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Lanka needs sound economic management, reforms: ADB President

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka needs sound macro-economic management and reforms to get out of the present economic troubles, visiting Asian Development Bank President Masatsugu Asakawa has said as the country grapples with external troubles and high inflation after printing money for two years.
Sri Lanka has managed the Coronavirus epidemic well, he had said. ADB along with the World Bank finance vaccine purchases and helped boost testing and healthcare capacity.
Asakawa had “highlighted the need to underpin sound macroeconomic management with structural reforms,” the ADB said.
Sri Lanka printed large volumes of money to keep interest rate low from early 2020 which have ended up as forex shortages and high inflation, after cutting taxes.
“Sri Lanka is managing a number of complex challenges raised during the COVID-19 pandemic, including through necessary efforts to restore fiscal and external balances while containing inflation,” Asakawa said in a statement following a two day visit the island.
“ADB is committed to supporting the government in addressing the present challenges and striding toward green, resilient, and inclusive growth as well as sustainable energy transition.”
ADB is preparing a new country partnership strategy for Sri Lanka to support its National Policy Framework and medium-term development targets.
Sri Lanka is hosting the 55th Annual Meeting of the ADB Board of Governors in September 2022 with the theme of “Positioning Climate Resilient Green Economy for the Post COVID-19 World”.
Asakawa is to inaugurate Sri Lanka’s first microgrid system and the associated research and development lab at the University of Moratuwa.
The system can operate in both grid-tied and off-grid modes. The pilot, financed under the ADB-assisted Supporting Electricity Supply Reliability Improvement Project, has the potential to be replicated and contribute to a green and climate resilient future, the lender said.
Asakawa will the Colombo Port and the Port Access Elevated Highway Project, which provides a direct link to the port from the expressway network.
He will visit an ADB-supported molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratory at the Colombo East Base Hospital. The laboratory—the largest in the country and was established in 2020 to support Sri Lanka in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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President and representatives of IMF discuss progress of EFF

A comprehensive discussion regarding the progress of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) took place on Thursday (06) at the Presidential Secretariat, between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and the IMF delegation.
The current government has already reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF on the third review regarding the extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of USD3 billion.
The details of this review are expected to be presented to the International Monetary Fund’s Board of Directors by the end of this month. In this regard, discussions were held regarding the progress and the government’s involvement in continuing the program moving forward.
Once the approval is granted by the IMF Executive Board, Sri Lanka is expected to release the fourth tranche of the extended loan, amounting to 333 million dollars.
The discussion was also attended by IMF Executive Director Dr. Krishnamurthy Subramanian, Alternate Executive Director Dr. P. K. G. Harischandra, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwadana, and Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.
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New Commanders of the Tri-Forces meet the President

The newly appointed Commander of the Tri-Forces met with Commander-in-Chief, President Anura Kumara Disanayake on Thursday (6th) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.
The meeting was attended by Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, the new Army Commander; Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, the new Navy Commander and Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe, the new Air Force Commander.
Following tradition, the new commanders formally met with the President after assuming their duties. During the meeting, they also presented the President with a commemorative token.
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Musk reveals ‘crazy waste’ of USAID funds in Sri Lanka

USD 7.9 mn spent on teaching Lankan journalists how to avoid “binary-gendered language”
USAID has spent $7.9 million to teach Sri Lankan journalists how to avoid “binary-gendered language”, Elon Musk who heads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said in a post on X on Thursday.
Musk called it a “Crazy waste of your tax money!”
Musk’s criticism came with a detailed breakdown of USAID’s spending across various countries, which he argued reflects misguided priorities. According to a document Musk shared, USAID has funded a range of projects globally, including $20 million for a new Sesame Street show in Iraq, $4.5 million to “combat disinformation” in Kazakhstan, and $6 million to transform digital spaces to reflect feminist democratic principles.
The list also included $1.5 million for art projects promoting the inclusion of people with disabilities and $2 million for sex changes and LGBT activism in Guatemala. $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals, allegedly ended up in the hands of an al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, the document states.
Other USAID programmes include $25 million for Deloitte to promote green transportation in Georgia, $6 million for tourism development in Egypt, and $2.5 million to foster inclusion in Vietnam. The documents also pointed to $5 million awarded to EcoHealth Alliance, a group linked to bat virus research at the Wuhan lab, and $20 million for an organisation tied to what Musk described as a “key player” in the Russiagate impeachment inquiry.
Further funds were allocated for various LGBT-related initiatives worldwide, including $5.5 million for LGBT activism in Uganda, $6.3 million for men who have sex with men in South Africa, $3.9 million for LGBT causes in the western Balkans, and $6 million for advancing LGBT issues globally. Additionally, $2 million was allocated to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurship in Latin America, while $1.5 million was designated for LGBT advocacy in Jamaica.
The data also highlighted spending closer to home, with $1.2 million going to help the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency in Washington, D.C., build a 440-seat auditorium. A further $1.3 million was provided to Arab and Jewish photographers, while $1.1 million supported an Armenian LGBT group.
Musk criticised other expenditures as well, including $3.9 million for artisanal gold mining in the Amazon and $500,000 aimed at solving sectarian violence in Israel just days before the October 7 Hamas attack.
Attention was also drawn to USAID’s $150 billion “whole-of-agency” climate strategy, which outlines efforts to build an “equitable world” while pursuing net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
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