Parliament Speech - Dr Harsha de Silva

Today in Parliament I spoke of the dilution of Parliamentary powers over public finances. We urge the Government and President to abolish the Executive Presidency immediately and bring power back to Parliament. Prices of fuel have increased yet again, and IOC states that it is a consequence of the rupee depreciating by 60% in last month alone. They are correct, as the rupee ought to have been devalued systematically. The dollar which was held at 200 LKR is now selling at 349 LKR at banks and as high as 410 LKR in the black market. How can people survive at this rate? 22 million people are suffering due to inconsiderate policy errors! One has to be held accountable for this economic mess, as it is criminal negligence. Furthermore, when the Government was readying to pay USD 500mn in International Sovereign Bond (ISB) payments in January, I strongly advised the Government against it, as we would run out of money to finance our essential imports. However, the Government was determined to make the payment. I later revealed that a scam had been committed as (ISBs) worth USD 1000 were sold at a 50% discount for USD 500 to crony businessmen. Moreover, the cronies that purchased these ISBs made a 300-400% in just QUARTERLY interest revenue. Thus, I urged the then Minister of Justice, Ali Sabry, to immediately investigate this, however, nothing came out of this. There ought to be a forensic audit on this to find out who decided to make this reckless payment and just who benefitted! The people responsible need to be behind bars for steering Sri Lanka into the largest and most disastrous socio-economic crisis since independence.