CMC operating as All Party Committee - Vasudeva

Shirley Wijesinghe

COLOMBO: The administration of the Colombo Municipal Council is carried out as an All Party Committee after consensus reached by all parties represented in the CMC to jointly work in meeting the aspirations of the Colombo ratepayers, the Council's opposition Leader Vasudeva Nanayakkara told a Media Conference yesterday.

The Media Conference at the CMC auditorium was summoned to counter recent media releases issued by certain political elements claiming the CMC was currently defunct under the present administration.

The consensus forged between all parties in the council has been fully endorsed by the Mayor,Deputy Mayor, Opposition Leader and other elected members, Nanayakkara said.

"The resources of the CMC should be harnessed for the benefit of the ratepayers and the people who are in need of welfare and not for rouge elements associated with corrupted officials", the CMC Opposition Leader stressed addressing the ceremony.

Outlining the plans of the new political administration, Opposition Leader Nanayakkara said that a sum of around Rs.1 million will be allocated for each Council from the surplus of the last CMC budget. The monies will be utilised for repairing the water supply network and providing sanitary facilities within the city limits.

"The Rs.53 million of rate payers' money are being put to work for various projects for the benefit of the people of Colombo .The financial committee will carefully observe and supervise all activities and function as a "Watch Dog" of the CMC, he added.

CMC Mayor M. Imytias said that stern action would be taken against errant CMC officials and he has already taken necessary action against the CMC Work Shop officials who were not on duty but claimed overtime.

The CMC Mayor spoke of his recent visit to a Hardware Shop following information that some items belonging to the CMC had been found for sale at the said shop. He also added that the shop owner had told him that iron rods had been sold to him for his shop by some CMC employees.

The CMC Deputy Mayor, CMC councillors M.Manzil, Roy Bogahawatte, S. Gurusuwami, Lal Peiris, M. Izamdeen, Ramzy Tony, Daya Kantha and the Mayor's Chief Co-ordinating Officer M.N.M. Sham Nawaz also addressed the media.