Harsha says CB Chief incapable of projecting 8% growth

Saturday, 8 December 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

United National Party MP Dr. Harsha de Silva said yesterday that Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal’s recent comments that the economy will grow by only 7-7.5% in the medium term as opposed to the previous target of 8% or more reflect the incapacity of the Head of the monetary authority.

According to MP de Silva, it is hilarious to see Governor Cabraal showcasing his inability to project a growth rate of eight per cent or more for the foreseeable future.

“Either he could not comprehend that in an economic system – if one is to sustain a high growth rate, a conducive environment has to be created where sustained investments needed to be brought in – or else he was just a political mouthpiece for the regime to parrot a position which not a reality at all given the Government’s overall economic plan,” said MP de Silva. “To shift the growth path from the pre-war six per cent or so to post-war eight per cent, you need to ensure that the Government undertakes a fully-fledged reform agenda. In the absence of such, we will continue to witness politically-motivated business cycles along the growth path. I hope Governor Cabraal will understand what I am pointing out. What we have now is a politically-motivated business cycle with fluctuations and a pre-war growth path. Suddenly he wakes up from slumber and make these statements,” added MP de Silva.