COLOMBO, Feb 21: The Sri Lankan government has gazetted the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Act after it was passed by parliament with an overwhelming majority on Tuesday, fulfilling a key campaign promise of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
In Sri Lanka, a member of parliament was entitled to a pension after serving a five-year term.
On Tuesday, lawmakers passed the bill by 154 votes in the 225-member House, with only two against. The remaining legislators were not present during the vote.
The gazette has been dated Friday. On February 6, the Supreme Court had determined that the Parliamentary Pensions (Repeal) Bill can be passed in Parliament with a simple majority.
The main aim of the bill was to repeal the Parliamentary Pensions Law No 1 of 1977 which had established a non-contributory life time pension to persons who have ceased to be members of parliament.
The move caused outrage among former parliamentarians who sought the Supreme Court intervention without success to see it being outlawed.
The repeal of the 1977 pensions law comes as one of the NPP government’s popular reformist electoral pledges by terming them as “unjustified political perks”.
Such savings are to be directed to fund other essential public services.
With the issuing of the gazette, the payment of pensions to parliamentarians would stop. (PTI)
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