Expert committee on MCC deal present final report to PM

The expert committee appointed to review the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement handed over its final report to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa today (24).

The report was handed over to the PM by the chairman of the committee Professor Lalithasiri Gunarunwan at Temple Trees this evening.

The report is expected to be handed over to the President tomorrow (25) while the Prime Minister will also table the final report at the next Cabinet meeting.

The committee was appointed with effect from January 01, based on a cabinet decision taken on December 18 last year, to conduct a comprehensive study on the agreement and make necessary recommendations to the government.

The government had decided to suspend the implementation of the previous government’s decision on signing the agreement until the committee reaches its conclusions.

The committee is chaired by Professor Lalithasiri Gunarunwan and comprises former Secretary of Transport Ministry D. S. Jayaweera, President’s Counsel Nihal Jayawardena and Civil Activist Nalaka Jayaweera.

The four-member committee had handed over its preliminary report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in February. Prime Minister Rajapaksa had tabled the interim report of the committee to the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Cabinet of Ministers had decided not to sign the Millennium Challenge Cooperation (MCC) in its present form based on the recommendations of the committee.

The committee of experts, in its interim report, concluded that the MCC agreement contains clauses that are not in agreement with the Constitution of Sri Lanka and are detrimental to the sovereignty of the country.

The government said it decided not to sign the agreement taking into consideration several facts concerning the MCC deal such as its obscure manner, inclusion of clauses that are against the country’s Constitution and are detrimental to its sovereignty, inclusion of clauses that can adversely affect national security and national, economic, social and cultural affairs and concerns that sprung up regarding the island nation’s sovereignty, independence and national security.