Cabraal’s logic: Better a recovery plan criticised than no plan at all

Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal had to field some tough questions on Friday after the Monetary Board’s policy review meeting.

In a surprise move, the Monetary Board decided to raise rates and suggest a fuel price hike to manage the ongoing economic crisis.

As Governor Cabraal is adamant not to go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite strong views in support of the move in the Cabinet of ministers and among economists, he said even the Central Bank came up with some suggestions to the Government similar to what may be the IMF’s answers to the

Sri Lankan crisis.

“If you go to the IMF, there can be worse arrangements which will be looked at and then, those will have to be done. Would you prefer, the IMF telling that, or the Cental Bank saying that? We are telling the government, to make the choice,” the Governor said.

One journalist inquired from the Governor on the fate of his ambitious six month road map plan soon after he assumed duties. The Governor responded saying: “when plans are made, people can criticise it but at the same time if you don’t have a plan, where are you going? We have pursued the plan. There will be certain challenges that will occur”.

To back up his case, Governor Cabraal asked the journalists whether any of them thought of the potential conflict in East Europe in advance. He concluded: “Our plan was not a statistical one but a dynamic one”.

Stressing that some of those plans needed some time to materialise, the Governor indicated that some of those policy decisions would take some more time to be properly implemented.

As the Governor concluded this response, one of the journalists was heard saying to his colleagues an old adage: “The operation was successful, but the patient died”referring to the hardships the people of the nation are facing on a daily basis as the Central Bank is engaged in playing with new ideas, which are really old ones, with controls when the country’s economy is at its worst situation since independence.