On Wednesday, January 6, 2016 a lengthy interview conducted with me titled Athithathu (The Real Facts) by veteran journalist Chaminda Munasinghe was published in a national newspaper.
While at the time the budget for 2016 had been presented in Parliament by the then Minister of Finance Ravi Karunanayake, those of us in the Opposition were able to prove with the relevant numbers that the Parliament had been completely misled by this budget document.
Not stopping there, we also submitted a complaint to the then Speaker Karu Jayasuriya about this impending economic disaster, and he also conducted an investigation into it. I am posting the last part of the article published under the title ‘2016 Salli Wessak’ (2016 Rain of Money) to enlighten the people.
The end result of inefficient and illogical public financial management is the huge economic crisis that has occurred today.
Apart from these internal factors, the most severe crisis facing Sri Lanka this year is the balance of payments crisis. This year will go down in history as the year when the balance of payments was under heavy pressure due to the increase in import payments and interest payments for short-term foreign loans while export earnings continued to fall.
The erosion of the country’s foreign assets can only be prevented if a significant amount of foreign investment and foreign exchange flows into the country. However, due to the political, economic and financial instability that has arisen last year, entrepreneurs who have a keen investment vision do not consider Sri Lanka as an investment oasis.
On the other hand, the chief guests of this month’s economic summit are the infamous gang led by George Soros who has a shady past and was responsible for the destruction of the economies of both Thailand and Malaysia.
Therefore, trying to rectify the economic situation in this country through the Soros theory is a sure way to ensure the collapse of the entire economy. To my knowledge and belief, there is currently only one option before us.
The issue regarding the negative balance of payments can only be rectified by reaching a close loan agreement of at least USD three billion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But having to submit too many conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund will not be tolerable to those who have often sought to manipulate economic factors for political gains.
There is already a falling out with the local representative of the International Monetary Fund. As a result of this, the IMF has already commenced discussions with the heads of the Government about the economic crisis in the country.
Therefore, if the New Year is to be a truly happy new year the Parliament must make a serious intervention in public financial management. But this will be a difficult task in the face of the economic crisis and its realities amidst the praises and exaggerations of the tamed Opposition and continuous attacks on the Rajapaksa regime.
Therefore, it is the responsibility of all those who value a healthy democracy to strive to raise a deep public financial management academic dialogue in the Parliament. Failure to do so will only give rise to a path of violence outside of Parliament as was seen in the 1980s in Sri Lanka.