption but also leads to more efficiency and minimise delays,” he said. “Our governance has barely changed since the independence. We see the country is stagnating while other countries are advancing. Our system does not represent the democratic wishes of the people. We need to restructure our system of State and governance,” he said. The Opposition Leader thanked the swift relief measures sent by other countries and observed that those aids portray the international goodwill towards Sri Lanka.