On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s leftist government asked former presidents to immediately vacate luxury government bungalows as part of a new austerity drive. The government has decided to convert the stately homes into upmarket boutique hotels or museums, Information Minister Nalinda Jayatissa told reporters in Colombo.
He said the state would pay former leaders rent totalling US$107 a month, as they are entitled to under a 1986 law, instead of providing government housing. “The government will not provide housing for ex-presidents or their widows in future,” Jayatissa said. “They will only receive a rent allowance equivalent to one-third of their pension, which is 30,000 rupees.”
There was no immediate comment from Mahinda Rajapaksa, but a local media report said he was willing to vacate if given written notice. Jayatissa said the former leader could take Tuesday’s public statement as his notice and vacate the premises immediately.
Two other former presidents Chandrika Kumaratunga and Maithripala Sirisena are living in government housing in Colombo’s fashionable diplomatic quarters. Many of the houses were built during British colonial rule for top civil servants from London.
