Policy Planning and Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Dr. Harsha de Silva asked where Sri Lanka would have been today if former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal was allowed spent US$ 5.1b on 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota.

"Some may have forgotten how much Nivard Cabral, Nimal Perera and Nalaka Godahewa et al tried to win the 2011 bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota. They spent some LKR 698m on the bid; that is only what is accounted for and a an additional USD 2.3m on a company called PMP Legacy to 'improve the bid'.," de Silva asked, on a social media post.

"The only objective was to spend a budgeted GBP 3.1b (USD 5.1b exchange rate at the time) without any overruns; direct capital costs of GBP 32.2m plus GBP 1,103m plus indirect capital costs of GBP 1,608m and operations costs of GPB 378m as indicated in the bid document. But adding what was the then minimum of 30 percent cost overrun then total would have been USD 6.7b. why? Who was to benefit? Was that the priority?," he asked.

"I argued so much that it was completely misplaced priority and that the country would be bankrupt if we won the bid as we would have no revenue to repay the loans that were to be raised to pay for same. In fact in 2011 he borrowed USD 1b at a huge interest rate of 6.2 percent," the Deputy Minister added.

"What irresponsible behavior of a CWG Hambantota, a private company set up at the Central Bank premises consisting of Nivard Cabral, Ranee Jayamaha, Nalaka Godahewa, Janaka Ratnayake and Nalin Attygalle as directors," he also said.