Central Bank Road Map a propaganda document says Harsha

Srilankamirror - UNP MP and Economist, Dr. Harsha de Silva says the Road Map of Monetary and Financial Sector Policy for 2012 unveiled by the Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal is nothing but a nauseating propaganda attempt.

Dr. de Silva notes that the Central Bank must immediately start presenting objective analyses of the economy if its credibility is to be maintained.

Issuing a statement, he has said it is an unprecedented one-sided analysis that reads more like an UPFA election pamphlet aimed at plugging the so-called Mahinda Chinthana as opposed to an objective assessment of the economy and the future challenges.

“The language is not only politically colored but does not address the major external sector challenges the country is facing. The 140 slide marketing presentation has just two mentions of the trade deficit and one repeated set of bullets saying that it is not an issue as worker remittances, tourism and FDI will offset the same. It has no analyses of the possible scenarios for exchange rates and interest rates given the current rupee defense strategy, but says it has more than sufficient reserves to intervene in the foreign exchange market, presumably to hold the currency at the current level,” Dr. de Silva has observed.

“There is no mention of the appreciating real exchange rate but an unbelievable declaration that the exchange rate remained competitive giving the lie to what the President mentioned during his budget speech as justification for the devaluation.  The three words ‘balance of payments’ which is absolutely the most important issue of the day is not even mentioned once in the entire presentation,” he has added.