Money-printing halted as a matter of policy – Cabinet Spokesman

The government of Sri Lanka has decided to halt the printing of money, Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena announced.

Speaking at the Cabinet briefing held this morning (17 Jan.), Gunawardena noted that despite the ongoing financial crisis, the government has decided to halt the money printing process as a matter of policy, as this would only further increase Sri Lanka’s debt issues.

“Currently, we are unable to obtain any loans, as we have already made it clear to the international forum that we need our debts to be restructured as we are unable to pay any of them. Thus, we cannot obtain any loans, nor can we print more money, because if we do so, we will be unable to obtain any loans in the future as well”, the Cabinet Spokesman explained.

Highlighting the dilemma currently being faced by the government, Gunawardena stressed on the difficulties faced with regard to bearing the state’s daily expenses, adding that based on data received by the Secretary to the Finance Ministry, only a total of Rs. 141 billion was earned by the government for the month of December 2022 by way of tax and other forms, while the cost incurred for that month amounted to Rs. 154 billion.

Questioning how the government is supposed to bear these expenses, Gunawardena stressed that management of finances has now become impossible, adding that finding an alternative solution too, seems unlikely.