Deputy Minister refutes claims president's 2026 expenditure tripled

Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, has dismissed as completely false claims circulating that the President's expenditure head in the 2026 Appropriation Bill has been tripled compared to the figures for 2025.

Dr Fernando stated that the basis used for the comparison was incorrect.

The Appropriation Bill, which outlines the government's estimated expenditure for 2026, has already been presented to Parliament.

According to the bill, the total estimated government expenditure for 2026 is Rs.4.54 trillion.

The allocation for the President's expenditure head for 2026 is Rs.11.37 billion.

This is broken down into Rs.2.66 billion estimated for recurrent expenditure and Rs.8.71 billion for capital expenditure.