Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Anil Jayantha has dismissed media reports claiming a threefold increase in the presidential expenditure for 2026 compared to 2025, calling them misleading and technically inaccurate.
Addressing the media, Dr. Jayantha explained that the 2025 Appropriation Bill, which began at Rs. 2.9 billion, did not include the full expenditure outlined in the national budget. He said Rs. 5.05 billion had been separately allocated for the Clean Sri Lanka project and an additional Rs. 1 billion for research related to innovation and commercialization.
“Therefore, the accurate allocation for presidential expenditure for the year 2025 will be Rs. 9 billion. The media reports compare the 2026 Appropriation Bill expenditure as Rs. 11.37 billion, which already includes the allocations for the Clean Sri Lanka project and research,” he clarified.
He further stressed that the comparison made by certain media outlets was technically flawed. “The misleading information has been created because of this mistake,” he said.
Dr. Jayantha, who also served as Acting Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policies, presented the 2026 Appropriation Bill to Parliament on September 26 on behalf of President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was abroad at the time.
