• Govt. emphasises stability and commitment to IMF agreements
• Negotiations to focus on benefiting public while maintaining fiscal discipline

Sri Lanka’s NPP (National People’s Power) government will not deviate from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme as promised during the election campaign, despite concerns on raising electricity tariffs, Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma said.

Speaking to TV Derana on Sunday (11), he said that the IMF programme requires certain measures to be followed, but as a country, it needs to be understood that the cost recovery measures have to be implemented by institutions that engage in commercial business.

“We believe the country will continue in these engagements,” he said, adding, “We need to have a long-term plan to reduce the country’s electricity cost by investing in the right infrastructure.”

Suriyapperuma said that during the Presidential election campaign, the NPP promised that it would not deviate from the IMF programme, “because stability is important. We mentioned beforehand that we will negotiate (with the IMF) to get benefits to people,” he added.

In April, it was reported that the IMF has requested a revision of electricity tariffs due to the losses incurred by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) since reducing the tariffs by 20% in January.

Last week, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said it expects the CEB to submit proposals related to the second electricity tariff revision of the year within this week.

It is expected that the tariffs will be increased in June, after which Sri Lanka will be able to get the fifth tranche of IMF funds with the completion of the fourth review of the extended fund facility.