Lagatar24 Desk
Colombo, April 4: As protests over the island nation’s deepening economic crisis grew, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, who had rejected rising calls for the island nation to seek an IMF bailout, announced his retirement on Monday.
Ajith Cabraal announced his resignation after all members of Sri Lanka’s government, with the exception of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, resigned en masse late Sunday to make room for a new administration to deal with the issue.
“In the context of all Cabinet Ministers resigning, I have today submitted my resignation as Governor, Central bank, SriLanka to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa,” he tweeted.
In the context of all Cabinet Ministers resigning, I have today submitted my resignation as Governor, @CBSL to HE President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. @GotabayaR #SriLanka #GoSL
— Ajith Nivard Cabraal (@an_cabraal) April 4, 2022
Cabraal, a veteran policymaker who took over as governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank in September amid a worsening foreign exchange crisis, advocated for a reduction in reliance on foreign debt, particularly from the Washington-based International Monetary Fund.
Following protests over the weekend against growing living costs and shortages of fuel and critical items as the government runs out of funding for imports, the nation’s cabinet of ministers offered to quit.
Cabraal’s pronouncement comes one day before the central bank is expected to make an interest rate announcement. Cabraal has increased rate hikes after his return as head of the CBSL, hiking rates by a total of 200 basis points from the pandemic-era low to confront Asia’s fastest inflation.
