CB Governor and his public comments

Tuesday, 10 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The current Governor was appointed by the President ignoring the request of the Minister in Charge, the Prime Minister, to appoint Charitha Ratwatte. Later on it transpired his friend Samarawickrama had played a role in getting him appointed. He was appointed over so many other nominees including two Deputy Governors.

People were willing to forgive him for his connections with the money laundering Raj Rajaratnam. Then later it transpired he had worked as an advisor to the former regime. All that is okay, if he is willing to play with a straight bat.

His comments on the economy were totally uncalled for at a time we are struggling to put our economy on track. Then his comments on the rupee were totally uncalled for given that we are struggling to keep the rupee stable.

The question is, should a Governor address these issues in private or go public? My answer is very simple; he is the economic doctor for the economy. He should advice the Minister in private. He should learn from people like A.S. Jayawardana and Dissanayake or even the current Chief Justice to shut his mouth and do his part behind closed doors.

I am an importer of food items. Cost of my forwards went up overnight thanks to the Governor’s outburst. Such statements must be avoided. The clash between the Finance Minister and the Governor is not good for the financial system. The Governor must learn to work alongside Government policy, he must not be allowed to tow an independent line. The Central Bank must be brought back under the purview of the Finance Ministry like the age-old tradition. This nonsense should be stopped. I am happy the FT is giving a balanced picture.

Priyantha

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