Are privileges necessary? President’s committee questions former Sri Lankan Presidents

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has requested former Presidents of Sri Lanka to submit written reports on their privileges and the necessity of these benefits to a three-member committee he appointed to review the entitlements of former Presidents, Ministers, and Members of Parliament.

According to reports, several former Presidents have already submitted their reports to the committee.

Recently, Cabinet approval was granted to review the entitlements, allowances, and privileges of Members of Parliament, Ministers, and former Presidents.

The government has stated that these include salaries, allowances, pensions, official residences, vehicles, staff, office equipment, and security personnel.

Providing these entitlements imposes a significant annual expense on the government, funded by public taxes.

The need to reduce this substantial financial burden within the current economic framework has been recognized.

To address this, President Dissanayake appointed a committee to examine the relevant issues and propose logical reductions in unnecessary expenditures and unreasonable entitlements.

The committee is tasked with reviewing existing laws related to privileges and making recommendations.

It is chaired by retired Supreme Court Judge K.T. Chitrasiri, with retired Ministry Secretary D. Dissanayake and retired District Secretary Jayantha Bulumulla are serving as the members.

Minister Vijitha Herath stated that the committee’s report will be presented to the Cabinet, which will then make decisions regarding the privileges.

Under current laws, former Presidents are entitled to a pension, an official residence, three vehicles with fuel allowances, and a salary for a personal secretary.

However, it has been reported that in recent years, many additional privileges have been extended to former Presidents, including the government covering utility bills such as water and electricity.

The committee will also investigate the number of security personnel and vehicles allocated to each former President, which are assigned by the Ministry of Public Security or other ministries. It will further examine additional facilities provided, such as rental buildings for security sections and their monthly costs.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Public Security has already been questioned regarding the entitlements, allowances, and privileges of MPs, Ministers, and former Presidents.

According to Central Bank reports, between 2022 and 2024, a total of Rs. 270 million was spent on maintaining former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Mahinda Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and Hema Premadasa, the widow of President Ranasinghe Premadasa.

The reports show that Rs. 70 million was spent in 2022, increasing to over Rs. 80 million in 2023, and rising further to Rs. 110 million in 2024.

Overall, there has been a 45% increase in funds allocated for their maintenance during this period.