Million-dollar question on the President’s 30 billion from 2025 budget

Fact Check

In his address to the nation following Cyclone Ditwah, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake stated that funds from the previous year’s budget are available for disaster-related spending without requiring fresh parliamentary approval. FactCheck.lk evaluates this claim by examining whether such funds exist and if the available amount (unconstrained by fresh parliamentary approval) is at least LKR 30 billion.

To verify this, FactCheck.lk consulted the Appropriation Act No. 3 of 2025, the Approved Detailed Budget Estimates for 2025, the Approved Detailed Budget Estimates for 2026 and the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act No. 44 of 2024.

Are there funds that can be used without parliamentary approval?

Yes, because Section 6(1) of the Appropriation Act, No. 3 of 2025, makes the allocations made under the Development Activities of the Department of National Budget (NBD) flexible. It can only be spent by transferring it to any other programme or Heads of Expenditure, by order of the Secretary to the Treasury (or authorised officers), subject to guidance in the Budget Estimates approved by parliament for each relevant year (see Additional Note 1).

For 2025, Parliament approved these allocations through the Appropriation Act and the Budget Estimates. Within the NBD’s Development Activities, there are two components: (1) the Annual Budget Reserve (ABR), and (2) Budget Proposals (See Exhibit 1). The 2025 Budget Estimates set out guidelines for the provisions made available under the ABR.

The Budget Estimates specify 11 permitted uses for the ABR, including natural disaster response. Although the Budget Estimates do not set out an equivalent list of permitted purposes for the Budget Proposals component, section 6(1) allows the Treasury to transfer funds from the Budget Proposal Head as it falls under the Development Activities of the NBD. Effectively, this creates a broader pool of funds available for transfer than the ABR alone.

Are the funds available at least LKR 30 billion?

Yes, based on the revised 2025 budget figures.

Parliament approved LKR 37.5 billion for the ABR in the 2025 Budget (Exhibit 1). This confirms that funds were appropriated under this head at the start of the financial year. The manner in which budget figures are reported is that when funds in the ABR are spent, the ABR budget head figure is reduced, and the budget head under which the expenditure (transfer) is recorded is increased.

Therefore, the revised 2025 budget figure of LKR 26.9 billion for the ABR is interpreted as the amount that remains “unspent” and available.

While this amount is slightly below the LKR 30 billion cited by the President, as explained above, the Treasury has the same flexibility to transfer funds from the Budget Proposals component for urgent needs without fresh parliamentary approval. In that, the revised 2025 budget figures show that LKR 96.2 billion has not yet been spent (Exhibit 1).

In sum, the President is correct that funds exist that can be utilised without seeking fresh parliamentary approval, and based on the revised budget estimates, it is also correct that LKR 30 billion of such funds are available for expenditure.

Therefore, we classify the President’s statement as TRUE.

*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: Allocations for Development Activities Head of the National Budget Department in LKR billion.