MP Patali Champika Ranawaka has explained the government’s motives behind the postponement of the House debate on the proposed Central Bank (CBSL) Act.
It was excluded not because of anything related to the X-Press Pearl maritime disaster or at the opposition’s request, but that bill’s passage would have prevented the government from expanding its borrowing limit, he told parliament yesterday (12).
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said three days earlier the president had agreed to put off the debate on the Central Bank bill.
One of its clauses will annul the bank’s ability to issue Treasury bills, while a cabinet paper to raise the limit has appeared suddenly in the House agenda, he pointed out.
“The Central Bank bill was put off in an attempt to expand the borrowing limit. The government is planning to issue Treasury bills at high interest, print money and go on the same path that took us to over-inflation”, he charged.
The only way out of this crisis is to increase the gross domestic production while generating new income avenues for the poor, he added.
