Govt. aims to cut costs in Parliament by introducing MP Benefit Reforms
The Government of Sri Lanka is to reduce the heavy cost of maintaining Parliament by curtailing the benefits given to newly elected Members of Parliament.
In this respect, a committee has been appointed headed by a retired officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service to spearhead these reforms with the goal of slashing the currently enjoyed perquisites and allowances by MPs, informed sources told The Sunday Times Business.
It will scale back vehicle provisions, pensions, house allowances, and other financial perks that come with the election of the parliamentarians. The mandate of the committee will be to look at the existing package and come up with new legislation to be tabled in parliament shortly.
This is besides the increasing government spending that has reached a fever pitch with demands for more financial responsibility arising due to the economic crisis.
The annual budget of Parliament has ranged between Rs. 4 – 5 billion. The salaries, allowances, and perks of MPs drain over Rs. 1 billion alone, parliamentary statistics revealed.
An ordinary MP earns an income of about Rs. 54 000 – 60,000 a month while others such as the Speaker, Prime Minister, and Cabinet Ministers enjoy Rs. 100,000 – 150,000.
In addition, the members receive a sitting allowance of Rs.2,500 for every day spent in the House, office allowance of Rs.100,000 per month and entertainment allowance of Rs.1,000 per month.
All the members who do not get a driver provided by the state may claim a driver allowance of Rs.3,500; fuel allowances are adjusted with respect to how far their constituency is from the centre of the state.
Apart from these, the facility of a telephone allowance of Rs. 50,000 per month is provided to MPs along with a transport allowance for the staff amounting to Rs. 10,000 per month. They also get Rs. 350,000 annually as the postal allowance for free postage.
While they don’t receive monitoring member allowance, subsistence allowance, train passes, or newspaper allowance amongst others, there are some reasonable expenses attached to their perks.
They will be given vehicle loans, fuel subsidies, and office maintenance for constituency operations that include paying employees, telecommunication amongst others.
Besides that, another big expense in the cost of living is housing; to that effect, MPs are given a house allowance in addition to those who do not use government accommodation. Both members and their families equally enjoy health benefits covered by the government.
Other entitlements include subsidised air travel to destinations out of official work, plus pension benefits after serving in Parliament.
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