Government must clarify truth on USD 200 million: Gammanpila

Colombo, October 30 (Daily Mirror) - The government must reveal the truth about whether President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka or the World Bank (WB) is being truthful regarding the USD 200 million loan obtained from the WB, former Minister Udaya Gammanpila said.

While addressing the media, Gammanpila condemned the statement made by Cabinet spokesman and Minister Vijitha Herath, asserting that the current government had not obtained any loans from any organization or institution.

While denouncing the statement, Gammanpila urged the public to check the World Bank's (WB) official website to verify whether the government had taken a loan within a month of coming to power.

“If the government is truthful, then the WB must be lying; or, if the WB is truthful, Minister Vijitha Herath is lying. Therefore, the government itself should clarify whether the WB or Vijitha Herath is correct,” he said.

As of yesterday, the incumbent government had raised Rs. 958.75 billion in loans in one month through Treasury Bills and bonds.

Gammanpila claimed that this borrowing had added Rs. 43,600 to the national debt per person within a month, and he claimed it would soon "become a Guinness World Record."

"When this government took office, the total debt amounted to Rs. 306,000 million," he said.

"At this borrowing rate," he warned, "the country's debt would triple in five years."

Gammanpila also rejected Vijitha Herath’s claim that the government had not printed money. He argued that, while the government had not printed money to lend directly to itself, the statement from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) revealed that money was printed to buy foreign exchange and maintain liquidity and stability in the financial market.