HYDEPARK

Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe is confident that Sri Lanka will be able to achieve debt sustainability even before the timeframe envisaged through the IMF EFF programme.

Senior Professor in economics at the university of Colombo, Professor Sirimal Abeyratne says that while the bailout package of the International Monetary is not the entire solution for Sri Lanka's crisis, he believes that the government has resorted to easier options when dealing with the crisis through rate hikes, instead of tackling corruption and broadening taxes to include the entire population of the country.

On our current affairs programme 'At Hyde Park' the recent circular issued by the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue on February 7 amending his previous circular dated December 22, 2022 on the quantification of values for non-cash benefits in calculating employment income for taxation - was taken up for discussion.   Speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte 'At HydePark', tax and regulatory expert Suresh Perera pointed out that a select group among the state sector have been granted relief as per the new circular and noted that it violates the basic tax principle of fairness as a result.

Former IMF Representative to Sri Lanka Dr. Nadeem Ul Haque points out that countries who lent money to Sri Lanka will not consider “debt forgiveness” as called for by some economists, as that debt is money generated by their own people and was not meant to have been misappropriated by the borrower country.  He made these comments whilst speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte 'At HydePark on Ada Derena 24'.  Joining the same discussion, Economist Dr. Tissa Jayaweera said the Sri Lankan government needs to take steps to ensure efficiency and cut down on the number of subsidies given out.

Russian Ambassador in Colombo Levan S. Dzhagaryan says Russia proposed the construction of a 110 megawatt nuclear power plant in Sri Lanka to further strengthen power generation in the island nation and added that its construction will be beneficial for Sri Lanka to retain foreign exchange spent on oil and coal imports.     Speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte on ‘At HydePark’ today, Dzhagaryan said Sri Lanka can trust Russia in this process citing examples of Russia assisted nuclear power plant projects in Kudankalam in India and Rooppur in Bangladesh.     Further, the Russian Envoy in Colombo invited Russians to visit Sri Lanka and experience the country's rich hospitality in a backdrop where Russia is being sanctioned by European nations due to their war with Ukraine.

Sri Lankan corporate leader Ranjit Page believes that government should introduce a strategic act aiming to protect investors, producers and other stakeholders in the supply chain all the way to the consumer.  Speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte At HydePark on Ada Derana 24, he said that government needs to have a policy framework to bring about the necessary change.

Development Economist Professor Jayati Ghosh and Economist and Social Scientist Dr. Howard Nicolas believe that the path Sri Lanka chose for economic recovery with the support of the IMF would hurt the island's poor and marginalised segments.  Making these remarks 'At HydePark with Indeewari Amuwatte’ on Ada Derana 24, they said they believe that debt forgiveness would be the only solution for Sri Lanka’s recovery.   On the contrary however, financial analyst Murtaza Jafferjee is of the opinion that Sri Lanka would lose access to international creditor markets as soon as it resolves to debt forgiveness while also causing a collapse in the country's banking system.

Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says the International Monetary Fund bailout package can be approved by the global lender in January 2023 by which time Sri Lanka would have secured creditor assurances from countries including India and China.  Speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte, the Governor further stated that the delay in obtaining Rapid Financing instrument from the IMF this time is because the country has sought the programme to support balance of payment issues, macro-fiscal framework and ensure debt sustainability, an issue that is unique compared to all other times Sri Lanka approached the IMF.

Chief of Delegation of German Industry and Commerce Marie Antonia Von Schonburg says Sri Lanka is not a viable alternative for German businesses to consider investments compared to countries like Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand.  Speaking to Indeewari Amuwatte At HydePark the Chief delegate, while recognising the crisis said that unless the country ensures policy consistency, transparency and efficiency, investors looking to diversify their business portfolio will continue to settle for investor friendly nations in the Asian continent.