President makes ambiguous claim on debt restructuring

The information presented by the president is most easily interpreted as Sri Lanka pursuing a USD 17 billion reduction on the total stock of debt. However, it does not preclude another interpretation: a reduction in the flow of debt

Minister Nanayakkara right on the rise in remittances

The minister in his tweet claims a rise in worker remittances by Sri Lankan migrant workers in 2023 compared to 2022. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted data on the flow of foreign remittances published by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). In public finance

MP Weerawansa makes spurious case against the IMF

In his statement, the MP claims that the government’s economic strategy in line with IMF guidance is not effective because total export income has decreased by 10% this year compared to last year. The MP

CBSL Governor corrects the record on “money printing”

Commenting on the question of inflationary pressure created in Sri Lanka due to increased money printing, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) claims that the money printing has reduced in 2022 compared to 2021. The gov

Minister Premajayantha inefficient in claiming efficiency of IMF process 

In his statement, the minister makes two claims. (1) The current IMF programme required Sri Lanka to complete programme actions before receiving IMF funding, while in the previous programmes the actions were completed after receiving the funding, and (2) Sri Lanka was exceptionally fast in formalising an IMF agreement [after the staff level agreement], having done so within 7 mo

Minister Wijesekera claims low profits with unaccountable version of the fuel price formula

This fact check is based on the minister’s recent tweet on the fuel price formula cost breakdown for a litre of petrol, diesel, and kerosene. The breakdown of the cost is meant to justify the price charged by the CPC for the following month. In his tweet, the minister claims the profit to the CPC is low with an unaccountable version of the fuel price formula. To chec

MP Shanakiyan shines a light on electricity tariff hike

To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted documentation published by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), including correspondence between the Ceylon electricity Board (C

State Minister Siyambalapitiya’s tax paying labour force numbers don’t work

The state minister claims that an extremely small portion of the labour force are eligible to be subject to Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. Since he made this claim in parliament, the statement has been cited and reported widely by high level decision makers and the media.

President right on reduction in registered tax files

The president claims that there were 1.5 million income tax files by the end of 2019 and that the income tax files dropped to 400,000 by the end of 2021. The president makes these claims in the context of attributing the reduction in tax files from 2019 to 2021 to the tax revisions made in 2020. To evaluate

AKD mistakes disparity in total economic activity as disparity in individual participation

In his statement, the MP makes two related claims: (i) Economic a

State minister Siyambalapitiya short on facts on import shortages

The state minister claims that fuel, medicine, and fertiliser are being imported without a shortage. To chec

President directs attention to low direct taxes

The president while delivering the government’s policy statement, claims that the share of direct taxes collected in Sri Lanka is lower compared to many Asian countries and suggests that increasing the share of direct taxes would reduce the tax burden (indirect taxes) on the “general public” (interpreted here as “wider lower-income population”). To check

Patali - True on SL’s uneasy equilibrium, false on fuel bill savings

In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mirror, the MP cites the reduction in the monthly fuel bill as an example of why Sri Lanka’s current economic “normalcy” is on an “uneasy equilibrium”. In his example, he says that the country is saving around USD 350 million a month by cutting down the fuel bill from around USD 550 million to USD 200 m

Siyambalapitiya hugely magnifies fiscal difficulties for holding LG elections

The state minister made this statement in the context of explaining the details of an affidavit filed at the Supreme Court on January 18 by the Secretary to the Treasury. The affidavit is reported to state that the Treasury is finding it challenging to secure funds for an election as it is operating under the prevailing economic crisis. The statements of the state minister provide numbers ind

Minister Wijesekera: Overstates the most pessimistic scenario of the already overstated loss scenarios of the CEB

FactCheck.lk interprets the minister as claiming that the shortfall between the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) revenue and cost will amount to approximately LKR 489 billion for 2023, despite the increase in electricity tariffs in August 2022. To evalu

MP Ganesan right when he spoke, on gap between estate sector and the rest

The MP in his statement effectively makes two claims on the gap between the estate sector and the rest of the country: (1) that poverty is almost double, and (2) that food insecurity in the estate

MP Alagiyawanna: It became more ok to breathe in Sri Lanka between 2018 and 2021

The minister refers to a ranking index on air quality to claim that Sri Lanka has significantly improved its air quality standing in Asia and in the world between 2018 and the present. To verify the

State minister Siyambalapitiya fails on success of tax collection

The statement attributed to the state minister (i) cites the tax revenue collected by the IRD (by end September) as 68.4% of the LKR 915 billion target (LKR 625.9 billion) [in the 2022 budget], and (ii) ci

AKD fumbles the numbers on higher malnutrition in Nuwara Eliya

In his statement, the MP claims that the hill country region, noting Nuwara Eliya specifically, has a higher prevalence of malnutrition than Sri Lanka in general. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted data from the Family Health Bureau and the Ministry of Health Annual Health Bulletin from 2019.

BudgetCheck2023 by FactCheck.lk

Central govt. spending on defence and highways have been significantly higher relative to spending on health and education. Therefore, low spending on health and education reflects a policy of lower relative priority and cannot be only attributable to low revenue.

MP Wickramaratne on SOE losses: right on gross not on net

The MP makes two claims about the losses of 52 strategically important SOEs (as classified by the Ministry of Finance): (1) LKR 286 billion in 2021, (2) LKR 966 billion by the second quarter of 2022

President Wickremesinghe lands on his feet on government land ownership

In his statement, the president makes two claims—(i) the government owns approximately 80% of all land, and (ii) the government is able to allocate land for investment purposes. To check these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted reports from the World Bank (WB) and the UN-REDD programme.

MP Siyambalapitiya quite sober on alcohol and tobacco taxes

Tobacco and alcohol are currently charged an excise tax and value-added-tax (VAT) by the government. To check

MP Mahindananda misled by mislabelling in govt. reporting

FactCheck.lk interpreted the MP as making three claims, that in the year 2021, (1) there were 507,000 registered taxpayers

Minister Gunawardana taxes the facts on problem of revenue

The minister in his statement claims that most of the government’s tax revenue is being spent on state sector salaries and pensions and only a fraction of it is left for other initiatives. To chec

CBSL governor good on reduced export of goods

The governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CSBL) is reported as claiming that: (1) Sri Lanka’s export earnings as a percentage of Gross National Product (GNP) by 2001 stood at around 33%, and (2) it has dropped to below 15%, since 2001. To evaluate this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted annual reports and export statistics of the CBSL. FactCheck.lk assumed that, despite the phrasing in the article, the governor was referring to export earnings as

MP De Silva on target on difficulty of IMF target

To check the MP’s claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the press release issued by the IMF and the 2021 Annual Report of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The primary account balance is calculated as revenue minus expenditure

Hashim right on the trillion on SOE borrowings

The MP in his statement claims that government institutions have borrowed more than LKR 1 trillion by December 2021. FactCheck.lk interprets the MP as referring to State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), where the loan book liability is not reflected in the central government accounts.

Minister Gunawardana on track on railways

The minister made this statement in the context of justifying the upward revision of railway fares. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the approved Budget Estimates for 2022 and the Annual Report 2021, published by the Ministry of Finance (MoF). As per th

President Wickremesinghe correct about Sri Lankan Airlines’ soaring losses

The current president made this claim while he was the Prime Minister. To evaluate the claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA) Annual Reports from 2007 to 2021. Each annual report gives the profits and losses for a financial year, which runs from April to March.