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Govt: Why should ex-Presidents be maintained at the expense of impoverished public?

By Saman Indrajith
Health and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told Parliament yesterday that the government spent a colossal amount of public money on maintaining the official residences for former Presidents, particularly the one occupied by Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family.
Dr. Jayatissa criticised the Rajapaksas for continuing to live at the expense of the public.
The Minister said that Mahinda Rajapaksa resided in a state-owned house at Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7. The property encompassed one acre and 13.8 perches, with a land value of Rs. 3,128.4 million and a building value of Rs. 229 million, amounting to a total valuation of Rs. 3,357.4 million. The imputed monthly rental was Rs. 4.6 million, he said.
Dr. Jayatissa said the government had spent Rs. 38.3 million on maintaining the property in 2024 alone. Additional expenses included Rs. 15.09 million for installing an escalator, Rs. 4.89 million for a generator, and Rs. 946,000 for renovations.
“Why should the people of this country, who are struggling to buy food, schoolbooks, and shoes for their children, bear the cost of maintaining a mansion for Mahinda Rajapaksa and his family?” Dr. Jayatissa asked. “He has three grown-up children—a Member of Parliament, a retired Navy officer, and a rocket scientist. Are they incapable of taking care of their parents? Why must public funds be used to sustain their lifestyle?”
The Minister highlighted that the property had not been a luxury mansion during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency but it had been developed significantly with public money. Formerly the residence of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, the house had been expanded by annexing surrounding lands, with Rs. 43.04 million spent on upgrades to transform it into its current state.
Dr. Jayatissa contrasted Mahinda Rajapaksa’s actions with those of other leaders. He praised President Ranil Wickremesinghe and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for declining similar offers, returning their government-provided residences. He also noted that incumbent President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had pledged not to accept such privileges after his term, setting an example of frugality.
The Minister’s speech included criticism of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s supporters in Parliament, who had defended his right to the luxury bungalow. “How do you justify the enormous burden placed on the public to maintain this house while millions struggle to make ends meet?” he asked.
Dr. Jayatissa also provided details of the values of bungalows allotted to former presidents and their widows.
A bungalow was allocated to Gotabaya Rajapaksa at Stanmore Crescent, Colombo 05. The land extended over one acre and four perches, with a land value of Rs. 2,542 million and a building value of Rs. 56.5 million. The total valuation by government valuers was Rs. 2,598.5 million. The monthly rental was assessed at Rs. 1.275 million. Gotabaya Rajapaksa has since handed over the house to the government.
A house was allocated to Ranil Wickremesinghe at Paget Road, Colombo 05. The land extended over one acre and 28.7 perches, with a land value of Rs. 3,019.2 million and a house value of Rs. 113 million. The total valuation was Rs. 3,132.2 million, with a monthly rental assessed at Rs. 2.9 million. Wickremesinghe declined the offer and returned to his own home after retirement.
Hema Premadasa, the widow of former President Ranasinghe Premadasa, had been occupying a bungalow at Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07. The land extended over one rood and 10.9 perches, valued at Rs. 890.8 million, while the house was valued at Rs. 42.8 million. The total valuation of the premises was Rs. 933.6 million, with a monthly rental assessed at Rs. 1.1 million. She handed over the house in 2023.
Maithripala Sirisena has been provided with a bungalow at Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07. The land spans one rood and 15.1 perches, valued at Rs. 964.3 million, while the building is valued at Rs. 41.2 million. The total valuation of the premises is Rs. 1,005.5 million, with a monthly rental assessed at Rs. 900,000. Sirisena continues to occupy the premises.
Details of the bungalow allocated to Chandrika Kumaratunga are not yet available, as the assessment process had to be postponed as she was away from the country. She has stated that she will allow her properties to be valued upon her return. Dr. Jayatissa said that these figures would be presented to Parliament in due course.
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Sri Lankan among hundreds of foreigners freed from Myanmar’s scam centres

More than 250 people from 20 nationalities including a Sri Lankan who had been working in telecom fraud centres in Myanmar’s Karen State have been released by an ethnic armed group and brought to Thailand.
The workers, more than half of whom were from African or Asian nations, were received by the Thai army, and are being assessed to find out if they were victims of human trafficking.
Last week Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met Chinese leader Xi Jinping and promised to shut down the scam centres which have proliferated along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Her government has stopped access to power and fuel from the Thai side of the border, and toughened up banking and visa rules to try to prevent scam operators from using Thailand as a transit country for moving workers and cash.
Some opposition MPs in Thailand have been pushing for this kind of action for the past two years.
Foreign workers are typically lured to these scam centres by offers of good salaries, or in some cases tricked into thinking they will be doing different work in Thailand, not Myanmar.
The scammers look for workers with skills in the languages of those who are targeted for cyber-fraud, usually English and Chinese.
They are pressed into conducting online criminal activity, ranging from love scams known as “pig butchering” and crypto fraud, to money laundering and illegal gambling.
Some are willing to do the work, but others are forced to stay, with release only possible if their families pay large ransoms. Some of those who have escaped have described being tortured.
The released foreign workers were handed over by the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, DKBA, one of several armed factions which control territory inside Karen State.
These armed groups have been accused of allowing the scam compounds to operate under their protection, and of tolerating the widespread abuse of trafficking victims who are forced to work in the compounds.
The Myanmar government has been unable to extend its control over much of Karen State since independence in 1948.

On Tuesday, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation, which is similar to the US FBI, requested arrest warrants for three commanders of another armed group known as the Karen National Army.
The warrants included Saw Chit Thu, the Karen warlord who struck a deal in 2017 with a Chinese company to build Shwe Kokko, a new city believed to be largely funded by scams.
The BBC visited Shwe Kokko at the invitation of Yatai, the company which built the city.
Yatai says there are no more scams in Shwe Kokko. It has put up huge billboards all over town proclaiming, in Chinese, Burmese and English, that forced labour is not allowed, and that “online businesses” should leave.
But we were told by local people that the scam business was still running, and interviewed a worker who had been employed in one.

Like the DKBA, Saw Chit Thu broke away from the main Karen insurgent group, the KNU, in 1994, and allied himself to the Myanmar military.
Under pressure from Thailand and China, both Saw Chit Thu and the DKBA have said they are expelling the scam businesses from their territories.
The DKBA commander contacted a Thai member of parliament on Tuesday to arrange the handover of the 260 workers.
They included 221 men and 39 women, from Ethiopia, Kenya, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, China, Indonesia, Taiwan, Nepal, Uganda, Laos, Burundi, Brazil, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Tanzania, Sir Lanka, India, Ghana and Cambodia.
[BBC]
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Sri Lanka and UAE sign agreement to Strengthen Economic and Investment Relations

Coinciding with the President’s three-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to attend the World Governments Summit 2025, Sri Lanka and the UAE reached an agreement on Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments to strengthen economic and investment relations between the two countries.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed Bin Hadi Al Hussaini, UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs, and Vijitha Herath, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.
This bilateral agreement establishes a secure legal framework to expand investment opportunities in global markets while ensuring the protection of foreign investments.
The purpose of this agreement is to facilitate and strengthen foreign investments between the two nations by ensuring investor rights protection, promoting economic cooperation, and establishing comprehensive investment protection mechanisms, dispute resolution frameworks, and policy structures. This agreement will also contribute to strengthening global economic partnerships and creating opportunities for exploring new investment prospects in Sri Lanka.
This agreement underscores the importance of bilateral economic development and financial stability while demonstrating the commitment of both the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka to strengthening economic cooperation. It aims to foster trade and business expansion in Sri Lanka while promoting a transparent and stable investment environment.
Furthermore, this agreement also highlights Sri Lanka’s commitment to enhancing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and fostering a more attractive investment landscape. By enhancing investor confidence, it is expected to generate new business opportunities and contribute to economic progress as well as reinforce the long-term partnership between the UAE and Sri Lanka, facilitating sustainable investments and advancing trade and financial collaborations between the two countries.
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