IMF Tracker Sri Lanka had met 25% of IMF commitments; failed one by end-March: Verité Research

‘The IMF Tracker’ launched to help monitor Government’s progress on US$ 2.9 billion programme

Colombo, April 20, 2023 

Sri Lanka had met 25% of the trackable programme commitments of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as at the end of March 2023 but had failed on one, according to ‘The IMF Tracker’, a new online tool launched by Verité Research. 

Many of the commitments met were classified as “prior actions” and met prior to the programme being approved by the IMF Board.

The Failed Commitment is the establishment of an online transparency platform. This platform is expected to publish, on a semi-annual basis, information related to (i) all significant public procurement contracts, (ii) a list of all firms receiving tax exemptions through the Board of Investment, and (iii) a list of individuals and firms receiving tax exemptions on luxury vehicle imports. It was due by 1 March 2023, but not met even by the end of that month.

Lack of Information is also a concern. As at end March, 9% of the identified commitments had their progress status in the tracker classified as “unknown”. This means the information required to make an assessment was not available.

Verité Research notes that timely progress on the IMF programme has two benefits. First, there are the material benefits that can result from many (not all) of the actions. Second, it can improve confidence in Sri Lanka’s governance, which then helps negotiations to restructure the burden of past debt and speed up the path to future economic recovery.

‘The IMF Tracker’ is currently tracking 100 identified commitments recorded along with Sri Lanka’s Letter of Intent to the IMF on the programme approved on 20 March 2023. The platform will assist the government and people of Sri Lanka, as well as the IMF, to better understand and track Sri Lanka’s progress and timeliness on meeting these commitments.

The IMF Tracker is now available for the public on manthri.lk – an online platform run by Verité Research tracking the actions and performance of Sri Lanka’s parliament. For more information, please visit https://manthri.lk/en/imf_tracker