Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa increased government employee salaries without even checking if there were sufficient funds in the Treasury, making it impossible to raise salaries at this time, according to Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Vijitha Herath.
Minister Vijitha Herath emphasized that the current government is not prepared to implement such decisions that mislead the public. However, he expressed hope that government salaries could be increased next year, although he did not provide an exact timeline.
Minister Herath continued by stating, “As someone who has served over forty years in Parliament, what the former president did was wrong. No funds were set aside, only false promises were made. He claimed that the Cabinet could make decisions without consulting anyone. Even President Gotabaya did similar things. We remember what happened as a result. In January, the decision to add Rs. 10,000 to government salaries was taken without proper allocation. There was a promise to settle the arrears from October, but it wasn’t done. Although the Rs. 10,000 was given from April, no decision was made about the arrears. According to the circular, Rs. 5,000 is to be paid between January and March 2025. This, too, is misleading the public with baseless promises,” Minister Herath remarked.