Govt. spends Rs. 148.8 m in May

A supplementary allocation of Rs. 148.8 million was presented to the Parliament yesterday, keeping the House informed of the expenses incurred in May 2017. 

The key expenditure heads included purchasing vehicles for a Minister, Deputy Minister, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Law and Order Ministry and a Provincial Governor.

Lands and Parliamentary Reforms Minister and Chief Government Whip Gayantha Karunathilaka moved the paper on Supplementary Allocations from the Supplementary Support Services and Contingent Liabilities Project appearing under Expenditure Head No. 240 of the Department of National Budget for the period from 1 May 2017 to 31 May 2017 under Section 6 (1) of the Appropriation Act, No. 24 of 2016.

According to Expenditure Heads, Rs. 43 million was for the purchase of vehicles for the Minister of Post, Postal Services and Muslim Religious Affairs M.H.A. Haleem, Rs. 43 million was for the Deputy Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment Anuradha Jayaratne, Rs. 9 million for the purchase of a backup security vehicle for Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Rs. 53 million for the Law and Order Ministry to purchase a vehicle for the Special Task Force (STF) and Rs. 10.6 million to purchase vehicles for the use of Sri Lanka Missions in Oman and Beijing. A sum of Rs. 848,400 was allocated to pay the balance payment of purchasing a vehicle for the Northern Provincial Council Governor and Rs. 706,200 to purchase a three-wheeler to deliver mail to the President. 

Apart from the vehicle purchases, a supplementary allocation of Rs. 50 million was provided to meet the expenditure of flood and drought relief. A supplementary allocation of Rs. 14.8 million was also sought for the renovation of the official residence of Minister of Women and Child Affairs Chandrani Bandara and another Rs. 13 million for the renovation of the official residence of Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Faiszer Musthapha. 

Supplementary allocations are being provided in the terms of Clause 6 (1) of the Appropriation Act as required. These are provided strictly for the purposes specified in the approved Budget estimates to relevant spending agencies having carried out a needs assessment, giving consideration to relevant financial regulations and approved procedures.

However, the supplementary provision presented yesterday did not change the approved total expenditure limits of the annual estimate by Parliament. The allocation of such purposes has been made under the Project of Budgetary Support Services and Contingent Liabilities of the Department of National Budget and it is under the limit of the Approved Annual Budget. Therefore, either the borrowing limit or the maximum limit of total expenditure will not be increased due to the granting of these supplementary provisions. The purpose of this provision is to facilitate the smooth conduct of public finance management in a more efficient and effective manner. (AH)