Courtesy Hiru News

Addressing corruption during both the previous and the present governments remains one of the key pillars of the IMF reform programme, said the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission Chief for Sri Lanka is Evan Papageorgiou, yesterday.

Speaking at the IMF press conference, Breuer said the IMF would continue to press the government to adopt new online systems and other technologies to curb corruption.

He said combating corruption will remain one of the IMF’s priorities both now and in the future.

“However, we will not be directly involved in corruption investigations or probes. We will rely on updates, findings and reports submitted by the government,” he said.

Breuer noted that the government is currently facing multiple challenges, including higher fuel costs resulting from the Middle East crisis and the aftereffects of Cyclone Ditwah.

“Because of these developments, we expect the recent rise in inflation to continue for some time,” he said.

The IMF representative also said that reforms of state-owned enterprises remain a key priority under the programme.

“In addition, we will be looking closely at how the government presents its next Budget at the end of the year and how vulnerable people are being supported during periods of economic hardship,” he said.