Thursday Oct 16, 2025
Thursday Oct 16, 2025
Thursday, 16 October 2025 05:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Anura Kumara Disanayake
President Anura Kumara Disanayake has directed public officials to ensure that all financial allocations for 2025 development projects are fully utilised, warning that returning unspent funds to the Treasury undermines progress and leads to wasteful repetition of incomplete projects.
Speaking at the Special District Coordination Committee (DCC) meeting in Ratnapura, the President said public officials play a crucial role as intermediaries in ensuring that public spending translates into tangible development outcomes for citizens.
“The funds allocated for this year’s development projects must be completely utilised. Failing to do so will not only hinder development but also result in wastage of funds,” the President told State officials.
He added that repeatedly allocating money to unfinished projects prevents the launch of new initiatives and weakens the efficiency of Government spending.
President Disanayake criticised past practices where Government projects were launched without feasibility studies or long-term maintenance plans, noting that such expenditure had become a recurring burden on the State.
He cited the Hambantota SAARC Cultural Centre and the Anuradhapura Auditorium as examples of facilities now difficult to maintain due to the absence of responsible managing institutions.
The President said that many Government-built structures, such as tourist bungalows, inns, and public markets, remain unused or neglected, and suggested that private-sector management would be a more practical approach to ensure their sustainability.
During the meeting, the President also discussed flood and landslide risks in the Ratnapura District and agreed to allocate funds in the upcoming Budget to conduct a new feasibility study for a flood prevention project on the Kalu Ganga tributaries, noting that no such study has been carried out since 2014.
