Saturday Dec 28, 2024
Saturday Dec 28, 2024
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Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe
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State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe yesterday tantamount SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva and independent think tank Veritè Research to what he termed as ‘an act of economic terrorism’.
Speaking to journalists, he alleged that both parties were sharing sensitive information and criticising market-sensitive topics currently under discussion with external stakeholders.
“It seems like they want to talk about matters which are market sensitive to break the trust among the parties involved in the discussions and fail the negotiation process,” Semasinghe claimed.
He suggested that Dr. de Silva should seek accurate information from the Central Bank or the Finance Ministry instead of relying on third-party sources.
The State Minister reassured that Dr. de Silva should not fear any consequences, as the Government has not agreed to any conditions and all relevant information is available in the public domain.
“The IMF has not pushed the Government to agree to any unsustainable clauses,” he stressed.
Semasinghe questioned Dr. de Silva’s motives, pointing out that if there is no agreement yet, his criticisms are unwarranted. “Like my friend Dr. Harsha says, the Government or the ISB holders or the IMF has not agreed upon any specific agreement or proposal. If there is no agreement, why is he pressing not to? His statement on the matter is already obsolete,” he said.
The State Minister also criticised Veritè Research for presenting a negative picture of the country’s economy and recovery process.
He asserted that the Government has proven ‘the so-called economic experts’ wrong, citing the approval of the second review of Sri Lanka’s $ 3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as evidence.
His remarks reflect the ongoing tension between the Government and opposition critics as Sri Lanka navigates its economic recovery and negotiations with international stakeholders.
Noting that the Opposition is only good at criticising the Government’s economic policies because they hardly have any responsibility, the State Minister said the Opposition lacks an economic policy and has no alternative other than the IMF program.
“Even if the two opposition parties criticising the Government come into power, they will only have the same program, just presented with different words,” he quipped. (CdeS)
