Sri Lanka to appoint 5 finance, 10 oversight committees to resolve crisis

PM Wickremesinghe also stressed on the need to change the structure of the parliament to strengthen it

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday said that five finance committees and 10 oversight committees will be appointed to resolve the economic and political crisis faced by the country.

Wickremesinghe said new committees will be appointed to supplement the already existing committees on government finance namely: the Public Finance Committee, the Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Enterprises.

Ten oversight committees that report to the parliament on policies will be appointed, and the parliament should act on the recommendations of these committees, the new Sri Lankan PM said in a special statement.

"The youth are calling for a change in the existing system. They also want to know the current issues. Therefore, I propose to appoint four youth representatives to each of these 15 committees," he said.

Wickremesinghe also stressed on the need to change the structure of the parliament to strengthen it.

In the official statement, he called for a 21st amendment to the constitution to make the President and cabinet accountable to parliament.

"We propose a National Council. A committee consisting of the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and the leaders of the major parties is called the National Council. The National Council can talk about the policies of the country as well as about the decisions of the Cabinet," said Sri Lankan PM.

Sri Lanka is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis and political crisis. Large scale protests have been taking place for months, leading to the ouster of former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.