By

D. B. Tennakoon

The Central Bank of a country is charged with the crucial task of regulating a country’s economy. It decides how much money should be in circulation, the relationship of the assets of the country to its loans, the relationship between a country’s currency and those of other countries and so on.

Actually its function in the country’s economy can be compared to the heart that keeps a body alive. There is no need here to labour the point that the integrity of the person who heads this institution is crucial to the image it has nationally and internationally.

We in Sri Lanka have been disturbed for some time about the allegations leveled against the Governor of our Central Bank. If we leave aside the politics involved it is quite obvious that there is a problem to be resolved urgently. The Governor has very clearly tried to prove his innocence and we appreciate that.

But at the same time it has not solved our problem because important monitoring bodies such as the COPE has not yet exonerated him. The COPE report on the matter is not yet out and we do not know whether it will ever be available. In the meantime however the President of the country has spoken and indicated in very clear terms his view of the matter. It is best, he has indicated, that the Governor should resign.

This the Governor can do because he can say that although he has done no wrong he is resigning for the good of the Central Bank. In other words, after that statement of the President the Governor will be losing his self-respect if he still remains in office.

Courtesy:The Island