Sri Lanka already has sufficient fiscal room to deliver urgent cyclone relief without presenting a new budget, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said, urging the government to use unspent allocations in the 2025 Budget to accelerate emergency work.
He said that roughly Rs. 50 billion can be deployed immediately, including Rs. 30 billion currently available in the Treasury and another Rs. 20 billion that could be mobilized from other sources.
He noted that the funds are adequate to support debris removal, restore access routes and assist affected households over the next four weeks.
The SJB MP pointed out that additional spending authority for 2026 is also possible, even under the ongoing IMF program.
Citing provisions in the Public Financial Management Act, de Silva said Parliament may exceed the 13% primary expenditure cap in exceptional circumstances, allowing space for a reconstruction allocation of Rs. 300 billion to Rs. 500 billion next year.
He stressed that the IMF program does not prevent increased expenditure for recovery efforts and said Sri Lanka should calibrate its long-term financing needs after receiving the World Bank’s preliminary loss-and-damage assessment, expected in about two weeks.
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