Former Minister Failed to Pay for Official Residence, Parliament Told
Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra, alleged in Parliament that a former minister who had requested an official residence from the District Secretary has not paid any charges for the property, with electricity bills alone amounting to nearly Rs. 1.1 million in unpaid dues.
Speaking during the debate on the Supplementary Estimate in Parliament on Tuesday, Hemachandra accused successive governments of enabling irregularities and misusing public funds.
He said the current government has managed to meet financial requirements through internal reallocations within the Ministry of Finance, without obtaining new loans or diverting funds from other ministries. Despite the impact of Cyclone Titva and ongoing tensions in the Middle East, he said the government has maintained economic stability while providing fuel subsidies, assistance to small tea estate owners, and relief payments under the Aswesuma welfare programme.
Referring to alleged past misuse of state resources, Hemachandra claimed that former Trincomalee District MP and Minister Susantha Punchinilame, elected in 2008, had requested an official residence from the District Secretary but had never paid any charges for its use. He added that the outstanding electricity bill for the residence stands at approximately Rs. 1.1 million.
The Deputy Minister further alleged that Priyantha Pathirana Premakumara, who served as a Provincial Council member at the time, had also been provided with an official residence in the Fort Frederick area.
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