Ceylon Chamber makes clarion call for independence of Central Bank

• Calls for reintroduction of Central Bank Act proposed in 2018 when current prez was PM
• Says an independent Central Bank will prioritise price stability and limit monetisation of fiscal deficit
• Believes strong and independent Central Bank is paramount in driving Sri Lanka’s economic revival

Premier business chamber Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday made a clarion call on the need for Sri Lanka having an independent Central Bank, particularly at this stage, when the country is grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis. 

“We emphasise the need to reintroduce the Central Bank Act, which was proposed in 2018, when the current president was prime minister, to enable an independent Central Bank, prioritise price stability and limit the monetisation of the fiscal deficit,” the chamber said in a statement. 

The Ceylon Chamber highlighted that Sri Lanka has been hampered by weak institutions and poor governance for decades and it has deteriorated the efficiency of the public sector and led to sub-optimal policymaking on the economic front.

The chamber believes that a strong and independent Central Bank is paramount in driving Sri Lanka’s economic revival. 

“The present plight of the country has been attributed by many experts to weak institutions that have not been able to perform their role in line with the expectations, due to excessive political interference. 

The success of the journey taken on by the government to move out of the current debacle with the support of development partners and the international community will undoubtedly rest on the commitment it demonstrates towards better governance and adoption of best practice,” the Ceylon Chamber statement noted.

The chamber recently published a set of proposals to ensure an independent, productive and efficient public service. The proposals were aimed to ensure formal checks and balances within the public sector and improve efficiency in order to transform the public sector into a people-centric arm of the state. “It is vital that proposals such as these are implemented so that national development can be accelerated through efficient and independent service delivery by the government,” the statement concluded.