Was the water supply disconnected at the official residence of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa?

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Many news regarding the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa surfaces from time to time and in the last few days there were multiple news regarding the disconnection of the water supply at his official residence. Therefore, we decided to investigate regarding that.

Social Media Posts

A news was published in social media as shown below, stating that the water supply to the official residence of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been cut off.

Fb | Archive

Here are some other social media posts.

Fb | Fb | Fb

Fact Check

Regarding this, first, we checked the mainstream media.

Although the news was reported through mainstream media under the heading “water cut at the official residence of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Wijerama” (“හිටපු ජනාධිපති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ විජේරාම නිල නිවසේ ජල කප්පාදුවක්”), by paying attention to the content of the news it is clear that the water supply has been cut off in a part of his official residence where the security guards stay. You can refer to those news here and here.

The news further stated that the water supply has been disconnected due to non-payment of outstanding bill amount of 3lakhs.

However, the news also reported that the water supply to the section where Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is staying has not been disconnected.

But as the news was reported through social media stating that the water supply has been cut off in the official residence of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, The National Water Supply and Drainage Board had issued a statement regarding that. In the announcement, they state that the reports are false.

They mentioned that the water supply has been cut off due to the non-payment of the water bill, in a separate bill issuing house, which is closer to the official residence of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. They further stated in their announcement that the house in question is not the official residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

It is stated that it has been the residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security personnel, and that they have left the place in October 2024.

The National Water Supply and Drainage Board says that the Deputy General Manager of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has inquired about this from a former officer of Mahinda Rajapaksa’s security department who has been at the relevant location.

It was then revealed that the after the evacuation, the security personnel have not used the water at their residence. It is also stated in the official announcement that the charges of the water supply at the security official residence have been paid by the Presidential Secretariat.

While the officials at the National Water Supply and Drainage Board have informed to pay the outstanding bill amount, they have visited the place on the 13^th to inform them about the arrears. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board reveals that the amount that has to be paid is around Rs. 429,000

They insist that the disconnection of the water supply at this place has not caused any disturbance to the former President or his security personnel.

Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa’s media spokesperson lawyer Manoj Gamage.

Lawyer Manoj Gamage contacted us and commenting in this regard, he said that the water supply has been cut off not in the official residence where Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse is staying, but in the part where his bodyguards used to stay near the official house.

Although it is not the official residence of Mahinda Rajapaksa, it another place where his security personnel stayed. However, he mentions that the place was maintained by the government and the bills were paid by the Presidential Secretariat.

He points out that it is the government’s responsibility to provide facilities to the bodyguards of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa. He further stated that the bodyguards of Mahinda Rajapaksa were reduced at once, and the water supply was removed. He states that it seems to be a revenge and that he regrets it.

He said that the bill of around 3 lakh rupees was for a few months, and at the time 160 guards were working as provided by the government and it is reasonable to receive such amount. 

By now, the current government has reduced the number of bodyguards to 60. 

However, he also mentioned that the water supply has not been cut off in the section where former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is staying.

The related bill of this building was paid by the Presidential Secretariat, and it has been stopped now. He further mentioned that the guards will be provided with temporary facilities to get water from the official residence where Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is currently staying. (News here)

Mr. Manoj Gamage’s comments to the media are as follows.(Related news here )

However, if the water bills of the section where the water supply has been cut off have been paid by the President’s Secretariat before, we inquired from the President’s Office as to why the payments have not been made in the near term, and they said to ask for information under the Right to Information Act. 

Accordingly, we sent an e-mail to the Information Officer of the President’s Office and we hope to update this letter with those answers if they respond.

President’s Entitlement Act No. 04 of 1986

We checked the President’s Entitlement Act No. 04 of 1986 regarding the privileges of the retired presidents.

As per Section 2 of Act No. 4 of 1986, “There shall be paid to the widow of a former President , during her life time, a monthly pension equivalent to two-thirds of the monthly pension such former President was entitled to receive at the time of his death or would have been entitled to receive upon his ceasing to hold the office of President.”

However, provision of security personnel, vehicles, ambulances, chefs and doctors to retired presidents is not mentioned. Also, how many security guards should be provided, and how to facilitate the security guards are not mentioned in the act.

This is what Professor Pratibha Mahanamaheva has said to BBC Sinhala in this regard.

“Under the Presidents’ Entitlement Act No. 04 of 1986, the number of security guards to be given to retired presidents has not been specified. Therefore, the provision of security is outside the relevant Act. Nothing is mentioned in the Act about that.”

“You know that in the last few decades there was a war situation in Sri Lanka. In such cases, the Ministry of Defense or the Security Council had provided the required number of security personnel and vehicles after reviewing the nature of the threats to each President. The number of security personnel and vehicles provided may vary depending on the nature of the threat. But the relevant act does not mention anything regarding the provision of ambulances, chefs and doctors to retired presidents. They were given according to the decisions taken by the Cabinet from time to time”, said Professor Prathibha Mahanamaheva.

Accordingly, the Act does not mention matters related to the accommodation facilities of the bodyguards of the former presidents, water supply or payment of those bills by the government.

Reduction of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bodyguards

The talk about reducing the bodyguards of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa was discussed in last October, and under the new government, the number of bodyguards employed for the protection of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was reduced to 60.

According to the decision taken by the Elite Security Officers Committee, as per the orders and instruction of Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Priyantha Weerasuriya, a circular was issues with the recommendations of the Deputy Inspector General of Special Security Division and accordingly, 60 officers, 2 jeeps, 2 motorcycles and a three-wheeler have been provided for the protection of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

However, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court requesting an order to reinstate the security forces that were removed by the current government. The Supreme Court (February 6) was ordered to convene on March 19 to consider the fundamental rights petition.

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Conclusion

From our investigation, it is clear that the water supply was cut off not in the official residence of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa in Wijerama, but in the adjacent section where his bodyguards were staying.