• Chief Oppo. Whip Kiriella urges P’mentary reversal of decision as not approved by latter
• State Finance Min. Siyambalapitiya notes CBSL’s decision-making autonomy & self-funding, and need to prevent brain drain  

The Parliamentary Opposition criticised Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) officials for increasing their salaries by a large amount, even though the country is facing its worst economic crisis, and therefore urged the Government and the Parliament to suspend the CBSL’s decision.

Speaking in the Parliament yesterday (20), Chief Opposition Whip and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Parliamentarian, attorney Lakshman Kiriella claimed that the decision taken by the CBSL administration to increase the salaries of their workers in an unprecedented manner does not comply with the existing rules and regulations, and that therefore, the Parliament has the authority to suspend the particular decision since the House is entitled to control the public finances under the Constitution. He also noted that the said decision must be enacted through the Parliament, and that hence, the CBSL has violated the prescribed procedure in the said exercise. 

“This proposal must come to the Parliament. It has violated the regular procedures. Therefore, the decision is completely illegal. I urged the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies to consult the Attorney General regarding the matter and to take necessary actions. Otherwise, we will collect this money from these officials in the future,” he added. 

He further alleged that the salaries of the CBSL officials have been increased by 70%, and that accordingly, the salary of a Deputy Governor has been increased by Rs. 712,000. Meanwhile, he also claimed that the salary of an office assistant has been increased by Rs. 75,000. 

“This is the conduct of those who advise us to cut down our expenditures. This is how they have been behaving for the last few years. They remained silent when the entire economy was going into bankruptcy. Their salaries must not be increased but cut down,” he said.

In response to the Opposition’s allegations, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that the CBSL has the autonomy to decide on their salaries after the recently passed CBSL Act and also said that the CBSL salaries are not paid by the Government’s joint fund as for the other public servants but instead from the CBSL account. He also noted that such decisions should be taken to keep economists and other reputed academics in the CBSL, as there is a lot of potential for them to migrate.

The CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe was not available for comment.