Connect with us

News

CBSL Governor calls for political stability to rescue economy

Published

on

… warns he will have to resign if chaos continues

Extended power cuts possible if political instabilty persists

Curtailment of expenditure on imports necessary for economic recovery

Sri Lankan economy would collapse if political stability was not restored soon, the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, said yesterday.

Dr. Weerasinghe warned that he would be left with no alternative but to resign within two weeks if political instability continued. He warned that the prevailing political instability, acts of violence and the failure on the part of the State to maintain law and order had made it harder for Sri Lanka to overcome the current economic crisis.

Political stability was essential for economic recovery, said the CBSL chief, adding that when he assumed duties as the Governor, it was thought that the economy could be stabilised soon, but the unfolding events would put paid to efforts that the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry were making to straighten up the economy.

Dr. Weerasinghe said that when he assumed duties one month back, he expected political stability to be restored within two weeks, and they would be able to implement their economic programme.

If all political parties did not come together, no one would be able to rescue the c economy, whoever held the post of the Central Bank Governor, Dr. Weerasinghe said.

“As the Central Bank, we have to state that if such a stable condition cannot be achieved within a very short period of time, the existing situation would worsen further,” he said.

He also said that there was so much that the Central Bank could do and that a solution to the crisis could be achieved by only policy makers.

“There is a serious shortage of foreign exchange in the country and already there is a scarcity of some essential items. Although fuel and gas stocks are available to some extent and power cuts are limited to around three hours, things can change for the worse soon,” he warned.

“If this situation continues even for another two or three days, there will be 10-12-hour power cuts again. We will see a severer shortage of fuel. We will see longer queues for cooking gas. This will lead to more protests and social unrest. We at the Central Bank hope there will be political stability soon so that we will be able to implement our policies and find some foreign exchange to address these current shortages of essentials.”

Dr. Weerasinghe said that Sri Lanka needed a stable government, a Cabinet, a functioning parliament, a prime minister and a finance minister to reach an agreement with the IMF.

“Without a stable administration that is respected by the people, it is very difficult for us to make any progress. This is why I have been repeating the urgent need for a stable administration and law and order in the country so that everyone can engage in their normal day-to-day activity,” he said.

The President and all the Members of Parliament have to come together and find a workable solution soon without placing the country at a bigger risk, he said. “Otherwise, there will be no progress and everyone will have to undergo more suffering.”

Dr. Weerasinghe also urged people to reduce the consumption of imports. If someone needs to buy a mobile phone, a TV or a refrigerator, he or she should wait a month or two, he said. “There are many items in showrooms despite import restrictions. They are also trying to make undue profits. I think people should cut down on these purchases. If we don’t spend money on these, we will have more money for essentials. Also, vendors will have to reduce prices. Remember what happened to cement; traders stocked up and jacked up prices, but because people didn’t buy, cement prices plummeted.”



Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Man dies in Australia after whale strikes boat

Published

on

By

Australia's coastline hosts 10 large and 20 smaller species of whales (file photo BBC)

A whale has struck a boat in Australia, killing one man and leaving another injured, police say.

The men were on a fishing expedition when their boat was hit in waters off La Perouse, 14 km (nine miles) south-east of Sydney. The alarm was raised after the vessel was spotted unoccupied and circling.

Deaths caused by whales in the region are rare, and a state minister for New South Wales called it “an absolute freak accident”.

Police said in a statement the likely collision had caused the boat to tilt, throwing both men overboard. “Early reports are that a whale may have breached near the boat, or on to the boat,” Water Police Acting Superintendent Siobhan Munro said, adding that she had not seen a similar incident before.

The victim, 61, was found unconscious and died at the scene, officials said. The 53-year-old skipper was pulled from the water and taken to hospital, where he is in a stable condition.

Australia’s coastline hosts 10 large and 20 smaller species of whales. It is not yet clear which species was involved in Saturday’s collision.

(BBC)

Continue Reading

News

Mullaitivu judge resigns citing death threats

Published

on

By Saman Indrajith

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was in Berlin on Friday issued directives to his secretary, Saman Ekanayake, for an immediate and comprehensive investigation into the abrupt resignation of Mullaitivu District Judge and Magistrate, T. Saravanarajah, who presided over the controversial Kurundimale Viharaya case. The judge cited receiving death threats as the reason for his resignation, sources of the President’s office said.

The President’s decision to order an investigation stemmed from the fact that the Judge resigned without formally informing the police or the Judicial Service Commission about the alleged death threats against him, according to sources.

In a letter dated September 23, 2023, addressed to the Judicial Services Commission, Saravanarajah conveyed his decision to step down from various judicial roles, including District Judge, Magistrate, Family Court Judge, Primary Court Judge, Small Claims Court Judge, and Juvenile Court Judge.

Reports circulating on social media and online platforms suggested that he had left the country for India. In these reports, he allegedly informed web journalists that he had received death threats in connection with the Kurundimale Viharaya case.

President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake held discussions regarding the incident with Minister of Justice Wijayadasa Rajapaksa and Minister of Public Security, Tiran Alas. It was revealed during these discussions that the magistrate had not lodged any formal complaint about the alleged death threats prior to his resignation.

The magistrate left the country on September 24 and sent his resignation letter to the Judicial Service Commission the preceding day (Sept. 23).State intelligence agencies have apprised the President’s office of the magistrate’s purported close associations with officials from several foreign embassies.

Continue Reading

News

RW says great power rivalries and geopolitics emerging threat to Third World

Published

on

The West has labeled China’s Belt and Road Initiative as a cohesive program, and the participating countries like Sri Lanka are looked upon with suspicion, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Thursday (28) at the Berlin Global Conference.

“This will further hurt economic prospects in the global South, and the polarization will become more evident,” he said.

Great power rivalries and geopolitics have been an emerging threat for open access to trade, investment, capital, and technology that are vital for the economic recovery of the developing world, Wickremesinghe said.

He said that recently Jake Sullivan, United States national security advisor to President Joe Biden, rejected the Washington Consensus at an address at the Brookings Institute.

“With the new concept of de-risking and decoupling, the developing South, which was compelled to follow the Washington Consensus, is now asked to do a 180 degree turn even without consultation with us. With decoupling, whatever it is, we have been asked to change the system. We were compelled to get into it. Now we are told this is no longer relevant,” he said.

Wickremesinghe said the global south is now looking for alternative leadership, given the expansion of the BRICS and the downgrading of G20. In 2024, the US leadership might change and that people are wondering what policy changes would ensue.

“We know in 2024, the US leadership may not be there. Then who is going to act? So I think it’s a chance for the EU to come up and work with the other countries. There’s no one else. So I am suggesting that the EU, together with G20 BRICS, certainly USA, and some selected other Asian and African nations, the IMF and the NDBs, and you can bring in the big financial institutions, private ones, sit down and find urgent solutions,” he said.

The President said the world requires a constructive dialogue between the West and China.

“We need a constructive dialogue between the US and China. We need a constructive dialogue between the EU and China. Otherwise we will not move forward. So this is the stark reality. It’s a question of how we get together and how we work, and who’s going to take the lead in 2024,” he said.

Below are excerpts of the speech : “I don’t think in any other period of modern history have we gone through this type of a crisis. And in all these instances, it’s the developing economies and the global south that has suffered extremely. We are now faced with stubbornly high inflation in advanced economies, oil prices edging towards US $100 a barrel, and monetary tightening by the global central banks.

“One example is that Sri Lanka’s export to Europe has not increased at all this year, so far this year. That’s an indication of how we are being affected as we try to recover from the crisis we face. The confluences of factors face serious risk for many developing countries. In the global south, we are facing rising import costs, food, energy, insecurity, and the problems of our exports. The resulting balance of payment stress translates into a weaker economy for all of us. The difference between the advanced economies and the developing nations is that you all have all the buffers and reserves to deal with these shocks. We haven’t. And it’s from here that the sovereign debt crisis started.

“In this context, I think the world may be in another crisis if corrective measures are not taken immediately. Many developing countries find themselves with large debt burdens. For example, the IMF has no mechanism to face this new situation. When Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy, all foreign funding ceased and that started the political crisis. If not for the help given by the World Bank in re-graduating Sri Lanka, and the help given by my old friend Samantha Power in funding us with fertilizers, the chances are that I may not be, I would not be able to come here today.

“The funding on the table is woefully inadequate to address the vast challenges at hand. So we haven’t got any money. But we do have 100 billion with the IMF. Let’s start with that money. 100 billion is better than nothing. Then let’s see how we can raise the rest of it. Because though I talk of Sri Lanka, I must say Africa’s needs, especially of the low-income countries, are far greater than ours. The problems Africa faces need not be described by me because I think there are enough representatives here.

The developing countries require financing up to US 5.9 trillion to fulfil their nationally determined contributions. Then a further US 4 trillion, for clean energy technology to achieve net zero emissions, look at Sri Lanka’s financing needs for our climate prosperity plan to succeed. We need five billion US dollars by 2030.

“This is a country that’s bankrupt. And the IMF states, we’ll have for the next few years a growth rate of 3.5% if you are lucky. Here again, global coordination and leadership to resolve these challenges have simply not been sufficient to address the magnitude of the urgency of the problem. So what we need here is a new architecture.

Now we’ve been talking of the many crises and shocks we have discussed today. And we’ve been talking about what we have to do. First, we’ve all agreed that the core of the international financial architecture today was designed almost 80 years ago. The world has seen dramatic changes since then with many emerging economies in Asia, Middle East, South America, and Africa becoming global economic powerhouses.”

Continue Reading

Trending