Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena has instructed the senior officials in Parliament to slash the expenses on food and stationery due to the major economic crisis befallen the country.
The number of meals prepared in Parliament per day has already been slashed and further reductions are to be made in the future. In addition, it has been decided to limit the use of stationery as much as possible in Parliament and to use as many technical means as possible, including email, for communication.
Attention has also been paid in limiting the monthly supply of stationery entitled to MPs in a move to cut the Parliamentary expenses. Accordingly, the Speaker has instructed that the performance reports of ministries be directed only to the essential units and the relevant reports be made available on CDs to other sections.
The transportation costs of Parliamentary employees are also to be slashed. Ten buses belonging to the Sri Lanka Transport Board dispatched for the transportation of Parliamentary employees had borne a cost of over Rs. 27 million in 2019 alone. Therefore, it has been decided to requisition only the buses belonging to Parliament.
MIAP