Prez urges MPs to sink differences, support IMF deal

By Saman Indrajith

President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament yesterday that the MPs had been left with no other alternative but to support the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for Sri Lanka.

Delivering a special statement in the House when the IMF/EFF facility was taken up for debate, the President said that there was no other solution for the economic crisis here. Nobody had come up with any alternative. This is the only path to recovery and therefore all MPs would have to vote for this, the President said.

“Sri Lanka’s total debt is USD 83.6 Billion. Foreign debt amounts to USD 41.5 Billion. Domestic debt amounts to USD 42 Billion. We need to restructure the debt. A separate discussion on debt restructuring will be held with China after which discussions will get underway with private creditors.”

President Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka was expected to receive financial assistance of USD three billion within the next four years. “Sri Lanka can expect to obtain a total of USD seven billion as financial assistance from various institutions, following the necessary discussions. We cannot put conditions, prior to the discussion, as it will result in the other party also putting forth conditions. We have to first engage in discussions and then look at the various issues,” he said.

The President said that some banks have raised concerns that the Colombo Stock Exchange would collapse due to certain measures taken with regard to the banking system.

“Some banks say they cannot face this situation. Then all I have to say is take over this responsibility and carry forward the economy. The stock market says that it will collapse. If that happens, I will close it down. They cannot come and speak about conditions now. If that is the case and the CSE collapses, then I will shut it down. Various sectors cannot come forth and put conditions at a time when the country is slowly moving forward. The matter will be discussed in Parliament and a final decision will be taken, which will be conveyed to the relevant sectors,” he said, adding that eight months after the unrest in July 2022, Sri Lanka has now made a comeback. “This is Sri Lanka’s comeback story.”

The President urged the whole country, including opposition political parties, to join in the efforts to resurrect Sri Lanka.

“Some trade unions have raised their issues with regard to taxation. All those things can be discussed and resolved. We, the whole Parliament, should be turned into a government in order to complete this purpose. Let’s get together for this, despite the differences in opinions.”

He said that now the country should be built up for the year 2048. “If we don’t do this, we will ruin the future of the youth”, he said.

“We have no alternative except for the IMF. No one has proposed any such programme. In the absence of a working alternative, our option is to approve this, the President said.

The IMF/EFF will be taken up for debate in Parliament for three days from April 26 to 28.