The island/ country is reeling under serious and burgeoned external debt. Unable to pay the debt Srilanka is into the worst financial crisis. The country has completely surrendered to the worst scenario of its own misdeeds. With its existing fuel stocks fast depleting, Sri Lanka has stumbled to import oil, due to forex problems. As a result several sectors of the country`s economy to a grinding halt. People place their canisters in line as they wait to buy kerosene oil outside a fuel station in Colombo, Sri Lanka Crisis-hit Sri Lankan government. Due to severe oil crises, many public sector offices are shut down. Instead work from home is put in place. The Sri Lankan Education Ministry directed teachers in all government and government-approved private schools in the Colombo city limits to conduct online classes due to prolonged power cuts, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.
In the sequel to the worst ever crisis spontaneous protests have been reported at filling stations all over the country where consumers have been waiting in long serpentine queues for fuel for days together. The minimum staff of the public transport system is allowed to work. Sri Lanka is facing power outages for up to 13 hours a day for the past several months now. Sri Lanka`s cash-strapped government approved several measures, including imposing a 2.5 percent social contribution tax on companies based on their turnover and declaring Fridays as holidays for most public sector employees, to facilitate the economic recovery and mitigate the energy and food crisis.
The Cabinet also granted government officials one leave per week for the next three months so to enable them to engage in agriculture. This measure helps mitigate the approaching food crisis. On Friday, Sri Lanka`s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that around 25% o of the country`s 22 million population could directly be affected by the food shortage. The nearly bankrupt country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for 2022 out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026. Sri Lanka`s total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.
Srilanka once enjoyed a good standard of living due to tourism is crumbling. The nepotism created by the previous government is completely held responsible for all in Srilanka. Further shortage of food will cause a major dent in the economy. The situation in Srilanka is a lesson to all other countries including India.