We have only one day's petrol: the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

We have only one day's petrol: the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka

In a speech to the nation, the new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said that there was a shortage of petrol in the crisis-stricken country and dollars could not be found for the necessary imports. He warned that bankrupt Sri Lanka could face more difficulties in the coming days. "We have run out of petrol," he said. 

On Monday, Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the nation for the first time since taking over as prime minister last week. The new Sri Lankan prime minister says the government has also been unable to raise dollars to pay for three shipments of oil. 

Due to non-payment, cargo is not being unloaded from the ships at present. These ships are waiting outside the port of Colombo. Sri Lanka, an island nation of 22 million people, has faced the most severe economic crisis in its history since independence in 1947. One of the main reasons for this is the depletion of foreign exchange reserves in the state treasury. Sri Lanka's central bank's foreign exchange reserves have plummeted due to the coronavirus epidemic, government investment in various ambitious and unprofitable projects, flawed policies, and government mismanagement. 

As a result, the country has not been able to import fuel oil, food, medicine, and other daily necessities for a long time. As a result, Sri Lanka's public transport and power generation system is being severely disrupted. Ranil Wickremesinghe took over as Prime Minister last Thursday after Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down as the country's peaceful movement to demand the resignation of the government turned deadly due to the economic crisis. "The next few months will be the hardest for us," he said. I have no desire to hide the truth and lie to the people. 

However, he called on the people of the country to endure for the next few months with patience. At the same time, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister has promised to overcome this crisis. He said the government had run out of cash to pay the salaries of 1.4 million government employees for the month of May and he would go for printing as a last resort. "Against my will, I have been forced to allow the printing of money to pay the salaries of government employees and the cost of essential goods and services," said Ronil Vikramasinghe. He also said that the tariffs on fuel and electricity would be substantially increased and the government's national airlines, which were in debt, would be sold to reduce losses. Source: AFP

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