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Wimal alleges Nandalal receiving IMF pension

09 Nov 2022

  • Raises conflict of interest issue, citing Dr. Weerasinghe’s three-year stint with the IMF 
National Freedom Front (NFF) Leader and “independent” Opposition MP Wimal Weerawansa alleged yesterday (8) in Parliament that Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe earns two salaries – one from the CBSL and the other from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which, he opined, creates a conflict of interest. Addressing Government MPs in the House, he stated: “I don’t know about the level of faith each of you has placed in Dr. Weerasinghe, but to my knowledge, he receives two salaries, where the salary from the CBSL amounts to more than Rs. 2.5 million, while the other salary is the pension he receives from the IMF. I don’t know the exact amount of that pension, but he worked for the IMF for three years, and if someone works for the IMF for over two years, that person is entitled to a pension. If this is not the case, he must come out and say so. Doesn’t receiving these two salaries create a conflict of interest?” Meanwhile, he alleged that the Government has no comprehensive or long-term plan to recover from the economic crisis and is instead engaged in a daily fight for survival, and that it is paying too much attention to the protection of the financial sector at the cost of the rest of the economy. “Dr. Weerasinghe dances to the tune of the IMF, fearing that the financial sector would collapse. He has raised interest rates to extremely high levels and businesses and industries aren’t able to afford to pay those interest rates; therefore they collapse and their employees lose their livelihoods. We can’t make decisions based solely on the financial sector. The financial sector must be protected, and it is important, but protecting that alone does not protect the economy.” Attempts by The Morning to contact Dr. Weerasinghe yesterday (8) regarding the matter proved futile.  Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe assumed duties as the 17th Governor of the CBSL on 8 April 2022. Dr. Weerasinghe was promoted as Deputy Governor on 27 September 2011, while he was serving as an Alternate Executive Director at the IMF and assumed office as a Deputy Governor of the CBSL on 1 September 2012. As Deputy Governor, Dr. Weerasinghe has served as the Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee and the Foreign Reserve Management Committee of the CBSL and has overseen the Departments of Economic Research, Statistics, International Operations, Domestic Operations, Macroprudential Surveillance, Exchange Control, Currency, and Communications.


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