FactCheck: Recent submissions
Now showing items 1-20 of 228
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Shehan Semasinghe: FOREX crisis
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-03-22)PARTLY TRUE: In 2022, when we were going through the gravest foreign exchange crisis this country has ever faced, one of the main factors for it was remittances from foreign workers. After that the income from tourism. ... -
Wimal Weerawansa: Income and Wealth Inequality
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-03-07)PARTLY TRUE: The wealthiest 1% in Sri Lanka enjoy 31% of the national income. Similarly, the 10% at the highest stratum of society, inclusive of that 1%, enjoy 64% of the national income […]. After that, the 50% at the ... -
Dr. P.K.G Harishchandra: Reserves
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-02-29)PARTLY TRUE: “[…] We've been able to build up reserves to 4.4 billion by the end of last year.” Assistant Governor Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) P. K. G. Harischandra, CBSL Monetary Policy Review No. 01 of 2024, 23 ... -
Udaya Gammanpila: Presidential Election Date
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-02-15)TRUE: According to the constitution of our country, [the] presidential election must be held for certain between 18th September and 18th October 2024. Udaya Gammanpila, Udaya Gammanpila’s YouTube Channel, 8 January 2024 -
Ranjith Siyambalapitiya: Pensions and Aswesuma
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-02-08)TRUE: [A group of] 4 million are watching the government expectantly. 2 million out of that are government employees and pensioners who are expecting an increase in salaries and the other 2 million are those who have been ... -
Mahinda Rajapaksa: Debt-to-GDP
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-02-01)PARTLY TRUE: My government reduced the debt-to-GDP ratio from 90% at the end of 2005 to 69% at the end of 2014. Mahinda Rajapaksa, NewsFirst.lk, 8 December 2023 -
Eran Wickramaratne - Ministry of Defence Expenditure
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-01-26)TRUE: When considering the Ministry of Defence, we spent 7% of the total budget for 2022 on it [Ministry of Defence] ... 60% of that goes to pay wages…Sri Lanka is one out of ten countries that has the greatest number of ... -
Ashok Abeysinghe: Foreign Departures
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-03-14)PARTLY TRUE: 500 individuals from our country go abroad on a daily basis. In the recent past, between 180,000 and 200,000 individuals per month have gone abroad. The reason why they go abroad is because it’s difficult to ... -
Eran Wickramaratne - Passport Ranking
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-02-22)PARTLY TRUE: [The] Sri Lankan passport [is] …97th among global passports…What does it mean? It means that…you have access to 40 countries without a visa. Sri Lanka has very little access to other countries to get a visa ... -
J.C Alawathuwala: Food expenses
(www.factcheck.lk, 2024-01-18)PARTLY TRUE: In 2019, the expenditure on the food of an individual living in Colombo or elsewhere in Sri Lanka was between Rs. 6,000 and Rs. 6,500. By 2023, this has increased to between Rs.16,000 to Rs.17,000. That is, ... -
Eran Wickramaratne: Excise taxes
(www.factcheck.lk, 1/12/2024)PARTLY TRUE: The government, despite taking the path of revenue-based stabilisation, has fallen significantly short of its targets. For instance, excise revenues have fallen short by approximately 43%, with collection at ... -
Harsha de Silva: Multidimensional poverty
(www.factcheck.lk, 12/14/2023)PARTLY TRUE: The World Bank states that the poverty level which was at 13% in 2019 has by today, increased to at least 25%. The multidimensional Poverty Vulnerability of Oxford University and UNDP (sic) states that when ... -
Anura Kumara Dissanayaka: Increase in debt during yahapaalanaya
(www.factcheck.lk, 12/7/2023)FALSE: When Ranil Wickremesinghe came to power in 2015, our debt was LKR 8.5 trillion […] In 2020, the country’s debt […] stood at LKR 15 trillion […] Approximately, Ranil’s five years put the country more in debt by LKR ... -
Gayantha Karunatilleka: Students-to-academic staff ratio
(www.factcheck.lk, 11/30/2023)FALSE: Although the number of academic staff is dwindling [in recent months], the annual intake of students at universities has doubled since 2017. Gayantha Karunatilleka, NewsFirst, 19 October 2023 -
Sunanda Madduma Bandara: Local Government elections
(www.factcheck.lk, 11/23/2023)FALSE: […] all the local government elections held after 1991 have been postponed without being held within the stipulated time. […] Sunanda Madduma Bandara, Lankadeepa, 25 October 2023 -
Ranil Wickremesinghe: Money printing
(www.factcheck.lk, 11/9/2023)TRUE: We put the Central Bank there [in charge] without meddling in it. Henceforth, according to the law, we won’t be able to print money. We have lost our ability to borrow (obtain loans) from the Bank of Ceylon and the ... -
Udaya Gammanpila - Sinhala population in Colombo
(www.factcheck.lk, 9/14/2023)FALSE: According to the 1981 census, the Sinhala population in the city of Colombo was 51%. According to the 2012 census, the Sinhala population in the city of Colombo was 28%. The Sinhala population has reduced by half. ... -
Eran Wickramaratne - Remittances
(www.factcheck.lk, 10/12/2023)PARTLY TRUE: If we look at remittances, the highest amount of remittances have been received in 2016, 2017, 2018. Thereafter, some arrived in 2020 and after that, it has declined steadily. Remittances peaked at around USD ... -
Ranjith Siyambalapitiya: Casino taxes
(www.factcheck.lk, 10/5/2023)PARTLY TRUE: […] Effective April 1, 2023, we hope to impose a fee of USD 50 on every Sri Lankan who enters such a place of business of gaming. This law was in place since 2015. From 2015, the stated law was to charge USD ... -
Anuradha Jayaratne: Prison population
(www.factcheck.lk, 9/21/2023)TRUE: As of today, the total number of inmates in prisons are 28,468. […] the number of drug-related offenders has increased rapidly. As per today 50.3% of the total inmates are people who were imprisoned for drug related ...