3 March 2022 01:48 pm
Claiming that Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was maintaining stoic silence in the face of the unfolding crisis,National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader and Industries Minister Weerwansa yesterday charged that the ignorance of the Finance Minister could either be attributed to his stupidity or he deliberately wanted the crisis to be advanced to a disaster.
Weerwansa blasted the Finance Minister for not seeking sound economic advice.
NFF Leader and Industries Minister Wimal Weerawansa, in a scathing attack on Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, said the latter had failed to have a dialogue with the Central Bank for the last six months despite the gravity of the crisis.
“You cannot solve every issue with an egoistic attitude. Sometimes, you need to seek expert advice. The Central Bank Governor said he had sent nine letters within the past six months outlining economic measures that should be taken to avoid a crisis. However, the Finance Minister had not even acknowledged them or had time for a meeting with the Central Bank Governor to discuss them,” he said.
Addressing an event organised by eleven political parties aligned to the government, he said these challenges cannot be overcome by being conceited and that there should be a definite plan for that.
"We need to take several measures to come out of this crisis situation. First of all, we need to obtain expert's assistance on this.
We cannot overcome these challenges by being conceited. We need to draft a plan and have dialogue with other countries to reschedule loans according to the plan.