Despite economic crisis, Treasury allocates billions for Offices of President, PM, Ministers

-The budget allocated for the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers still remain in billions with no major cost cuts in sight

-The budgets allocated under ‘Special Spending Units’ for the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2023 are more or just the same when compared to what was allocated in 2022

Sri Lanka is still in the midst of its worst-ever economic crisis and just a few months ago defaulted on its debt payments for the first time in history.

However, despite the soaring debts and high cost of living which has resulted in citizens having to compromise on the quality of life as well as now having to pay soaring taxes to give some relief to the much dry Treasury, the budget allocated for the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office and the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers still remain in billions with no major cost cuts in sight.

According to official figures released by the Treasury, the budgets allocated under ‘Special Spending Units’ for the President’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Office of the Cabinet of Ministers in 2023 are more or just the same when compared to what was allocated in 2022, leading to a question as to why there have been no major reductions amidst the spiraling economic crisis.

Under the budget allocated for the ‘Special Spending Unit’ for the President, a staggering sum of Rs.3.88 billion has been allocated in 2023 as compared to the Rs.3.04 billion compared for 2022. According to Treasury figures, Rs.70 million has been allocated for the President for ‘Overtime and Holiday Payments’ which is the same allocation as last year, and Rs.86 million has been allocated as travel expenses which include domestic and foreign visits for 2023 as compared to Rs.26 million allocated for 2022.

Under the maintenance expenditure for the President such as vehicles, plant and machinery and buildings and structures, the Treasury has allocated Rs.450 million in 2023, the same sum allocated for 2022.

For the Prime Minister, under this same Special Spending Units category, the budget allocated for 2023 is a staggering Rs.1.01 billion. However, this is a slight decrease compared to the Rs.1.43 billion allocated for 2022.

The Treasury has allocated Rs.40 million for the Prime Minister under the category of ‘Overtime and Holiday Payments’ and Rs.18 million has been allocated as traveling expenses which include domestic and foreign.

A staggering Rs.172 million has been allocated as maintenance expenditure for the Prime Minister for vehicles, plant and machinery and buildings and structures.

For the office of the cabinet of ministers, the Treasury has allocated a sum of Rs. 263 million for 2023 as compared to the Rs.217 million allocated for 2022.

For Parliament, the Treasury has allocated Rs.3.81 billion in 2023 as opposed to Rs.3.43 billion allocated for 2022. Rs.70 million has been allocated for the Office of the Leader of the House of Parliament, Rs.160 million has been allocated for the Office of the Chief Government Whip and Rs.235 million has been allocated for the Office of the Leader of the Opposition of Parliament for 2023.

These allocations come at a time when hospitals are still facing a shortage of medicines.

With such turmoil, why is it that the government cannot afford to implement major cuts in its expenses and offer some relief to the country? Shortage of medicines and the import market remains restricted affecting thousands of businesses. Malnutrition is also rampant among children and the country is heavily dependent of international assistance to seek some relief from debt payments. (JAMILA HUSAIN)