Extravagant spending:Bogollagama does it again

4 December 2023 09:44 am Views - 568

• The Bogollagama’s travelled exclusively on business class both from Colombo  to London to take up his position and then now from London Heathrow to  Accra
• In keeping with his past behaviour, he insisted on having a retinue of officials under his command in Accra
• He is the special representative of the SL President at the 2023 UN peacekeeping meeting in Accra
• His wife and a military official from Sri Lanka joins him at the meeting

Rohitha Bogollagama, known as one of the most extravagant Foreign Ministers in the history of Sri Lanka, has re-entered public service as the High Commissioner designate of Sri Lanka in London and has allegedly resumed his high spending lifestyle even in less than a few months of travelling to UK.  

Bogollagama was nominated as the special representative of President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the 2023 UN peacekeeping ministerial meeting in Accra, Ghana.   
He was to arrive there today.  

In keeping with his past behaviour, he insisted on having a retinue of officials at his beck and call in Accra. 

Not surprisingly, he succeeded despite the host country arranging all the protocol and facilitation of the logistics for the delegates. He insisted on having the Sri Lankan envoy in Ethiopia, leaving his duties to travel to Ghana to run errands for him and merely look after his and his wife’s logistics in Accra, in addition to a military official from Sri Lanka joining him at the meeting.   

As in the past he has been observed squandering taxpayers’ hard-earned money on extravagant expenses. In the past, from lavish travel accommodation to unnecessary perks, Bogollagama’s spending habits raised serious concerns about accountability and transparency in government expenditures and he has allegedly started the same practice in the few weeks of assuming office in London.   

Bogollagama is yet to present his credentials in UK.   

Such flagrant misuse of public funds not only undermines the trust on the citizens and taxpayers but also highlights the urgent need for stringent oversight and ethical standards to ensure that taxpayer money is utilized responsibly.  

Not surprisingly, as in the past, his wife this time too accompanied him to this highly significant military event in Ghana.  

Despite a circular issued from the secretary of the President, disallowing the use of business class travel by all government officials, including ambassadors, Bogollagama travelled exclusively in business class to both from Colombo to London to take up his position and then now from London Heathrow to Accra breaking the directives.