- Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena says Govt can use the entirety of USD 2.9 bn 4-yr IMF loan for budgetary support: admits any change in taxes have to be with the prior approval of the IMF and no one in Sri Lanka has authority to make any changes.
- Advisor to the Govt Indrajith Coomaraswamy says the Govt is in talks with India for a USD 1 bn equivalent Indian Rupee Central Bank SWAP “to facilitate trade”: he had previously claimed that Central Bank SWAPs are short term and of no significance: Coomaraswamy has previously served as the CB Governor and an advisor to US insider-trading convict Raj Rajaratnam.
- According to official documents, Sri Lanka projected to lend USD 2,533 mn to the US and Euro areas mainly, during the IMF deal period: loans to include the mandatory USD 1.4 bn that the Central Bank is expected to collect from exports and remittances: SL is due to receive only 2 tranches of about USD 331.2 mn (SDR 254 mn) each in March & Sept 2023 from the IMF.
- President’s DG-Trade Unions & former President of Govt Nurses Union Saman Ratnapriya says Govt employees could be released full time for union work by trade unions until their retirement: Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe admits he has received a salary from the Govt in spite of not teaching since 2000.
- Senior Treasury officials say Govt will lift import restrictions on 100-150 items in the next 4 months, if move does not have an impact on the exchange rates, foreign reserves and inflation: also say vehicle import restrictions would remain as imports would drain at least USD 2 bn a year and that would have an impact on the foreign reserves.
- Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya says the Bar Assn is vital in guiding the process of the legal profession: attends 49th Annual Convocation of the Bar Assn where Kaushalya Nawaratne was inducted as it’s new President.
- Senior official at the Ministry of Power and Energy says the Govt is considering the release of nearly 450 fuel stations held under the Treasury to 3 new international players that are to enter the local fuel market: allocation to be made in “150-station” blocks.
- Ceylon Electricity Board due to spend approximately Rs.800 mn per day (Rs. 200 mn more than previously planned) to purchase additional fuel from the CPC to operate thermal oil power plants to meet the electricity requirement since one generation unit at the Norochcholai Coal Power Plant failed last week.
- Chief Opposition Whip Lakshman Kiriella accuses IMF of “double speak”: demands to know on what assurances it had begun disbursing a USD 2.9 bn loan to Sri Lanka: claims the incumbent government, without a people’s mandate, would be unable to respect the obligations attached to the loan facility.
- SJB MP Harsha Silva shows concern that the IMF is insinuating that “domestic debt restructuring” is to occur: says bulk of Rs.14 tn of domestic debt is held by EPF and local banks that consist of people’s hard-earned money: Silva has so far been an ardent advocate of debt default and re-structure & an enthusiastic supporter of an IMF programme.
