NGOs extend support to establish proposed Jana Sabha system

Non-Government organisations operating in Sri Lanka this week extended their support to the Government to establish the proposed Jana Sabha system during a meeting held at the National Jana Sabha Secretariat recently. 

The organisations commended the proposed system before extending their support during the meeting organised by the Secretariat to educate them about the system. Around 100 NGOs working in Sri Lanka were in attendance. 

National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organisations Director General Sanjeeva Wimalagunaratne, the Board of Directors of the National Jana Sabha Secretariat including its Director General Palitha Lihiniya Kumara, Secretary Ravindra Hewawitharana also participated in the awareness program. 

The Jana Sabha system, also known as the People’s Council system, was a form of local governance in Sri Lanka introduced under the Local Government Act of 1972 with the aim of decentralising power and involving citizens in decision-making processes at the grassroots level.  In 2022 the Cabinet of ministers approved a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to readopt a people’s council system as a fundamental Government policy.