Sri Lanka will be forced to get unsolicited loans – Harsha

Harsha De Silva

The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) claims that Sri Lanka will be forced to go for unsolicited loans in the future, which means the country will have to borrow black money from certain parties and countries at lower interest rates.

Addressing a media briefing recently, SJB MP Dr. Harsha de Silva iterated that, Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila had openly stated that the banking sector would go in for a crisis if the fuel prices were not increased. The country should be thankful to him for revealing the truth about this crisis situation of the Sri Lankan bank sector, he said.

“Banking sector is facing this situation because of interbank SWAP. This happens when a State Bank purchases dollars from another bank. A State bank could purchase a dollar at Rs. 199.90 which is the rate on which a dollar is being sold, though it is more than Rs. 200 in the open market. The bank which purchases a dollar at Rs. 199.90 then gets into an agreement with the other bank to sell dollars at a lower rate. There have been interbank SWAPs worth USD 500 million during the last two months.

The dollar would further increase up to Rs. 210 in another two years,” he said. Dr. de Silva also mentioned that it is questionable as to how the Government is going to manage this situation when Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves are reduced to USD 1,250 million by the end of the year.

“It is important that the Government officials provide an accurate picture of the country’s economy to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. If not, he might have to send intelligence officers to relevant institutions to find out the truth.

We are willing to support the Government to resolve this crisis, because the SJB always thinks about the best for the common people. However, if the Government cannot handle the economy, it should hand over the administration to a suitable one who is capable of doing it,” he stressed.

(Source: Ceylon Today – By Nabiya Vaffoor)