Duminda admits to paying Rs.21 Mn a month for building still unoccupied
Agriculture Minister Duminda Dissanayake has admitted that his Ministry has been paying a monthly rental of Rs.21 million since April 2016 for the new building in Rajagiriya though still unoccupied.
“Since April last year, we have been paying a monthly rental of Rs.21 million and have informed the Technical Committee to hand it over to anybody who was in a position to complete the construction work as soon as possible, the minister said in an interview with Daily Mirror.
However, when asked what is the reason behind this transaction, the minister said “Let me give you an example; say that you are giving out a house on rent and I’m interested in renting it out from you, I would tell you that it would take another three months to get the furniture ready. We talk about this transaction in January and then I ask if I may start paying from March since I have to get the furniture done. Would you agree or not? The person giving out the building doesn’t care about when the building would be occupied. I have to change it to suit the needs of an office complex and this would only be possible once I have actually rented out the building.”
(Source: Daily Mirror – By Kamanthi Wickremesinghe)
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Is this guy a Cabinet Minister or a ‘Buth Kade Mudalali’?
The way he is conducting Government business on behalf of the voting population and the taxpayers is shameful and utterly unprofessional.
His Ministry went ahead with the lease on a building based on false undertakings of the Lessor and he does not intend to recover lost monies from the Lessor following failure of the Lessor to keep to the promises that a building, fit for purpose, will be delivered to the Lessee.
This entire transaction stinks like fish, left in the open for more than a week. Someone earning big time komis, Mr Minister, and your grandiose idea of housing your ministry under one roof, is leaking like a sieve.
Mr Minister, just resign your post and let the Attorney General / CID / EFCid carry out impartial investigations and recover the lost loot.