Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe has stated that if there are delays in responding to questions raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) regarding the country’s economy, Central Bank representatives are prepared to appear before Parliament and provide direct answers.
The Governor made this assurance when CBSL officials were summoned before the Public Finance Committee.
During the meeting, Committee Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva expressed concern over the lack of timely responses in Parliament to questions related to monetary policy, inflation, and exchange rates.
Dr. de Silva remarked:
“Governor, when a Member of Parliament raises a question in Parliament regarding monetary policy — for example, inflation or exchange rates — there is usually no response. Why is that? It seems that the Central Bank is not represented in Parliament.”
Responding to the query, Dr. Weerasinghe explained:
“When a Member of Parliament raises a question, it is directed to the Minister of Finance. The Ministry then contacts us — though sometimes we receive the questions only a day before the response is due. Nevertheless, we make every effort to prepare and send our answers to the Minister of Finance. That is the established procedure.
I can assure you that the Central Bank provides timely responses to all questions received through the Minister of Finance. However, not all parts of the process are under our control. Some questions involve multiple institutions, including the Ministry of Finance. The Minister of Finance compiles responses from all relevant agencies into a single report and submits it to Parliament.
If invited, we have no objection to appearing before Parliament to provide direct answers ourselves.”
