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SLPP faces budget defeats in several local councils; growing dissent at grassroots level
The 2021 budget has been defeated in several Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna-controlled local councils, underscoring a growing political crisis at grassroots level.
The Ampara Urban Council’s Budget vote ended up in a tie with six members voting for it and six against on December 4 during the first reading. But during the second reading, the council’s chairman, Jaminda Sugath who represents the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), made some amendments and declared that the budget had been duly passed, without going for a vote, despite the opposition’s demand that a vote be taken.
The SLPP’s biggest local council budget defeat came from the Haldummulla Pradeshiya Sabha where only three members of the 20-member council, voted in favor of the budget. Opposing the budget four SLPP members voted with the Opposition.
The SLPP also faced a budget defeat at the Alawwa Pradeshiya Sabha which it controls. Four votes were cast for the budget and seven against during a secret ballot on December 10.
Deputy Chairman Banadra Weththewa, who voted against the budget, said the budget was defeated because the PS members had not been allocated money for development work for the past two and a half years. “We could not face our taxpayers. Therefore, we defeated the budget,” he said.
Chairman M.M. Sandhya Kumara Muhamdiramge accused the SLPP parliamentarians of undertaking development work in the area bypassing the PS members.
The council’s opposition leader said one or two United National Party members voted for the budget.
In the SLPP controlled Bope-Poddala Pradeshiya Sabha, six SLPP members voted against the first reading of the 2021 budget.
The Balangoda Pradeshiya Sabha’s 2021 budget was defeated during the first and second readings. Despite the defeat, the chairman went on to declare that the budget had been duly passed, creating a tense situation.
Dealing another blow to the SLPP was the budget defeat in the Harispattuwa Pradeshiya Sabha which it controls. Twenty-one members voted against the budget and 14 for it. Joining the UNP, the SLFP and the JVP members, six SLPP members voted against the budget.
In the SLPP-controlled Udapalatha Pradeshiya Sabha, council meetings were disrupted after the budget was defeated on December 8.
The SLPP-controlled Jaela PS and Padiyathalawa PS also saw their budgets being defeated.
The budgets of some UNP-Samagi Jana Balawegaya controlled councils were also defeated. They include the Mahiyanganaya PS, the Gangawata Korale PS and the Chilaw Urban Council.
On December 3, Jaffna Mayor Emmanuel Arnold presented the Tamil National Alliance-dominated municipal council’s budget, only to be defeated by five votes.
Commenting on the trend, National People’s Power (NPP) frontliner Vijitha Herath said the budget defeats for the SLPP in several of the councils it controls showed that dissent was growing at the grassroots level. There was growing dissatisfaction among local council politicians over the Government’s policy, especially with regard to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said that when a budget was defeated in a local council, a new chairman would be appointed, unlike in Parliament where a budget defeat led to a general election.
Several attempts were made to contact Local Government Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon and SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara for their comments. But they were not available.