Blurred borders in Presidents’ expenses

A hornet’s nest has been stirred not knowing where it would be lead to next 

However, if the Attorney General’s Department fails to prove the allegations against the former President Wickremasinghe, it would be a death blow on the Government

Although the arrest and the subsequent remanding of former President Ranil Wickremasinghe on August 22 was a law-and-order issue, the possible political fallout of it seems to be more important. 

Despite Wickremasinghe having been accused of misusing state funds in this case, those leaders who charged him of thieving in the past have rallied around him now and even vow to form a broad political coalition against the National People’s Power (NPP) government.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) alleges that the former President had used public funds to travel, along with his wife, Professor Maithree Wickremasinghe,  to Wolverhampton University in England where she was awarded an honorary professorship, during his return from the G77 and China Summit held in Cuba in September 2023.

The investigators argued that the trip to Wolverhampton was private in nature and therefore the amount spent on it was misappropriation of public funds, a fact that the former President had rejected. They also  charged that while the whole tour to Cuba with more officials being involved  cost only Rs. 5 million, Rs. 16.2 million was spent on the trip to Wolverhampton, at a time when the country had been declared bankrupt. 

Subsequent to Anura Kumara Dissanayake assuming office as the President, the officials of the Presidential Secretariat, after an audit of his office,  had lodged a complaint with the CID on the matter,  and the CID in turn  investigated it before they arrested the former President when he came to give a statement. 

Denying the allegations, the lawyers of the former President argue that the visit to the convocation was made on the invitation of the university which was addressed to the President and the First Lady of Sri Lanka. It was also argued that even if it was a private visit, a President should have the right for it, as his official life and  private life are the same. 

Additional Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura on Tuesday that an investigation was underway to ascertain the authenticity of the said invitation letter,  copies of which could not be traced yet at the Presidential Secretariat or the Foreign Ministry or the High Commission of Sri Lanka in London. He also said that neither Secretary to the former President Saman Ekanayake nor his Private Secretary Sandra Perera who were interrogated over the controversial visit were aware of such a letter. 

Although the fate of Mr. Wickremesinghe has to be decided by the judiciary, the issue has thrown light at the blurred border of the official and private lives of the people’s representatives including the President.  Also, it is evident from the actions by many politicians that they gain undue advantages using this blurred border, at the expense of the tax payers. 

The most awful among such instances might be the controversy over the state mansion at Wijerama Mawatha in Colombo that was granted to former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Valuation Department is said to have estimated the value of the house with an area of over 30,000 square feet at Rs. 3.5 billion. While the country was reeling from an unprecedented economic crisis that led to its bankruptcy, he is said to have renovated it with at a cost of Rs. 470 million, using public funds. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently told that the one-acre land on which this mansion is situated was yet to be evaluated. The Valuation Department had also estimated monthly rental of the house, if rented out, at Rs. 4.6 million. 

Similarly,  former President Maithripala Sirisena too,  had earlier obtained approval from the Cabinet which he headed to own a house he was then living in Mahagama Sekara Mawatha  (Paget Road) in Colombo 7, for life. (The Supreme Court last year rescinded that Cabinet approval.) What is the moral right that these leaders have to enjoy such luxuries at the expense of the ordinary people?

During the so-called Yahapalana Government, it was revealed during an investigation by a fact-finding committee  that certain members of the Rajapakse family were given free Air Force helicopter rides  from Rathmalana to Maharagama. Also, media had revealed time and again about the exorbitant arrears of electricity charges running into millions of rupees defaulted by politicians. It was reported in 2022 that former Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella had a long overdue electricity bill arrears for his Colombo 7 official residence amounting to over Rs 12 million. 

Politicians using their official vehicles for electioneering has become so common that nobody even questions it. Selling duty-free vehicles by Parliamentarians has similarly been such a norm that the Commission to investigate allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) had in 2018 stated that it was not illegal. 

The argument that there is no distinction between the private life and the official life of a President could be accepted in the light of him/her having to dedicate 24 hours a day for his job. However, when it comes to the expenses, there is, or there should be, a difference if not,  all his extravagant expenses amounting even to crimes and misappropriations would have to be accepted. 

Nevertheless, a clear-cut distinction is not practical either. For instance, although using official vehicles for electioneering cannot be accepted, if a President attends a funeral or a wedding of one of his relatives or friends, he would have to use his official vehicle, unless he has his own vehicle. Borrowing one would amount to a bribe. 

Whether a President has a private life or not, the expenses for his security details should not be questioned. During President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s travel to Wolverhampton, even if it is private --  or President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s visits to his mother at Thambuththegama, their security cannot be compromised. 

Hence, if the NPP government does not bring in laws and regulations to eliminate the blurred borders in respect of expenses of people’s representatives, the leaders of the party, especially President Dissanayake,  would have to face hundreds of law suits once his immunity is lapsed.

However, if the Attorney General’s Department fails to prove the allegations against the former President Wickremasinghe, it would be a death blow on the Government. On the other hand, forming a broad political coalition among Opposition parties using the current controversy is a remote reality. Would Sajith Premadasa, the leaders of the party with the strongest support base among the Opposition parties accept Ranil Wickremasinghe or Mahinda Rajapakse as the leader of such a coalition? Similarly, would Wickreme]asinghe or Rajapakse  accept Premadasa as the leader?