Attanayake grudges “president’s expenditure head” by misreading history

Former MP Tissa Attanayake claimed that the proposed 2026 Appropriation Bill allocates an amount “higher than anything ever allocated in the country’s history” for the President’s expenditure head.

To check this claim, FactCheck.lk reviewed the allocations for the President’s expenditure head in Appropriation Bills presented to Parliament over the past fifteen years (2011 to 2025), and compared them with the proposed allocation of LKR 11.385 billion for 2026.

It is generally the case that, because of inflation (including wage increases), expenditure on most budget heads is higher every year than the previous—since the same goods and services cost more annually. Therefore, each year’s figure will usually be the highest in history when the figures are stated in nominal terms. This effect has been especially pronounced since 2021, when the overall consumer price inflation has been exceptionally high—exceeding 80%—meaning what cost LKR 100 in 2021 would cost more than LKR 180 at present.

Accordingly, a reasonable comparison of expenditure with the past should be on real value terms, which is the inflation adjusted value of the expenditure. The real value numbers published by the Central Bank show that the budget allocation for the president’s expenditure head has been higher than the proposed 2026 figure in eleven out of the past fifteen years (since 2011). Therefore, the 2026 allocation is certainly not the highest in history.

Even if MP Attanayake was basing his claim (unreasonably) on the nominal numbers, the nominal allocation was also higher in both 2019 (LKR 13,561 billion), and 2024 (LKR 38,600 billion). In 2024, an increased allocation was made through a later amendment to the Appropriation Bill.

In sum, both in real and nominal terms, the data shows that the 2026 allocation for the president’s expenditure head is not the highest in history.

Therefore, we classify the former MP’s statement as FALSE.

*FactCheck.lk’s verdict is based on the most recent information that is publicly accessible. As with every fact check, if new information becomes available, FactCheck.lk will revisit the assessment.

Exhibit 1: Allocation for the president’s expenditure head: Nominal and real terms (2011–2026)

Note: Average annual inflation for 2025 & 2026 is assumed as 0% & 5%, respectively.