News
Estimated expenditure Rs. 2.5 trillion
Appropriation Bill 2022 presented
By Saman Indrajith
The 2022 Budget process started yesterday (7) with Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa presenting the Appropriation Draft Bill in Parliament for next year.
The estimated government expenditure for the fiscal year is Rs 2.5 trillion (Rs. 2,505.3 billions).
This bill will authorise the raising of loans in or outside Sri Lanka and make financial provision in respect of certain activities of the government for the said financial year.
Further, it is expected to enable the payment by way of advances out of the Consolidated Fund or any other fund or monies, of or at the disposal of the government, of monies required during that financial year for expenditure on such activities.
The Bill will also provide for the refund of such moneys to the Consolidated Fund
The bill sets out allocations for each ministry and also borrowing limits. It has set the limit of borrowing at Rs. 3.18 trillion.
The revenue estimates and proposals to bridge the deficit are presented during the budget speech.
The budget proposals for the fiscal year 2022 will be tabled in the Parliament on Nov 12, said Chief Government Whip, Highways Minister Johnston Fernando.
He said that the decision to present the budget 20202 was taken at the party leaders’ meeting held earlier yesterday.
Accordingly, the third reading and the vote of Budget 2022 have been scheduled for Dec 10.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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