From system change to system failure

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution enacted by Parliament in October 2020, barely two months after the current Government obtained an overwhelming mandate for ‘system change,’ was meant to be a panacea for all that was wrong with constitutional governance in Sri Lanka. It rolled back at least 20 years of constitutional reform, enacted since the passing of the 17th Amendment in 2001, aimed at diluting the severe concentration of political power in a single institution – the Presidency.

Currently, Sri Lanka’s President is arguably the most powerful elected executive in the world. He is the Head of State, Head of Government, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He can appoint any member of the Judiciary, public service, Government institution and retain any cabinet portfolio for himself. According to a judgment of the Court of Appeal in November 2019, if the President does not wish to appoint a cabinet of ministers, he will be the sole custodian and repository of all Executive power.

This concentration of power, allegedly a demand from the electorate that swept the SLPP into office in 2019, was meant to rectify the deficits created by the 19th Amendment. The 19th Amendment, in its attempt to clip the powers of the Executive, empowered the prime minister, Parliament, independent commissions, including the Judiciary and public service, the Constitutional Council, and the Speaker. 

The SLPP spin on the 19th Amendment was that the legislation’s effort to create a stronger system of checks and balances had introduced a multipolarity that had created chaos, indecisiveness and inefficiency in governance. The resulting 20th Amendment was meant to end these shortcomings by delivering an efficient, unambiguous source of authority that was bestowed upon the President. 

What better opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model than the current COVID crisis? This situation calls for decisive leadership with clear direction to all authorities concerned, the pooling of resources, reduction of redundancies and duplication of actions. The 20th Amendment could not have asked for a better baptism of fire to prove its worth. Yet the crisis is proving the opposite to be true about the now god-like powers of the presidency. Rather than the benefits of centralised, decisive leadership, it is exposing the risks of all decisions and authority emanating from a single source or individual. 

Sri Lanka’s healthcare system, which was a legitimate source of pride in a developing country, is now in chaos. For 80 years, Sri Lanka’s health service has carried out successful immunisation drives, eradicating numerous diseases and bringing the country’s inoculation standards on par with developed countries. Today it awaits ‘instructions’ and ‘directions’ to carry out basic tasks. From choosing the correct vaccine, to procuring and rolling them out, the process is determined politically. 

The space for an independent healthcare service to tackle COVID-19 immunisation within the parameters of its own competence has been completely decimated. Politicians seem to determine which geographical areas need vaccine priority, rather than this being an educated, data-based decision by the Health Ministry. 

In recent weeks, the politically-powerful Abhayaramaya temple has become a de facto vaccination centre for influential sections of Colombo society, complete with nurses and staff from the Ministry of Health. Other allegations are swirling about vaccination priority lists by the Mayor of Colombo and the GMOA’s abuse of power to secure vaccines for the families and household staff of Government doctors. The chaos has created mistrust, doubt, fear and deep resentment for the general public. 

The sweeping powers of the 20tht Amendment may have given the President a feeling of omniscience, but the truth is that no political leader or policymaker can be expected to be an expert in every field of governance and administration of a country. If this is the system change wrought by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, enacted with much promise and fanfare less than a year ago, it is failing Sri Lanka’s people.