While responding to a question by UNP MP, Nalin Bandara during the Prime Minister’s Question Round yesterday in Parliament, the Prime Minister said that as the former President, Mahinda Rajapaksa was the finance minister during the previous government, he could be summoned and questioned by the Committee over the unrestrained loans taken.
“In 2016, we have spent Rs. 1,209 billion to pay the loan installments and interests. Out of that sum, Rs. 647 billion had been spent to repay the loans while Rs. 562 billion had been spent to pay the interests. The total amount of unaccounted debt of the public enterprises had been Rs. 1,358 billion and this amount had not been included into the state debt. This sum includes Rs. 424 billion of the CPC, Rs. 240 billion of the Ports Authority, Rs. 308 billion of the SriLankan Airlines, Rs. 237 billion of the CEB and the list goes on. After adding this sum, the state debt increased to Rs. 9.5 trillion and this could further rise upto Rs. 10 trillion,” he said.
“On February 10 the Cabinet appointed a tri-member committee headed by a former Secretary to look into the state debt. The Committee is presently carrying out investigations and only after it submits the report that we can accurately state the total figure of the debt,” he commented.
He said the Committee could then submit a report to Parliament in that regard. The Prime Minister said those loans running in to billions of rupees were taken hoodwinking the people and the World Bank for the financial benefit of one person.
The Prime Minister said the government attention has been drawn to formulate a new tax collection system suitable to the modern world and the contemporary needs. “A new tax system and a modified revenue collection mechanism should be implemented next year. We have already begun discussions with the IMF in this regard,” he said.
He said the debt trap laid by the previous government could only be avoided by attracting more investments, increasing the job opportunities, finding a better market for local products and streamlining the tax revenue.
In conclusion he said that the Committee on Public Finance Chaired by TNA MP M. A. Sumanthiran can summon former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to inquire about the large amount of loans obtained during the previous regime, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
