People will say she is a simple lady reflecting the Sinhala customs, decent and knowledgeable enough to be in that position. Her removal from office has caused consternation for the people who have given a blank cheque to the President following the outright defeat of the LTTE in 1999. People are worried and feel injustice has been done to the former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.
The whole issue have been trivialised and scandalised with the inclusion of the maverick National Freedom Front leader Comrade Wimal Weeraswanse in the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) who enjoys the special patronage of the President and his governing family members.
One tuk-tuk driver with the raised tone referred to Wimal Weerawanse and asked ‘ara modaya koyatha inthala sally gaththe lokku geyak bathinda’ (that mad man, from where did he get the money to build a large house?). He further retorted: ‘Ratte desapalane thang yakonge athe’ (the country’s governance is now in the hands of the devils).
There was justification in such resentments expressed, as the foolhardy government made the impeachment process an vindictive effort and a mockery. Accusations against the maverick Weerawanse stands heavily against the government. Whilst the former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake is accused of transacting overseas money to purchase a property for her relative, the President’s loyal servant Wimal Weerawanse sat in the PSC to deliver judgement on the accusations whilst he has not answered his finances to purchase a land and build a three storey house at a cost of 50 million rupees. The questing state institutions too have disregarded the scandal involving Comrade Weerawanse.
To this date Minister Wimal Weerawanse has not been investigated despite public exposure of his house building scandal. The much acclaimed Sunday Leader in its investigative article published on Dec6, 2009 (reproduced below) came out with starling facts about Wimal Weerawanse’s house building scandal. It asked: ‘the question now is how the Weerawansas earned such a large amount of money. The funds to purchase the land and build the house could surely not have been through collecting Wimal’s salary as a parliamentarian since his defection from the JVP’.
It further stated: ‘Responding to a question during a live television discussion on one of the state owned channels recently, Wimal had reportedly said that his wife was building a house with money collected by her through several business ventures and after selling a plot of land that belonged to her in Mawaramandiya. (The Sunday Leader several years back exposed the story on how Shashi acquired the Mawaramandiya land.)’
The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the government remain exposed and its credibility heavily dented in its highhanded conduct towards the former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. Can it salvage itself from the damage? Appointment of scandal ridden Mohan Peiris as the new Chief Justice is expected to keep the dismissal of Dr Shirani Bandaranayake live and kicking for some time to come.
Comrade Wimal Weerawansa has opened a new chapter in his maverick campaign. He has castigated the Finance Ministry that comes directly under the President himself. He might have done it rightly, but unfortunately failed to target the Inland Revenue that comes under this Ministry, which failed to investigate his extravaganza of building a luxury house with unaccounted funds
Shashi Weerawansa and Wimal Weerawansa
Dec 6, 2009
Text and Photos by Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
The construction of mansions worth millions of rupees has become a hallmark of the current administration with its members, from the Head of State to politicians affiliated to the government, not wasting any time in ensuring they acquire all possible luxuries within a short period of time.
The latest member of the present administration to join in the “mansion building” race is none other than National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader Wimal Weerawansa.
The renegade JVP member, Weerawansa, formed the NFF claiming to bring in a breath of fresh air to the country’s political platform. Shouting slogans of patriotism, Weerawansa claimed to be a politician representing the common man.
The house in Hokandara under construction
Now, a little over a year and a half after forming the NFF, Weerawansa’s wife, R.R.M.S. Udayanthi Ranasinghe also known as Shirsha Udayanthi and Shashi Weerawansa, is currently building a three-storey house in Mangala Mawatha, Off Ramanayake Mawatha in Hokandara South.
The Kaduwela Pradeshiya Sabha has approved Shashi’s house plan, which is 4,865 square feet in floor extent. After making the necessary payments for inspection on June 2, 2009, the plan was approved by the Pradeshiya Sabha on July 22, 2009.
However, the real floor extent of the house, as reported in the media, is 6,770 square feet.
Rough estimates by building contractors have revealed that the construction of the house would cost close to Rs. 30 million, inclusive of all finishing touches. The contractors have pointed out that the usual cost for a square foot in a house similar to the one being built by Shashi Weerawansa would be approximately Rs. 6,000.
Therefore, if the real floor extent of the house is 6,770 square feet, the cost of construction of the house would be close to Rs. 40 million.
The amount spent on construction would be in addition to the money spent on purchasing the land. The approximate extent of the land is believed to be 30 perches and given the rough estimate of Rs. 250,000 for a perch in Mangala Mawatha, Hokandara South, the cost of the land would be approximately Rs. 7.5 million.
According to the house plan, the ground floor consists of three verandahs, hall, dining area, pantry, kitchen, store room, laundry, two bedrooms with attached bathrooms, servant’s toilet and garage area for two vehicles.
The first floor consists of three bedrooms with attached toilets, each bedroom has a large balcony, hall, dining area and pantry.
The second floor has a bedroom with an attached toilet, a large balcony and two big concrete slabs on two levels.
However, the question now is how the Weerawansas earned such a large amount of money. The funds to purchase the land and build the house could surely not have been through collecting Wimal’s salary as a parliamentarian since his defection from the JVP.
Shashi Weerawansa’s extravagant life style first came to light during Wimal Weerawansa’s days in the JVP. While Wimal, the former Marxist, was supposedly engaged in voluntary service to the public by not even accepting the parliamentarians’ salaries and other perks, Shashi was engaged in business ventures.
Commencing her business from a clothes shop and a communication center in Mawaramandiya, Shashi recently registered a company under her name to engage in the fabric business.
When Wimal spoke of the personal sacrifices made by him to work for the people, Shashi was living it up by traveling to Disneyland on holiday.
Shashi’s latest endeavor is to construct this massive house in Hokandara.
When The Sunday Leader visited the site, the house was under construction and the masons were engaged in doing the shuttering work.
During this visit, The Sunday Leader learnt that a man named Suranga was in charge of construction. However, when contacted by The Sunday Leader, Suranga said the house under construction belonged to him and that he had no connections with either Wimal Weerawansa or his wife Shashi Weerawansa.
However, Wimal has admitted on national TV that his wife was indeed building a house in the Hokandara area.
Responding to a question during a live television discussion on one of the state owned channels recently, Wimal had reportedly said that his wife was building a house with money collected by her through several business ventures and after selling a plot of land that belonged to her in Mawaramandiya. (The Sunday Leader several years back exposed the story on how Shashi acquired the Mawaramandiya land.)
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Shashi had told several confidants that the house she was planning on building was not as large as the one shown in the plan. She had said her plan was to build a small house with the basic facilities for the family to move into.
Be that as it may, the financial constraints faced by the country at present seem to be of little concern to most of the people’s representatives as they fight among themselves to take the lead in the “mansion building” race.
