CBSL Governor on public’s duty to properly manage and utilize disaster relief funds

The Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says that the public should be very mindful when obtaining relief money and bank loans provided by the government for those affected by the disaster.

Participating in a program held in Kandy today (20), the Governor said that it is the duty of the public to manage the loans and relief they receive.

Speaking at the event, he said that the government has allocated a large amount of funds to provide relief to those affected by the disaster.

Accordingly, as citizens, all parties should have the responsibility to receive the required amount of relief money, he said, adding that the government has the ability to provide such funds to other parties in need under proper management.

The Central Bank Governor also stated that the financial relief received should also be used with proper management.

Dr. Weerasinghe also pointed out that when the tourism industry collapsed due to the recent economic crisis, a concessional loan scheme was implemented for those industries, and that both the affected and unaffected parties took loans in excess of the amount required to obtain the loan, and later those businesses faced difficulties when they were unable to repay the loan.

The Governor of the Central Bank pointed out that they would not be exposed to a credit crisis by taking only the amount of concessional loans required for their businesses, and stated that it is the responsibility of all parties to obtain and utilize the loans provided by the government to restore people’s lives and businesses under proper management.