Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament yesterday that the salaries paid to Parliamentarians should be increased as their present salary is inadequate to fulfill their duties.
The Prime Minister also proposed to pay a monthly allowance of Rs.100,000 to each MP to carry out duties in their respective electorates and also to increase the present Rs. 500 attendance allowance paid to MPs up to Rs. 2,500.
The Premier participating in the committee stage debate on the Appropriation Bill on the votes of the President, Prime Minister and Parliament said that at present the salaries paid to Parliamentarians are very low compared to the income levels of private sector and other professionals.
“I somehow manage with this salary but my wife gets paid more than me,” he said. The MPs will also have to look into the needs of their children and other requirements such as housing and the welfare of their families,” the Prime Minister said.
“ If we want to strengthen the Parliamentary system, I categorically state that the salaries of Parliamentarians should also be increased to fulfill their responsibilities,” he said.
The Premier said that there is no use of giving more responsibilities to Parliamentarians without providing necessary facilities for them to fulfill their duties. My point of view is that if a MP is officially involved in any Government development work, he should be given a vehicle to perform his duty. Even, the Government officials are given vehicle permits and official vehicles to fulfill their duties.
More facilities should be given to Parliamentarians to fulfill their duties. In most of the countries, an allowance is paid for the MPs to engaged their duties in their respective electorate. If any particular MP is opposed to provide this allowance, he can refuse to accept it. We are well aware the difficulties encountered by the MPs particularly in distant areas when performing their duties. If we don’t seriously consider this matter, there is no use of giving powers to the Parliament, the Prime Minister said.
In the United States, two offices have been given to a Parliamentarians including one in Washington and the other one in their electorate. Some countries have provided even air travel facilities to their Parliamentarians. The MPs in the North and the East provinces should also be given such facilities.