‘Disseminating misleading and false information’:
Govt decries UNP, JVP attempts to destabilise economy
The Government yesterday deplored attempts by the UNP and the JVP to
destabilise the economy through disseminating misleading and false
information.
In a special statement released to the media, the Government said it
has been in the forefront of protecting the entire financial system,
which is borne out by the fact that the economy has remained robust and
safe even in the face of intense global instability.
“It is in order to disturb this situation and create chaos that
Opposition MPs seem to be pouncing on various perceived setbacks. It is
necessary to expose the blatant and international efforts to destabilise
the economy, in the same way these forces strove to curtail the
humanitarian operation in 2009,” the statement said. It pointed out that
key international organisations such as the IMF, World Bank and the ADB
have categorically stated that Sri Lanka’s economic management is on
course towards stability and growth. “It is quite clear that the
Opposition is getting desperate because they may have hoped that Sri
Lanka’s economy would have faltered in the face of the global
situation.”
The statement condemned opposition efforts to target specific
economic personalities including Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard
Cabraal to create chaos in State institutions and destroy the people’s
trust in institutions such as the Central Bank.
The Government statement noted that some UNP and JVP MPs have been
consistently attacking the Central Bank, EPF and the National Savings
Bank. They have attempted to destabilise the stock market as well as
precipitate a run on deposits of finance companies stating that The
Finance Company (TFC), which has more than Rs.20 billion in deposits, is
unstable and bankrupt.
The TFC is on the path of profitability and it would be one of the
stronger finance companies in the financial sector.
It is clear that the current reduction of the share price of the TFC
is not a reflection of the weakness of the company, but it is due to the
present trends that the share markets all over the world have been
subject to.
The statement also decried Opposition attempts to discredit the EPF
on the grounds that some of its investments have lost value in the stock
market. “All investments made by the EPF are based on a careful analysis
carried out by qualified persons guided by a high-powered investment
committee.”
It said the EPF is a long term fund which aims at long term returns.
“That is the reason why even when the market was on an upward trend and
when the EPF had unrealised gains of over Rs.19 billion in its
portfolio, it was not inclined to make such investments because it was
convinced that it could make even better returns for its members in the
long term.”
The JVP had no right to speak about protecting economic assets having
caused damage worth Rs.60 billion to public property in 1988-89, it
said.
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