Suriyapperuma's appointment as Treasury Secretary

THE Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma's resignation from Parliament and his subsequent and surprising appointment to the post of Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and Planning, ended the guesswork and doubts about the successor of Mahinda Siriwardana, who relinquished his duties as Treasury Secretary last Monday to take up a high-profile position at the ADB.

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There was speculation in the media that Siriwardana was going to be succeeded by the Ernst & Young - Country Partner cum Economic Adviser to the President Duminda Hulangamuwa. However, when Hulangamuwa was mentioned as a replacement to the highly professional and erudite technocrat Siriwardana, a considerable disapproval was expressed by many sections of the society due to the serious conflict of interest that could have arisen had the former been appointed.

Interestingly, the NPP prior to last year’s Presidential election, vowed to appoint independent and skilled professionals to leading posts in the public service. What was more, it was none other than the former Deputy Minister of Finance who claimed that an NPP administration apart from giving full independence to the Central Bank, would also make the Treasury completely independent from political influence — a scenario which does not exist anywhere in the world - at the debate titled “Defining the Vision”, which was hosted by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on 29 August last year to discuss and evaluate the economic policies of the four main presidential candidates.