He further said the EPF has funds worth Rs. 1.5 Trillion and that “there were many people eyeing the money.”
This large fraud management demands daily meetings of the Investment Committee, he said.
All decisions regarding the EPF are made by the Investment Committee, he added.
Explaining the governance structure of the EPF, Dr. Wijewardena said responsibilities lie completely on the Monetary Board of the Central Bank.
He further said according to the EPF Act, it had no provisions to make losses.
He said it may have been so because the inflation rate was zero when the APF Act was prepared in 1958.
Dr. Wijewardena pointed out to the Commission that certain decisions taken in the secondary bond market seemed probe worthy.
He said, in his personal opinion, the Presidential Commission has a legitimate right to investigate into the operations and the management of the EPF as well.
Asked as to what he proposes as an appropriate modality to calculate the long term loss incurred by the questioned Treasury bond issuance in 2015, Dr. Wijewardena said if it was possible to get a financial expert in securities and dealing, the long term losses could be properly calculated.Dr. Wijewardena was testifying before the Presidential Commission inquiring into the Treasury bond issue.
Senior State Counsel Shaidaa Barrie was leading evidence for the day.
Meanwhile the relationship between former Governor Arjun Mahendran and his son-in-law as Chairman of Perpetual Treasuries Holdings Company is a serious conflict of interest, said Dr. W. A. Wijewardena yesterday at the Presidential Commission inquiring into the Treasury bond issue.
He said it was an inappropriate occurrence.
Had former Governor Mahendran disclosed his conflict of interest and disassociate himself from the activities regarding government securities, none of these scandals would have taken place, Dr. Wijewardena further said.
Questioned as to whether he knew about the former Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal’s disclosure regarding the conflict of interest when it comes to his sister’s position in the HDFC Bank and the Perpetual Treasuries Holdings, Dr. Wijewardena said he did not know if such a disclosure had taken place.
He further said that there had been instances where former Governors such as A.S. Jayawardena and Sunil Jayasinghe had disclosed their conflicts of interests and disassociated themselves from the related financial activities.
If such a disclosure or disassociation had not being done, any decision taken by the person in that matter could be interpreted by the market dealers to be partial, Dr. Wijewardena added.
Meanwhile, former Deputy Governor Dr. W.A. Wijewardena yesterday, demanded that the Monetary Law Act should be amended in order to make transparent selections to the Monetary Board and the position of the Governor.
Dr. Wijewardena expressed his dissatisfaction stating that “the whole Treasury bond scandal started because of the lethargic attitude of the Monetary Board members.”
He also said the damage done to the Central Bank by the Treasury bond issue, is irreparable.
Dr. Wijewardena also said during his term in office, he had to deal with the Monetary Board members who did not know the basic terms used in financial operations. “We should not blame them.
They should have been provided with a technical staff to support them,” he said.
Dr. Wijewardena also said the members who would be appointed to the Monetary Board needs to be versatile and be knowledgeable in the multiple sectors of the market.
He also said the Monetary Board members “should have the stature to say No when the rest of the world says Yes,” lest a need arises to fight corruption or bad decision making.
Add new comment