Speculation is rife that State Finance Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal would resign from his parliamentary seat and non-cabinet portfolio, and be appointed as the Central Bank (CB) Governor, if so, returning to an institution he headed until January 2015.
Mr. Cabraal, when contacted, declined to comment. Current Governor Prof. W.D. Lakshman was unavailanble for comment on rumours that were swirling in the stock market and other trading platforms on Tuesday about the changes. The current CB Governor and his team have been facing criticism over the management of monetary policy vis-à-vis the COVID-19 pandemic --- particularly over the management of the interest rates and the exchange rates, informed sources said.
Sources at the CB said they were unable to comment on the speculation and it was unlikely that the government has reached out to Prof. Lakshman with the rumoured changes. Under rules of the Monetary Law Act, in which the Governor is appointed by the President, the Governor is appointed for a specific period and cannot be removed unless due to ill health or being of unsound mind. CB sources said Prof. Lakshman has to voluntarily resign, like what Mr. Cabraal did when the Yahapalanaya regime took over in January 2015, the sources said.
They said that Mr. Cabraal was unhappy with his present duties as most of the departments which came under him have been reassigned to the new Minister of Development Co-ordination Namal Rajapaksa, son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. (BS)
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