Former President's Lavish Spending on Advisors

COLOMBO (News 1st); In a startling revelation, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, the Minister of Justice and National Integration, has disclosed how former President Ranil Wickremesinghe allegedly misused public funds during his tenure. 

The minister's statement highlighted the extravagant spending on advisors while the country faced severe economic hardships.

"While people were struggling to buy cooking gas, feed their children, and find medicine in hospitals, the former leaders did not reduce their privileges," Nanayakkara stated. 

He criticized Wickremesinghe, who became President after Gotabaya Rajapaksa's exit in 2019, for maintaining a large number of advisors despite the country's financial crisis.

According to Nanayakkara, Wickremesinghe had 39 advisors, a number he deemed excessive and indicative of incompetence.

These advisors held various titles, including Media Director and other temporary positions, totaling 67 during his tenure.

The minister emphasized that the vehicles used by these advisors, which were taken from the President's Office, should be sold to return the money to the Treasury.

Nanayakkara provided specific examples of the vehicles used by the advisors, including a Nissan Silvia, Mitsubishi Montero Jeeps, Land Rover Defender Jeeps, and Toyota Land Cruisers. He claimed that these vehicles were used for personal gain and that there were no records of the advisors' work in the Presidential Office.

The minister also highlighted the significant allowances and expenses allocated to these advisors. For instance, B.M.S. Batagoda received Rs. 2.6 million, and Sagara Rathnayake received Rs. 7.07 million for security advice. The total expenditure for these advisors amounted to Rs. 59 million.

In contrast, Nanayakkara pointed out that the current President has only three advisors, all of whom volunteer their services, resulting in zero expenditure. "This is how we protect the people's money," he concluded.