Columns
NPP MPs’ one account for all salaries: Easy to deposit, difficult to withdraw
View(s):The National People’s Power (NPP) has acknowledged that a portion of the salaries and allowances of its MPs and ministers are credited to a single account of a state bank.
The funds accumulated in the account are utilised for ‘public service,’ the party has claimed. MPs and ministers, however, do receive a portion of their salaries and allowances for their personal expenses.
The party has pointed out the process has been the practice ever since the days when Nihal Galappatti was elected as the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna’s first-ever Member of Parliament.
Not all of the current crop of NPP MPs and ministers, though, are enthusiastic participants in this practice. It is learnt that a deputy minister had recently asked whether a portion of his salary could not be credited to a separate bank account, arguing that it was unfair for the party to take his entire earnings.
The deputy minister had claimed that the process of requesting the release of funds from the party’s bank account for personal expenses is hard and has also complained that those responsible are releasing less than the amount being requested.
Sleeping public officials: Ranil’s quip evokes laughter
Some journalists caught up with former President Ranil Wickremesinghe when he arrived at the BMICH to attend the launch of the book “Sri Lanka and China Rubber Rice Pact Debate,” co-authored by former Minister Bandula Gunawardena.
They asked him if he had not spoken to US President Donald Trump to lower the tariffs he had threatened to impose on Sri Lanka’s imports from August 1.
“I think they will reduce the tariffs as soon as the people in charge now ask them to do so,” quipped the former president before entering the venue. Mr. Wickremesinghe later fell into conversation with several current and former MPs, where one claimed that nothing was getting done now at many government institutions and that work had ground to a standstill. “Public officials say they are sick of sleeping in the office,” he was told by the group.
“Well, they voted so that they could sleep in the office,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said to laughter from the group.
Ehelepola Walauwa Wax Museum: The missing link
This week, at the historic Ehelepola Walauwa in Kandy, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, along with the Diyawadana Nilame Nilanga Dela, opened a wax museum that pays tribute to the men and women immortalised by history.
The Ehelepola Walauwa, which was vested in the state after the country gained independence, was handed over to the Dalada Maligawa by a Cabinet decision taken by the previous government in February 2024. A decision was also made at the time to set up a wax sculpture museum in this building, reflecting the history of the Kandyan Kingdom during the period.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake admiring the exhibits at the wax museum
However, no courtesy was extended to the former President Ranil Wickremesinghe or others who facilitated the handing over of the historic building to the Dalada Maligawa and mooted the idea of the wax museum.
The Ehelepola Walauwa, located on 140 acres of land, was the home of Ehelepola Maha Adikaram (1773-1829 A.D.), whose opposition to King Sri Wickrama Rajasinha led to the execution of his wife, Ehelepola Kumarihami, and children on the orders of the king.
The wax museum will feature life-size figures of the national heroes, including Keppitipola Disawe, Ehelepola Maha Adikaram, and Devendra Mulachari, as well as members of the Ehelepola family.
Tractor blues for PS chairmen
With local government bodies being reactivated, a few dramatic scenes have been unfolding at sessions.
One such scene unfolded earlier this week when the Senkaladi Pradeshiya Sanha and Valachchenai Pradeshiya Sabha chairmen travelled in the tractor used for garbage collection to come to the District Development Coordination (DDC) meeting.
Both chairmen lamented that the official vehicles that were allocated for their respective bodies were taken over by the provincial government, and they find it difficult to ‘serve the public’ without proper transport facilities.

The two PS chairmen taking a garbage tractor ride to go for DDC meeting
Once they reached the District Secretariat, where the meeting was taking place, both had to seek out parking solutions for the tractor with police personnel at the entrance, as other senior officials who moved around in their vehicles had dedicated parking slots.
Finally, they were given a small corner to park the tractor until the conclusion of the meeting. Seeing all this unfolding, one civil society representative who came to attend the meeting was heard saying that maybe they should have used the vehicle they went in when they were canvassing for votes.
On the beauty beat: New salon gives Police a fresh look
Police officers will be able to get their haircut at a reasonable fee at the newly opened salon named ‘Roo Siri’ at the Police Field Force Headquarters in Colombo.
The newly refurbished salon, with the assistance of the Police Seva Vanitha Unit, was declared open by Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya this week. The salon will be open for all beauty treatments at a fair rate for women police officers, members of police families, and members of the public as well.

The new look police salon
An opportunity has been given to beauty experts from police families to serve in the salon. The equipment for this salon was donated by Rev. Fr. Kalyanapriya of Believers Eastern Church, and other improvements have been done with financial donations from the Police Seva Vanitha Unit.
Gary in political storm over letters backing LTTE activist’s immigration application
Canada’s Public Safety Minister, Sri Lankan-born Gary Anandasangaree, is in the middle of a political storm after it emerged this week that he wrote letters urging Canadian officials to approve the immigration application of a man they had determined was a member of a terrorist organisation. The letters had been sent before he was appointed to the federal cabinet two years ago.
The letters, dated 2023 and 2016, were written on Mr. Anandasangaree’s House of Commons letterhead and sent to the Canada Border Services Agency on behalf of an LTTE activist who wanted to move to Toronto. Although Canadian immigration officials had repeatedly rejected Senthuran Selvakumaran as an immigrant due to what they described as his “protracted involvement” in the LTTE, Mr. Anandasangaree asked them to reverse their decision.
Also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, the Tamil Tigers fought a lengthy civil war against the Sri Lankan government. The conflict ended in 2009, but the Tigers remain on Canada’s list of terrorist organisations.
In his most recent letter to the CBSA, Mr. Anandasangaree said the agency’s refusal to grant Mr. Selvakumaran permanent residence had separated the 48-year-old Sri Lankan from his Canadian wife and child, which the Toronto-area MP called “cruel and inhumane.”
“I respectfully ask that you review and reconsider this decision,” Mr. Anandasangaree wrote on July 19, 2023, during his last days of his term as Parliamentary Secretary (Deputy Minister) to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Asked about the matter, Mr. Anandasangaree said in a statement on Monday that it would not be appropriate to comment on a matter before the courts, but that the “letters in question here date from before I entered cabinet,” Canadian media reported.
Gary Anandasangaree is the son of anti-LTTE veteran Tamil politician V. Anandasangaree, whose political colleagues were killed by the LTTE.
Urea in alcohol
A private company manufacturing alcohol in Siyabalanduwa was recently detected using urea to ferment their product.
Excise Department officers uncovered the illegal activity when they noticed two gunny bags of urea being carried in a wheelbarrow into the factory. An inquiry found that they had been using these unauthorised items for alcohol production. The factory owners were given a warning and let off.
Tourism boom forecast in Indian stars’ visit to Lanka
Sri Lanka has become a favourite place for visits by Indian movie stars and celebrities. This week well-known actors such as Anil Kapoor and Sunny Leone were among those visiting the country.

Indian actor Ravi Mohan and singer Keneesha Francis posing for a photograph with Minister Herath
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath met with Indian actor and producer Ravi Mohan and singer Keneesha Francis, who were visiting the country. They discussed enhancing Sri Lanka’s film-tourism potential and promoting the local film industry through international collaboration. Minister Herath noted the government’s commitment to policy reforms aimed at attracting foreign film productions in Sri Lanka.
Sudath Mahadivulwewa, chairman of the National Film Corporation, also participated at the meeting, which highlighted the role of cinema and music in advancing tourism, cultural exchange, and economic growth.
US State Dept. advice comes too late for Julie
The US State Department issued guidelines this week to US embassies and consulates abroad, informing those serving in them to refrain from commenting on or criticising elections in host countries unless there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest in doing so.
“When it is appropriate to comment on a foreign election, our message should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate, and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests,” the department said in a cable published by international media institutions.
It comes a bit too late for Sri Lanka, where the outgoing US Ambassador Julie Chung not only regularly commented on the 2022 ‘Aragalaya’ and Sri Lankan elections last year but also took the unusual step of meeting with Election Department officials and telling them the importance of holding free and fair elections.
Laptop bag in centre of farewell battle
A ministry secretary who recently retired from public service with much fanfare now finds himself in a rather undignified tussle with his former colleagues, no less—over a laptop bag.
After his retirement, a request had been sent to him to return the bag officially issued to him, but he had reportedly sent back an old, mismatched one of an entirely different brand. The ministry refused to accept the substitute and promptly deducted Rs. 10,000 from his final dues. The former top official didn’t take it lightly. Instead of quietly letting the matter pass, he reportedly fired off a barrage of unprintable language at his former subordinates and made it known that this wasn’t the end of it—promising, rather dramatically, to “teach them a lesson” in due course. So much for the theatrical farewell. He may be gone, but clearly, his ego is yet to be packed up.
Buying or selling electronics has never been easier with the help of Hitad.lk! We, at Hitad.lk, hear your needs and endeavour to provide you with the perfect listings of electronics; because we have listings for nearly anything! Search for your favourite electronic items for sale on Hitad.lk today!
Leave a Reply
Post Comment