• Members appointed by the President Gotabaya included personnel such as Basil Rajapaksa and Johnston Fernando

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera   

National People’s Power MP Vijitha Herath yesterday said the recent economic council appointed by the President comprised of the same members who were instrumental for the current economic debacle.

MP Herath also said the council would never be successful in boosting the economic growth as envisaged by the President. He told Parliament that the council that was appointed does not have any experts or scholars. 
He said a similar economic council that was appointed by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to address the economic situation included world renowned economic experts and scholars.   

The members appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa included personnel such as Basil Rajapaksa and Johnston Fernando. He said experts and scholars in Sri Lanka have also volunteered to provide their expertise to bail the country out of the present crisis and added that their guidance and expertise had been ignored by the government.