Minister of Transport, Highways and Mass Media, Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, participating at a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC) on Wednesday (15), under the theme ‘Collective path to a stable country’ said that the existing national debt stands at approximately US $ 36 billion and only 37% of this debt is slated for payment within the next 5 to 6 years. 51%  is scheduled for repayment between 6 and 20 years and the remaining 12% is earmarked for settlement after the 20-year mark. He warned that the country is obligated to service this debt until the year 2048 and failure to meet these financial commitments would result in the fall of the governing party’s administration within two weeks as thereafter no bank will accept Letters of Credit opened in Sri Lanka.

Dr Gunawardena said that following the budget, the International Monetary Fund is expected to issue the second loan tranche which would provide ample resources to execute all the proposals outlined in the budget and  revive all stalled development projects.

The Minister added that it is crucial for everyone to bear in mind that the anticipated increase in government employees’ salaries, as per the budget, is contingent upon the tax revenues collected by the government from the public.