The opposition has questioned as to why the Central Bank Governor is unwilling to restructure only International Sovereign Bonds at a time the government has proposed to restructure all other debt.
Speaking during a media briefing in Colombo, Parliamentarian Harsha de Silva said the President has requested China to restructure the debt while the Prime Minister has made a similar request from India.
MP de Silva said all other independent experts are also of the view that the government should request debt restructuring while investors are also willing to agree to a debt restructure as the people are suffering from the economic crisis.
Joining the media briefing, Parliamentarian Kabir Hashim said Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa should reveal to the country as to how the government intends on repaying USD 6.9 billion worth of foreign loans this year.
MP Hashim said the amount has been confirmed by Minister Basil Rajapaksa through a Cabinet Paper he presented on the 3rd of January.
He said the government’s plan should be revealed to the opposition, Parliament, and the country.
MP Hashim said the Finance Minister should unveil his plan of how he will repay the loans without burdening the people further.
Meanwhile, Parliamentarian Eran Wickremeratne raised concerns over the sudden increase in foreign reserves.
MP Wickremeratne said the Central Bank in November said reserves were at USD 1.1 billion while in December an announcement was made that reserves had increased to USD 3.1 billion.
MP Wickremeratne said if an individual’s savings increased by several folds in a month, questions will be raised by authorities.
He said therefore authorities must reveal how reserves increased in a matter of days.
