Monday, 13 June 2016
COPE directing the Central Bank to cooperate with AG
A recent news item has reported that the parliamentary watchdog, the Committee on Public Enterprises or COPE had summoned the Central Bank Governor and his deputies on a complaint made by the Auditor General (available at: https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/bond-scam-cope-summons-arjuna-mahendran-issues-2-week-ultimatum/).
The complaint has been that the Central Bank, the operational arm of the Monetary Board which owns the Bank legally, had refused to provide the information which the Auditor General had sought for in connection with Treasury bond transactions despite repeated reminders.
The news report says that COPE members had grilled the Deputy Governor as to why the information sought by the Auditor General had not been submitted. The answer had been that the data requested had been market-sensitive and their release would have threatened the smooth functioning of financial markets.
However, COPE had not been convinced of that argument and it is reported that the Central Bank management had been given an ultimatum to comply with the request.
Denting of the reputation of the Monetary Board
There is no way to verify this news item independently since the COPE proceedings, unlike the US Congressional hearings, have not been open to the media. As such, what has been reported in the media could be hearsay.
Yet, neither COPE nor the Central Bank’s Monetary Board has disputed the news item so far. Hence, citizens are to believe that the news item has correctly reported the transaction that had transpired between COPE and the Central Bank’s senior management at the meeting under reference.
If this report is correct, this is another severe dent on the reputation of the Monetary Board which has lost it in large measure due to its intransigent action or negligence in the recent past.
Board’s intransigence in the past
