Kaduwela Mayor Ranjan Jayalal urged private companies to continue their practice of giving some of their products as December gifts to municipal council and other public-sector employees.
Speaking at an event in Arangala, Malabe, on 8 November, Jayalal said some people had remarked that private companies had stopped sending their customary December gift parcels to the municipal council after the current administration took office. He said similar concerns had been raised at other public institutions.
“If you usually give some of your products to staff at public institutions and the municipal council in December, go ahead and give them. We enjoy good food and drink too,” he said.
Jayalal said he and his colleagues had made sacrifices in their bid to gain power. He added that he hoped the current mayors, ministers and MPs would be the last to endure such hardship.
The event marked the start of work to stabilise the banks of the main canal in Arangala, Malabe, using gabion walls.
