News

Long-standing Parliament fuel scam exposed

Published

7 months ago

2025/10/21

… but Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairperson of Committees still receive double allowances

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, Deputy Speaker Dr. Rizvie Salih, who is also Chairman of Committees, and Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, continue to receive fuel allowances as MPs, in addition to 900 litres of fuel, on par with members of the Cabinet and deputy ministers, sources familiar with the arrangement told The Island.

The Speaker holds Cabinet rank while the Deputy Speaker and Deputy Chairperson of the Committees are on par with Deputy Ministers.

Earlier, all NPP Ministers, including Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, and Deputy Ministers, had received 900 litres of fuel, as well as fuel allowances, granted depending on the distance between districts they were elected from, and Parliament, sources said. Those elected from Jaffna electoral district were paid the highest amount on the basis of distance from Jaffna to Colombo, sources said.

National List members had been paid under a different scheme as they didn’t represent any district. The NPP parliamentary group consists of 159 members. The NPP in the run up to the last presidential election promised to restrict the number of Cabinet Ministers to 25 and equal number of Deputy Ministers. At present there are 22 Cabinet Ministers, including President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and PM Dr. Amarasuriya.

Sources said that when the issue of Ministers and Deputy Ministers receiving two fuel allowances had been raised, NPPers started gradually giving up MPs’ fuel allowances. As at 20 October, on requests made by Ministers and Deputy Ministers, payments have been stopped.

However, the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Deputy Chairperson of Committees haven’t so far asked for the termination of MPs fuel allowance.

Further queries revealed that Ministers, State Ministers and Deputy Ministers had received double fuel allowances since the ’90s. During slain Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle’s tenure as Minister of Plan Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs, from 1997 to 1999, a Cabinet decision had been taken to that effect. On the basis of that decision, the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry had issued a circular that paved the way for double payments, contrary to the norms members of the House are expected to uphold. Successive governments and Opposition remained tight-lipped about this arrangement for obvious reasons.

Sources pointed out that when one receives an appointment as Minister, or a Deputy, automatically his MPs salary is stopped. Therefore, the fuel allowance received as an MP, too, should have been stopped but the circular ensured that they continued to receive both at the taxpayers’ expense.

This despicable practice hadn’t been stopped even during the economic crisis that erupted in 2020, sources said, disclosing at that time that Ministers, State Ministers and Deputies received as much as 1,500 litres of fuel monthly. After Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed Presidency, in July 2022, he reduced that allocation to 1,200 litres and the incumbent government further brought it down. That move had been in line with the IMF thinking in the wake of the economic collapse but President Wickremesinghe refrained from halting double fuel allowance to his Ministers.

President Dissanayake did away with the practice of appointing State Ministers.

Sources said that Ministers, Deputies, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of Committee now received 900 litres of fuel while the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Chairperson of Committees also obtained the MPs allocation as well.

All political parties maintained that arrangement and the Parliament administration followed until the lid was blown off recently, thanks to the Right to Information query, sources said. But that RTI query only dealt with the NPP, sources pointed out.

President Dissanayake would have to intervene to stop double fuel allowances to anyone, regardless of position they hold, sources said.

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President meets senior officials of the Urban Development Authority

Published

59 mins ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

A discussion between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and senior officials of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) was held this afternoon (18) at the Presidential Secretariat.

The meeting focused extensively on new development projects planned by the Urban Development Authority. The President emphasised the need to ensure that the budgetary allocations made for these projects in the current year are utilised effectively within the same financial year.

Detailed discussions were also held on projects planned to be implemented jointly by multiple institutions, including the importance of holding consultations with all relevant agencies to reach final decisions and the need to clearly define responsibilities for each institution in both implementation and maintenance phases of the projects.

Attention was drawn to key initiatives such as the Kelani River flood control project, water management projects in Colombo city and the Beira Lake restoration project. The need for a dedicated programme for low-income housing in areas such as Ratmalana and Moratuwa was also highlighted. During the discussion, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake underscored the importance of introducing a structured management framework for the effective coordination of certain projects.

Deputy Minister of Urban Development, Eranga Gunasekara, Secretary to the Ministry of Transport, Highways and Urban Development, Senior Professor Kapila C.K. Perera, Chairman of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), M.G. Hemachandra and the Heads representing the Urban Settlement Development Authority (USDA), Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLDC), National Physical Planning Department (NPPD) and the Condominium Management Authority (CMA) were also present at the meeting.

(PMD)

News

CEAT Kelani Branch Inter-Company Employees’ Union makes donation to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

1 hour ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

The Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the Kelaniya Branch of CEAT Sri Lanka has made a financial donation of Rs. 1,148,000.00, a day’s salary of its members to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund established to support the restoration of livelihoods and the rebuilding of areas affected by cyclone Ditwah.

Secretary of the Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the CEAT Kelani Branch, D.G.S.D. Navaratne, handed over the donation to the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabhath Chandrakeerthi at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (18).

Treasurer of the Inter-Company Employees’ Union of the CEAT Kelani Branch, Y.P.I.C. Karunathilaka, together with members of the Executive Committee, were also present on the occasion.

(PMD)

Latest News

Prime Minister off to the United Kingdom to participate in the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum

Published

3 hours ago

2026/05/18

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya departed on an official visit to the United Kingdom to participate in the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) 2026 Board of Governors Meeting.

During the visit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to participate in several high-level academic and diplomatic engagements aimed at strengthening cooperation in the fields of education, development studies, research collaboration, and international partnerships.

As part of the visit, the Prime Minister will meet with Ms.Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education of the United Kingdom, at the UK Department for Education, to discuss areas of cooperation in education and related sectors. She is also expected to meet Ms.Yvette Cooper, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, for discussions on matters of bilateral interest and cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.

In addition, the Prime Minister is expected to meet Ms.Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, on the sidelines of the 22nd Annual Commonwealth Education Forum and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) 2026 Board of Governors Meeting.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will attend a public event at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex and she will also take part in the ceremony marking the 60th Anniversary of the Institute of Development Studies. The Prime Minister is also scheduled to address a session at the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies at the University of Oxford, followed by a question-and-answer session with scholars and students.

The visit is expected to strengthen Sri Lanka’s engagement with academic institutions, international development partners, and Commonwealth member states, particularly in the areas of education, research, policy dialogue, and capacity building.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]