President Ranil Wickremesinghe has pulled out his trusty calculator and assured the nation’s public servants that a pay hike is on the horizon, courtesy of the 2023 budget. According to some well-placed sources at the Presidential Secretariat (who may or may not have overheard the conversation while making tea), the President has made this grand promise to the Cabinet.
But that’s not all—President Wickremesinghe, in a moment of magnanimity, also vowed to “make a request” for private sector workers to get a pay hike too… next year. So, if you’re in the private sector, you might want to start crossing your fingers now. You never know—your lucky year could be just around the corner!
NPP call
However, the President did not take kindly to rumors that the Jathika Jana Balawegaya (National Peoples Power) was trying to steal the spotlight by claiming credit for this forthcoming windfall. He dismissed their picketing campaigns as nothing more than a photo opportunity, adding that the government’s policy has always been to adjust salaries whenever the price of essential goods skyrockets. Because, you know, when life gives you lemons (at a steep price), you’ve got to at least make sure the lemonade makers are getting paid more.
In a more serious tone, the Treasury is reportedly setting aside a whopping Rs 185 billion for these salary increases. They’re also making sure to keep the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the loop, just like they did with the previous Rs 10,000 proposal. Apparently, the IMF has become something of a pen pal for Sri Lanka, with lots of back-and-forth about the budget and future funds.
Meanwhile, Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe hinted that the IMF review for the next tranche of funds—worth a cool US$350 million—has been put on hold, likely due to the upcoming presidential election. So, it seems the budget is ready to deliver some cheer, but we’ll have to wait and see if everyone ends up singing the same tune. Stay tuned for November 13, when the President will unveil the budget and, hopefully, the new paychecks.However Election monitors are not happy as they point out these pay hikes have been announced during election times.
