Ranil rips into Govt. response to weather crisis

• Cites recent SC judgement which established that official negligence during disasters amounts to Constitutional tort, breach of public trust

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told party leaders that the Government’s handling of the recent disaster exposed systemic failures, including the non-implementation of the Disaster Management Act and the abandonment of the National Disaster Management Plan 2023–2030, despite multiple workshops held this year to familiarise State institutions with its provisions. 

Addressing political party leaders and representatives, he said the decision to declare 28 November a holiday had effectively immobilised the Departments, Divisions, and officers assigned responsibilities under the Plan, further weakening the State’s response at a critical moment.

He accused the Government of politicising the distribution of relief by bypassing Parliament, the Cabinet, and the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), while simultaneously establishing a parallel disaster relief fund without legal basis. 

Wickremesinghe said there was no strategy to confront the scale of the disaster and no plans for rehabilitation and repair, adding that urgent action was also required to address the sale of contaminated meat, fish and eggs reported in affected areas.

Wickremesinghe proposed that Parliament appoint an Oversight Committee on Disaster Management and Reconstruction chaired by an experienced MP, with equal representation from Government and Opposition members. 

He argued that the Constitution places responsibility for normalisation and reconstruction with Parliament, the Cabinet and the DMC, and that a Parliamentary oversight mechanism should be empowered to supervise Government activities and report directly to the legislature. 

He also called for an economic unit under the committees to assess short- and long-term economic impacts.

He further proposed the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee, led by an Opposition MP and comprising an equal number from both sides, to report on the causes and lapses in disaster management linked to the 28 November events, with its findings due within six months. 

District Secretaries, he said, should be placed in charge of district-level relief and reconstruction efforts and required to report to the DMC, with political cadre removed from operational roles.

Wickremesinghe said the Budget was irrelevant at this stage and that a Vote on Account would suffice until a new Budget is brought in January 2026, when the full extent of the damage becomes clear. 

He warned that foreign aid for reconstruction is unlikely in the short and medium term, given economic pressures in the UK and EU and the diversion of additional Western funding to the Ukraine war. The US, he noted, has already refused assistance. 

He said countries affected by the same weather pattern—Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Sri Lanka—should work together and engage the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) on securing long-term concessionary financing. India’s support should be sought for railway reconstruction.

He called for the reactivation of climate-change policy with a focus on landslides and said the recent Supreme Court judgment established that official negligence during disasters amounts to a constitutional tort and a breach of public trust, creating avenues for affected persons to seek remedies. 

He estimated that economic losses and reconstruction costs would require raising Government revenue above 15% of GDP over the medium term, while sustaining high growth of at least 7% annually, noting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program’s anticipated reduction of the primary surplus.

Wickremesinghe urged the President to convene religious and political leaders, along with prominent figures from key sectors, to provide guidance on rebuilding infrastructure and stabilising the social system. 

He said the four Mahanayakes should chair the initial meeting and that Karu Jayasuriya should serve as one convenor, with the Government appointing the other. He stressed that Articles 9 and 10 of the Constitution must be upheld and that individuals acceptable to the Mahanayakes should be appointed to key Buddhasasana positions. 

He added that State functions at major temples should observe traditional dress norms and that similar appointments should be made for Hindu affairs in consultation with leading Hindu dignitaries.

Wickremesinghe said the country was experiencing a violation of the Constitution, alleging that State power during the disaster was exercised not from the President’s Office or the Prime Minister’s Office but from the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) politburo in Pelawatte. He claimed the President had operated out of the Defence Ministry instead of his office. 

He said party leaders must now decide on removing decision-making authority from Pelawatte and returning it to Parliament.