Only after Parliament’s approval :Mangala

By Kelum Bandara   

Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday assured that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement would only take effect after Parliament ratifies it and that it would be presented to the House after the presidential election.  

 He told Daily Mirror the Cabinet endorsed the agreement last week and it would take effect once Parliament approved only.   

When asked when it would be presented to the House, he said there was no time limit to do so and most probably it would be after the presidential election.   

“That is the usual practise,” he said.   The government has sought to sign this agreement with the MCC to qualify for the US$480 million grant to modernise the transport sector and land administration.  However, there is a lot of criticism on the clauses involving land administration in particular. 

When asked when it would be presented to the House, he said there was no  time limit to do so and most probably it would be after the  presidential election