Colombo: Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has established a committee to oversee Sri Lanka’s utilisation of the credit facility provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), state media reported on Sunday.
The committee includes Sagala Ratnayaka, chief of staff to the president, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, and a group of experts, according to the Sunday Observer.
The committee’s main responsibility is to monitor the IMF process regularly and examine tax policies, including changes in tax percentages and the possibility of increasing direct taxes while decreasing indirect taxes, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Additionally, the committee will ensure that the IMF’s conditions are implemented effectively, state media reported.
Upon the president’s instructions, the committee will report to the cabinet once a month on key issues, including ordinances such as the anti-corruption act.
The president will make recommendations on the committee’s operation, and its approval will be sought from the cabinet in due course.
Sri Lanka started negotiations with the international lender in 2022 after it was hit by a severe economic crisis.
(IANS)
