Full-day parliamentary debate on DDO plan tomorrow

The Committee on Parliamentary Business has decided to debate the Domestic Debt Optimization (DDO) program in parliament tomorrow (July 01). The debate will be held from 9.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.

Members of Parliament are expected to vote on the proposed DDO following the conclusion of the debate if a division is requested.

Although it was earlier speculated that the parliament would be convened on Sunday (July 02), the party leaders have decided otherwise.

Meanwhile, it was decided to hold next week’s parliamentary sittings on July 5,6 and 7.

The special parliamentary session scheduled for July 01 is being convened pursuant to a gazette notification issued by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena after taking into account a request made by PM Dinesh Gunawardena.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Wednesday (June 28) approved the proposed domestic debt restructuring strategy for restoring sovereign debt sustainability.

Meanwhile, the members of Committee on Public Finance (COPF) met today for the third consecutive day for constructive discussions on the proposed DDO plan and to reach a consensus.

The COPF invited all creditors including commercial banks, superannuation funds including the EPF and ETF, and insurance funds to hear their opinions and concerns.

The COPF is carefully analyzing the concerns raised on the possible burden falling on the superannuation funds especially on the EPF, as a result of domestic debt restructuring.

The government has excluded the banking system from the DDO plan as it already contributes to the Treasury and the economy through taxes of over 50%. This move aims to safeguard the Treasury and to ensure the safety of the 57 million public and private bank deposits in the country.