Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Thursday Dec 04, 2025
Thursday, 4 December 2025 06:38 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday demanded that the Government withdraw the 2026 Budget and present a fresh one tailored to the scale of the destruction caused by Cyclone Ditwah, insisting that the current fiscal plan cannot address the needs of more than 1.5 million people affected.
Meanwhile, his colleague, Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, took a contrasting position, arguing that the Government already has ample fiscal space to respond and does not need a new Budget to deliver urgent relief.
Premadasa told Parliament that proceeding with tomorrow’s Budget vote would make a mockery of the crisis, stressing that the country cannot pretend the pre-disaster framework remains valid when entire communities are displaced and the full extent of economic damage is still being assessed.
He proposed postponing the Budget vote, drafting a new set of measures focused on relief and reconstruction, and presenting it in Parliament next week.
Premadasa also urged the Government to immediately convene an International Donor Conference, adding that the Opposition was willing to organise such a forum in collaboration with the administration if it lacked capacity.
In a sweeping call for a reset of the external financing framework, the Opposition Leader argued that Sri Lanka must renegotiate its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program in light of the catastrophe.
He said the Government should immediately enter discussions to “suspend or reshape the agreement” and remove conditions that he claimed were exacerbating public pressure. If the Government was unwilling to do so, he said the Opposition was prepared to join the negotiations.
He also called for a cross-party delegation to engage with US President Donald Trump to seek the removal of reciprocal tariffs affecting Sri Lankan exports, noting the SJB would soon present its own economic recovery strategy.
However, speaking separately, Dr. de Silva opined that the existing 2025 Budget still contains unutilised allocations that can be redirected for emergency work.
He said around Rs. 30 billion remains available in the Treasury, with a further Rs. 20 billion that could be channelled from other sources, amounting to roughly Rs. 50 billion that can be deployed immediately for clearing debris, restoring access and supporting affected households over the next four weeks.
Dr. de Silva disclosed that with additional flexibility under the Public Financial Management Act, Parliament could authorise further spending for 2026, even with the IMF agreement in force.
He explained that the Act allows the Government to exceed the 13% primary expenditure limit in exceptional circumstances and said reconstruction needs could justify allocating Rs. 300–500 billion next year.
He insisted that the presence of an IMF program does not prevent such action and that Sri Lanka must wait for the World Bank’s preliminary loss and damage assessment expected in two weeks to calibrate the required scale of expenditure.
“The Treasury has enough money at present and there is no excuse not to spend it,” he said.
