Daily News Editorial

The Speaker's words of wisdom

24th October 2015

It is not difficult to guess that Parliamentary proceedings are a fairly expensive affair, given that all facilities have to be provided to the 225 Members. But until now, there was no estimated amount for the cost of a single day's sitting. Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, addressing the MPs last week, revealed just how much the taxpayers (that is, the ordinary public) are paying for our MPs to deliberate on matters of national importance for a single day. According to the Speaker, a sum of Rs.4.6 million is spent on a single day's sitting. The Speaker made this revelation following an incident where sittings had to be suspended, after MP Bandula Gunawardena used a wrong name to address Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake. The Speaker's contention was that Parliament could not afford to waste valuable time and money on such matters.

This figure of Rs.4.6 million is obviously centred on the expenses incurred on the Chamber itself (such as air-conditioning, lighting, water usage and attendance allowances and possibly Hansard reportage and interpretation), but it is not clear whether it includes meals and other miscellaneous expenses. This clearly does not include the costs for MPs' salaries, Parliamentary staff salaries, security details, vehicles, telephone usage, housing allowances etc. If we include at least some of these factors, a day's sitting could cost well over Rs.5 million and since there are eight sittings per month (except in the November-December budget period when there are continuous sittings including on Saturdays), the monthly expense for sitting days alone is around Rs.40 million, by no means a small sum. The expenses for Parliament as a whole are much more because the Parliamentary staff members work on all other weekdays as well.

But here's the catch: even if only five Members are present in the Chamber, there are expenses that one cannot avoid, such as air-conditioning and electricity bills. It is therefore a terrible waste of public funds if Members do not turn out in their numbers at least for important debates. In fact, the Speaker had noted the poor attendance record of many MPs and exhorted them to attend Parliament regularly. Granted, it is humanely impossible to sit through eight hours of sittings every day, but the Members must make a concerted effort to participate in, and contribute to, at least the more important debates and of course, to the Parliamentary Select Committees where the bulk of the work happens behind the scenes. They should generally clear their diaries on sitting days and set aside other (non-sitting) days for public engagement, opening ceremonies etc.

But just sitting through debates is not enough - they must speak on behalf of their constituents in the House. In the last Parliament, there were at least 25 Members who had never spoken in the House even on one occasion. This should not be the case in this Parliament. Moreover, the senior Members should set an example to the novice and younger Members by attending sittings regularly.

This is another reason why Parliamentary proceedings must be broadcast 'live' on national television (and radio) on a regular basis. That will enable the public to know exactly who is contributing to debates and who is either silent or absent altogether. The public will also see as to who is misbehaving in the August Assembly. Discipline is a very important factor in Parliamentary proceedings but there have been many disturbing incidents recently which have shaken our collective faith in the legislature to some extent.

Just a couple of days ago, former minister and senior MP Dinesh Gunawardena ran away with the Mace, a serious breach of Parliamentary traditions and discipline for which there is no excuse. Again, the senior Members must exercise more caution and restraint even in heated moments because the younger Members usually look up to them as role models. Another senior Member and former minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara gained notoriety a few months ago when he uttered a series of expletives in the House much to the horror of other Members including women MPs and schoolchildren in the Public Gallery. It is time to put a full stop to such incidents in the future, before public confidence in the Parliamentary system is eroded completely and irreversibly.

Parliament is the very epitome of democracy. Since all 15 million voters cannot conceivably meet in one forum to discuss matters of national importance, elections are held to select 225 representatives from the nine provinces who can voice our concerns and aspirations in a democratic structure called the Parliament. However, if they do not take their task seriously and shirk their responsibilities towards the voters, they should in turn reject such MPs at the next election and pave the way for those who will actually stand by the voters. If MPs behave more responsibly, there will hopefully be a ripple effect as well whereby members of other elected bodies such as provincial councils also get the message. That will be a victory for all citizens who value democracy and good governance.