The Constitutional Council has approved the appointment of Dr. Ranee Jayamaha and Samantha Kumarasinghe to the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
A Constitutional Council meeting was held today (24) at the Speaker’s Residence under the patronage of its Chairman and former Speaker of the Eighth Parliament Karu Jayasuriya.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and other members of the Constitutional Council had also attended the meeting.
The nominations sent by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa for the two member vacancies of the Central Bank’s Monetary Board were taken into discussion at this meeting.
Two members of the Monetary Board, Nihal Fonseka and Dr. Dushni Weerakoon, appointed during the previous regime, had resigned with effect from 31 May.
The President’s had nominated industrialist-cum exporter and Chairman of Nature’s Beauty Creations Ltd. and Multichemi International Ltd. Samantha Kumarasinghe and former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. Ranee Jayamaha, who was a former chairperson of the Hatton National Bank PLC, to these positions.
The Central Bank has a unique legal structure where the Monetary Board is conferred with the corporate status and vested with all powers, functions and duties.
As the governing body, the Monetary Board is responsible for making all policy decisions and for the management, operation and administration of the Central Bank.
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank consists of five (5) members.
The Governor
The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance (ex-officio)
Three (3) non – executive members
The Governor is the Chairman of the Monetary Board and also functions as the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Bank. The Governor and the non-executive Board members are appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance. The term of office of the Governor and the non–executive Board members is six (6) years.
The quorum for Monetary Board meetings is three (3) members. The concurrence of three (3) members is required for decisions of the Monetary Board to be valid. However, in cases where a unanimous decision is required, the concurrence of all five (5) members is necessary.
