Business
Call to ensure credible implementation of budget-2021 proposals
By Sanath Nanayakkare
In the lead up to the highly anticipated 2021 budget, Verité Research recently announced the latest results and recommendations of their annual budget monitoring study, which tracks the government’s performance and openness on key promises made in its recent annual budgets.
According to Verité Research, in the 2018 budget speech, the Minister of Finance announced that an implementation unit would be set up under the ministry to monitor the execution of the proposals. However, in response to an RTI (Right to Information) request, the Ministry of Finance claimed that such a unit did not exist. Yet, in another response, this statement was contradicted by the same ministry.
“These weaknesses in information disclosure and implementation of budget promises suggest that the budget being implemented is inconsistent with the one declared to parliament and that the government is not fully aware of how public funds are spent”, Verité said.
“For the period January – December 2017, 8% of promises tracked by our platform from the 2017 budget speech were categorised as fulfilled. At the end of the first six months of 2018, the pace of progress was slow – only 8% of promises were progressing in line with their targets. Besides, progress on 33% of proposals is categorised as either broken, neglected or undisclosed. This means that the government is either not doing what it is saying or not saying what it is doing for budget promises worth Rs. 60,200 million. The bulk of expenditure proposals in the 2018 budget (59%) is thus categorised as lagging in terms of their implementation”.
“In 2019, the platform tracked 37 promises worth Rs. 100,875 million from the 2019 budget. According to it, there is a divergence in what is said in budget speeches and what is implemented, in both expenditure proposals and policy proposals. Their analyses found that many expenditure proposals have their allocations reduced every year. In 2019, 41% of the policy proposals tracked by the platform were not implemented”,Verité has found.
Speaking at the online briefing, Lahiri Jayasinghe, Assistant Analyst – Verité Research said that the government is going to present the budget for 2021 against a background of weak global economy and challenging domestic fiscal conditions exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and therefore an effective oversight of the budget implementation process for the Financial Year 2021 would be vital.
“The government has announced its vision for a turnaround of the public sector and elimination of waste and corruption. There’s limited fiscal space for government’s operations. In this background, we suggest that there should be a parliamentary committee or an authoritative body of the Finance Ministry to whom the oversight of the budget implementation process is entrusted in order to ensure a credible implementation process in 2021 and achieve the budget’s intended targets and goals”.
“In 2019, openness on proposals was hindered by the frequent changes to ministerial portfolios. The budget monitoring process revealed that the fragmentation of ministries had resulted in a breakdown of the lines of responsibility. Even those that were tasked with oversight of the budget were not able to provide clarity on the agencies responsible for implementing specific budget proposals”.
“In 2019, no information was available on the implementation of 32% of proposals. This is a significant deterioration from the problem of missing information in the previous year, where only 13% of the proposals fell into this category of ‘no information. For a more credible budget, we recommend the following:
1. Develop and document supporting information and analysis for each proposal prior to including it in the budget.
2. Provide timely and consistent disclosure on budget implementation on ministry websites.
3. Provide better oversight through the executive and legislature (e.g parliamentary committees and structures)
4. Reduce the fragmentation of ministerial portfolios and ensure that a clear line of accountability is maintained on the implementation of each budget proposal”, Lahiri Jayasinghe said.
Deshal de Mel, Research Director joined the session for the Q&A while the presentations were moderated by Chalani Ranwala.
Analysts see budget-conscious international buying amid global economic pressures
This week’s Sri Lanka tea auction recorded the highest volume since February, with total offerings reaching 6.45 million kilograms (M/Kgs). However, the market displayed a mixed performance, with high-quality Broken Orange Pekoe (BOP) varieties facing price declines while lower-end teas saw appreciation.
Select Western BOP/BOPF teas, typically among the most sought-after, dropped by over Rs. 100 per kg, while others in the category saw smaller declines. Nuwara Eliya BOPs, known for their delicate flavor were mostly unsold, and when sold, fetched up to Rs. 200 per kg less than previous levels. Uva BOPs also declined by up to Rs. 50 per kg, reflecting weaker demand for premium liquoring teas.
In contrast, teas at the lower end of the market fared better. Below Best BOPs remained steady, while BOPFs in the same category fell by Rs. 50 per kg or more, influenced by inconsistent quality. Meanwhile, Low Grown PF1s (CTC grade) saw a firmer trend, with some appreciation in value.
The Leafy and Semi-Leafy sector saw Select Best BOP1s maintain stable prices, while OP1s (Orange Pekoe) were irregular—well-made varieties eased, but others appreciated. In the Tippy segment, high-priced FBOPs dipped, but Best and Below Best grades held firm, with the lowest-end teas gaining value.
Despite price corrections, all categories met fair demand, with Low Growns dominating at 2.6 M/Kgs. The Premium catalogue showed selective firmness for very tippy teas, while others eased or declined.
Analysts suggest that the dip in high-quality teas may reflect subdued demand from key export markets, while the resilience of lower-grade teas indicates steady domestic and budget-conscious international buying.
“With global economic pressures persisting, auction trends may continue fluctuating in the coming weeks,” they said.
– Reported using data from Forbes & Walker Tea Brokers
By Sanath Nanayakkare
The publication on the Financial Statements and Operations of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2024, a requirement under Section 99(2) of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act, No 16 of 2023, was presented to the President and the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, by Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 29 April.
Dr. N S Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, Ms. Lasanthi Sirimanne, Chief Accountant and Ms. Samudra Jayasundera, Director Policy Review and Monitoring Department of the Central Bank were also present at this occasion.
The Financial Statements and Operations of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka 2024 present an overview of the Central Bank’s institutional performance during the year 2024. The publication is structured into three main components: Operational Insights, Financial Statements, and Supplementary Information.
The Operational Insights section outlines the Central Bank’s strategy and its core responsibilities, including maintaining domestic price stability, ensuring financial system stability, overseeing payment and settlement systems, managing currency issuance, and strategic communication. This section also covers the Bank’s international engagements, the execution of other entrusted responsibilities including agency functions, and internal management arrangements.
The Financial Statements section presents the IFRS-compliant financial statements of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for the year ended 31 December 2024, along with the independent report of the Auditor General. This segment also includes a financial review, providing an analysis of the Bank’s financial performance during the year.
The Supplementary Information section provides details on the Bank’s regional presence, the list of institutions regulated and supervised by the Central Bank, and a summary of corporate information.
The interactive PDF of this publication can be accessed through; https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/en/publications/economic-and-financial-reports/financial-statements-operations
Business
Emirates deepens strategic partnership with Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau to support local travel industry
At the Arabian Travel Market 2025, Emirates and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) have renewed their partnership aimed at further developing the country’s tourism and trade industries. The partnership was sealed through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties.
The MoU was signed by Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Commercial West Asia & Indian Ocean and Sampath Nissanka, Managing Director – Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau. The signing ceremony was also attended by Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer; Alexi Gunasekera, Consul General-designate of Sri Lanka to Dubai and the Northern Emirates in addition to other representatives of the airline and tourism board.
First inked in 2022, the renewed MoU will strengthen the collaboration between Emirates and SLTPB, with both the airline and tourism body reiterating their commitment to actively promote Sri Lanka as a destination to key markets within Emirates’ network.
Through joint initiatives, such as developing excursions and familiarization trips to promote the island nation to key feeder markets, Emirates and SLTPB aim to grow the tourism industry of the popular Indian Ocean destination by showcasing the destination to customers across the airline’s global network.
The joint efforts to boost the nation’s tourist industry have supported a steady increase in inbound traffic into the island, which recorded just over 2 million visitors in 2024. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Emirates carried over 240,000 passengers into Sri Lanka from key markets around its network including Russia, the UK, Germany, Australia, China, and the US, among others.
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