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IMF agreement should not be made public: Prof. Rohan Samarajiva

06 Sep 2022

 
  • Says disclosing agreement might be disadvantageous to debt restructuring
  • Notes creditors might be reluctant to negotiate if information is out
  • SJB MP and COPF Chair Dr. Harsha wants SLA tabled in Parliament
  By Imesh Ranasinghe    Sri Lanka should not make details of the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) reached with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) public, as it will be disadvantageous to the country in its debt restructuring talks with International Sovereign Bond (ISB) holders and bilateral lenders, stated LIRNEasia Chairman Prof. Rohan Samarajiva. In an interview with TV Derana yesterday (5), he said that the SLA with the IMF should not be made public, as the country is still negotiating with relevant parties regarding its debt, and added that the SLA is just one step in the negotiations.  “If we put out the debt sustainability analysis, the ISB holders or bilaterals could say that all the information is out and there is no need to negotiate,” he said  Further, he said that although Zambia is nine months ahead of Sri Lanka in terms of obtaining IMF Board approval after reaching an SLA, Zambia has not released all the relevant documents to the public, even though it has released more detailed documents than Sri Lanka. On Sunday (4), Opposition MP and newly appointed Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe to table in Parliament the SLA reached between the Government and the IMF. “We urge the President to reveal the agreement signed with the IMF in Parliament on 6 August. We are still not aware of the particulars of this agreement. I, as the COPF Chairman, and my team, have a huge responsibility as to how these reforms and restructuring can be brought about without raising more concern and alarm among the general public, and especially among the poverty-stricken in society. Though this is a highly concerning matter, we will approach this in a manner as to cause minimal damage to the general public,” he said. He charged that the world must know what the Sri Lankan Government has agreed to with the IMF. Moreover, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe refused to provide the forecasts the Sri Lankan Government has agreed to with the IMF, in terms of Inflation, current account balance, and other economic indicators at his meeting with the Parliament members last week, citing that the information was confidential. An already published IMF statement on the SLA stated that the programme aims to reach a primary surplus of 2.3% of GDP by 2025.


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