Sri Lanka’s SJB slams NPP’s ‘debt audit’ proposal, insists restructuring is essential

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ECONOMYNEXT — The main opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has slammed the leftist National People’s Power (NPP)’s proposal of a ‘debt audit’ prior to the restructuring of Sri Lanka’s international sovereign bonds (ISBs).

Without naming names, SJB parliamentarian Harsha de Silva told reporters on Wednesday April 17 that “some political parties” have proposed a debt audit to ascertain what percentage of Sri Lanka’s debt was misappropriated or hidden away, after which “we’ll pay what we can”.

“Please understand that the global financial market does not work this way. If we took a loan, we have to pay it back. If the money has been stolen, those responsible must be found. That’s a different matter. There is a mechanism to bring such thieves to book.

“But understand that this issue and our agreement with ISB holders are two different matters. The proposals made by some politicians cannot be done. Restructuring this debt is essential,” said de Silva.

The NPP’s Chief Economic Adviser Anil Jayantha was recently quoted in the media as saying that a future NPP-led government will conduct a debt audit in parallel to Sri Lanka’s ongoing programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in conjunction with the island nation’s debt restructuring efforts.

Meanwhile, the NPP’s Sunil Handunneththi, a former MP of the Marxist-Leninist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which controls the NPP, recently intimated in a television discussion that Sri Lanka could casually reach an understanding with its creditors to write off some of the debt.

“Businessmen who invest in ISBs do so by taking the risk involved. They calculate the interest with the risk included. They have already made that risk back through the interest. If we say we won’t be able to pay off the ISB debt, they will say ‘it’s okay, machang’, because the interest already contains that risk,” said Handunneththi.

“Stupid politicians who don’t know this have paid off the total interest and now keep calculating it saying we’re finished if we don’t pay it. I say that’s the way to negotiate. That’s all we can say to the IMF too. If you’re giving us a loan, go ahead. We’ll pay it back, but give us a fair amount of time to do so. We don’t want conditions,” he said. (Colombo/Apr17/2024)

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[[{“value”:” ECONOMYNEXT — The main opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has slammed the leftist National People’s Power (NPP)’s proposal of a ‘debt audit’ prior…

[[{“value”:” ECONOMYNEXT — The main opposition the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has slammed the leftist National People’s Power (NPP)’s proposal of a ‘debt audit’ prior…