http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/31/eroding-governance/ groundviews is an award winning Sri Lankan citizen journalism initiative Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:22:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/31/eroding-governance/#comment-235 kbob Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:21:56 +0000 http://www.groundviews.org/2007/10/31/eroding-governance/#comment-235 The point about the President’s dangerously vast powers over parliamentary finances brings to mind the never-ending question of what would be better for Sri Lanka: a French-style presidential system or a Parliamentary system. The threat of finances being pushed away from the realm of the parliament is minimal if not non-existent in a Parliamentary system. But on the other hand, a developing country like ours needs a powerful leader who is capable of pushing through gridlock and obstacles, and implementing bold reforms. This however leaves plenty of room for the abuse of this power, which is what we see today. So where do we draw the line is the question. The point about the President’s dangerously vast powers over parliamentary finances brings to mind the never-ending question of what would be better for Sri Lanka: a French-style presidential system or a Parliamentary system. The threat of finances being pushed away from the realm of the parliament is minimal if not non-existent in a Parliamentary system. But on the other hand, a developing country like ours needs a powerful leader who is capable of pushing through gridlock and obstacles, and implementing bold reforms. This however leaves plenty of room for the abuse of this power, which is what we see today. So where do we draw the line is the question.

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