Dissanayake vows to slash Presidential expenses, pensions for Parliamentarians

Presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (Oct 10) vowed to slash Presidential expenditure by 90 percent, and cut-down pensions of parliamentarians, under his rule.

“On some days the expenditure of a President costs more than Rs 70 million,” the National People’s Movement (NPM) presidential candidate told a rally in Kurunegala.

He said that all President Houses located in the country would be transformed into cultural heritage sites or tourist bungalows to generate revenue.

Dissanayake announced that, if voted into power, he would declare a two-month grace period for all politicians to return any public asset misused by them. “If they do not do so, we will investigate and recover them,” he noted.

The NPM Presidential candidate cited the establishment of rule of law as a primary goal under his rule. He observed that the law has been enforced differently on the rich and the poor in the past.

“We will establish a legal framework that serves justice for everyone irrespective of their differences” Dissanayake emphasised.

He pledged to ensure that law enforcement units such as the Police, Criminal Investigations Department, and the Attorney General’s Department are rid of political interference.

“We will form a government that will protect the dignity of the police” the presidential hopeful said. “We will empower the Police to take action against the perpetrators of all crimes irrespective of their social status.”

He added that a proper system of promotions and transfers for police officers would be set-out by his government.

Commenting on his education policy, Dissanayake promised to restructure the education system, a move which he said could result in the closure of some schools and the construction of new ones.

“A child should not travel more than two kilometres to reach a school,” he said adding that any student would not be allowed to drop out from the education system atleast without vocational training.

The Presidential candidate said he would introduce a health service that would facilitate the people to receive proper treatment based on their illness and not their economic standards.

He pointed out that the World Health Organisation has revealed that 25 percent of individuals below the age of 20 are suffering from non-communicable diseases.

“One of our main health policies would be to change the food patterns,” he said.