The Presidential Commission issued notice for the Prime Minister to appear before the commission to give testimony in connection with an ongoing investigation into the leasing of the DPJ towers at Battaramulla which houses the Ministry of Agriculture.Following the session of the PCoI held at the BMICH, Wickremesinghe in a statement said that this is the second independent commission that he has appeared before in his official capacity as Prime Minister indicating his commitment to ensure accountability.
"In 2015 we pleed to reinstate accountability on the part of the government. We will continue to ensure accountability," the Premier said.He said the government servants are tasked with the responsibility of looking after public assets. The misuse of public assets has led to wide scale corruption. “Part of our efforts to stamp out corruption has been the reinforcement of accountability," he said. "These efforts are now seeing results."
Expressing his views Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam said the Prime Minister appeared before the Presidential Commission to provide evidence on a cabinet paper he presented on the request of the parliament to propose the leasing of a private building to house the Ministry of Agriculture.The Prime Minister had put forward a cabinet proposal to use the building that housed Ministry of Agriculture in Battaramulla for the activities of 17 Parliamentary Sectoral Oversight Committees. Following the request in 2015 the Ministry of Agriculture was shifted to the DPJ building leased to the Ministry at a monthly rent of Rs. 21 million.
"I think that (testifying before the Presidential Commission) is a good democratic characteristic," Minister Kariyawasam said noting that the Premier has been summoned to several commissions and he has provided the answers.