Parliament more accessible than ever to public, says Speaker

• Says live telecast and opening of committees greeted with great interest by public
• Says many measures taken during past four years to make workings of Parliament more transparent
•  Says parliamentary correspondents play important role when reporting from Legislature

by Chandani Kirinde 

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said yesterday that over the past four years Parliament had grown more accessible to the public than ever before, with live telecasts of proceedings and the media being granted access to important committee sessions.

“From the inception of the Eight Parliament, our objective was to make Parliament more accessible to the public and more transparent in the way it works. We started with two hourly live telecasts of sessions and now the entire day’s proceedings are shown live on TV as well as through our webcast. There is a great deal of interest from the public as to what is going on in Parliament. Even Sri Lankans who live overseas are following these proceedings with a great deal of interest,” he said.

The Speaker made these remarks at the opening of the newly-refurbished media centre in Parliament. The centre, which was previously called the Newspaper Reporters Room, was given a major overhaul under a USAID-funded project with a fully-equipped television and radio studio, audio and video mixing facilities and modern workstations to house up to 70 journalists.

Jayasuriya in his address underscored the important role that parliamentary correspondents play in disseminating information from Parliament to the public.

“The media can build the image of the Legislature or destroy it. I have always stood for media freedom and was keen to improve the facilities for journalists who cover Parliament,” he said. The Speaker said that many new measures had been undertaken by this Parliament to make it more people friendly, such as opening the two important oversight committees - the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) and the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) to the media. Along with this, the Prime Minister’s question time, which is a monthly feature, was also introduced and allows parliamentarians to question the Prime Minister in the House.”

He said that the passing of the Right to Information (RTI) Act by Parliament was another landmark. 

“The enactment of the RTI law was delayed for many years due to various political reasons but it is now in place and is a great boon to the people. The law is being used by people at various levels of society,” he said. The Speaker also said that the opening of the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) that probed the Easter Day attacks was also well-received by the public. 

“Many people followed the proceedings eagerly and there was positive feedback,” he said.

He added that the Standing Orders of Parliament were amended after 25 years by this Parliament so as to make them more relevant to the current times while oversight committees were introduced to make MPs more involved in legislative matters. “Some oversight committees are working very well but others remain inactive. In some countries these are the most important committees and play a vital role in the Legislature,” he stated. Jayasuriya called on the media to highlight the positive steps that have been taken by Parliament as these were not often emphasised. He said that such activities included the Select Committee of Parliament appointed to study and report its recommendations to Parliament to ensure communal and religious harmony in Sri Lanka, which was set up in April.

Pic by Shehan Gunasekara