Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne is occupying both the official Speaker’s residence and a separate government-owned apartment for personal use, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya confirmed in Parliament on Monday, after an oral question from SJB MP Dayasiri Jayasekara prompted a heated exchange in the House.
Jayasekara, the Kurunegala District MP, alleged that despite earlier claims that the Speaker did not occupy an official residence, he was in fact using the official Speaker’s house for official duties while also holding a separate unit in a Ministry of Public Administration apartment complex as a private residence. He also asked whether a flat in the same complex had been allocated to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Replying for the government, Amarasuriya said the Speaker uses the official residence “strictly for official duties,” and that a separate house in the Public Administration housing complex had been allocated for his personal residence. Chief Government Whip Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa added that no member of the Speaker’s staff, including his private secretary, has been provided with official housing.
The exchange grew tense as opposition MPs pressed the government on transparency and the use of state resources. NDF MP Ravi Karunanayake injected a moment of levity, offering to host the Speaker at his own home, which sits next to the Speaker’s official residence. “The best solution to this issue is for you to come and stay at my house — it is right next to the Speaker’s official residence,” he quipped, drawing laughter in the chamber.
The Speaker is already the subject of a CIABOC inquiry over alleged unauthorised use of presidential security and a state vehicle while serving as a former private secretary, lending political weight to the housing question.
