Sri Lanka President to appoint new Governor

June 29, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena will appoint a new governor to the Central Bank soon, he said on Wednesday.

“I will appoint a new Governor to the Central Bank in the coming hours,” his twitter account said.

Governor Arjuna Mahendran has said he won’t seek re-appointment due at the end of this month until a COPE report on bond investigations is finalized.

COPE will meet today to consider the Auditor General’s report on the bond investigation.

Parliamentarian and COPE member Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told LBO the committee will most probably arrive at a decision on the alleged bond scam based on the findings of the Auditor General’s report.

“Based on those reports, we may take a decision tomorrow, but appointing Governor again or not is a decision that should be taken by the President himself,” Jayatissa said.

President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met central bank officials in the afternoon, and the Wickremesinghe told reporters the meeting was about the economy.

Officials tipped for the position of new governor include Dinesh Weerakkody, Nandalal Weerasinghe, P. Samanasiri, and Deputy Minister Eran Wickremeratne.