Amidst various concerns being raised by Opposition politicians and certain economic experts regarding the renegotiation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement by a future Government, the Government is to draft a comprehensive economic reforms law including both the IMF parameters and other economic reforms implemented by them (the Government), to carry on the progress and stability achieved in the economy thus far.

Recently, President and Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies, Ranil Wickremesinghe, highlighting the collaboration with the IMF as a crucial step towards revitalising Sri Lanka’s economy, underscored the necessity of legalising the agreements with the IMF to ensure that the benefits reach the people swiftly.

In this context, when contacted by The Daily Morning, the State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said that not only the IMF agreement and its parameters but also all the other economic reforms implemented by the Government would be amalgamated to form the prospective new law. Stating that it is currently in its drafting stages, he noted that it will be tabled soon in the Parliament once it receives the Cabinet of Ministers’ approval. Speaking further, Semasinghe stated that this would be a ‘comprehensive’ law that will contain certain significant aspects, such as the economic reforms required to build up an investment friendly atmosphere. “This law includes many reforms, and not only the IMF parameters. What we noticed is that the lack of the consistency and continuity of a comprehensive economic framework has led the country towards such a crisis. Each and every successive Government has changed its economic policies from time to time. Therefore, now, we are focusing on creating such a strong policy framework to carry on the progress and the stability that we achieved through the IMF programme,” he added.

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe told the Parliament last week that the proposed Economic Transformation Bill would incorporate a range of measures intended to guide the Government’s actions over the long term. “Notably, the Economic Transformation Bill, the Public Finance Bill and the Public Debt Management Bill are among the prominent pieces of legislation slated for submission. The Economic Transformation Bill encompasses provisions for the establishment of key entities such as the Sri Lanka Economic Commission, the Investment Infrastructure Corporation, the International Trade Institute, the National Productivity Commission and the Sri Lanka Economic and Trade Institute,” he said.