I was the first to advocate for IMF assistance – Harsha

Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha De Silva said that he was the first to advocate seeking  International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance to help the country get out of the economic crisis. The MP said this while addressing a press conference held at the Opposition Leader’s Office yesterday.

“We are informed that the IMF is nearing the process of granting a US$.2.9 billion loan to Sri Lanka. We will be thankful to the IMF for rescuing the country at this crucial stage. We cannot see everything from a political angle. We were the first to say that this country should go to the IMF.We said this in 2020 because we saw the future of this country. We saw that this country was moving towards an economic abyss due to wrong economic policies. But the ruling party in those days did not care about our views,” he said.

“Some people laughed at us. They said that there is enough money. However, we warned those days that the rupee is depreciating, and the inflation is going up. The things that happened were exactly what we said. Regardless of political differences, we argued that we should reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund.Through this agreement, we should have a programme for the long-term and medium-term economic development of Sri Lanka,” MP De Silva said.