Official residence needs upgrade - Rosy

Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake rejected allegations that Rs.5.7 million was allocated to renovate toilets at the Mayor’s official residence.

She told the media that the total allocated to refurbish the Mayor’s official residence was Rs 5.2 million.

Senanayake said the Archeological Department had conducted a research on buildings within Colombo, especially around the Town Hall and the Mayor’s official residence was also identified as one of the old buildings that needs to be refurbished.

“I do not have any intentions to waste tax payer’s money for such purposes like modernising toilets.

The Mayor’s house is a public property and that is one of the old buildings that should be protected”, she said. She further said that initiatives are being taken to make all transactions done by Colombo Municipal Council online.

“I have a huge house with seven rooms and eight bathrooms. I am not a person who thinks of stealing or wasting people’s money,” she said. Senanayake noted that there are many problems that need immediate solutions like garbage disposal and flooding in several parts of Colombo.

“The CMC has already identified several areas in Colombo that get flooded even for small rains. The CMC with World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) funding will soon rectify those issues”, she said.

She further said that first stage of that project has already started and they are looking for grants to begin the second stage of the project. Deputy Municipal Commissioner K.A. D. N.Wickramarathna said that CMC gets 48 percent of the revenue share from fines levied and 40 percent from parking charges.