President says no personal revenge in reclaiming former presidents’ residences
- 5opn1
- January 22, 2025
- Political
- President says no personal revenge in reclaiming former presidents’ residences
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The issue of handing over the Presidential residence came to the forefront when the government started fulfilling its election promises. However, this is not a personal issue or an act of revenge against anyone, President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said in a television programme last night.
“We promised to introduce a new political culture. As part of that new political culture, we mentioned abolishing the pensions of parliamentarians, not providing vehicle permits to parliamentarians, but a vehicle to be provided until the end of their Ministerial post etc. However, no vehicles have been assigned yet. We also said in our new political culture that we will abolish the pensions of retired Presidents and stop providing them with official residences at the expense of the government. If a President does not have a house and lacks the means to obtain one, the government will provide assistance,” he said.
In the programme, the President mentioned that he has no personal grudge against anyone or anyone’s property. Everything that is happening is in the process of fulfilling the promises, as they still have the mandate.
He said there are five former Presidents and one first lady in the country.
President Anura Kumara thanked former President Ranil Wickremesinghe for not taking an official residence from the government and instead choosing to stay in his own residence. Former President Hema Premadasa stayed in a government-owned residence for a considerable time. After the issue became public, she handed over the residence. Following a committee report, former President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa also handed over his official residence. However, it was found that only three former Presidents have left, while the others have not hand over their residences provided by the government,” he said.
“Former Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa have not yet handed over their residences to the government. First, I will have the value of those residences assessed through the Government Valuation Department. The land of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s residence in Wijerama, Colombo, has one acre and 13 perches. The residence spans 30,500 square feet. The government’s valuation of the residence is Rs. 3,500 million. According to the Government Valuation Department, the monthly rental of the residence would be Rs. 4.6 million.
“More than 15,000 square feet of area was allocated to former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga for her residence in Torrington, Colombo. Accordingly, she had given over a 9,000-square-foot residence, while 4,000 square feet was allocated to her personal security officials. Another 2,000 square feet was designated for her office. The government’s valuation for her residence rental is Rs. 2 million.
“However, former President Maithripala Sirisena is living in a smaller house, with a monthly rental value announced by the government’s valuation at Rs. 900,000.
“These actions are not motivated by revenge but by the need for political morality. I can assure you in writing that I do not need a residence from the government or any protection after my retirement. I need nothing other than to work as the President of the country.
“This kind of political culture is essential for the country, and it is the essence of the mandate. There is no intention of revenge, only the implementation of that essence,” President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka said.
DMN
