The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, the vote on the Third Reading of the Appropriation Bill, 2026 is scheduled for today. Several Heads including the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development are before the House. Allegations were made that the Government did not act. That is incorrect. In rainy seasons, forecasts are routine and relevant agencies act accordingly. However, this cyclone’s precise track over Sri Lanka was not definitively notified to agencies or Government. Once it manifested, the Government intervened rapidly, evacuated affected families, and provided necessities. Some losses arose due to unauthorized or substandard constructions. Nonetheless, we responded swiftly, and this has been acknowledged by national and international bodies.

¶ 02 On the National Disaster Management Fund: there is no privatization or misuse. Throughout this Budget and in all Finance Ministry work, we upheld fiscal discipline. The intent is to mobilize funds quickly for urgent needs and manage them properly. Cabinet approval has been obtained, and necessary legal provisions will be brought. The committee includes myself, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, and a Senior Additional Secretary to the President, ensuring accountability; private sector members are to leverage international networks for resource mobilization.

¶ 03 On Finance Ministry allocations after Committee adjustments: Recurrent expenditure Rs. 2,945 billion; Capital expenditure Rs. 2,080 billion. Of recurrent, interest payments are Rs. 2,617 billion. Since 2024 we have reduced interest costs via debt management and are managing overall debt.

¶ 04 Major social protection allocations: Rs. 251 billion including “Aswesuma”. A contingency of Rs. 37 billion remains in recurrent for in-year needs.

¶ 05 Capital priorities: - Equity injections for SOEs to improve efficiency: Rs. 85 billion. - Domestically funded projects and capital: Rs. 14.4 billion, including Rs. 2.25 billion for MPs’ decentralized funds. - Revenue administration IT modernization (RAMIS/RASED upgrades): over Rs. 6 billion. - Externally funded project capital: Rs. 36 billion.

¶ 06 Public Financial Management: Under the State Finance Management Act, No. 44 of 2024, we strengthened rules, analysis and transparency. We tabled the Fiscal Economy Report, Tax Expenditure Statement, Fiscal Strategy Statement and Final Budget Position.

¶ 07 Debt Management: With Central Bank independence, direct monetary financing is no longer used. The Debt Management Office was established on 02.12.2024, and issued its first debt on 01.12.2025 under the Ministry of Finance. We connected to the Commonwealth Meridian platform; our debt management performance score is 9.7/10. As at end-November 2025, total public debt is Rs. 30.6 trillion: domestic Rs. 19,480 billion; external USD 36.23 billion (Rs. 11,160 billion). For 2026, debt-to-GDP is projected at 88.8%, on a path towards the sustainable threshold.

¶ 08 Treasury Operations: We maintained a cash buffer of about Rs. 1,200 billion in 2025. Revenues Rs. 4,823 billion; brought-forward balance Rs. 736 billion; recurrent payments Rs. 2,282 billion; capital payments Rs. 580 billion; debt service (interest and amortization) Rs. 1,482 billion; surplus balance about Rs. 1,214 billion, including Rs. 14.3 billion net earnings. This enabled borrowing at controlled rates and interest rate stability.

¶ 09 Planning: The National Planning Department prioritized scarce resources across social infrastructure, agriculture, industry, tourism, trade infrastructure, environment, social protection and regional development. Out of numerous submissions, 219 Cabinet memoranda with recommendations have been processed; state investment plans for 2026–2030 are in implementation.

¶ 10 Development Finance: We advanced MSME credit lines — MSME LOC, SME Enhancing Finance, and SMELOC2 — disbursing Rs. 16.2 billion in 2025. A domestic MSME revival package of Rs. 20 billion: by November, Rs. 13.4 billion to 1,510 beneficiaries. New “Smart Rural Credit” allocations: Rs. 1,648 million, with Rs. 1,582 million in interest support repaid from the Treasury, benefiting about 64,000 farmers; first-season disbursements of about Rs. 14,723 million to 49,000 farmers.

¶ 11 Trade and investment facilitation: The tariff reform program and National Tariff Policy framework are being advanced. The National Single Window project, previously stalled, has been reactivated with 18 lead agencies engaged; Law Draftsman’s and other departments are working to implement quickly.

¶ 12 Our vision under “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” is to overcome challenges with discipline and unity, ensuring no one is left behind. Additional appropriations for recovery will be presented by the Hon. President. The Finance Ministry’s core is transparent fiscal discipline: prudent spending, loss minimization, revenue-based consolidation, and full transparency. We are delivering on that responsibility.

¶ 13 Thank you.