Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
Wednesday Jan 14, 2026
Wednesday, 14 January 2026 06:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake |
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday sent a strong signal that the Government would not allow Cyclone Ditwah to derail its economic and fiscal program, stressing that policy continuity would be maintained despite the scale of the disaster.
“At the time we faced this disaster, Parliament was in the process of preparing our Budget,” the President said at the public launch of the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ post-Ditwah relief and recovery program.
“Some suggested that we suspend it and present an interim Budget, while others proposed completely revising the Budget to suit the disaster.
We did not do so, because that Budget was a visionary document intended to take our country, our economy and the lives of our people forward.”
He said the Budget passed on 5 December remained unchanged. “Accordingly, the Budget we passed in Parliament on 5 December was the very same Budget prepared before the cyclone struck. This is an extremely important point.”
The Government’s post-Ditwah relief and recovery effort ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ has collected domestic donations worth over Rs. 5.6 billion and foreign currency donations worth nearly $ 9.2 million since it was launched in early December, according to the official website also launched by President Dissanayake yesterday.
Addressing post-disaster financing, the President said the Government had opted for a supplementary allocation without altering its core agenda. “Without surrendering that mandate to any organisation or pressure group, we have presented a supplementary estimate of Rs. 500 billion solely for this purpose. Where necessary, Budget proposals can also be implemented on a priority basis.”
The President outlined the scale of the reconstruction effort, stating that “altogether, more than 20,000 new houses must be constructed,” while noting that the 2026 Budget had already planned for 31,000 new houses. “Taken together, over 50,000 houses will need to be built in 2026,” he said.
On funding and project preparation, he said: “With World Bank assistance, we have also prepared a preliminary estimate amounting to $ 4.1 billion. The value of the projects we have already prepared is around $ 2.8 billion and further projects are yet to be identified.”
Pledging to maintain financial discipline, the President said: “We therefore assume responsibility for every rupee you contribute, ensuring full financial discipline and complete transparency.”
He added that the disaster would not be used as a justification to reverse policy direction.
“We had no need to use this disaster as an excuse to reverse or paralyse the program we had prepared. Our intention was to continue moving forward within the framework of our agenda.”
