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Early retirement due to “painful incidents” of past week, says CB Governor
View(s):Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Governor W.D. Lakshman said on Friday that he had never taken any decision during his tenure that went against his conscience, but he had been forced to bring forward his plans to retire due to certain “painful incidents” that had occurred in the recent past.
Speaking at a media briefing, where he announced his plans to step down from his post on September 14, Prof. Lakshman revealed that he had played a behind-the-scenes role in preparing the economic policy outlined in the “Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour” manifesto of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during the 2019 Presidential election.
“I did this because my views aligned with his policies, not because I expected anything in return,” he said, adding that he had been extremely surprised when he was invited by President’s Secretary P.B. Jayasundara to take over as Central Bank Governor.
During the almost two years he headed the Central Bank, the Governor said he had done his best to steer the bank along the economic and monetary policy that he believed in.
He said he had been guided by the political and economic ideology that he taught throughout his academic career of 45 years, and which he continues to believe in.
“However, only a minority of economists still subscribe to this ideology. The situation is the same even within the Central Bank, which has many highly educated personnel. I have to say that it was not easy to operate within the Central Bank according to this ideology. I am not saying this out of anger towards anyone.”
While he had initially accepted the term of Governor for a minimum of one year, he had served for nearly two years and had made plans to step down from his post upon reaching 80 years of age next month, Prof. Lakshman said.
“However, certain painful incidents that occurred during the past seven to ten days have forced me to bring these plans forward by about six weeks. As such, I wish to announce that I will step down from my post as Governor on Tuesday, September 14,” he said.
Prof. Lakshman claimed that due to certain natural and human forces that were beyond their control, the CBSL did not always manage to reach the goals that it had set.
He cited the COVID-19 pandemic that first reared its head in the country in March, 2020, just three months after he took over as CBSL Governor, for much of the difficulties they encountered, even though he said many other human and institutional factors also had an impact.
“There were many days that I passed under great stress due to these issues whilst thinking of policy changes that were needed to attain better results. As such, those close to me as well as myself, see me having to step down from this role as a blessing in disguise.”
Prof. Lakshman also confirmed media reports that he had been offered a role in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying he had been offered an attractive post for a period of one year upon resigning from his post as CBSL Governor.
“While it was an attractive offer, it runs counter to my views and principles and therefore, I turned it down. Instead, I aim to use the free time I will get during retirement to concentrate on my academic work.
The Governor said he took up the post as he wanted to be a part of efforts being made to push Sri Lanka away from being forever referred to as a developing country.
“However, during my almost two year stint at the helm of CBSL, I have come to realise even more that neither our society nor our party political system are willing to make sacrifices to make this happen and that there is no willingness to stick with a long-term economic policy,” he said.