New Ministry of Development Coordination gets wide powers
The newly-created Ministry of Development Coordination and Supervision has been given wide powers in formulating policies and implementing development projects under the National Budget, State Investments and National Development Programme.
It has also been entrusted with the task of formulating policies, programmes and projects of relevant Departments, State Corporations and Statutory Institutions and their implementation, initiating follow-up actions and evaluation.
This was indicated in the gazette extraordinary issued by the President vesting these responsibilities in the new Minister Namal Rajapaksa who also holds the ministerial portfolio of Youth Affairs and Sports.
The Department of Project Management and Monitoring coming under the purview of the Finance Ministry has been brought under the control of the new Minister, for the first time, to handle a separate division with 57 officials headed by a Director General of the Treasury.
Necessary administrative regulations had to be introduced and amendments should be made to the existing system to manage the functions of this department, a former Treasury Secretary told the Business Times.
The new Ministry is empowered to issue directives to the District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries and Heads of all other institutions, including all officers at divisional level in speedily carrying out the instructions and executing directives given by the President on settling problems of villagers.
It has to expedite the execution of projects under implementation by the state institutions within the Budgetary Framework 2021 – 2023 and the implementation of the locally and foreign-funded projects within the scheduled timeframe, the gazette notification stipulated.
The other key functions are gathering and analysing information of foreign and local financing development projects and programmes and review and report the performance of large and mega scale projects and programmes to the Cabinet of Ministers.
The new Ministry will facilitate development partners to review the status of project and programmes and verify the results achieved of selected foreign financing development projects and certify their status enabling lending agencies to disburse loan tranches.
It has to facilitate the implementation of the National Evaluation Policy and undertake project assessments and evaluations on demand and providing feedback to the planning process and cash flow process of the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry has to make recommendations on financial requirements of the regional development programmes based on their implementation status.
Most of these functions were earlier under the purview of the Minister of Finance and State Minister of Finance with overall responsibility of the Treasury Secretary as the Chief accounting officer.