The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the appointment of Rear Admiral R. Joseph, who counts over three decades of service, as the new Director General of the Coast Guard Department ,with immediate effect. The one-time Sri Lankan Defence Advisor, in New Delhi, Joseph succeeded Y.R. Serasinghe.

Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) Dr. Harsha de Silva yesterday welcomed IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on her visit to Sri Lanka, expressing appreciation for the Fund’s support during the country’s financial crisis.

Addressing Parliament yesterday, Dr. de Silva said Sri Lanka had recovered from the economic crisis more rapidly than many other nations. He attributed the turnaround in part to bipartisan backing that enabled the IMF programme to proceed without political impediment.

“As the Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance, my request to the IMF is that we continue this strong relationship,” he said.

He added that the IMF should look beyond the financial parameters already negotiated and agreed upon, and also focus on governance reforms, which he described as equally critical.

Dr. de Silva underscored the need to rise above partisan politics in order to sustain national recovery and strengthen institutional governance.

The GMOA has alleged that due to failure on the part of the Health Ministry, the annual transfer scheme has been badly affected. Of nearly 7,000 transfers that were to be implemented at the beginning of this year, written instructions had been issued with regard to approximately 650 transfers (about 9%), the GMOA alleged, asserting that, in fact, only about 450 transfers were actually implemented.