Emergency regulations must go!

Six months after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake imposed a state of emergency following the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the Government does not seem to be in the mood to allow the regulations to lapse. On Tuesday, Parliament once again extended the state of emergency, with Government MPs voting overwhelmingly in its favour.

President Dissanayake gazetted the Emergency Regulations on 28 November 2025 and appointed a SLAS officer as the Commissioner-General of Essential Services under the Emergency Regulations. While there was a need for the deployment of troops in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone to assist in rescue and relief work, no such situation exists anymore.

The emergency regulations currently in place are far-reaching. They allow the requisitioning of premises and vehicles belonging to private individuals and grant special powers to members of the police and armed forces, including powers to search for and arrest persons for offences listed under the regulations. The spreading of rumours and making of false statements are also deemed punishable offences. Given that it has been more than six months since the cyclone struck the country, and with the Government itself now claiming it has the situation under control, there is no justification for continuing with the emergency regulations.

If there is any emergency now, it is the fact that the Government has, by and large, failed to deliver the necessary relief to those affected by the cyclone.

Take the case of the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was launched with much fanfare and with some of the biggest corporate names in the country showcased as the faces of the initiative. Has the Fund in any way been used to assist those affected by the cyclone? Evidently not.

Recently, officials of the National Audit Office appeared before the Committee on Public Finance and, when queried about the status of the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, disclosed that the funds received had not been utilised and that monies donated by various donors and organisations remained in a special account maintained by the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury.

They informed the Committee that no statutory fund currently exists under the name “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” and that the programme operates through an account maintained under the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury. Cabinet approval to establish the Fund was granted last December, with the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund intended to operate as a statutory fund under the Presidential Secretariat. However, the NAO official stated that although a Cabinet decision had been taken to establish the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund as a statutory fund, it had not yet been done.

According to Deputy Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando, the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund had received Rs. 9,583 million as of 24 April 2026. Yet this money remains in the Fund, or at least the public is led to believe so, while it has done nothing to assist those in urgent need of funds to rebuild homes and restore their lives.

Many in Government have assured the public that those affected are receiving the necessary assistance, but the reality on the ground is very different. Most people who were promised new land outside high-risk areas have yet to receive it. There are also many who have not received the necessary funds to rebuild their homes and get back on their feet after the destruction, including returning to occupations that were disrupted by the cyclone.

Amid all this, the Government continues to extend the state of emergency, which makes little sense. There are already enough repressive laws at its disposal, such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), the Online Safety Act, and others, which it has shown no reluctance to use. Regulations under the Public Security Ordinance risk becoming yet another repressive tool if they continue any longer.