9 May 2018 07:45 am
I should have told President Sirisena not to appoint I. H. K. Mahanama as his Chief of Staff, as I knew that many allegations had been levelled against him, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Rajitha Senaratne said.
Addressing a news briefing, he said he was not informed that Mahanama, who was earlier the Secretary to the Ministry of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms, was to be appointed the President’s Chief of Staff.
“When Mahanama was secretary to the Ministry of Lands and Parliamentary Reforms, I was the minister in charge of the subject. One day, I noticed that Mr. Mahanama had leased a land belonging to the government to a private firm to be used to build a chocolate factory. That was the first indication to me that he was not acting according to my orders. That’s how I knew he cannot be trusted,” Senaratne said.
“I was unaware that he was the President’s Chief of Staff until he was arrested while receiving a bribe,” he added. (Sheain Fernandopulle)
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