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Thu, 18 Apr 2024 Today's Paper
29 Feb 2024 - 1 - 945
To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Weekly Economic Indicators of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), IMF’s Balance of Payments Manual sixth edition (BPM6), and IMF Country Report No. 23/12.
15 Feb 2024 - 1 - 900
In his briefing to the press, the MP interprets Article 31(3) of the constitution to say that a presidential election must certainly be conducted between 18 September and 18 October 2024. To evaluate this cla
09 Feb 2024 - 4 - 622
This claim by the State Minister Siyambalapitya was reported differently in the press. However, FactCheck.lk evaluated only his associated social media post. He can be understood as claiming that 4 million individuals will be receiving monthly payments from the government in 2024. He bases this figure on two groups: (i) 2 million who are government employees or pensioners,
01 Feb 2024 - 15 - 838
In his statement, the MP claims that Sri Lanka’s debt-to-GDP ratio reduced from 90% at the end of 2005 to 69% by the end of 2014. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk referred to the Annual Reports of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the Ministry of Finance. The accounti
18 Jan 2024 - 0 - 361
MP Alawathuwala claims that the food expenses have tripled from 2019 to 2023, increasing from LKR6,000-6,500 to LKR 16,000-17,000. To verify the above claims, FactCheck.lk referred to multiple publications of the Department of Census and Statistics: (1) Price index data on the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) and National Consumer Price Index (NCPI), (2) Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES). The MP indicates that the range of values
14 Dec 2023 - 4 - 1085
In his speech, the MP sets out a standard monetary poverty measure of the World Bank as 25% of the Sri Lankan population; and argues that when multidimensional factors such as education and health are considered, the poverty level is much greater. He cites multidimensional poverty as 56% of the population. To check this claim
07 Dec 2023 - 8 - 1366
MP Dissanayake claimed that debt had increased to unprecedented levels during Ranil Wickremesinghe’s tenure as prime minister (PM) from 2015 to 2019. In support of his argument, the MP cited that between 2015 and 2020, debt had increased by LKR 6.5 trillion to LKR 15 trillion (a 76.5% increase). To verify these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the 2022 CBSL Annual Report. FactCheck.
16 Nov 2023 - 2 - 814
Fact check: The president is correct if the statement is read to mean that it is not possible to secure any more monetary financing until January 2024. Read the full fact-check on the website.
09 Nov 2023 - 3 - 1004
President Wickremesinghe claimed that “money printing” is currently prevented by enacting the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act No. 16 of 2023 (CBA23). To verify this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the CBA23 and
26 Oct 2023 - 0 - 623
In an interview with Aruna, MP Godahewa made two claims: (1) the increase in tax revenue by 70% in the 2023 budget compared to 2022 is not practical, and (2) the tax hike has resulted in a 70% reduction in the
20 Oct 2023 - 0 - 446
Today’s the anniversary Of the day I lost you, And for a time it felt as though My life had ended too.
20 Oct 2023 - 0 - 238
In a parliamentary speech, the MP made two claims: (1) exports have decreased by 19.5%, and (2) the industrial sector has collapsed by 23.4% in the first quarter of 2023. To verify these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the export and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics provided by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). On claim 1: The MP does n
12 Oct 2023 - 0 - 414
During a Samagi Jana Balawegaya press conference, MP Wickramaratne made two claims in relation to remittances: (i) the highest amount of remittances was received during the 2016-2018 period,
06 Oct 2023 - 2 - 244
The statement in question was part of a longer parliamentary speech discussing the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 11 of 2023 (BGL23). State Minister Siyambalapitiya argued that policymakers had made amendments to the taxation of casinos with the aim of increasing revenue collection and decreasing local participation. In this part of the statement, he claims: (1) a US
21 Sep 2023 - 0 - 360
In a broader discussion on the burden of prisons on the Treasury, the state minister advocated for the revamping of the prison system. In support of his stance, the state minister claimed that: (1) (a) the
14 Sep 2023 - 9 - 1580
To evaluate the MP’s claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the 1981 and 2012 censuses from the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS). The census does not define the “City of Colombo.” The 2012 cen
07 Sep 2023 - 1 - 387
To check the MP’s claim, FactCheck.lk consulted Health at a Glance: Asia/Pacific by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and World Health Organisation (WHO) 2022 report and the Global Health Security (GHS) Index developed by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The Health at a Glance (H
17 Aug 2023 - 0 - 525
The MP made three claims regarding low female labour force participation in Sri Lanka: (1) official statistics on contribution to the labour force underestimate women’s contribution to work by not taking account of unpaid work; (2) 60% of unpaid, caregiving work is done by women, and (3) women already work more hours in a day (14 hours) than men (9 hours). To evaluate these cl
10 Aug 2023 - 0 - 440
The MP in his statement claims that (1) CBSL maintains both the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) of private and semi-government sector workers and a separate provident fund for its employees; and (2) the CBSL Provident Fund (CBSLP
03 Aug 2023 - 1 - 488
In his speech, MP Hakeem makes two overall claims: (1) Sri Lanka will be the first Asian country subject to an IMF review of governance diagnostics, and (2) Sri Lanka was the first country in the
27 Jul 2023 - 0 - 417
In his statement, the MP makes two claims; 1) that the agreement signed with the IMF does not impose a condition on the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) to restructure domestic debt, 2) that it is instead the foreign bondholders that have imposed a condition saying that domestic debt should also be restructured similar to foreign debt.
20 Jul 2023 - 1 - 559
The state minister made this statement in the larger context of the government considering proposals to lift the existing restrictions on vehicle imports to boost government tax revenue. To check the state minister’s claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the Ministry of Finance Annual Report (MoFAR) 2022 and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Annual Report (CBSLAR) 2022. MoFAR rep
14 Jul 2023 - 1 - 577
The minister’s overall claim is that earnings from tourism could rescue the country from its current economic difficulties – and even be a substitute for the support of the IMF. To expound his claim,
07 Jul 2023 - 1 - 628
To evaluate this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) and Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) published by the Department of Census and Statistics. Consumer Price Indexes measure the overall price level of a selected basket of consumption (based on how people tend to allocate their spending). The year-on-year (YoY) inflation statistic reports the percentage ch
01 Jul 2023 - 0 - 524
In his speech, MP Hashim claims that the number of people living in poverty has increased significantly since 2019. To check this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted the World Bank Poverty and Inequity Platform, the World Bank Poverty
22 Jun 2023 - 0 - 329
The MP makes two overall claims about the recent tariff hike in February 2023. First, the electricity bills of the ‘poor’ have increased by a significantly higher percentage compared to the ‘rich’. Second, the ‘rich’ have received a concession at the expense of the ‘poor’. To support these claims, the MP provides calculations: an 1138% increase in the electricity bill for individuals categorised by the MP as ‘poor’ (consuming 30 KwH per month) an
15 Jun 2023 - 0 - 350
The state minister’s overall claim is that Sri Lanka is making steady progress towards achieving fiscal stability. To support this claim, the state minister points out that Sri Lanka has achieved a primary balance of positive LKR 48 billion, against the IMF programme projection of negative LKR 56 billion for the first quarter of 2023. The primary balance is the difference between revenue and expenditure (excluding interest payments). To check his
08 Jun 2023 - 0 - 296
In his statement, the minister claims that the government has not adhered to the limits prescribed by the Fiscal Management (Responsibility) Act (FMRA). To substantiate this claim, the minister states li
25 May 2023 - 1 - 932
The MP in his statement makes two claims: (1) the majority of domestic bonds is in treasury bonds, which amounts to approximately LKR 9 trillion and (2) of the total treasury bonds, 45% is in banks and 43% was borrowed from the EPF and ETF. To evaluate these claims, FactCheck.lk consulted the Central Bank (CBSL) Annual Report 2022 for data on domestic debt as of 31 December 202
18 May 2023 - 0 - 883
The information presented by the president is most easily interpreted as Sri Lanka pursuing a USD 17 billion reduction on the total stock of debt. However, it does not preclude another interpretation: a reduction in the flow of debt
17 Apr 2024
