Harsha calls CB’s claim of increased reserves mere window dressing

Opposition lawmaker Harsha de Silva called the Central Bank’s (CB) claim of gross foreign exchange reserves reaching US $ 3.1 billion as merely window dressing.

He claimed that the CB had drawn down on the US $ 1.5 billion equivalent swap arrangement entered in March with the People’s Bank of China and no new inflows have materialised.

“It seems nothing of the promised dollars came in. Only the March 21, 2021 #China #SriLanka swap seem to have been drawn down. What window dressing!” de Silva said in a Twitter message.

He pointed out that there are certain conditions laid out by the People’s Bank of China in terms of utilising the US $ 1.5 billion swap facility. He also noted that if the targets of the CB’s road map had been met, the year-end gross foreign reserves should have reached US $ 7 billion. “If USD 4.5b in 6-mo road map, plus the equivalent USD 1.5 China swap, came through @CBSL reserves should have been at least USD 7b,” he tweeted. He urged the government to look at long-term solutions to come out of the current forex and debt crisis, instead of attempting to mislead the public, while noting that the experts have advised the government to seek the support of the International Monetary Fund as a short-term solution to come out of this crisis.