“Better understand problem….we’re all in this together”

Opposition SJB MP, Dr. Harsha de Silva, last week urged President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to initiate a dialogue with the opposition to find a way out of the country’s precarious foreign exchange crisis “to better understand the problem as we’re all in this together.”

Quoting several recent news reports and accusing the Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal of making “factually incorrect statements,” the respected economist MP said: “……. I urge President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to initiate a dialogue with us, the Opposition, to better understand the problem and find solutions together, as we are all in this together.”

He prefaced his request for a dialogue with the following remarks:

“The Governor of the Central Bank reiterates his factually incorrect statements to a certain newspaper today that there is no dollar shortage in the country. However, many other newspapers report otherwise. In fact, one of the leading newspapers states that we are in need of $20mn to clear 2,000 containers stuck at the port, while another claims that we are not able to import medicine as there is a shortage of dollars.

“Meanwhile, another prominent newspaper states that the Central Bank is preparing to sell more of our gold reserves, as we do not have sufficient financial resources to keep the country functioning. Who is the Central Bank Governor trying to fool? We are at the brink of an economic collapse with insufficient dollars to import essential commodities such as medicine, milk powder, fuel, food etc

“According to the Central Bank data, at the end of November 2021, we had a mere $1.5 bn of reserves left. Thereafter, at the end of December 2021, the Central Bank claimed that they possessed $3 bn of reserves after manipulating the data with a currency swap from China for an amount of $1.5 bn.

“However, at the end of January 2022, we possessed only $2.3 bn even with the currency swap with China, thus ending up with only $700 mn of usable reserves. Therefore, we are in a precarious situation as the Central Bank needs to settle a debt payment of $70 mn today (Feb. 9) and another Sri Lanka Development Bond payment on February 17 for $160 mn.

“These two payments themselves come to a total of $230 mn, thus depleting our reserves even further. Neither the Government nor the Central Bank has a plan to try and get us back on track and bring in dollars to not only pay off our debts but also money to pay for our essentials.

“Thus, I urge President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to initiate a dialogue with us, the Opposition, to better understand the problem and find solutions together, as we are all in this together.”