Debt
Budget Burdens: Prof. Athukorala shows high ‘interest’
Accordingly, for interest payments alone, … LKR 2,651 billion in the 2024 budget. Accordingly, it is clear that relative to other things [expenses], a huge amount of money is spent on paying the interest on debt.
Aruna | October 31, 2024
Posted on: 21 November, 2024
True
Prof. Jayantha explains govt. borrowing
[…] the Central Bank has issued treasury bills of LKR 465.1 billion during the period between September 27 and October 15, […] LKR 400 billion out of the total of LKR 465.1 billion has been utilised for debt servicing.
Daily Mirror | October 17, 2024
Posted on: 1 November, 2024
True
Fact-checking president’s fact-check on foreign loans
Our country’s total foreign debt is USD 37 billion. However, this person [the one who posted on social media] is citing a false figure... [He] claims that we obtained loans of up to [USD] 100 billion [from USD 71 billion] over the past two years. However, everyone knows that no country gave us loans after we declared our inability to repay our debt. No country has the legal right to provide loans to us... How can we obtain loans if no country is providing loans to us? Should I go and rob the Bank of England?
Parliament YouTube Page | July 2, 2024
Posted on: 1 August, 2024
Partly True
MP Ranawaka shows Sri Lanka borrowed more than it repaid in foreign loans
Even though the @CBSL reported that a $ 2 billion loan repayment was made, $ 3 billion was borrowed from multilateral sources during the same period.
Patali Champika Ranawaka’s X account | April 8, 2024
Posted on: 9 May, 2024
True
MP Rajapaksa misrepresents past reduction of debt burden
My government reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio from 90% at the end of 2005 to 69% at the end of 2014.
NewsFirst.lk | December 20, 2023
Posted on: 1 February, 2024
Partly True
AKD overblows RW’s yahapalanaya debt
When Ranil Wickremesinghe came to power in 2015, our debt was LKR 8.5 trillion […] In 2020, the country’s debt […] stood at LKR 15 trillion […] Approximately, Ranil’s five years put the country more in debt by LKR 6.5 trillion.
JVP Sri Lanka Facebook page | October 22, 2023
Posted on: 7 December, 2023
False
President Rajapaksa errs on foreign loans
I have not taken a cent in foreign loans during my two years in office.
Newswire | January 7, 2022
Posted on: 26 January, 2022
False
Minister Bandula Gunawardana uses an incorrect calculation to compare debt
The debt stood at 2 trillion when Mahinda Rajapaksa took over the country. It stood at 7 trillion at the time he handed over the country. The debt only rose by 5 trillion in [those] 10 years. [But] The debt stood at 13 trillion when the country was handed over to us. Your [Yahapalanaya] government obtained 6 trillion in loans in 5 years.
Parliament Hansard | November 13, 2021
Posted on: 20 January, 2022
False
MP John Seneviratne thrice muddled on debt increase claim.
At the time when Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over the government, we had only 72% of foreign loans. However, soon after the Yahapalana government, when we came into power that percentage has been increased up to 96%. Therefore, we must say, it was during their 5-year tenure [Yahapalana government] have taken an enormous amount of loans.
Parliament Hansard | November 15, 2021
Posted on: 16 December, 2021
False
MP Wickramaratne generates interest on Sri Lanka’s record cost of interest
70% of government revenue is spent on interest on loan repayment. Lebanon is the only country in the world that pays higher interest than Sri Lanka as a percentage of national revenue.
Daily FT | August 5, 2021
Posted on: 30 September, 2021
True
MP Ranawaka notes a hidden aspect of Sri Lanka’s debt
The CBSL has reported that the public sector debt is 109.7% of the GDP. This is the highest it has ever been in history. If we disregard the government’s undervaluation of sovereign bonds, this figure will exceed 113% of the GDP.
Dinamina | June 2, 2021
Posted on: 5 August, 2021
True
Lohan Ratwatte flat out wrong on vehicle loans
This is a credit line…If that credit line is not used, it will go to waste—it must be put to use. Our government will not go into debt by importing those vehicles.
NewsFirst.lk | June 12, 2021
Posted on: 8 July, 2021
Blatantly False
MP Rohana Bandara notes notable debt to China
14% of Sri Lanka’s debt is owed to China…
Dinamina | May 10, 2021
Posted on: 3 June, 2021
True
MP Cabraal: Not without fault on debt default claims
As of now (February 2021), the total ISBs outstanding is USD 14 billion, which is only 16.7 percent of Sri Lanka’s total debt. None of the other creditors who hold 83.3 percent of Sri Lanka’s debt seem to show any sign of concern or stress about its repayment ability. We have to repay only around US
Sunday Observer | February 28, 2021
Posted on: 26 March, 2021
Partly True
MP Dissanayake correctly exposes foreign debt payment exposure
We have to pay close to USD 400 million a month in [foreign] debt.
Lankadeepa | October 12, 2020
Posted on: 26 November, 2020
True
MP De Silva correct on concerns of rising LKR debt
…the government made a hue and cry [those days] saying that the debt rose by Rs. 5,700 billion in five years, didn’t they? However, during their time, it has risen by [approximately] Rs. 1,000 billion in just four months… What this means is that the monthly increase in debt has risen by a factor of 2.5 as compared to the time of the previous government.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya Press Briefing | July 7, 2020
Posted on: 1 October, 2020
True
MP de Silva over-interprets Sri Lanka’s borrowing from the New York Fed
Also, for the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, when Sri Lanka, as a sovereign state, asked the international community for a loan, they asked for collateral. This is because the international community has identified that if Sri Lanka continues with its current economic policies…
Aruna | July 20, 2020
Posted on: 20 August, 2020
Partly True
Udaya Gammanpila on debt burden: Correct on statistics, less so on the inference
In 2005, when we took over the country, Sri Lanka's debt burden was 103%... [we] reduced the debt burden to 72%. During the five years the UNP ruled the country, [they] once again increased it to 87%.
Mawbima | July 8, 2020
Posted on: 23 July, 2020
True
Former MP Ranawaka ‘right on the money’ on Japanese loans
As a country, Japan has given the most in loans at low interest rates.
Aruna | June 16, 2020
Posted on: 8 July, 2020
True
MP Ranawaka on airline debt: flying too high
Through SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka, every person in the country has been made a debtor to the value of LKR 12,500.
Divaina | August 28, 2019
Posted on: 4 February, 2020
False
Minister Eran Wickramaratne right on government borrowings, for two years, not four.
Total borrowings by the Government have been completely used to repay debt.
Dily FT | June 19, 2019
Posted on: 22 August, 2019
Partly True
MP Mahinda Rajapaksa miscalculates the increase in debt and its causes
"In the past four years, the UNP-led government has borrowed the equivalent of 50% of the total national debt that was outstanding as at the end of December 2014
The Island | January 12, 2019
Posted on: 21 March, 2019
False