The Minister of Hosing and Construction Sajith Premadasa said on Wednesday that the government had no option but to increase the VAT due to the debt run up by the previous government, under Mahinda Rajapaksa.
"The Rajapaksa government obtained loans at high interest rates and wasted public funds on projects which had no return while stealing part of it", he said.
Mr Premadasa said that the estimated cost of the Sooriyawewa international cricket stadium had been Rs. 1,200 million, but it had cost Rs. 4,200 million and questioned what happened to the additional money.
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