The people in this country have been misled - Nagananda Kodituwakku

In his comments, Attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku said that these elected representatives have given a pledge to work in accordance with the Constitution. “They have pledged to be faithful to the citizens who came forward to elect them. Everybody from those in the Cabinet to lawyers, judges and other government officials should work according to the Constitution once elected to office. But from what I see, the people in this country have been misled. Vehicles have been given to ministers to perform their duties and work efficiently. But this doesn’t mean that they should be buying and selling permits at their own will. From what I found, although it was said that 45 vehicles were imported on tax-free permits another 46 of them have arrived. So the count goes up to 91. This shows that ministers are given tax-free permits to make money. Prices of essential goods are being increased and people are unable to bear

45 vehicles were imported on tax-free permits another 46 of them have arrived. So the count goes up to 91. This shows that ministers are given tax-free permits to make money

the high cost of living. If someone gets down an ordinary car from India, the tax is Rs. 2 million. In Sri Lanka, the tax on a motor vehicle is 300% more than that in Britain and this keeps increasing every year. So where does the democracy in this country stand? Even those MPS who say that they haven’t used their perks and benefits seem to be doing the opposite. Therefore our officials lack honesty, integrity and loyalty.” Please refer to the 2015/16 breakdown of tax rates given in graphs: