The opposition accused the government yesterday (05) of allocating a large budget for the Presidential Secretariat for the first quarter of 2025, contradicting pre-election pledges to cut expenditure.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Kabir Hasheem raised the issue in Parliament during the Vote on Account debate, which announced allocations for early 2025. He criticized expenditures under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, including helicopter rides and luxury vehicles, and highlighted that the allocation for the Presidential Secretariat under current President Anura Kumara Dissanayake mirrored the allocation under his predecessor for the same period this year.
“There is no system change, but Anura changed,” he remarked.
In response, NPP MP Lakmali Hemachandra explained that the inclusion of $1.3 billion from the World Food Programme (WFP) under the Presidential Secretariat’s account inflated the figure, and there were no additional expenses for the President. She added that the budget for the President’s personal staff had been reduced by 64%.
The government plans to spend a significant portion of the Rs. 1.4 trillion allocated for the first four months of 2025 on transportation, ports and civil aviation, defence, and health, according to the Vote on Account presented yesterday.
For transportation, ports, and civil aviation, Rs. 220.05 billion has been allocated. Defence spending is set at Rs. 142.9 billion, health at Rs. 161.9 billion, agriculture at Rs. 77.3 billion, and education at Rs. 92 billion.
A total of Rs. 2.6 billion has been allocated for Presidential expenditures, with Rs. 1.3 billion earmarked for development activities under the President. In contrast, the Prime Minister’s budget is significantly lower at Rs. 378 million for the same period. Parliament’s expenditure for the first four months of 2024 has been allocated Rs. 2.2 billion.
Additionally, Rs. 9.4 billion has been allocated for the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security, and Community Empowerment.