Ravi K. lashes out at Central Bank

Minister Ravi Karunanayaka hit out at the Central Bank yesterday, comparing its role to that of an economic hitman.

At a sports event organised by the National Youth Services Council at the S. De S Jayasinghe grounds at Dehiwala, Minister Karunanayaka charged that the Central Bank officials in many instances disregard their responsibilities and services.

"They talk only on laws that have been amended. When a bank or non-banking financial institute collapses, they say they have no power to take action and at times they say they cannot take action against errant finance companies because the Foreign Exchange Act has been amended.

These excuses are unacceptable and do not provide answers to the problems faced by the economy. If the Central Bank had a genuine concern to address these issues, they had four or five years to act. Their answers are extremely weak.

The economy has collapsed because of the Central Bank,” he said. Minister Karunanayaka said the restructuring programme introduced at the Ceylon Electricity Board, (CEB) has been able to minimise corruption and waste and that under no circumstances would the CEB increase tariffs while providing an uninterrupted power supply to the entire country throughout the year.

Commenting on the forthcoming presidential poll, Minister Karunanayaka said there are so many senior politicians in the UNP to field and the most appropriate candidate who would become the next president will be announced shortly. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)