Although the rulers claim that the treasury is overflowing with money, the real economic situation is different, says former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
Participating in a program on the Siyatha television channel, he said that if the country has a surplus, the question arises as to why the government is planning to obtain a loan of Rs. 1741 billion for the coming year.
Former Finance Minister Karunanayake pointed out that this financial surplus shown by the government has arisen due to non-spending of the funds allocated for development activities.
He noted that out of the Rs. 1354 billion allocated for capital expenditure in 2024, only Rs. 784 billion has been spent, and that a false surplus is being shown by keeping the remaining money unspent.
The former minister pointed out that a huge ‘recurrent expenditure’ has to be incurred to maintain such a surplus, which in terms of rupees is about Rs. 111.3 billion.
Economic growth and investment lag, he said, adding that for real development to occur, domestic product must grow at a high level, but it is difficult to see such growth in the current economic trajectory.