Minister of Media, Transport and Highways Dr. Bandula Gunawardena on Thursday requested the Parliamentary Opposition to present any proposals relating to the comments of the Parliamentary Sub-committee on Debt Restructuring headed by Prof. G.L Peiris.
Speaking in Parliament, Dr. Gunawardena said if the Opposition is able to come up with an alternative proposal the Government is prepared to set aside financial firm Lazard and act according to the advice of the Opposition. The Minister made these comments in response to a question posed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Kegalle district MP Kabir Hashim.
“It is unfair to blame the country’s debt load on the President or the Government. The issue of debt has been a perennial problem. At the time Fitch and Moody’s downgraded Sri Lanka and warned we will not be able to service our debt,” he said.
The Minister said Sri Lanka does not have the expertise necessary to resolve the situation, and therefore it decided to seek help internationally. “Around 28 companies that provide financial advice and expertise sent in applications. Twenty of them qualified and a Cabinet Sub-Committee was appointed to choose one out of them,” he said.
Noting that it was led by Prof. G.L Peiris, Dr. Gunawardena asked the Opposition to question him about how Lazard was chosen out of the 20 companies. “Accordingly, the Cabinet decided to obtain their services. We are going to carry out the process by holding discussions with these countries and sovereign bondholders,” he said. The Minister said the Government will be sued if it ultimately fails to service the debts obtained from foreign countries.
He said Sri Lanka also obtained services of a firm called Clifford Chance to face a US$ 257 million lawsuit filed against the country in the USA. He said the President held discussions with India, France (Paris Club) and Japan to obtain their support to escape the current debt situation.
Discussions will also proceed with other countries.