Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha has pushed back against recent reports suggesting that the President’s expenditure head in Sri Lanka’s 2025 budget has tripled compared to the previous year. He emphasized that these claims are “technically incorrect” and based on misleading comparisons.
The controversy arose from news outlets comparing the initially presented Rs. 2.9 billion for 2025 with allocations for 2026. Jayantha clarified that Rs. 2.9 billion was only a proposed figure, and the actual allocation for 2025 is Rs. 9 billion. Additional allocations include Rs. 50 million for the Clean Sri Lanka project, managed through the Presidential Secretariat, and Rs. 10 million for research, innovation, and commercialization.
The figure reported for 2026, Rs. 11.37 billion, similarly includes these ongoing projects, making direct year-to-year comparisons misleading. “Using the initial figure to suggest the President’s budget has tripled is entirely wrong,” Jayantha said, stressing that media misinterpretation has fueled public confusion.
Despite the controversy, the 2025 Appropriation Bill confirms that the President’s expenditure remains the highest allocation, reflecting key national initiatives and strategic priorities under the Presidential Secretariat.
