3 February 2022 09:47 am Views - 347
By Yohan Perera The
Samagi Jana Balwegaya (SJB) MP Harsha De Silva yesterday urged the government to come up with a clear statement regarding the comments made by Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa in an interview saying that dollars were collected from Hawala businessmen to purchase fuel and arms several years ago.
“This is a complex issue. He said he went along with Sumith Abeysinghe to Pettah and purchased dollars in black market to pay for oil and for Bush Master ammunition and for arms from North Korea. Is this a statement to be made by a Finance Minister of a country. Mr. Abeysinghe has been a public servant for 40 years without any allegation against him. Someone should ask Mr. Abeysinghe about this. I will bet my last dollar that a person in treasury would not do this.
Purchasing arms form North Korea itself is questionable. These are grey shady transactions. There is no transparency. The Finance Minister should make a statement. Minister G. L. Peiris has said Mr. Rajapaksa has not made such a statement. I think the journalist who interviewed Mr. Rajapaksa should be asked about this as well. It is necessary for the finance minister to make it clear otherwise repercussions will be great,” MP De Silva said.
He told a press conference that the Hawala system for instance does not bring dollars to Sri Lanka.
“Minister Rajapaksa has said he had engaged in black market arms deals with North Korea using Hawala and Undial systems. This is a serious statement which might bring disrepute to the nation. However Cabinet Spokesman Ramesh Pathirana had said that Undial and Hawala systems will not be used to bring in dollars and funds of those who engage in these methods would be frozen. Minister G. L. Peiris has denied that Minister Rajapaksa made such a statement. The Central Bank has denied the reports which quoted Minister Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka will engage the IMF to resolve the FOREX issue. It is essential for the Ministers and the Central Bank to discuss and inform people of the correct situation,” he added
He also revealed that the inflow of dollars had declined to 1.7 billion during the last five months.