Bandula says Rs.1 t debt bloating from rupee depreciation

• Rejects Govt. statistic of Rs.626.4b, says situation being underplayed  

Opposition lawmaker Bandula Gunawardana yesterday denied numbers presented by the Government on debt increases caused by depreciation and demanded the actual statistics be revealed.  

On Tuesday, State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne said debt had increased by Rs.626.4 billion due to currency deprecation. However, Gunawardana argued the actual loss should be over Rs.1,000 billion. “A recent response of State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne attracted both local and foreign attention. By making this response, he has misled the House and has downplayed the reality. The total national debt has gone up over Rs.1, 000 billion during the period in focus as a result of the rupee depreciation,” charged Gunawardana, seeking a clarification from the Government.

According to Gunawardana, the national debt was reduced by Rs.19 billion in 2013 and by Rs.89 billion in 2014. However, he claimed the national debt has increased under the current Government. “The devaluing rupee has increased the national debt by Rs.285 billion in 2015, again by Rs.187 billion in 2016, and by Rs.225 billion in 2017. According to reliable estimates, it has gone up by Rs.350 billion in 2018,” he claimed.

On Tuesday, State Minister Wickramaratne told the Parliament the depreciation of the rupee between January 2015 and November 2017 has increased the foreign debt by Rs.626,429 million. According to Wickramaratne, the rupee has depreciated by 14.6% during the period in focus, affecting the amount of total foreign debt of the central Government. According to research, Sri Lanka’s total external debt decreased to $53,177.39 million in the third quarter of 2018 from $53,487.28 million in the second quarter of 2018. The external debt in Sri Lanka averaged $44,865.87 million from 2012 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of $53,487.28 million in the second quarter of 2018 and a record low of $37,098.10 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.

(AH)