Sri Lanka, Oct. 5 -- Economic policies in Sri Lanka are going to be the subject of much discussion over the next six months. The Government will present the budget next month. The four-year IMF programme will come to an end in March 2027. In this context, what is the role of laws, and how much space is there within the legal framework to shift the economic trajectory of the country?

During the last few years, particularly in 2023 and 2024, a series of laws were passed by the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government. Among them were also a set of laws advocated by the IMF and the World Bank that have drastically changed the scope and character of macroeconomic policy making, and more broadly the functions and workings of the Ministry of Fina...