{"id":77328,"date":"2022-05-04T01:11:51","date_gmt":"2022-05-04T05:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=77328"},"modified":"2022-05-04T20:11:57","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T00:11:57","slug":"nightwatchman-finance-minister-ali-sabry-admits-that-wrong-policies-of-the-current-administration-had-contributed-to-the-present-plight-of-the-country-and-tells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=77328","title":{"rendered":"\u201cNightwatchman\u201d Finance Minister Ali Sabry Admits that \u201c wrong policies of the current administration had contributed to the present plight of the country\u201d and tells \u201cParliament that the country\u2019s economy is at a critical level \u201cand warns that \u201cpainful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBy Chandani Kirinde<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Finance Minister Ali Sabry yesterday told Parliament that the country\u2019s economy is at a critical level and warned that painful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power.<\/p>\n

In a detailed statement to the House on the present fiscal situation in the country as well as the way forward, Sabry admitted that wrong policies of the current administration had contributed to the present plight of the country, saying the tax cuts given in late 2019 after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office is a historic mistake.<\/p>\n

\u201cRevenue foregone due to the tax cuts introduced in late 2019, which was estimated to be more than Rs. 500 billion, has resulted in sovereign rating agencies to downgrade Sri Lanka to near default levels. In my opinion this is a historic mistake,\u201d Sabry said.<\/p>\n

He also said the 2022 Budget was no longer feasible and that the Government plans to present a new Budget shortly keeping with the new ground realities.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Minister disclosed that the liquid reserves in the country are as low as $ 50 million. \u201cAs of now, the usable liquid reserves are at negligible levels, severely impacting importation of essentials, including fuel, LP gas and pharmaceuticals. I would not hesitate to inform this august assembly that the Government is struggling to find enough foreign exchange to finance these essential imports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Minister also said the delay in seeking assistance from the IMF was another factor that contributed to the present situation. \u201cSri Lanka should have focused on regaining capital market access by establishing a credible path of macroeconomic stabilisation, supported by institutions such as the IMF. But now, rather than trying to find fault, it is important to identify the reasons for this situation and concentrate on the way forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sabry, who was in Washington, USA for discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said he is optimistic that the Fund could be concluded in about six months. \u201cAn IMF program will be a catalyst to undertake these much-needed reforms and will provide a signal to the rest of the world that we are serious in addressing our economic difficulties. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we must realise that the economic reform program we embark upon must be a program with Sri Lankan ownership. Without that Sri Lankan ownership, and without broad consensus of the Legislature, we would not succeed in providing permanent solutions for our longstanding economic issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sabry said the public protests send the message that we need to be serious in providing professional and sustainable solutions and an important part of this is being transparent and forthright regarding the challenges ahead and the fact that there are no painless solutions to choose from.<\/p>\n

\u201cOftentimes in Sri Lanka\u2019s history, successive political actors have painted rosy pictures and made promises that lack realism and credibility. Every time there has been an attempt to establish long term solutions, these are reversed in the next election cycle with a promise of short-term benefits and relief. We see today the adverse outcome of these stop-go policies \u2013 and the public has rejected this as reflected in the protests we see today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Finance Minister said Sri Lanka must establish a broad political consensus on the economic path underpinned by fiscal and monetary discipline, a focus on enhancement of productivity, and ensuring equitable outcomes by protecting the most vulnerable sections of our society. \u201cWe must understand the root cause of the issue, i.e., the unsustainable fiscal policies adopted by many successive governments. We should be humble enough to accept the fact that we as a country have lived beyond our means,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sabry said the fundamentals of the remedies are quite straightforward. \u201cManage expenditure within the framework of a reasonable revenue stream with a sustainable debt position, rather than placing the burden of a huge debt pile on generations to come. We should undertake reforms, to remove bottlenecks that hinder our economic progress. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe must be futuristic and wise to make decisions in the name of the progress of the economy, progress of the country. The Parliament must give priority to implement tax reforms to increase Government revenue and rationalise expenditure whilst ensuring public investment in critical areas such as education, healthcare, and social protection,\u201d he said.
\n
\nCourtesy:Daily FT<\/em><\/p>\n

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By Chandani Kirinde Finance Minister Ali Sabry yesterday told Parliament that the country\u2019s economy is at a critical level and warned that painful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power. In a detailed statement to the House on the present fiscal situation in the country as well as the way forward, Sabry admitted …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘\u201cNightwatchman\u201d Finance Minister Ali Sabry Admits that \u201c wrong policies of the current administration had contributed to the present plight of the country\u201d and tells \u201cParliament that the country\u2019s economy is at a critical level \u201cand warns that \u201cpainful reforms lie ahead irrespective of who is in power.\u201d’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77328"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=77328"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77329,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77328\/revisions\/77329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=77328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=77328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=77328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}