The National Peoples Power (NPP) has informed the visiting International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation that a government under its party will revise the clauses related to the sale of public assets and increasing the burden on the public that has been agreed to in the current IMF agreement by the Sri Lankan Government.
NPP Parliamentarian Vijith Herath revealed that the party’s stance was conveyed during a meeting with the IMF delegation, including Senior Mission Chief of the IMF to Sri Lanka, Peter Breuer, held in Colombo today.
Addressing the media following the meeting, NPP MP Vijitha Herath said the discussion was focused on the Party’s stance and amendments to the IMF agreement that will take place under its regime in the future.
He further said that the NPP had also pointed out that the discussions on debt restructuring should be centred around this key stance.
The NPP had also raised concerns with the visiting IMF delegation on the recently appointed Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE).
Commenting on the matter, MP Vijitha Herath said the discussion had focused on the measures taken to tackle fraud and corruption in Sri Lanka, during which it was pointed out that necessary Acts and laws have been passed in Parliament, but, practical measures have not been implemented as yet in this regard.
The NPP Parliamentarian said the IMF delegation was informed that the Parliamentary Committee COPE is a key unit in charge of finding corruption in state entities.
“The COPE Committee had been headed by former NPP MP Sunil Handunnetti for a long period of time. The Central Bank bond scam had also come to light during his tenure.
“The COPE Committee paved the way for legal measures to be taken in this regard, but President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is involved in the case will not allow further legal measures to be imposed,” the MP said.
MP Herath alleged that the government has appointed a questionable individual to the post of Chairman of the COPE Committee, a Parliamentary unit tasked with curbing fraud and corruption.
“We can never go forward by appointing a thief to catch other thieves. Ranil Wickremesinghe has given this message to the world through this appointment,” he said.
The NPP Parliamentarian added that the IMF delegation was informed that no matter how many written agreements are made, they are practically implemented in this manner. (NewsWire)
