Wajira raises issue of onus on settling defaulted payments

UNP Chairman Wajira Abeywardena said yesterday that the onus was on the government to take constructive steps to address the issue of defaulted payments on international sovereign bonds by diverting money allocated for certain other projects for settling them, and by entering into discussions to restructure such payments, without resorting to outright ceasing of such payments, as it will have a direct negative impact on the economy.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo, Abeywardena said that the decision taken by the Government to cease all international payments on sovereign bonds, has, in effect,taken a, high toll on every sector of the country, including many successful businessmen.

“Even though the present Government is insolvent, it did not affect the business activities of our businessmen who were making profit through their day-to-day business. However, the drastic decision taken by the Government has resulted in most businesses closing down,” he said.

The UNP Chairman said that the Constitution has granted full powers to Parliament on handling Public Finance, as per the provisions of Articles 148, 149 (1), 151 (1). But despite such full powers being granted to Parliament, Sri Lanka became an officially insolvent country in April 2022.

“In such a dire economic circumstances, the public must be made aware of the fact that recent economic analyses have shown that certain treasury bills issued by the Sri Lankan Treasury have lost recognition in international bond markets. It was incumbent upon the Government to pay around $ 70 million on sovereign bonds in April this year, and another $ 1.5 billion by 15 June,” he said.

Abeywardena added that although it has been stipulated in the budget that such payments shall be made in due time, if the Government is unable to fulfil such payment due to poor inflow of revenue, such fact must be duly reported to Parliament in accordance with the provisions stipulated in the Constitution, following which Parliament has the mandate to establish a Contingencies Fund, despite any provisions to the contrary being stipulated in Articles 149 and 151.

Abeywardena added that the Ministry of Finance should bear direct responsibility for the great tragedy that has befallen the country. “Any citizen whose name appears in the Crib is denied any loan facility by Sri Lankan banks. It is an onus on the Government, too, to keep in mind that it is now in the same situation.

“If foreign nations refuse to grant loans to Sri Lanka, we will end up as a bankrupt country. Therefore, similar concessions need to be granted to Sri Lankan businessmen who have become insolvent due to imbecile decisions taken by the Government,” he said.