Proposals to restore political and economic stability were handed over to the Chief Prelates of the Malwatte and Asgiri Chapters by representatives of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC), as well as the YMBA.
Issuing a statement, the BASL said the proposals were handed over to the Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thero of the Malwatte Chapter and the Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Mahanayake Thero of the Asgiriya Chapter yesterday.
The BASL said Saliya Pieris PC President of the BASL, Vish Govindasamy Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, as well as Anura Meddegoda PC, Deputy President BASL, Duminda Hulangamuwa Vice-Chairman – CCC, Suresh Shah Former Chairman -CCC, Isuru Balapatabendi, Secretary BASL, and Rajindh Perera Treasurer BASL, Prasantha Abeykoon and Danuka Samarasinghe from the Board of Management of the Colombo YMBA, were present.
The proposals included the repeal of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the abolition of the executive Presidency, the formation of a government of national unity with a Prime Minister able to create a consensus among the political parties, a 15 member cabinet of ministers, a 15 member advisory council and the adoption of a Common Minimum Programme is among the 13 point proposals.
Last week, the BASL was invited by the Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Vish Govindasamy, to present the Proposals to representatives of the Joint Chambers of Commerce, the Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA), the Sri Lanka Medical Association, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.
The BASL and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce have over the past several months separately expressed their strong concern about the dire state of the economy, the need for immediate action, and the consequences of failing to do so. In the light of apparent apathy to these concerns, the BASL and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce commenced a dialogue to explore the role professionals and the business community could play in ensuring, at first, economic stability and subsequently political stability in the country
The BASL said the Proposals drafted by a Sub-Committee of the Executive Committee of the BASL were unanimously approved at a Special Meeting of the Bar Council on the 22nd of April, 2022 where the Bar Council also decided to bring the Proposals to the immediate attention of the political leaders and religious leaders of the country and to discuss the Proposals with the Chambers and other Professional Organisations.
The objective of the Proposals is to create a stable Government with the ability to implement reforms domestically and the ability/credibility to negotiate with the IMF, other multilateral agencies, and friendly countries to help Sri Lanka get out of the economic crisis by creating political, economic and social stability; creating an environment to address the fundamental problems that have led to the current crisis and imperil future reforms; restructuring Sri Lanka’s external debt; d) obtaining bridging finance to ensure the uninterrupted supply of essential goods; creating an environment to combat corruption and ensure accountability by strengthening independent institutions. (NewsWire)
