Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, speaking in Parliament, criticized former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, claiming that despite the various titles associated with him, he is a fraud.
“He had 39 Presidential Advisors. It is fair to have advisors as a President doesn’t know everything. But to have 39 advisors, he couldn’t have known about anything at all,” Nananayakkara said.
He said at least 67 people had been appointed in an advisory capacity using titles such as ‘Director’.
“If you look at these titles, these are the things that could have been done by the Ministry Secretary,” he said, adding that the previous administration had failed to maintain documentation on their scope of work to justify the high costs involved.
“One advisor on Parliamentary affairs is Ashu Marasinghe. It is ridiculous that he had to teach Ranil Wickremesinghe about the Parliament, because Wickremesinghe was in Parliament when Marasinghe was in school.”
Alleging that Wickremesinghe had appointed close associates to futile positions, Nanayakkara said that they had been given luxury vehicles for their use as well.
“A total of Rs. 59 million had been spent for their allowances,” the Justice Minister revealed.
Minister Nanayakkara said that in comparison President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has only three advisors, with no expenditure incurred as they have voluntarily provided their services. (Newswire)