Courtesy Hiru News

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the government is recording a higher revenue this year than was anticipated in the budget.

The President made the statement while speaking at the ceremony to resume the construction on the Kadawatha to Mirigama section of the Central Expressway.

Dissanayake said that for the first time, the country will record a smaller budget deficit than projected, adding that in the past, revenue targets were rarely met.

The President also said that the country has a “black state” operating parallel to the government, with criminal gangs receiving arms, police providing protection to drug traffickers, and government departments issuing illegal documents.

He vowed to end this “underground state” and suppress organised crime.

Addressing the public, Dissanayake said that the country should not have to bear the costs of “inflated, empty characters.”

He called for a culture of developed citizens and politicians, not one where citizens worship their leaders.

Speaking on the expressway project, the President said he had requested assistance from the Chinese President during his visit to China in January to restart all projects funded by Chinese loans.

He said the China Exim Bank has agreed to provide the loan for the expressway project in yuan, at an interest rate between 2.5% and 3.5%.