19 March 2024 01:05 pm
He told Parliament that Parliament has powers over Public Finance in terms of the Constitution and that the Central Bank cannot increase the salaries of its employees without Parliamentary approval.
The Minister said the claim by the Central Bank that it has the independence to take decisions in terms of the new Central Bank Act is wrong as any Act must come under the Constitution.
"The Central Bank was granted independence under the new Central Bank Act to ensure that it functions free of political intervention. We expected that the Central Bank would function according to the requirements of the country. Unfortunately, the Central Bank acted to increase its employees' salaries as the first action," he said, while explaining his position during the cross talk over the Central Bank employees' salary increase.
Opposition MP Mohammed Muzammil said no action has been taken regarding the salary increase despite the matter being raised in Parliament for several days.
State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said the government will take a decision on the Central Bank salary increase after the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) submits its report to Parliament.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the government must not wait for the report of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and said that the government must take a decision to withdraw the salary hike.
"The Central Bank is not under the COPF, it is under the government," he said.