Ex-CBSL Chief backs IMF conditions for resumption of bailout process

… asks for early cross-party consensus

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Former Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Indrajith Coomaraswamy yesterday (11) threw his weight behind the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) call for far reaching measures meant to stabilize the economy. The Washington headquartered lending agency recently suspended the US 2.9 bn bailout package, pending an agreement on 16 specific recommendations.

Dr. Coomaraswamy said: “There is a strong case for tabling the IMF’s GDA (Governance Diagnostic Assessment) in Parliament with a view to obtaining cross-party consensus on implementing the recommendations contained therein, in accordance with the laws of the country.” The economist said so in response to The Island query whether the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government should heed the IMF advice in this regard.

Dr. Coomaraswamy said: “The relevant Parliamentary Committees can then have oversight of the implementation of the process. Civil society and business associations should also play an active role in advocating implementation and then monitoring its progress.”

Dr. Coomaraswamy served as the Central Bank Governor since July 2016 till Gotabaya Rajapaksa assumed the presidency in November 2019. He was brought in place of Arjuna Mahendran who was denied an extension in the wake of Treasury bond scams perpetrated in February 2015 and March 2019.

Top SJB spokesperson Dr. Harsha de Silva said that the IMF report is nothing but an indictment on Sri Lanka at every level and the most significant roadblock to financial recovery lies in the country’s persistent failure to address its deep-rooted corruption.

Dr. de Silva emphasised that the country wouldn’t get another opportunity to resume the recovery process if the government sought to avoid the IMF’s recommendations by taking cover behind technical issues.

The following are the IMF’s demands (1) Establishment of an Advisory Committee by November 2023 to nominate commissioners for the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), (2)

Disclosure of asset declarations of senior officials by July 2024, (3) Enactment of proceeds of crime legislation by April 2024, (4) Amendment of the National Audit Act, (5) Finalization of implementation of regulations for beneficial ownership information and creating a public registry by April 2024, (6) Enactment of Public Procurement Law by December 2024, (7) Publishing reports on increasing competitive tendered procurement contracts, targeting agencies with low levels of competition, (8) Requiring the publication of all public procurement contracts above LKRs 1 billion, (9) Implementing the State-Owned Enterprise Reform

Policy to ensure ethical management, (10) Abolishing or suspending the Strategic Development Projects Office Act until a transparent process for evaluating pro-posals is established, (11) Amending tax legislation to prevent unilateral tax changes without parliamentary approval, (12) Implementing short-term anti-corruption measures within revenue departments to enhance oversight and sanctions, (13) Exploring options for new management arrangements for the Employees Provident Fund to avoid conflicts of interest, (14) Revising legislation, regulations, and processes for stronger oversight in the banking sector, (15) Establishing an online digital land registry and ensuring progress in registering/titling-state land and, (16) Expanding the resources and skills available to the Judicial Service Commission to strengthen justice.

Asked whether he had the blessings of the SJB parliamentary group in this regard, Dr. de Silva said that his declaration of support for the IMF’s proposals in Parliament was done with the backing of his party. A long delay in reaching consensus on this matter could be catastrophic, the Colombo District lawmaker warned no one should seek political mileage out of the continuing political, economic and social crisis.

SLPP National List member Prof. Ranjith Bandara, Chairman of the parliamentary watchdog committee COPE said that actually Sri Lanka should have adopted these measures years ago. The academic said that there couldn’t be any dispute over the need to implement IMF proposals meant to stabilize the situation. It would be a grave mistake on our part to believe the IMF’s proposals were the panacea for all our ills but proper implementation would definitely improve setup thereby providing the powers that be the time and space to undertake long term solutions.

Dr. Bandara found fault with the political party setup that conveniently failed to address the impending crisis years ago. Responding to another query, Dr. Bandara said that Sri Lanka should implement IMF proposals because they should have been carried out anyway.