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Govt. must immediately implement COPE recommendations: Sunil
View(s):By Chandani Kirinde
COPE Chairman JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti said the Government must take immediate steps to implement COPE’s recommendations contained in the Report he presented to Parliament on Friday after a thorough investigation into the controversial Central Bank bond issue. “In my recommendations, I have specifically said that COPE will engage in a post-supervisory role to ensure that action is taken against those who have acted in violation of the law, as well as to ensure there is no recurrence of similar issues,” Mr Handunnetti told the Sunday Times.
He said the CB must ensure that new checks and balances are put in place, failing which, Parliament should directly intervene, as it is Constitutionally entrusted with control of public finances. Mr Handunnetti who presented the 55-page Report along with annexures running into nearly 2,000 pages, as well as verbatim records of COPE proceedings which lasted nearly 18 months, said that, even though one report was presented to the House, there is a clear division within the ranks of COPE on how they interpret the findings on the TB issue.
“The footnotes added by the UNP members are a clear move to dilute and distort the contents of the main Report. It is like trying to hide a tree inside a jungle, and this is something that cannot be done, however hard you try,” he said. Meanwhile, Joint Opposition (JO) members want a two-day debate on the COPE Report, before the Budget is presented to Parliament on November 10.
“We are waiting for Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to return from an overseas trip, to request him to summon Parliament before November 10, so that, this Report can be debated,” said UPFA MP Dinesh Gunawardena. Parliament is next scheduled to meet on November 10, when Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayaka will present the Budget. Thereafter, debate on the Appropriation Bill will continue till December 10, following which, Parliament will be adjourned till January next year.
“We are hopeful the Speaker will agree to two extra sitting days before Budget Day, for a debate on the COPE Report,” Mr.Gunawardena said.