Last ditch effort by Arjuna to return as Governor fails

A last-ditch effort by Sri Lanka's outgoing Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran to return as Governor– if cleared in a bond scandal probe – failed on Thursday due to the objections by Treasury Secretary R.H.S. Samaratunga.

At a sudden meeting of the Monetary Board at 4 pm today, Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri produced a letter from the Attorney General which stated that an ‘acting’ appointment was permissible. Then Mr. Mahendran asked that Mr. Samarasiri, now considered a Mahendran loyalist, be appointed as acting Governer.

Mr. Samaratunga objected, similar to an objection raised by Deputy Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe at a board meetring last week, saying there was no provision for an acting appointment. The meeting, which appeared to have been called by the Governor to clear the decks for 'his return', then ended without serving the purpose it was called for. 

While several names have been 'thrown' about in the past 24 hours in a scenario resembling a political battle, the President is known to favour Dr. Weerasinghe who is the most senior Deputy Governor though sidelined by Mr. Mahendran, whose behaviour in pushing for Mr. Samarasiri's appointment won't have lost many supporters in the Government.

The Governor's term ended today. On this issue, the politicking and jostling by the United National Party and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which jointly run the government, has shocked many observers who see the disrarray over the appointment of the Governor, normally a smooth and unruffled process, as jeopardising the very existence of the coalition administration. - ENDS -