Dr. Harsha De Silva, a Member of Parliament from the Samagi Jana Balavegaya, has endorsed President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s remarks about the National People’s Power (NPP) manifesto. Dr. Harsha argues that the manifesto aims to undermine the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) program and that the President’s critique is justified.
In a media statement, Dr. Harsha challenged the NPP to substantiate their claims. He criticized the manifesto for potentially misleading the public or demonstrating a lack of understanding about the IMF program.
Dr. Harsha quoted a part of the NPP manifesto: “To prepare an alternative debt sustainability analysis for use in debt review activities to maintain debt sustainability and keep debt interest at an affordable level.”
He explained that “debt sustainability analysis” (DSA) is a crucial part of the IMF program. If the DSA changes, the entire IMF program could be jeopardized. He argued that the current DSA parameters, which require maintaining a 2.3% primary budget surplus, are essential for debt restructuring and that an alternative DSA would not be accepted by the IMF.
Dr. Harsha challenged the NPP to present an alternative DSA accepted by the IMF within the next twenty days, asserting that it is unlikely to happen. He suggested that if the NPP fails to do this, it either means they are misleading the public or lack proper knowledge about the IMF program.
