Ministers will not be given houses in Colombo : Says President

• The government will not provide houses to ministers in Colombo. They must come to the villages and look into issues in the village. They must work with the people

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said recently that ministers will not be given houses in Colombo claiming that they must go to villages and attend to people’s issues.   

Speaking at a political rally in Matara, he said the government will appoint a Cabinet of Ministers less than 25 adding that their privileges will be cut down remarkably.   

“The government will not provide houses to the ministers in Colombo. They must come to the villages and look into issues in the village. They must work with the people,” he said.   

The President said the ministries will be assigned scientifically and added that subject knowledge and experience will be considered when assigning ministries.   

“We will not assign ministries on families of other allegiances. In the past, ministries were created to suit the family and their cronies but not for the benefit of the country,” he said.   

The President also said a mechanism will be in place where all MPs could contribute to the respective ministries voluntarily as no MP could be cornered in parliament.