Parliamentary Oversight Committee approves Bill to abolish Presidential entitlements

11-Sep-2025

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The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Governance, Justice and Civil Security has granted approval for the Presidential Entitlements (Repeal) Bill. 

Accordingly, the Bill will be taken up for debate in Parliament on September 10 for its second reading.

The approval was granted when the Committee, chaired by Parliamentarian (Dr.) Najith Liyanage, convened in Parliament.

Officials of the Ministry of Justice and National Unity, expressing their views on the Bill, stated that, in line with the government’s policy statement and considering the prevailing economic conditions of the country, the objective of this Bill is to abolish non-financial entitlements provided to former Presidents, future Presidents, and their families.

They further explained that, unlike in other countries where retired Presidents or Heads of State continue to engage in certain official duties or responsibilities after leaving office, Sri Lanka provides pensions and benefits even in the absence of such duties. 

Therefore, this Repeal Bill seeks to regulate the granting of pensions and extensive privileges to former Presidents and their families when no official functions are assigned to them.

In accordance with the resolution adopted at the Parliamentary Committee on Parliamentary Business, the Presidential Entitlements (Repeal) Bill will be debated during the second reading in Parliament.

Parliamentarians M.K.M. Aslam, Attorney-at-Law Thushari Jayasinghe, Sandhana Suriyaarachchi, Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, and Major General (Retd.) G.D. Suriya Bandara participated in this Sectoral Oversight Committee meeting.