Opp. draws parallels between Cabraal CBSL appointment and NPP Treasury Secretary pick

Thursday, 7 May 2026 06:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Former CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal

Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma

Opposition MPs yesterday drew parallels between the Rajapaksa administration’s appointment of Ajith Nivard Cabraal as Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) in 2021 and the National People’s Power (NPP) Government’s decision to appoint a former Deputy Minister, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma as Treasury Secretary, arguing that both reflected the politicisation of key economic institutions.

During the Parliamentary debate on the $ 2.5 million Treasury phishing scandal, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Mujibur Rahman said the current administration had abandoned positions it previously took while in Opposition regarding political interference in economic governance institutions.

Rahman recalled that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and then Opposition MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake had strongly criticised the Rajapaksa administration when Cabraal relinquished his National List Parliamentary seat to become the CBSL Governor in 2021.

He argued that the NPP Government had now engaged in similar politicisation through the appointment of a former political figure to head the Treasury. “But this Government has now done the same by appointing one of its own political figures to oversee the biggest and most complex institution in the country, the Finance Ministry,” he said.

Rahman said the Treasury Secretary position had traditionally been held by senior Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) officials with extensive experience in public finance, debt management, and State administration.

“The crime is unprecedented. But so is the appointment of a political activist as Treasury Secretary, a role traditionally held by highly qualified and experienced SLAS officials who understand the complex State machinery,” he said.

The comments came amid wider Opposition allegations that the Treasury phishing scandal had exposed institutional weaknesses and lack of administrative experience within key Finance Ministry departments during the transition of Government debt management operations from the CBSL to the Treasury.