Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament yesterday that there would be a purge of government officials who derail and sabotage ongoing Government programs.
Responding to a question raised by UPFA MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, the Premier said some officials who had been put in various places by the previous Government are now sabotaging the Government’s progressive projects.
“We have already identified some of such officials,” the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister said, “There was a time the Government was under the Treasury and the Central Bank Governor. There was a time Secretaries never appeared before the Committees of Parliament and they had such powers. The incumbent Government has changed that culture. We have brought Central Bank and the Treasury under the purview of Parliament.
The Premier said at present both the chairman of COPE and the Parliamentary Budget Committee are from the Opposition. In addition, more than half of the Executive Committees of the Sectoral Oversight Committees are headed by Opposition MPs. During the tenure of former Government, any such posts was given to the Opposition. We empowered Parliament and given powers to all MPs in the process of decision making,” he said.
“There was a time the Treasury Secretary and the Central Bank Governor took all the decisions disregarding Parliament. We are now paying for their sins. Still, there are such officials and steps will be taken to remove them soon,” he said