2 September 2022 08:34 am Views - 129
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana
The Central Bank Chief is in a soup for not duly notifying Parliament of Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy, with Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella and Minister Bandula Gunawardena calling for a probe on the former’s failure in his duty.
The matter was initially raised by Mr. Kiriella who said Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe had mentioned that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves were only $1.5 million when he took over and could not provide an answer when questioned on the failure to inform Parliament on the situation. “Central Bank Governor during a seminar for MPs said that Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves were only $1.5 million when he took over. I asked him why he did not inform Parliament and he could not provide any answer. I raised this question as it is the legislature which has power over finances,” Mr. Kiriella said.
Also he called for the holding of any election immediately to seek the people’s will. “A recent survey conducted by Sunday Times says 80 per cent of Sri Lanka’s population does not feel that President Ranil Wickremesinghe had done a commendable job. This cannot be wrong as surveys carried out by Sunday Times and Daily Mirror are usually accurate,” he said.
Meanwhile Minister Gunawardena who responded said the Central Bank is legally bound to inform Parliament of the financial situation as per section 113 of the Financial Act. “The Department of State Credit is legally bound to inform the relevant institutions on the country’s financial situation. Therefore an investigation has to be conducted on the failure of Central Bank to report to Parliament on the financial situation,” the Minister said.