Former Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomarasamy has warned that Sri Lanka must not return to its old ways by providing subsidiaries.
Addressing an event, Dr. Coomarasamy said subsidizing fuel, electricity, fertilizer, etc. would draw back Sri Lanka and is an unsustainable move.
“It is unsustainable. We don’t have the money to do it. To borrow money from abroad and to put it into that kind of activity you just end up in a debt crisis. Because you don’t have the ability to earn the foreign exchange to pay that money back,” he said.
On addressing poverty, the former Central Bank Governor said cash transfers, such as Samurdhi which is now Aswasuma, could be used as short-term methods.
He explained that it was recommended to implement the ‘Aswasuma’ welfare benefit programme earlier as it would help people cope with the austerity that is coming down the line and it would also help to buy support for the reforms.
“We didn’t do that. And now we seem to be politicising it all over again. It is in a bit of a mess. We need to do that right. Again we have slipped back to the same mistakes,” he said.
Dr. Coomarasamy further said Sri Lanka can do better in terms of identifying and targeting in a transparent way for the welfare scheme.
Emphasizing the need for technology, he said technology, such as the introduction of a unique digital ID, can reduce leakages by a great margin but was being resisted at every turn for manipulation.
The former Central Bank Governor said these measures could help Sri Lanka come out of the current crisis. (NewsWire)
