The security cost of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s protection alone is 326 million rupees annually, with 186 officers previously allocated for him.
Ranga Jayasuriya.
- It is said that democracy is an expensive affair. But, it seems the maintenance of the retired politicos is even more costly
- Police claim there is a shortage of 24,000 personnel for general police duties in Sri Lanka, while a good chunk of resources is deployed to protect politicos
At long last, the political opposition has come together to achieve a lofty national goal! That is to make sure former president Mahinda Rajapaksa continues to reside in his palatial 30,500 square feet mansion in Wijerama Mawatha, paid by public money. The residence, located in a sprawling one-acre plot and valued at Rs. 3 billion has an estimated monthly rental value of Rs. 4.6 million, according to the government’s assessors. Rajapaksa lives free of rent, a perk accorded by the Constitution to former presidents and their spouses. The relevant constitution provision also makes a distinction that where a suitable residence is unavailable, the former heads of state be given 30% per cent of their salary as a housing allowance. In the case of Mahinda Rajapaksa, that would translate into around 30,000 rupees. Sri Lankan politicians have kept the salaries artificially low while milking the state through a long list of remunerations and cash-less benefits which comes into several millions monthly even for a government minister.
Three former presidents, Chandrika Kumaratunge, Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa, reside in state houses – Chandrika having rented out her ancestral residence in Rosemead Place for an upscale hotel, and Maithripala Sirisena having added several adjacent state-owned properties into his state-provided residence. Hema Premadasa returned her government-provided mansion in 2023- after living there for three decades.
Ranil Wickremesinghe went to live in his private residence when his term expired. Gotabaya has also vacated the official residence.
These mansions are gutting the public funds. Rajapaksa residency has recorded annual repairs running into tens of millions of rupees, including 45 million rupees for an emergency generator and 20 million rupees for a lift.
The new government of NPP has asked the former leaders to vacate their taxpayer-funded housing or to pay the rent at the market price. The government would grant 30% of their pension as a housing allowance, per the Constitution.
It is said that democracy is an expensive affair. But, it seems the maintenance of the retired politicos is even more costly. That is partly because such perks are extended with sheer disregard for the cost. The politicians, who served themselves when in power, make provisions to skim off the public funds in their retirement. And in the system of patronage that J.R. Jayawardene laid out, their successors, no matter the political differences, have no qualms in lavishing each other at public expense. Thus, there exists an unwritten social contract. They are more likely to lose these privileges, not by a principled policy decision that takes into account the cost associated with such larges, but when they have fallen out with the powers that be in the government.
MARA took back CBKs colossal residence
For instance, Chandrika Kumaratunge built a colossal residence in a Colombo suburb under the pretext of relocating the President’s House. When her term ended, at the last Cabinet meeting, the Cabinet gifted her the house as a parting gift. Alas, a few months into her retirement, she fell out with her successor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who hit back, revoking the Cabinet decision and taking back the property. By that time, Chandrika’s acolytes, her Cabinet of Ministers, had turned into Rajapaksa’s acolytes, and claimed their ignorance at the Cabinet decision.
In addition to this enormous cost is the colossal security apparatus of Ministerial Security Division personnel deployed for the ‘protection’ of retired and serving politicos. Such security detail is provided without an objective threat analysis.
Police protecting politicos
They are ego-propping facilities, extended at an enormous cost, also at the expense of the real security responsibilities of the security apparatus. Police claim there is a shortage of 24,000 personnel for general police duties in Sri Lanka, while a good chunk of resources is deployed to protect politicos.
The annual cost of protecting six former presidents is estimated at 1.1 billion rupees. That is as much as 1.5 billion rupees annually allocated by the Police department for the health care of its 100,000 members.
The security cost of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s protection alone is 326 million rupees annually, with 186 officers previously allocated for him. The security cost of Maithripala Sirisena in 2024 was 185 million rupees, with 112 officers and 12 jeeps at his disposal. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s cost 390 million rupees last year for the public coffer.
A feudal entitlement
An objective threat assessment is not the deciding factor. A large security entourage is more a marker of feudal entitlement than protection against threat. Similarly, they were withdrawn in the past when one had crossed paths with the President.
The new administration has decided to reduce the security detail of the former presidents, based on a threat assessment. That is the right thing to do to end this industrial scale misappropriation of state resources.
In addition, the government has removed the MSD protection from serving Ministers.
You do not want to be a cheerleader of the NPP or JVP – which I am not, as anyone who has read these pages would know- to say good things, a good thing.
The measures are a salutary move. The NPP says it was fulfilling an election promise. One can also hope such measures would infuse a degree of egalitarianism into politics. They are a step in the right direction in heralding a new political culture.
However, usual sycophants of the political nobility, especially the Rajapaksa’s acolytes, consider this a slight against Mahinda Rajapaksa. Not to be outdone, the opposition MPs from SJB, SLFP and the UNP jumped on the bandwagon.
Mujibur Rahman, an SJB stalwart, accused the government of a political witch-hunt by reducing the Rajapaksa’s security details. Dayasiri Jayasekara was heard echoing similar concerns. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s former trade union coordinator jumped on the bandwagon.
They are a portrayal of the brazen opportunism and a new low for the already fraught opposition. That also make an impartial observer worry about the future of Sri Lankan politics. Are these fellows worthy to be in Parliament?
Follow @RangaJayasuriya on X