Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader and Attorney-at-Law Udaya Gammanpila today (20) criticised the government’s handling of parliamentary allowances, asserting that funds allocated for official purposes cannot legally be donated to political parties.
Commenting on MP Dayasiri Jayasekara’s recent proposal to ban lawmakers from contributing their allowances to party coffers, Gammanpila said there is a clear distinction between a parliamentarian’s salary and public allowances.
“An MP’s salary is personal income and can be used at their discretion. But allowances provided for offices, transport, communications, or fuel are public funds that must be spent only for their designated purposes,” he explained.
He emphasised that using such allowances for party activities constitutes the misuse of public money. “Funds meant for maintaining an office—such as rent, electricity, or equipment—cannot be transferred to a political party. Doing so amounts to misappropriation of public property,” Gammanpila said.
The former minister warned that such actions are serious legal violations. “Misusing public funds is a non-bailable offence. If this continues, the next government will have to reserve an entire ward at the Welikada Prison for those MPs involved,” he said..
