Opposition MP Harsha de Silva has accused the government of hiding key facts in the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), after conflicting statements from both parties.
Addressing an event, MP Harsha de Silva said, previously, the government claimed that discussions are underway with the IMF and Sri Lanka will receive the next disbursement.
He further said that, however, the IMF has now stated that it will only grant the next disbursement if the electricity bill is increased.
“Did the government reveal that the IMF has stated that it will not provide funds if the electricity bill is not increased? Was this informed? They did not reveal this. They are concealing everything and conducting talks,” he said
MP de Silva said that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had announced before the Presidential Election that they would not continue with the IMF, questioning if any country has benefited from the IMF.
“They said electricity charges are high, and they would reduce them. They said ministers were robbing through the fuel allowance and that they would reduce fuel prices by Rs. 50 or Rs. 100. I told them at the time not to lie about not continuing with the IMF, as they will be required to move forward with the IMF,” he said.
Revealing that the government had said it would completely change the debt restructuring process, MP Harsha de Silva said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake didn’t utter a word when the agreements on debt restructuring were signed.
MP Harsha de Silva made the remarks commenting on IMF Sri lanka Mission Chief Evan Papageorgiou recent statement, announcing that Sri Lanka should restore cost-recovery electricity pricing as soon as possible to minimise fiscal risk and is essential to complete the fourth review of the IMF’s External Fund Facility (EFF) programme. (Newswire)