By
Disna Mudalige
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the SLFP and the UNP to form a National Unity Government will be amended shortly to include more clauses, SLFP acting General Secretary Duminda Dissanayake told the Daily News yesterday.
He said the revised MoU would be announced when it is endorsed by the two parties. “The existing clauses will remain same. We have proposed some more additions to it to further enhance the cooperation between the two parties. The document will be signed soon after a final agreement is reached,” he observed.
He added that discussions were ongoing between the UNP and the SLFP to come to a final agreement on the allocation of ministries.
“The new Cabinet of Ministers would be sworn in soon after these discussions. Our priority is to discuss how well the two parties can get on with each other, and how both parties can work towards a national agenda. The connection between the two parties must be consolidated,” he added.
Asked whether a round of talks between the UNP and the SLFP over assigning of ministries failed yesterday, Dissanayake said: “No discussion had failed. The discussions are still progressing”.
According to a highly placed UNP source the section pertaining to the time-frame of the national government is likely to be amended.
“Presently, the MoU states that the two parties will work together for a period of two years. However, there are discussions that the time-frame will be amended, allowing parties to pull out of the national government, at any time. This amendment is still a suggestion,” he said.
Commenting on the national government initiative, the MP-elect said there was no issue on the part of the UNP. “On our side, matters have been finalised. It is up to the SLFP to make a final decision on the national government,” he added. Meanwhile, UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim told the Daily News that there would be minor amendments without any change in the basic framework.
“At the moment the agreement is still on. However, if the SLFP does not support the initiative, we will form a government on our own. We will find the absolute majority in Parliament,” Hashim said.
However, several SLFP stalwarts yesterday expressed pessimistic views on forming a National Unity Government.
SLFP MPs-elect Mahinda Amaraweera, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena and Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena told the Daily News yesterday that several issues, which have been cropped up in the discussions on a national unity government, were still remaining unsettled.
Amaraweera said the SLFP was most likely to sit in the Opposition if the ongoing rounds of discussions between the SLFP and the UNP fail to reach a compromise. He said there was disagreement on the number of ministers of the national unity government.
“The proposal of the UNP was to increase the number of Cabinet Ministers upto 50. However, we are against increasing the number of Cabinet Ministers over 40. The ministries should be distributed in a fair and reasonable manner. The SLFP cannot receive the left over.
The identity of our party must be protected. The discussions over assigning the ministries held between the UNP and SLFP representatives Anura Yapa, Nimal Siripala and Susil Premajayantha were not successful.
Courtesy:Daily News