IMF agreed to hold discussions on zoom; MP questions why officials visited Washington

By Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera

Parliament, December 17 (Daily Mirror)- Opposition MP Chamara Sampath today questioned why the Central Bank and Finance Ministry officials visited Washington spending a colossal sum of money despite the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s agreeing to hold discussions on its Extended Fund Facility (IMF) via zoom facility.

Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Harshana Sooriyapperuma said four officials of the Finance, Planning and Economic Development Ministry and five officials of the Central Bank had attended the IMF discussions in Washington and that the decision to participate in the discussions in Washington had been taken following an agreement between the government and the IMF.

The Minister said the government decided to participate in the discussions in Washington due to the complexity of the discussions, the number of institutions involved and the number of discussions scheduled to be held.

He said the IMF and the government agreed to hold part of the discussions in Washington while the IMF team agreed to visit Sri Lanka for the other half of the discussions.

Responding to a question raised by the MP, the Minister said the delegation had spent Rs. 7.05 million for airfares and USD 38,587 as travel costs.

Responding to another question by MP Chamara Sampath, the Minister refuted the allegation that the Finance Ministry officials had travelled on business class.