The committee stage budget debate in Parliament started yesterday (20) with the votes of the President, Prime Minister, the Judiciary, Ministries listed under the President and statutory bodies like the Auditor General's Department and independent commissions taken up for discussion.
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake making a special statement said there was a totally wrong impression about the funds allocated to a large number of bodies and ministries coming under the purview of the President. The impression that some opposition members and some sectors of the media had given was that a vast sum of money had been allocated to the President.
He said 5759 million rupees have been allocated under the Presidential votes, but for two programmes covering six different projects. Not for the expenditure of the President.
Out of the total allocation of funds under the President's vote were 1317 million rupees capital expenditure and 875 million rupees for putting up a new building on the site of the old Parliament building at Galle Face and the furniture and fittings of the building. Another 300 million rupees also has been allocated for the conservation and improvements of Temple Trees as capital expenditure, when all these allocations are deducted from this vote, only 92 million rupees has been allocated for capital expenditure under the President, the Premier noted.
The largest allocation of funds under the President's vote 1,430 million was for the Institute of Information Technology and German Technical Institute, Institute of Policy Studies, Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Human Rights Commission, Institute of Fundamental Studies, Essential Services Commissioner's Department, and another 12 bodies including the Peace Secretariat but the Opposition was trying to show that all the allocations were for the President.
From Parliament - Island
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