IMF bailout will only put country into further debt trap: Vijitha

Claiming that the country would not be developed by flourishing the production economy in the country even after obtaining the IMF bailout, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said today the country would further plunge down in the debt trap.

He told Parliament that President Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed that Sri Lanka could obtain another loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) after the approval was given by the IMF.

"The government claimed that the country could come out of the economic crisis after obtaining the IMF bailout. However, the President said in Parliament today that Sri Lanka could obtain another loan from ADB after IMF approval. This proves that the IMF bailout will be a chance to obtain another loan. The country would end up in a further debt trap," he said.

The MP said the government had to fulfill fifteen conditions of the IMF to obtain an IMF bailout which has put people in further crisis. "Government increased electricity tariff and taxes as conditions of the IMF," he said.

He questioned why the LG polls could not be held if the economy was developed, inflation decreased and the rupee strengthened against the Dollar after the IMF bailout.(Ajith Siriwardana and Yohan Perera)