Govt. says 2027 Budget to focus on economic transformation

Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando yesterday described the 2027 Budget, to be presented today by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, as a long-term economic transformation plan aimed at moving Sri Lanka towards upper-middle-income status.

He said the Budget would set out a phased pathway, supported by strategies, specific actions and priority-based resource allocations, to take the country beyond economic stabilisation towards sustained transformation.

In a special statement, Dr. Fernando said the Budget should be assessed holistically rather than through allocations to individual ministries and expenditure vote lines. He described the first two Budgets as having focused on establishing macroeconomic stability, which he said had now been achieved.

“The focus now needs to shift from stabilisation towards transformation,” he said, identifying quality investment, broader economic participation, job creation, higher productivity and increased production for export markets as key priorities.

He said the 2027 Budget had been structured around these priorities, with fiscal discipline remaining central, and stressed that there would be no room for corruption or waste.

While acknowledging that targeted groups would receive welfare support and tax concessions, Dr. Fernando urged the public to look beyond individual benefits when assessing the Budget.

“We should not look only at welfare benefits or tax concessions, but consider the overall macroeconomic policy direction of the Budget,” he said.

Daily FT