Can provincial councils be fixed?

Provincial councils have long been dismissed by the public as white elephants that gulp down resources and provide little in return, a sentiment that has been underscored by corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement for decades. Therefore, it is essential that provincial administrations are held responsible for the funds they are given by the Government and cleaned up to provide services to their citizenry. 

No matter the colour of the Government in power, bribes are in play at the nearest pradeshiya sabha, district secretariat and provincial council. Anyone who has tried to get any form of administrative approval from these offices would spew a few expletives when describing their ordeal. The situation has become calcified to the extent that instead of attracting their own investment and becoming competitive stakeholders of the economy, the provinces have essentially become fiefdoms of corrupt public officials and elected politicians.

The 13th Amendment lists 37 items as subjects devolved to the provinces in what is named as the Provincial Councils List. Seen as foremost among these are police and public order, education and educational services and land, because each of these subjects is further described in an Appendix devoted to each. Agriculture and agrarian services, health, irrigation and social services and rehabilitation are the other significant subjects delegated to the provinces.

The central government is still responsible for the formulation of national policy and monitoring and evaluation of such devolved subjects. Further, the centre is responsible for administration in the case where inter-provincial waterways and other inter-provincial matters that concern the devolved subjects. 

However, to date the central government has either maintained or expanded its bureaucratic arm in regard to the devolved subjects, with education and transport being prime examples. Water supply and drainage is an example of a highly local issue having its own ministry at the centre with the National Water Supply and Drainage Services Board as the only agency under the Ministry’s jurisdiction.  

Yahapalana promises apply beyond the central government and its dealings with the citizens to how the centre deals with provinces, how the provinces deal with local government and how local government deals with the people. In an ideal world, an ordinary citizen should be able to resolve most issues through his or her local council and should have no need to contact the relevant Member of Parliament unless a relative is stranded in a foreign country or other international or inter-Provincial issue. 

Yet, the deeply flawed system of provincial councils continues to be a burden. Politicians have fought back against budget cuts by appealing directly to President Maithripala Sirisena while the Finance Ministry has attempted to roll back allocations by pointing out that funds are left unused. Given the tight fiscal consolidation path the Government claims to be on, streamlining the functions of provincial councils would not only increase budgetary efficiency, it would also encourage investment to move to the provinces; not to mention making many citizens happy that administration is done competently. 

The Government is often preoccupied with resolving problems at the centre and often forgets the crucial powers held by municipal councils and provincial councils to impact the daily lives of the public. Sometimes political battles are won and lost in the backyard.