Cabinet of
ministers has appointed a committee to determine the actual amount of
debt inherited from the previous government of Mahinda Rajapaksa. The
three-member high-level committee is delegated to work out a debt
servicing mechanism and to have a clear idea of its foreign loan
portfolio.
Treasury Secretary Dr. R.H.S.
Samaratunga said the three-member committee chaired by former senior
public servant Lalith De Silva will verify the quantum of foreign loans
obtained by state institutions, ministries and departments before
submitting a report to the Cabinet.
"The committee has been tasked to inquire into the conditions, the rate of interest, period of repayment, and the purpose of obtaining the loans. The committee will also check the procedure followed to obtain the loan and those involved as third parties if any to facilitate the loan," Dr. Samaratunga said.
He said the committee would submit a detailed interim report to the Cabinet as and when it completed inquiries into any ministry or state institution to expedite the process.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said in parliament that the country is trapped in a vicious cycle of debt as the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime left behind a massive debt burden of Rs 9.5 trillion (US$ 65 billion), about 74.9 percent of the GDP.
In response to the Premier's charge, the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa said the after coming into power, the present government has obtained US$ 6.4 billion in foreign loans and that amount is enough to meet the entire foreign loan components of all mega projects completed during his regime and there will be money left over for two port cities, a coal power plant and an international airport.
original post news.lk