ISB issuances main cause of economic crisis : Dr. Priyanga

COLOMBO (News1st): The issuance of International Sovereign Bonds (ISB), since 2007, had caused the current economic crisis, Dr Priyanga Dunusinghe, a lecturer at the Colombo University said. "The Sri Lankan government raised massive loans at commercial market rates with the issuance of ISBs," Dunusinghe said during the ''Mawatha'' programme on Sirasa TV. He pointed out that the decision to issue ISB's was made during Ajith Nivard Cabraal's tenure as the governor of the central bank. "The debt we obtained was not invested in any productive sector," Dr Dunusinghe noted. Dr. Methsila Perera, a senior lecturer at the University of Wayamba pointed out that Sri Lanka's reserves are insufficient. "Sri Lanka's foreign reserves currently stand at around 4.8 billion rupees. But on the other hand, our debt repayment amounts to more than 6 billion rupees," Dr. Perera noted. She also disputed the government's stance against obtaining loans from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. "This situation is similar to obtaining loans from black market groups and obtaining secured loans from licensed banks," Dr. Perera said. "The black market dealer wants us to default on our loan payments and own our land and property".