Thankful to Gammanpila for unveiling country’s precarious economic status - Harsha

One should be thankful to Minister Udaya Gammanpila for telling the truth about Sri Lanka’s economy, as he had openly stated that the Country's banking sector is in crisis, SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said today.

“Minister Gammanpila had openly stated that the banking sector would go in for a crisis if the fuel prices were not increased. We are thankful to him for speaking the truth,” Dr. de Silva told a press conference.

“Banking sector is in a crisis situation because of interbank SWAP. This happens when a state Bank purchases dollars from another bank. A state bank could purchase a dollar at Rs.199.90 which is the rate on which a dollar is being sold, though it is more than Rs. 200 in the open market. The bank which purchases a dollar at Rs. 199.90, then gets into an agreement with the other bank to sell dollars at a lower rate. There have been interbank SWAPs worth US$ 500 million during the last two months. The dollar would further increase upto Rs. 210 in another two years,” he said.

“In addition to this, a high ranking government officer has said Sri Lanka will be forced to go for unsolicited loans soon. This means Sri Lanka will be forced to borrow black money from certain parties and countries at lower interest rates,” he added.

“Also Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves is slated to be US$1250 million by the end of the year, it’s monthly export bill is approximately US$1600 million. How are we going to manage this situation?” he questioned.

“It is important that government officers present a correct picture of the country’s economy to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. If not, he might have to send in intelligence officers to relevant institutions to find the truth. We are willing to support the government to resolve the crisis, as SJB is a people friendly party. However if the government cannot handle the economy, it should hand over the administration to the able hands,” he stressed.

SJB MP Mujibur Rahman also participated in the press conference said a parliamentary select committee should be appointed to probe the X-Press Pearl Tragedy. (Yohan Perera)