Colombo, Mar 9 (PTI) Sri Lanka’s current forex crisis and its related economic problems would not end any time soon, the main Opposition claimed on Wednesday.
Main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)’s economic affairs spokesman Harsha de Silva said it “looks like the crisis will prolong. (It’s a) Huge governance failure”.
He said that he and his economic team met the Central Bank’s senior officials to discuss the crisis.
Criticising the Central Bank’s handling of the crisis, de Silva alleged that they were only viewing the crisis on a short-term basis.
“The Central Bank is still looking at the crisis as a liquidity short-term one, getting a swap here and there, postponing the Asian Currency Union payments etc,” he said.
De Silva said that the Central Bank did not look like resorting to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout with a debt restructuring plan.
Sri Lanka has been going through its worst economic crisis since mid-December when its foreign reserves fell to a historic low.
As a result, the island nation’s economy faced shortages of essentials and an energy crisis with imports of coal and furnace oil in short supply to generate thermal power to supplement the national grid.
Long queues are seen at fuel stations while seven hour power cuts are being imposed.
The Opposition’s meeting with the Central Bank came after Tuesday’s government action to appoint a high powered 11-member economic council.
Consisting of the big three Rajapaksa brothers – President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and senior ministers and officials, the Council is appointed to speed up economic growth by reviewing economic and financial policies.
The finance minister is due to visit New Delhi this month to seal a USD 1 billion loan facility to finance imports of essentials.
In the absence of opting for an IMF facility, Sri Lanka in January sought an Indian economic relief package to tide over the crisis. PTI CORR CPS AKJ CPS
