Is State finance going to be politicized? : SJB

• The NPP criticized the appointment of Ajith Niward Cabral as the Central Bank Governor after resigning from his parliamentary seat

By Yohan Perera  

Referring to the resignation of State Finance Minister Harshana Sooriyapperuma from Parliament and the reports which said the former State Minister will be the next treasury secretary, main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) yesterday questioned as to whether the government is trying to politicize state finance.   

“There are reports that Mr. Sooriyapperuma who resigned from Parliament last week is to be appointed as Treasury Secretary. The NPP criticized the appointment of Ajith Niward Cabral as the Central Bank Governor after resigning from his parliamentary seat. NPP called politicizing of state finance. However the resignation of Sooriyapperuma is a similar to the Cabral episode. We wonder whether the government is trying to politicize state finance,” SJB National Organizer Tissa Attanayake told a media briefing.   

He also said there seemed to be no proper alternative to former Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana.   

Referring to the Iran and Israel conflict, the SJB National Organizer said Sri Lanka is bound to suffer negative impact from the Middle Eastern conflict. “Sri Lanka will have face a crisis pertaining to fuel supply while the fuel issue will affect the Sri Lankan industries. Soaring fuel prices will have a negative impact on the Sri Lankan economy,” he said.