Pension for politicians; Handle with care

Once the ‘Presidents’ Entitlement (Repeal) Bill’ was gazette on July 31 to abolish the entitlements for the past Presidents, as its name indicates, Opposition parties seem to be gradually teaming up against it, and another law for the annulment of similar facilities provided for the members of Parliament is to follow. 

The Bill provides for the deprivation of official residences, monthly allowances, secretarial allowances, official transport and such other facilities provided to  former Presidents and their widows. The pension paid to the widows of former Presidents will also be abolished under this Bill, once it is passed by the Parliament.

The pension paid to the former Presidents is not included in this Bill as it comes under an Article of the Constitution and has to be revoked by a Constitutional amendment passed by the Parliament with two thirds majority. 

Manoj Gamage, the Spokesperson for the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) had accused that the government was targetting former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is also the leader of the SLPP with the Presidents’ Entitlement Bill. His argument might have been based on the recent controversy over the official residence Rajapaksa inhabits now in Colombo. 

The Government claimed that the residence, estimated by the government Valuation Department at Rs. 3.5 billion is situated in a one-acre land in a prime location in Colombo which is yet to be evaluated. The Valuation Department is also said to have estimated the monthly rent of the mansion which has an area of over 30,000 square feet at Rs. 4.6 million, if it is so rented out.

Leaders of the government accused that Rajapaksa has annexed two government buildings using public funds of over Rs. 470 million, at a time when the country was rocked by an unprecedented economic crisis. They openly demanded the former President should leave the house, promising to provide an appropriate residence if he did not own a personal abode. 

The SLPP leaders argued that Rajapaksa deserved such a huge house as the leader who liberated the country from the grip of the LTTE and his security is at peril otherwise. 

Irrespective of the merits and demerits of these arguments by both sides, the JanathaVimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the core constituent party of the National People’s Power (NPP) coalition has been insisting for decades on a new political culture where politicians are not a privileged lot. They have been demanding removal of powers, perks and privileges awarded to politicians, unless they are essential for the fulfillment of their responsibilities.

This was one of the major pledges of the NPP during the last Presidential and Parliamentary election when their victory had been assured by a huge wave of public support.  The issuance of this Gazette followed a decision by the Cabinet to repeal pensions for Members of Parliament and cancel special entitlements for former Presidents and their families. Hence, a Bill is expected to scrap the pension and some other perks and privileges awarded to the MPS as well. 

It was reported that some former Presidents including Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe and Opposition politicians are contemplating legal action against the abolition of their perks and privileges.  However, not a single politician or political party  raised their voice when the NPP gave this promise at those elections. 

Also, Ravi Karunanayake, the Member of Parliament of the New Democratic Front (NDF) led by Ranil Wickremesinghe has tabled a Private Members’ Motion in Parliament in February seeking the abolition of the pension scheme for MPs. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP HeshaWithanage also had announced his intention in November to introduce a similar motion for the same purpose. Nobody protested against these moves as well.

This is a question that has to be handled without being carried away by party politics. In a way, politicians spend millions, if not billions, to become an MP, leave alone a President since politics has become a money-making business. Unlike  government employees, MPs are paid a pension immediately even if they had represented the people in the Parliament for five years. There have been instances where duty-free vehicle permits worth over Rs.30 million have been provided for those who attended few sittings of the House. 

On the other hand, there is also a rare possibility of an honest politician who had been an MP for decades becoming  destitute after his retirement. All these scenarios have to be taken into account when deciding upon this matter.

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