Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa pledged today (19 December) to reveal additional details about politicians who received millions from the President’s Fund, while ordinary citizens face stringent scrutiny and obstacles to secure even a few lakhs.
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Addressing the weekly Cabinet media briefing, Dr. Jayatissa criticised the ethics of politicians benefiting from the fund.
“The President’s Fund is the people’s money, meant for the people. We all know the rigorous process ordinary citizens must go through—submitting dozens of documents and enduring thorough verification—to obtain assistance of just a few lakhs. Yet, politicians have secured millions without such scrutiny, with the approval of the President and the Board,” he stated.
Dr. Jayatissa further said the Government will conduct a deeper investigation into the issue.
“The list I revealed in Parliament was very short. There are more politicians involved, including those from provincial and local government levels. We need to gather more documents, but I assure you that the full list will be released to the media soon, along with details of how and why the funds were obtained,” he promised.
The Cabinet Spokesperson also revealed that while ordinary citizens receive assistance from the President’s Fund in instalments, the politicians had received their amounts in full.
