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PM slashes Ministerial perks

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday drastically slashed Ministerial perks relating to official cars and housing. He also curtailed publicity for Ministers in the State media.

Premier Wickremesinghe has made these announcements while addressing Ministers and Deputy Ministers at a meeting at Temple Trees yesterday, a media release from the Prime Minister's office said yesterday.

Ministers will be entitled to one official vehicle only. If an additional vehicle is required, a request has to be made to the Ministry pool.

Ministers will be allocated housing in Colombo only under security considerations and in instances where they do not have housing in the Western Province.

Ministers receiving coverage in the State media at public functions will be limited. Modalities in this regard will be announced soon. Ministers will be entitled to issue media releases only when the story has a news value. There will be also a policy guideline in relation to the exhibition of photographs of Ministers and MPs.

The expenditure of ministers will be curtailed and budget allocations will be made for such expenditure. Ministers cannot draw from Ministry funds. Ministers and Deputy Ministers are expected to lead modest and simple lives at a time when the people are going through hardships.

Ministers should attend Parliament without fail and should reply all questions that are asked from them.

The release said: "Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has deviated from the usual tradition of effecting appointments to institutions. He has laid a foundation for the restoration of peace, economic uplift and the establishment of human rights.

The Prime Minister has cited the example of the manner in which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill acted at the time Britain went through turmoil.

The Prime Minister has pointed out that he has taken steps to create the background to finish the war and usher in lasting peace, taking instant measures to restore the beleaguered economy and bringing the 17th amendment to the Constitution with the necessary amendments as a process to restore democracy.

He has also pointed out that the country needed an accelerated economic development program to achieve a growth rate of five per cent for 2002 and increase it to 10 per cent per annum for the next 10 years.

Some of the other points that the Premier had stressed had been:

A National Operations Centre to be established under the Ministry of Policy Planning and Implementation.

Every Ministry should fly the National flag.

All information relating to vehicles missing from Ministries should be informed to the Cabinet Office by Friday. A status report on these vehicles should be submitted when they are detected. Disciplinary action will be taken against the persons responsible for the release of these vehicles in the past.

Ministers should give appointments to the public to meet them in a manner that does not affect the functions of their Ministries.

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