News
|
||||
How
valid is CPS bill without Speaker's certification? Bills passed by Parliament does not become law unless certified by the Speaker but in this instance a circular giving effect to the Bill was issued on the presumption the Speaker would endorse it. The general belief in government institutions, which put the circular into effect, is that the Speaker could not sign the bill as Parliament was dissolved on February 15 this year. Parliament sources told The Sunday Times the bill was not certified by the former Speaker due to a number of problems that had arisen but failed to give details. When The Sunday Times spoke to Mr. Perera, he was unable to recall the nature of the bill. He said as far as he could remember, he had signed all the bills that were passed during his tenure as Speaker. The CPS bill was introduced in Parliament as an amendment to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) Act No. 15 of 1958 in 2002 and it was presented by the Finance and Labour ministers and not by the Ministry of Public Administration. The circular was issued by the Management Services Department of the Treasury and itself is a subject of controversy. Issued in May 5 last year it gives retrospective effect to appointments made on or after January 1 2003. According to the circular government servants, who joined the service on or after January 1 2003 would contribute 8 percent of their salary, while the state institution would contribute 12 percent bringing the total contribution to 20 percent and the Treasury, the Central Bank and the Pensions Department are maintaining the CPS from January 2003. When The Sunday Times asked if these institutions have the authority to put into effect the CPS bill without the Speaker's certification, the sources said they were acting in accordance with the circular issued by the Treasury. The Sunday Times learns the Central Bank has received deposits made to this scheme. The Sunday Times asked a spokesperson of the Central Bank EPF section what the situation would be in case the bill is found to be inconsistent. "We hope the bill would be presented in Parliament again and be approved. If not we will credit the contributions to the Widows and Orphans Pensions Fund and release the government servants from contributing their share of 4 percent contribution to the WOPF for a period", he said. Under the new scheme, a government servant would not contribute to the WOPF as they already contribute towards this. When The Sunday Times asked a Treasury spokesperson regarding the legal nature of the circular, he said the bill was going to be presented in Parliament again to be debated and approved. He said that until then the circular would continue to be operative. However, JVP sources said there was no probability of getting the bill approved, as many government MPs including the JVP were not in favour of the bill. When The Sunday Times spoke to Pensions Director K.A. Tilakaratna, he also agreed the scheme lacks legal validity. "We are having discussions with the Attorney General's Department, over this issue. The only hindrance is that this circular has no legal basis, because it does not have the signature of the Speaker. Otherwise it's OK", Mr. Tilakaratna said. He said the present pension scheme is a big burden on the government's expenditure out of which 11 percent is meant for pensions. |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
