Indemnity to Members of the Monetary Board! Why?

Has it NOT occurred to an intelligent person in Sri Lanka, to conclude that the Monetary Board that collectively guides the workings of the Central Bank, and oversees it and manages it, SHOULD be the first body to have reviewed the Bond Scandal and opined on it way back within days of this coming to light?

This should have been done in March of 2015, and granted the Governor is the Chairman of the Monetary Board, and if he was under suspicion then he should have recused himself from the proceedings and investigation thereon.

Unfortunately the other members are not up to the task, and therein lies the problem of quality of people. The next most knowledgeable is the Secretary to the Treasury to lead the investigation and that is Dr RHS Samarathunga, and his bio can be viewed here http://www.treasury.gov.lk/secretary-to-the-treasury-and-ministry-of-finance but which does not give confidence as he is just there due to his position as an ex-officio, and NOT due to any other competence on the matter.

Reading today’s FT on the Indemnity Provided to the Monetary Board for their mistakes, as long as it is NOT criminal intent, should have emboldened them to get to the bottom of the issue and NOT drag this Country through a traumatic 20 months of what if! http://www.ft.lk/article/577475/COPE-Report-and-indemnity-provided-in-Monetary-Law-Act-for-members-of-Monetary-Board-and-CB-officers

It is NOT too late as they are to meet on Friday, and without fearing their own safety they can opine on the fact for a change. After all it is said that the onsite examination report will also be presented, and if the Monetary Board which NOW comprises a person no one has an issue in believing his word, should come out and say that the examination report is CLEAN. There is NOT one iota on which the Central Bank can find fault with the actions of Perpetual Treasuries.

It is so obvious, why it has to come to that is that the MB did not opine on this 20 months ago, and should have in the first place set the record straight then, rather than hiding under their own incompetence. 

I am ashamed to say that we have a MB of people who should NOT be there, and so they are NOT going to come out with a statement that makes any sense, unless of course they permit the Governor to speak on their behalf to say his piece as being the consensus opinions of all. 

If only one person is competent and he is the Governor then there is NO point in a MB that understands nothing being constituted in the first place. It is time this Board is properly constituted before people can have credibility that the CBSL will in future be managed competently. There must be people who can challenge the Governor and NOT alow him to ride roughshod over them.

So this meeting on Friday is a meaningless one, as the outcome cannot be relied upon as it will merely reflect the competence of the Board and not the considered evaluation of learned individuals.