The government will not implement International Monetary Fund proposals that conflict with the policies of the National People’s Power, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe said on Monday.
“The IMF makes various proposals. We will not implement them if they are contrary to the policies of the NPP,” Abeysinghe told reporters, according to Daily Mirror.
He said the government was not obliged to adopt every proposal the Fund put forward, and retained the right to take decisions aimed at giving relief to the public.
What the Fund asked for
The remarks follow the IMF’s call for Sri Lanka to let domestic fuel prices move in line with international prices and to maintain cost-recovery energy pricing.
In its seventh review, on which staff-level agreement was reached last week, the Fund said that if conflict in the Middle East were prolonged, the government should allow domestic fuel prices to track international markets while protecting vulnerable groups. Any support, it said, should be well targeted, included in the budget, carefully costed and time-bound — to avoid risks to fiscal and debt sustainability, an erosion of public confidence and a reversal of the recovery. It recommended poverty-targeted cash transfers as the protective mechanism.
Where Colombo still agrees
Abeysinghe said the government remained aligned with the Fund on maintaining the primary balance, raising state revenue and managing public debt.
He said fuel subsidies had been provided within the parameters agreed with the IMF, and that the Fund’s condition was that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation and the Ceylon Electricity Board maintain cost-reflective pricing.
“There is no obstacle to providing concessions to the people if the government decides to do so. The CPC and CEB are proceeding strongly,” he said.
Not reported
The report does not say which specific IMF proposals the government considers contrary to NPP policy, nor whether any concession on fuel or electricity pricing is under active consideration. Daily Mirror’s headline spells the deputy minister’s name “Chaturanga” while its text uses “Chathuranga”.
