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FR seeking details of IMF deal to be taken up today

10 Oct 2022

By Buddhika Samaraweera A fundamental rights (FR) petition filed at the Supreme Court (SC) seeking an order directing the relevant authorities to release and disclose the details of the agreements entered into with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the petitioners or to Parliament is scheduled to be taken up for support today (10). The relevant petition (FR) No. 309/22, which has been filed by health sector trade unionist Ravi Kumudesh and civil society activist Ven. Pahiyangala Ananda Sagara Thera has also sought an interpretation as to whether the decisions taken recently and are being taken regarding the country’s economy, including the suspension of foreign debt repayment and the reaching of agreements with the IMF, have been taken in a legal and rational manner. Respondents who have been named by the petitioners include: Former Finance Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry (PC), CBSL Governor Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies and the Treasury K.M. Mahinda Siriwardana, Attorney General (AG) Sanjay Rajaratnam PC, and the Monetary Board of the CBSL. The petitioners, through the FR petition, which was seen by The Morning, has requested the SC to declare that the respondents – Ali Sabry PC, Dr. Weerasinghe, Siriwardana, and the CBSL Monetary Board – have either severally or jointly violated and/or continue to violate, and there is imminent danger of violating, the FRs of the petitioners and the citizens; and to issue an order directing the CBSL Governor and the CBSL Monetary Board to formulate and tender to the court a comprehensive report setting out details of all instances under their respective tenures in office where monetary policy has been neglected, overridden, or directed to be amended or changed from 2020 to 2022; and to issue an order directing the respondents including the CBSL Governor, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, and the CBSL Monetary Board to release and disclose the details of the agreements entered into with the IMF to the petitioners or to Parliament. Meanwhile, when contacted by The Morning, petitioner Kumudesh said that the petition filed with the SC also seeks interpretation as to whether the economic decisions by the relevant institutions have been made on a legal and rational basis. “Through this petition, we have pointed out that the citizens are not made aware of the accountability of those who govern the economy. When considering certain decisions that have been taken recently, it is apparent that they have been taken based on the relevant parties’ personal opinions. For instance, one time they say that the CBSL was robbed, and that there was an ‘economic assassin’. It is the people who have to suffer due to such decisions, and the people usually come to know the consequences of such decisions only two or three years after they leave,” he said. Recalling the decision made by the relevant authorities including the CBSL to suspend the country’s repayment of debt, Kumudesh said that such measures cannot be based on personal decisions. Given its serious impacts on the economy, he said, there should have been a broad discussion before making the relevant decision. However, he said, at least those in charge of governing the economy, including the Cabinet of Ministers, Parliament, and the Ministry of Finance, had not discussed at length the said decision, and that it was taken suddenly. “It is important to ensure the legality and rationality of all decisions including those related to the economy. It is very important to ascertain whether the decision to suspend foreign debt repayment and declaration of the country bankrupt was the optimal decision to be made. If someone claims this was the best decision that could be made at the time, that is a different story, but what we are pointing out is that the people should be made aware of such decisions beforehand,” he said. Speaking further, Kumudesh said that it is apparent that certain economic decisions are currently being made due to the agreement reached with the IMF, but that the people are unaware as to the specifics of these agreements. He claimed that the country became bankrupt because of incorrect decisions made by those governing the economy, and that therefore, the petition filed with the SC seeks an order to the relevant authorities to make the relevant agreements with the IMF accessible to the public.


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