Ceylon Chamber wants a pre-election budgetary position before Presidential elections

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce wants a pre-election budgetary position made public, before the Presidential election.





The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce wants a pre-election budgetary position made public, before the Presidential election. Sri Lanka’s leading trade chamber wants the government to amend the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act, to allow a pre-election fiscal report before a Presidential election.

At the moment the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act mandates that a pre-election budgetary position be announced only before a general election.

The Ministry of Finance must release a pre-election budgetary position report, containing information on the fiscal position of the country, within three weeks of the official announcement of a general election.

The chamber wants Presidential elections treated in the same way.

The chamber also says presenting the budget before the Presidential election is over, is impractical, because Presidential candidates’ manifestos are not aligned to any national budget.

“The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce considers the presentation of the