Govt. not desperate for funds but will tap into intl. markets

Saturday, 11 April 2015 01:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Charumini de Silva Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake yesterday said that the Government would look into cheaper borrowing from the international markets but promised that they had enough cushioning at present. “Our borrowing limit is at Rs. 850 billion and we still have room to raise another Rs. 35 billion to Rs. 50 billion. You will see things happening in the next week,” he noted. Karunanayake said that the Government had not increased the borrowing limit that was placed through the 2015 Budget by the former President and asserted that they were well within that limit. Until former President Mahinda Rajapaksa took over in 2005 total borrowing was at Rs. 250 billion, and then the limit was increased significantly to Rs. 850 billion. “There is no necessity for us to get the approval to live for the day. We just wanted to increase it to Rs 1,250 billion. At present, we have enough cushioning factors, but taking some money at low interest rates would have been advantageous to the Government,” Karunanayake told a media briefing yesterday. Govt... He said that if the Government was given a chance to borrow, it would not be spent lavishly but would pass on the benefits to the masses. “We have brought many benefits to the general public during the past few weeks. We wanted to offer more for Samurdhi and buy more paddy but unfortunately this proposal was shot down.”

NLB pocket out Rs. 375 m for MR’s re-election push

National Lotteries Board (NLB) Chairperson Shyamala Perera yesterday revealed that Rs. 375 million allocated for its corporation promotions budget last year had been exhausted by the Rajapaksa regime for their political activities. She said of the Rs. 400 million that was allocated for the promotions budget, Rs. 375 million had been spent on video walls and hoarding during the re-election campaign of ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa. According to the initial investigations the Board has found that Rs. 375 million was spent on their political activities, while these expenses had been recorded in books as ‘truck promotions’. “Once the full audit was completed, we will be in a position to reveal more accurate figures of the scam. But until then with the evidence we found from the initial investigations, we will complain about this to the anti-corruption agency,” she told a media briefing held at the Finance Ministry yesterday. Rs. 200 million from the Rs. 375 million was spent during November, December and January. Most of the hoardings bore pictures of ex-President Rajapaksa along with the words National Lotteries Board in small print. Despite not settling longstanding payments to the Board, these funds had been released from the institute with immediate effect, which was not even an expense of the Board. Perera said that she could find fault with the employees of the Board because they were forced to adhere to their superiors.

State revenue up in 1Q

The Government yesterday said that revenue had increased sharply during the first quarter though exact figures were not revealed. Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said that the Government’s revenue during the first quarter had increased significantly compared to last year but refused to provide any numbers until he obtained accurate figures. “The Excise Department has collected Rs. 9,400 million during March compared to Rs. 4,100 million in November last year. There is a significant increase in the taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Department. Sri Lanka Customs has recorded a 10% to 12% growth in their revenue collection while the Import and Export Control Department of the Government has recorded a 7% increase.”