The Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna

¶ 01 Madam Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak briefly.

¶ 02 Both Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake have reduced expenditures under the President’s Head, saving public funds. While saving is important, what is more important is that the President, his staff, the Secretariat, and the President’s Fund continue to deliver services. If services stop, mere savings are pointless. Therefore, spending some funds to expand essential services is justified.

¶ 03 On Presidential residences: a President cannot function by changing clothes in a regular hotel; a reasonable number of official residences are necessary, without abuse. Not every district or division needs one, but a limited number is reasonable, with strong self-discipline to avoid luxury. Dreams of keeping a dedicated presidential plane like “Air Force One” are wrong and a sign of delusion. Reasonable facilities are acceptable; luxury is not.

¶ 04 For former Presidents, I believe they should not be provided official residences at public expense if they already have housing or earn income by renting out properties. If a former President or child genuinely lacks a house, the State can consider assistance. However, appropriate security for former Presidents is necessary, and security reductions should be based on proper risk assessments, not publicity. One-size-fits-all cuts without assessment are wrong.

¶ 05 Regarding the vehicle exhibition at Galle Face by the Presidential Secretariat: many vehicles were displayed and then disappeared. We now see those vehicles parked at MPs’ official residences, and videos exist. The Prime Minister says no vehicles were officially issued to MPs; if not officially, then unofficially? What happened to those vehicles? The Government says vehicle permits are cancelled and that 225 MPs will not be given State vehicles, yet many have vehicles. This must be honestly clarified and acted upon by those in charge, not pushed back on the Opposition to investigate.

¶ 06 On Ministers’ official residences: if Ministers choose not to use them, fine, but then those valuable properties should not be locked up and allowed to deteriorate. Implement a policy – tourism use, allocations to public officials, or proper maintenance – rather than letting them decay. Conversely, many MPs live in official residences at Madiwela; that is acceptable if transparent and needed. I personally do not need an official residence as I own a private house in Colombo. But some MPs do need them, and that is fine; do not turn this into a populist stunt.

¶ 07 On vehicle permits: demonizing permits was populism. Properly structured permits can benefit the State more than direct vehicle grants. Avoid populist decisions; focus on serving the people effectively. Thank you.