Suggests he gets some coaching from Harsha de Silva, who knows subject

By Saman Indrajith

Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament yesterday that as at the end of December 2019 total loans granted by the Central Bank to all banks for pawning advances stood at Rs. 210 billion and at the end of September 2020 it had increased by 27 billion to Rs. 237 billion.

Participating in the debate on the 2020 Appropriation Bill, the Minister dismissed the figures presented by SJB MP Hashim as being inaccurate and demanded to know where the latter had obtained the misleading information from.

MP Kabir Hashim during his speech said that it was a clear indication of the failure of the government that people had pawned jewelleries to the tune of Rs. 643 billion.

Minister Cabral said by the end of December 2019 the credit card payments stood at Rs. 131 billion but had dropped by Rs. 25 billion to Rs.126 billion. “Therefore, I urge MP Kabir Hashim to get his facts right and perhaps get some expert advice on such matters by someone like MP Harsha de Silva, who knows this subject.”

The State Minister said that the year 2020 had been a very difficult and uncertain year for the country. “For over half the year we had a minority government and during the major part of the year we were speculating on whether an election could be held. The whole world was facing difficulties with the pandemic wreaking havoc. It was only after the formation of the new government that we were able to formulate a clear policy and delegate responsibilities.

Therefore, we have been able to move forward with a clear vision during the last three months,” he said.

The Minister said that the government had faced many challenges during the first three quarters of this year apart from the Covid pandemic, due to the mismanagement and misdeeds of the previous government over the past five years.

“During the past five years under the previous regime, the 6.3 per cent growth rate we maintained from 2010 to 2014 had dropped to 2.3 per cent

For the first time in 2019 the per capita income fell by USD 227 under the yahapalana government. Now, they are trying to discredit us by claiming that the country is in a debt trap. They are hoping for the fall of the government, but they will be disappointed; we will not their dream come true.”

Minister Cabral said that the debt burden was measured as a percentage of the GDP and in 2005, it stood at 91 per cent. “However, our government had reduced it to 70 per cent by 2014 and after the Yahapalana government took over they increased it back to 87 percent. This happened as they had increased the foreign debt by 49 per cent. They increased the short term loans within a short period and now we are tasked with rectifying their mistakes. The previous government paid Rs. 1,430 billion more than we did in debt interest within their five year tenure.”

Cabraal add that the previous regime had also managed to devalue the rupee and now the present government had to pay for its predecessor’s sins.

He said that the government was committed to steering the country on a path of progress and urged all MPs to cast aside their political differences and support the passage of the Appropriation Bill.