President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed N. R. Anees as the new Chairperson and a member of the Finance Commission.
J. M. C. J. Wijetunga and K. Karunaharan have been appointed as the two other members of the Commission, according to the President’s Media Division.
The letters of appointment were presented to the appointees at the Presidential Secretariat on the afternoon of Monday, July 20. The appointments were made to fill the vacancies created following the expiry of the terms of office of the previous members.
The Finance Commission is a constitutional body established under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. It plays a central role in the country’s system of devolved government, advising the President on the allocation of funds from the annual budget to the Provincial Councils to ensure balanced regional development.
The Commission is responsible for formulating principles to apportion state funds between the central government and the provinces, and among the provinces themselves, taking into account population, per capita income and the need to progressively reduce social and economic disparities.
The fresh appointments come as the government continues to signal its intention to hold long-delayed Provincial Council elections, which would reactivate the provincial administrations that rely on the Commission’s recommendations for their funding.
