‘Will go to the IMF in January 2023 if December doesn’t work’

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Nandalal Dr. Weerasinghe says the government will go to the International Monetary Board in January 2023 if they misses the December timeframe.

Speaking to media today (24), Governor Weerasinghe said “most probably meeting the IMF target is too optimistic but if we miss that we still have time till January”.

The CBSL Governor said Sri Lanka is also hopeful of reaching an agreement with creditors as well.

He said “We should get the assurance from our bilateral creditors in the next couple of weeks. We are very confident on that with the way discussions are going on.”

The Governor also stated that money printing has drastically reduced in the first ten months of 2022 in comparison to the entirety of 2021.

Weerasinghe said the Central Bank printed money amounting to Rs.341 billion in 2021 while between January to October this year the sum reduced to Rs.47 billion.

Furthermore, the Governor condemned claims by politicians that he receives a monthly salary of Rs.2.5 million and a pension from the IMF.

Refuting the charges Weerasinghe said he receives the pension entitled to a retired CBSL official and privileges entitled to the Governor.

Meanwhile, the Governor was questioned over allegations levelled by former CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal who released a book recently that claimed that Governor Weerasinghe is also responsible for the present economic crisis.

The Governor said he saw the cover of the book posted on social media, adding that he only reads the comments on the post which will depict the true story.