United National Party (UNP) MP and former Deputy Leader Ravi Karunanayake has questioned whether the current government will be able to achieve its economic targets independently after Sri Lanka’s agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concludes.
Speaking in an interview with Ceylon Wire, Karunanayake said the government is scheduled to make the final payment under the current IMF programme in March next year.
He said that once the programme ends, the government would no longer have the same formal framework for working towards targets agreed with the IMF.
Karunanayake questioned whether the government has the capacity and confidence to establish and implement its own economic targets without such a framework.
He also questioned whether an independently determined approach would satisfy the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and other lending institutions.
Karunanayake added that, based on what he has observed so far, the Ministry of Finance has not demonstrated such capacity.
