News Today: Treasury Secretary Wants IMF Fund to Be Sri Lanka’s Last

In a bold declaration, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana emphasized that the current 17th IMF programme, which includes a US$ 3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF), should be the last time Sri Lanka seeks support from the International Monetary Fund. Speaking at the inauguration of the Master of Public Financial Management (MPFM) Degree Programme 2025/26 at the CA Sri Lanka Auditorium in Colombo, Siriwardana urged that the country must now move forward as a resilient and self-reliant economy.

He said the programme must be used as a vehicle for much-needed reforms and policy discipline, ensuring that the country protects its hard-earned economic stability and builds a solid foundation for the future.

The Treasury Secretary reiterated that the recent economic crisis was entirely manmade. Reflecting on past mistakes, he explained how Sri Lanka often returned to irresponsible economic practices after brief periods of IMF-backed stability. This pattern has led the country to rely on 17 IMF programmes since independence.

Siriwardana noted, “We repeatedly gave in to the temptation of using fiscal and monetary stimulus to boost short-term growth, avoiding the harder task of structural reforms that actually drive sustainable development.”

He also pointed to the 2019 tax cuts, along with excessive money printing, exchange rate manipulation, and failure to adopt cost-reflective energy pricing, as key policy errors that contributed to the recent crisis. These were entirely avoidable and highlight the critical importance of disciplined macroeconomic and public financial management.

The call is clear: Sri Lanka must learn from past errors, leverage this final IMF programme wisely, and adopt lasting structural reforms to build a sovereign and sustainable economy.