SJB informs govt. it will vote against Domestic Debt Optimisation programme

By Akitha Perera

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has decided to vote against the Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) programme in Parliament.The main Opposition’s decision was communicated by the party’s General Secretary Ranjith Maddumabandara on Thursday evening.

A special parliamentary session will be convened this Saturday (01 July) during which the DDO plan will be tabled in the House and go into debate and a vote is expected after the debate to approve the plan.

Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF), MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said that they discussed the domestic debt restructuring proposal in depth on Thursday.

“We thought everyone would be included in debt restructuring but banks and insurance companies were excluded. However, there will be some impact on banks because they have invested in International Sovereign Bonds (ISBs) and Sri Lanka Development Bonds. We spoke with banks and EPF/ETF,” he said.