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Govt. has to stop money printing now, not in 2024: Harsha

Published

4 years ago

2022/07/10

ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka should stop money printing earlier than indicated in a statement by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, opposition legislator Harsha de Silva said, though legislators have already given extensive powers to the agency engage in liquidity injections.

“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe talked about money printing,” de Silva told parliament.

“He said, the inflation is going up and the printing should be stopped. But he also said it can only be stopped by the end of 2023 or in early 2024,” Silva said.

“It cannot happen like that and you have to take a decision right now. We all must understand that if nothing is being done, the inflation will go up until 100 percent from the predicted 60 percent.”

Silva the country has already become an unlivable place for the general public and according to the CBSL data, the food inflation of the country has risen up to 80.1 percent in June, 2022.

Sri Lanka’s central bank has now created the worst currency crisis in its 72-year history.

Sri Lanka’s intermediate regime central bank was set up as a fundamentally flawed Latin America style agency with dual anchor conflicts in 1950 by US money doctor, giving soft-peggers the ability to trigger currency crises and high inflation abolishing a currency board where money printing was outlawed up to then.

However the agency had no active open market operations in the initial stages and it was restrained by a gold peg.

A reserve collecting peg collapses when the central bank prints money to keep rates down. Sri Lanka’s central bank repeatedly prints money whenever domestic credit picks up, regardless of whether state or private credit is picking up including when the US hikes rates under pseudo monetary policy independence, with devastating consequences on the people, critics have said.

However after 2015 with flexible inflation targeting the rupee was hit with extreme open market operations, to target an output gap (printing money to push growth up) creating currency crises and pushing growth down in their wake and impoverishing the people with rupee depreciation.

Under ‘flexible’ inflation targeting a reserve collecting peg was repeatedly bombarded with liquidity injections to manipulate rates down (call money rate targeting) until the currency collapsed.

The currency was depreciated under real effective exchange rate targeting including in 2017 when there was not credit pressure and the rupee was facing upward pressure and large volumes of inflows were sterilized, as growth and private credit slowed.

There is nothing politicians in Sri Lanka can do, whether in power or in opposition when Sri Lanka’s central bank decides to print money to drive interest rates down.

“I don’t know whether you can take that decision now because Nandalal Weerasinghe has been appointed as the CBSL governor,” de Silva told Prime Minister Wickremesinghe perhaps in a reference to central bank independence.

In 2018 as credit recovered, de Silva pleaded with the then leadership with of the central bank in vain to allow rates to go up as the currency was hit with liquidity injections, after giving ‘central bank independence’, to the agency during the ousted ‘Yahapalana’ administration.

Fiscal dominance including de facto fiscal dominance was removed by the Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera raising taxes, bringing the deficit down and market pricing fuel in 2019.

The central bank printed money anyway ignoring political pleas and busted the currency from 152 to 182 and drove away foreign investors in rupee bond by undermining the credibility of the peg.

However politicians have the legislative power to tame soft-pegging central bank into either hard pegs or true currency boards like Hong Kong, or currency board like pegs like in East Asia and GCC countries with restricted open market operations.

They can also curb flexible pegs with true inflation targeting and a clean floating exchange rate which will also eliminate balance of payments crises and poverty.

Over the past 7 years three currency crises were created in rapid succession under flexible inflation targeting and output gap targeting.

In the 2020-22 crisis, where over 2.6 trillion rupees were printed the rupee has now fallen from 200 to 360 to the US dollar with soft-peggers impoverishing both wage earners and the elderly.

In the 2020-2022 crisis, the banking system was pumped with excess liquidity of up to 200 billion rupees under modern monetary theory up from around 60 billion rupees under call money rate targeting and output gap targeting, which is a milder version of MMT.The entire world is now suffering from liquidity injections made by the Federal Reserve under its dual mandate which is being conveniently blamed on Russia and Ukraine.

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Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/20

Priyan

Due to heavy rainfall received in the upper catchment areas of the Mahaweli River over the past few hours, there is a risk of minor flooding in the low-lying areas surrounding the Mahaweli River within the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara.Residents living in the above mentioned areas and motorists using roads passing through these areas are urged to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant regarding the prevailing situation.

Furthermore, residents living in close proximity to the Mahaweli River in these areas are advised to remain highly alert to the situation and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from any potential flooding.The relevant disaster management authorities are requested to take all necessary measures in response to this situation.

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Landslide Red Alerts issued to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya

Published

11 hours ago

2026/09/20

Priyan

The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide Red Alerts to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya effective from 14:00 hrs on 20.09.2026 To 14:00 hrs on 21.09.2026

Accordingly,
LEVEL III [RED] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy district, Dehiowita, Aranayake, Deraniyagala, Mawanella and Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Kothmale West, Kotmale East, Ambagamuwa and Norwood in the Nuwara Eliya district

LEVEL II [AMBER] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Padukka in the Colombo district, Nagoda, Thawalama and Neluwa in the Galle district, Bulathsinhala, Palindanuwara, Walallawita and Agalawatta in the Kalutara district, Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya and Kegalle in the Kegalle district, Akuressa and Pitabeddara in the Matara district, Thalawakele in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district.

LEVEL I [YELLOW] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka in the Colombo district, Niyagama and Baddegama in the Galle district, Mirigama in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya in the Kalutara district, Udapalatha and Yatinuwara in the Kandy district, Galigamuwa, Warakapola and Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district, Kotapola, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, and Eheliyagoda, Kalawana and Elapatha in the Ratnapura district.

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Development projects can deliver results to the people more quickly when the political authority and the public service work together towards a common goal – PM

Published

13 hours ago

2026/09/20

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that development projects can deliver results to the people more quickly when the political authority and the public service work together towards a common, people-oriented objective.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while participating in a discussion held on Friday [September 18] at the Western Province Council Auditorium to review the progress of the development project to rehabilitate Rathmalana Kandawala Road and the drainage system on either side of the road, within the Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia Municipal Council limits in the Colombo District.

The project, which commenced on September 10, 2026, is scheduled to be completed before June 30, 2027. Implemented by the Provincial Road Development Authority (PRDA), the project includes the construction of a bridge at a cost of Rs. 64 million, the rehabilitation of the drainage system at a cost of Rs. 930 million, and the rehabilitation of the road at a cost of Rs. 115 million.

The Prime Minister also paid special attention to the progress of the responsibilities assigned to the Western Province Council, the Irrigation Department and the Ratmalana Divisional Secretariat in accordance with decisions taken at the previous committee meeting. Attention was also given to the current status of the plans being carried out by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation (SLLRDC), as well as the construction and maintenance activities being undertaken by the Provincial Road Development Authority (PRDA).

Commending the expedite and commendable progress of the project, the Prime Minister particularly appreciated the commitment demonstrated by officials of the relevant government institutions to work in close coordination with one another and in collaboration with the political authority.

The Prime Minister also emphasised the importance of taking measures well in advance to control flooding and minimise its impact on Colombo and several other districts in view of the rainy weather that may affect the Western Province during the latter part of this year.

The meeting was attended by the Chairman of the Colombo District Coordinating Committee and Member of Parliament Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi, Chairperson of the Ratmalana Divisional Coordinating Committee and Member of Parliament Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Chairman of the Roads Sub-Committee of the Colombo District Coordinating Committee Dewananda Suraweera, Mayor of the Dehiwala–Mount Lavinia Municipal Council Parakum Shantha, Chief Secretary of the Western Province K.G. Pradeep Pushpakumara, along with a number of government officials.

[Prime Minister’s Media Division]