“Are you planning to replace CB Governor?”: Imthiaz

The main opposition SJB demands to know from the government whether it is planning to remove the current Central Bank Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, a senior SJB MP asked in parliament last week.

Participating in the debate on interim budget, SJB Parliamentarian Imthiaz Bakeer Markar said: “During the speech by MP Vajira Abeywardena, a reasonable suspicion rose in my mind if this was an attempt to get rid of the Governor of the Central Bank and appoint Dinesh Weerakkody in his stead. When the Governor met with MPs to update them on the current situation, one particular SLPP MP had accused him of being a dual citizen. These are early signs,” he said.

Markar pointed out that if the Government is politicizing the Central Bank and other independent institutions in this manner to achieve their narrow ends, such a process is neither fair nor just. He described the current Parliament is a distortion of reality saying he believes the people must soon be given an opportunity to elect a Parliament of their choice.

“A new Parliament with a people’s mandate must be elected within a short period of time,” he stressed calling on the Government to be genuine and sincere in its efforts.

“The Government, however is saying one thing, but doing the opposite. Words do not matter. What matters are our intentions. Our intentions must be genuine and sincere,” he added.

Sri Lanka must work towards implementing political reforms along with economic reforms., the MP said, “The people who took to the streets in protest asked the traditional political system to be scrapped. They wanted this country to be rid of dirty politics. But what is happening now? While promises are being made, the opposite of that is being done.”

While suggestions of all-party unity and working together are fine, such proposals must come in a spirit of sincerity. Quoting Winston Churchill, Markar said a good crisis must not be allowed to go to waste. “Our efforts must not be to ensure Sri Lanka recovers to where it was prior to the crisis but to ensure it is in a much better place than before.”