Govt. seeks Rs 12.4bn through supplementary estimate

Colombo (News1st) - A supplementary estimate of a massive Rs. 12.4 Billion was presented to Parliament on Friday (September 07). Of the total Rs. 12.4 Billion of additional funds, Rs. 500 Million is for the implementation of the Gamperaliya Project. This includes an additional Rs. 1 Million for promotional expenses incurred for the inauguration ceremony of Gamperaliya, in Kurunegala. Making a statement regarding the supplementary budget JVP MP Bimal Rathnayake stated that there is about a light years difference between the budget proposals and what is being implemented. He added that the current administration obtained votes by making promises such as the establishment of a budget office. Rathnayake noted that these promises have turned out to be sweet tales narrated by the PM. He went on to say that they see the expenses incurred for events such as the inauguration of Gamperaliya as a serious problem, adding that it is hard to audit the expenses incurred for the president or the prime minister to attend such events, especially due to expenses incurred in the deployment of the police and army. The JVP MP requested the Auditor General to take about five or ten of the past large-scale state events and examine how much money of the general public had been wasted.