Harsha says government cannot present Budget without IMF agreement
Opposition MP Harsha de Silva says the government will have to reach an understanding with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its fiscal plans before presenting the upcoming Budget.
De Silva said the absence of a staff-level agreement following the latest discussions was linked, in his view, to ongoing discussions over the government’s medium-term fiscal framework, which includes the Budget.
“The IMF has to agree with the basic framework of this Budget. Without an understanding with the IMF, they cannot present this Budget. That is the reality,” de Silva said.
He said he did not know whether a staff-level agreement would be reached immediately or in the coming weeks, but maintained that an agreement between the two sides would ultimately be necessary.
“The discussions will not be over until there is agreement on President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s Budget,” he said.
De Silva, however, stressed that working with the IMF did not mean accepting every proposal put forward by the Fund.
“There is no need to dance to every tune of the IMF,” he said. “We were among those who first said Sri Lanka should go to the IMF, but that does not mean everything the IMF says must be accepted. You must have the ability to argue your position.”
He said the government would have room to negotiate individual measures but would still have to operate within the broader fiscal framework agreed under Sri Lanka’s IMF programme. (newswire)
The post “No need to dance to every tune of IMF”: Harsha’s advice to Govt appeared first on Newswire.