Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe stated in a special press conference held today (25) that whether it is appropriate to hold an election at this moment is not a matter related to the Central Bank.
“Is it right to hold elections? no? We do not want to comment. It does not apply to us. The main reason is that the Central Bank is an institution that implements the financial policy of the country. The election is outside our framework.”
“The Election Commissioner has also sent me a letter.. When there are really large queues, we continue to give priority to essential things.”
“Since there was a growth in the receipt of foreign exchange from December, instead of intervening and providing foreign exchange, we told the bank that they now have reserves to get the money needed for essential things like fuel.”
“If we can’t get it, we will give it from what we have. That’s the way it is now.”
“Now there is no big deficit in the banking system in terms of foreign exchange. There is money in the market.”
Question – “Can the election result affect the IMF process?”
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe – “I am not an expert to say whether the election affects the IMF process.”
“From our side, we see that when implementing a complex program like this through the IMF, difficult policies and decisions are being implemented. Whoever the government is, it should be implemented.”
“To recover from this kind of economic crisis, the painful policy has to be continued. The current process has been quite successful and has progressed. We hope that it will continue to operate in that way.. Whether there is an election or not.”
“The tax policy is subject to the fiscal policy. The central bank acts as the country’s fiscal policy. We believe that the fiscal policies of the state should go hand in hand with the country’s fiscal policies.”
Question – Is there money to spend on elections?
Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe – – “You really need to ask the Treasury. Allocation of money is a task of the Treasury. The Treasury Secretary had also made a statement to the court about it. That is where the answer will be known.”
