State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya yesterday said (06) in Avissawella that a country in the midst of the world’s biggest economic crisis will be setting a world record by holding an election by printing money.
Can the country afford this, he asked.He said that people from certain quarters are clamouring for the holding of the Local Government (LG) election when the country is facing an unprecedented crisis. Siyabalapitiya said that the Government had printed Rs.2,500 billion during 2022.
“For the first 12 days of this year, the total expenditure is Rs.80.5 billion while the income record is only Rs.26 billion. He said that the Government is in a quandary as to how the remaining Rs.54 billion can be found.
“It is not possible to curtail any of those expenses. The Government has to make payments for pensioners, Samurdhi beneficiaries, fertilizer imports and for those recruited under the 100,000 employment scheme,” he said.
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