{"id":249096,"date":"2026-09-27T19:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=249096"},"modified":"2026-09-27T19:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T13:38:52","slug":"provincial-councils-are-not-a-burden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/provincial-councils-are-not-a-burden\/","title":{"rendered":"Provincial Councils Are Not A Burden"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Raj Sivanathan<\/a> –<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Raj Sivanathan<\/p><\/div>\n

A national economic argument for implementing the 13th Amendment and holding Provincial Council elections<\/i><\/span><\/strong><\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka should stop treating the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council system only as an ethnic or constitutional dispute. Properly implemented, Provincial Councils can become a practical economic development model for the whole country. They can create accountable regional leadership, encourage competition among the nine provinces, attract investment, and push each province to contribute more seriously to national GDP.<\/p>\n

The issue is not whether Provincial Councils should exist on paper. The real issue is whether Sri Lanka has the honesty and discipline to make them work. Keeping the 13th Amendment in the Constitution while refusing Provincial Council elections is not reform. It is silent abolition.<\/p>\n

A National Economic Question Not Only a Tamil Question<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

For too long, the 13th Amendment has been presented as a Tamil question, an India question, or a security question. That narrow framing has damaged the national discussion. Provincial government is also an economic question. It is about whether people in every province can elect leaders who are directly responsible for local development, public services, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, industry, education, and investment promotion.<\/p>\n

Sri Lankans in the North, East, South, West, Central hills, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, North Central, and North Western provinces all face different local problems and opportunities. A central ministry in Colombo cannot understand every local economy with the same urgency as elected provincial representatives who must answer to the people living there.<\/p>\n

Why Provincial Development Matters<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A country grows faster when its regions are allowed to compete, innovate, and solve local problems. Provincial Councils, if properly reformed and monitored, can make development more practical and measurable. Each province should be expected to publish a growth plan, attract investment, improve public services, increase employment, and report its contribution to national economic progress.<\/p>\n

This is how Sri Lanka can move beyond the old argument that Provincial Councils are a white elephant. A weak system becomes wasteful when it is badly implemented, underfunded, politicised, or denied elections. The answer is not to abolish elected provincial democracy. The answer is to make it accountable, transparent, and economically productive.<\/p>\n

Lessons From India and Tamil Nadu<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

India did not become economically stronger by keeping all power in New Delhi. Its federal structure allowed states to compete, attract industry, build local infrastructure, and develop their own economic strengths within a national constitutional framework. Tamil Nadu is one of India’s strongest economic performers because state-level governance, industrial policy, education, manufacturing, services, and local political accountability have worked together over many decades.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka does not need to copy India blindly. But Sri Lanka should learn the economic lesson. Regional governance can create growth when provinces are given responsibility, resources, and accountability. A country of nine provinces should not behave as if only the centre can think, plan, and develop.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka’s Nine Provinces as Economic Engines<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Every province has its own economic strengths. A serious Provincial Council system should turn those strengths into jobs, investment, exports, tourism, food security, and public revenue. The following examples show why elected provincial leadership matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Province<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Possible growth areas<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Western<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Finance, logistics, services, technology, port-related trade<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Northern<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Agriculture, fisheries, renewable energy, education, ports, diaspora investment<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Eastern<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Tourism, fisheries, agriculture, energy, harbour development<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Southern<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Tourism, ports, agriculture, fisheries<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Central<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Tourism, education, plantations, wellness services<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

North Western<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Manufacturing, agriculture, logistics, fisheries<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

North Central<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Agriculture, irrigation, heritage tourism, food processing<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Uva<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, plantations<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Sabaragamuwa<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Gems, agriculture, rubber, eco-tourism<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The Cost of Delaying Provincial Council Elections<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has gone for years without elected Provincial Councils. In practice, provinces are being administered through Governors and officials rather than elected representatives. That may keep administration running, but it does not provide democratic accountability or competitive economic leadership.<\/p>\n

If elections had been held earlier, each province could have been required to present its own economic development plan, investment targets, job creation targets, and public service improvement targets. Instead, provincial democracy has been frozen while the country continues to face debt pressure, high living costs, and dependence on external support.<\/p>\n

The NPP Government’s Responsibility<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The NPP has historically opposed the 13th Amendment and the Provincial Council system. Now that it is in government, people have the right to expect honesty. If the government accepts the Constitution, it should hold Provincial Council elections and allow the people to choose their provincial representatives. If the government believes the 13th Amendment and Provincial Councils should be abolished, it should say so openly and seek the required constitutional mandate from Parliament and the people.<\/p>\n

What is not acceptable is to keep the system alive legally while denying people the chance to elect provincial leaders. A government cannot delay elections and then use the absence of elected councils as an excuse to weaken the provincial voice. That would be unfair to all Sri Lankans, not only to Tamils.<\/p>\n

Provincial Councils Are Not a White Elephant<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The argument that Provincial Councils are a white elephant is too simple. Any institution can become wasteful when it lacks elections, accountability, performance targets, and proper public scrutiny. Parliament itself can be wasteful. Ministries can be wasteful. State-owned enterprises can be wasteful. The solution is reform, not the removal of democratic structures.<\/p>\n

Provincial Councils should be judged by results. They should be required to show whether they improved schools, hospitals, roads, agriculture, tourism, investment, employment, and public services. If a province fails, the people should be able to vote out those responsible. That is democracy with consequences.<\/p>\n

A Practical Reform Agenda<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka can turn Provincial Councils into economic engines by linking devolution with measurable performance. A serious reform agenda should include the following steps:<\/p>\n

Hold Provincial Council elections without further delay.<\/em><\/p>\n

Require every province to publish a five-year Provincial GDP Growth Plan.<\/em><\/p>\n

Create an annual provincial scorecard covering jobs, investment, exports, tourism, agriculture, education, health, infrastructure, and cost efficiency.<\/em><\/p>\n

Allow provinces to attract local, diaspora, and private investment within national law.<\/em><\/p>\n

Strengthen provincial audit powers and anti-corruption rules.<\/em><\/p>\n

Link central government grants to performance, transparency, and social outcomes.<\/em><\/p>\n

Encourage healthy competition and cooperation among the nine provinces.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Risk of Over Centralisation<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka cannot build lasting prosperity by depending mainly on centralised decision-making and external powers such as China, India, and the United States. International partnerships may be necessary, but they cannot replace local ownership of development. A strong country needs strong regions. It needs people in every province to feel that they can shape their own economic future within one Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

The standard of living is already under pressure. By 2027, if living costs continue rising without broad regional growth, ordinary families will suffer more. The answer is not more slogans from Colombo. The answer is to unlock growth from every province, every district, and every local economy.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The 13th Amendment and Provincial Council system should not be dismissed as a burden or treated only as an ethnic compromise. Properly implemented, they can become part of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery. They can create competition among provinces, produce regional GDP growth, improve accountability, and bring development closer to the people.<\/p>\n

People expect honesty from this government. If the NPP believes in democracy and economic recovery, it should stop delaying Provincial Council elections and allow the nine provinces to prove what they can contribute. Sri Lanka does not need silent abolition. Sri Lanka needs honest reform, elected provincial leadership, and a national development model where all nine provinces rise together.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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