By Dasun Edirisinghe
The Joint Opposition yesterday said it would move the Supreme Court against the government’s effort to ‘disable’ the Central Bank and set up new unit under the Finance Ministry to oversee some of its functions including printing of currency notes.
Addressing the JO Economic Research Unit’s weekly press briefing at Vajirashrama Templeat Punchi Borella, Colombo District MP Bandula Gunawardena said they would also take to the streets with the people against several budget proposals which were aimed at weakening the Central Bank.
Present Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, too, had written to Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, opposing the proposed National Payment Platform, Gunawardena said.
He said the government move would drive away foreign investors due to its cavalier financial policies.
“We will write to President Maithripala Sirisena seeking his intervention to stop new moves in the financial sector,” the Colombo District MP said.
Former External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris said the government had been compelled to amend the 2016 budget umpteen times and there was already some issues with Budget 2017 as well.
He said the proposed Rs. 2,500 minimum fine for traffic offenders would have to be changed due to vehement public protests against it.
Prof. Peiris pointed out that the government had imposed a water tariff increase without including it in the budget.
“People have now lost their faith in budget as its proposals are not implemented or some measures that are not proposed by the budget are implemented,” he said.
The former law professor said the government had reduced the education expenditure by 58% compared to the previous year, but was offering tab PCs to schoolchildren.
He said the government had imposed Rs. 400 billion tax burden on the people through the new budget compared to the previous year. Out of that amount 75% would be collected as indirect taxes.
Prof. Peiris said that around 50 public sector institutions had been lined up for privatisation according to the budget speech.
Courtesy:The Island