Chief Minister of Northern Province C. V. Wigneswaran has urged the government to reduce the powers granted to the Governor and instead strengthen the power of the Provincial Council.

Wigneswaran

“There are various administrative units in the province, I request the Prime Minister to abolish some of these units and instead vest the power entirely with the Provincial Council, as it is this unit that comprises of representatives of the public,” he said while addressing an event at the Jaffna District Secretariat on Saturday which was held under the patronage of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Chief Minister pointed out that at the moment the Northern Province is governed by three units; the Governor, the District Secretariat and the Provincial Council. “The first two are representatives of the President and they work in accordance to the Central Government, therefore there will always be contradictions and issues,” Wigneswaran said.

He called on the Government to strengthen the role of the Provincial Council by giving the Provincial Council to oversee all matters in relation to the province with a limited role given to both the Governor and the District Secretariat. “The Governor must not get involved in the administrative process. In India the Governor plays a very limited role, this should apply here. Both the role of the Governor and the District Secretariat must be limited and the powers vested to the Provincial Council should instead be strengthened,” Wigneswaran added.