Dissanayake to lease presidential residences to generate new revenue

The government of Colombo announces a plan to make the management of representative properties economically advantageous. A symbolic gesture in a country that has just renegotiated its debt with the International Monetary Fund.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – The government of Sri Lanka has approved a plan to establish an appropriate system for the use of bungalows and presidential residences (Visumpaya) in various regions of the island, with economically beneficial management entrusted to the Ministry of Public Administration.

Currently, there are 50 government buildings in the capital, in addition to presidential residences in Colombo, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Mahiyanganaya, Anuradhapura, Kataragama, Jaffna, Embilipitiya, and Bentota, all managed by the Presidential Secretariat. With the exception of the presidential residences in Colombo and Kandy, the other properties are not regularly used. Other representative properties are at the provincial level, while in Nuwara Eliya is the official residence of the Prime Minister, managed by his office. Despite the significant costs for maintenance, these government properties are underutilized. Hence, the decision to initiate a collaboration between the president, the Minister of Public Administration, and the Provincial Councils to create an appropriate method for economically exploiting these properties.

The move has symbolic meaning in a country where the administration, led by the new president Dissanayake, two weeks ago announced that it had ratified an agreement with the International Monetary Fund for the restructuring of a .2 billion debt, through an exchange of new bonds for existing ones. This kind of measure had been strongly criticized by the current president during his electoral campaign, but was ultimately adopted to avoid jeopardizing the country's financial stability.

The decision has been welcomed by the citizens of Sri Lanka, who have been grappling with the severe consequences of the economic crisis for years. "All these are high expenses, without bringing in a single cent of income," commented two retired former government officials from Jaela and Negombo to Asia News. "Now, thanks to this new move, the government will have income, and the people of the country will benefit. And it will stop wasting money that has been spent on the maintenance of unproductive buildings."