The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, at this Committee Stage for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, I wish to present one specific matter. As you know, people bear significant costs for services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and large sums of public funds are allocated as well. This Ministry operates worldwide, and like any large ministry, it has also faced corruption and waste.

¶ 02 I table a fax message titled “Private Visit of H.E. the President to Wolverhampton and London, U.K. 22-23 September, 2023,” referring to former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private visit after attending the High-Level Segment of the 78th UNGA in New York. It was addressed to H.E. the High Commissioner/London from the Chief of Protocol (for Secretary/Foreign Affairs) on 16 August. It requests:

¶ 03 - Reserve two rooms at the Hotel Hilton, Birmingham. - Make a lunch reservation on 22 September 2023 at the Hilton, Birmingham. - Reserve accommodation at Hotel Landmark, London.

¶ 04 Under this “Private Visit,” a 10-member delegation is listed, including Ranil Wickremesinghe, the First Lady, Senarath Dissanayake, Sandra Perera, medical and security staff, including an advance team. All related costs and rooms are detailed as of 16 August.

¶ 05 On 17 August 2023, the London High Commission urgently requested allocation for £39,345 for this visit, marked “Most Urgent” and “Strictly Confidential,” and an additional £1,680 (£840 x 2) for accommodation of the Chief of Protocol and a Protocol Officer in London—still marked as a “Private Visit.”

¶ 06 On 30 August, an email from Chief of Protocol Senarath Dissanayake again referenced “Private Visit of H.E. the President.” Ticket schedules show arrival 21 September and departure 23 September.

¶ 07 On 7 September 2023, a revised budget was sent: adding 20% VAT for the VIP Suite on arrival and departure, total £40,445, and £1,680 for the protocol officers.

¶ 08 Thus, for a private visit, approximately £40,000 was spent. In rupees, Rs. 16 million was released on 12 September 2023, plus Rs. 270,572.83. Later, an Internal Memo from the Secretary’s Bureau (Chief Accountant - Procurement) changed “Private Visit” to “Official Programme,” stating:

¶ 09 “Official Programme, United Kingdom. This is to inform you that the following official of the Presidential Secretariat has travelled to the United Kingdom from 21-24 September 2023 as a member of H.E. the President’s delegation: Ms. Sandra Perera, Private Secretary to the President.”

¶ 10 It appears the private visit was re-labelled “official” to justify claims. Bills also include £2,000 for a butler for two days. We ask: how did the Foreign Affairs Ministry incur public expenses for a private visit of the then President and spouse? This appears criminal misuse of public funds. We request an investigation and appropriate action against responsible officials.

¶ 11 Thank you.