Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday accused the present government of driving the country into a grave economic and political crisis due to its “incompetence in dealing with financial difficulties,” adding that the absolute failure has resulted in long lines of people.
Former Prime Minister Wickremesinghe stated, “It (economic crisis) never happened in our time…when our government was here there were no queues of the people to buy the basic necessities. There should not have been any reason for the people to come on the streets. But it’s all happening because of the incompetence of the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government in the country.”
In addition, Wickremesinghe also remarked that while he was Prime Minister in 2019, the country’s economy was in good shape, with a capital surplus, but that the present government’s incompetence has driven people to the streets.
“The dire economic situation has led to the political crisis, and what is happening is a disaster to the country. For two years, this government ignored all the signs of the looming economic issues. I remember when I left the office in 2019 we had a surplus budget and there was enough money to pay (for our imports),” former Prime Minister Wickremesinghe says.
Wickremesinghe chastised the Government for failing to seek help from IMF
Moreover, Wickremesinghe chastised the existing administration for failing to seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the face of the ongoing economic crisis.
Further, even if the government approaches the IMF, he believes it will take a long time for any substantial relief to arrive.
Meanwhile, the government has decided to send a delegation to the IMF as soon as possible.
Wickremesinghe went on to say that Sri Lanka would be in significant danger as a result.
In addition, he said, “I don’t think that the government has enough resources left in the reserves and now they seek to borrow from the leading export companies to pay the bills. The line of credit for fuel extended by India will last till the second week of May.”
Wickremesinghe praises India for helping the most
Moreover, Wickremesinghe stated that India had aided Sri Lanka to the greatest extent possible. “We will have to see the outcome of the support of India while New Delhi is still helping in non-financial ways.”
Wickremesinghe claimed that the government was not looking after the economy, and that plans to go to the IMF in 2020 and 2021 had been floated.
Adding to it, he said, “The government did not go to the IMF on the advice of the central bank and the treasury and the people are now paying the price.”
However, the Sri Lankan government is scheduled to meet with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later this month in Washington, DC, with the country’s finance minister and central bank governor among the delegation.
He also asserted that no Chinese investment has come to the country under this administration.
“They’ve sought investments but they haven’t come in… I think discussions are on about rescheduling the repayment of loans. They’ve to talk to the Chinese government.”
Meanwhile, according to media reports, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has asked the eleven-party coalition allies, which include 42 independent MPs, to a meeting to tackle the country’s biggest crisis.
The MPs will also suggest that the president remove his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, from office and appoint a new cabinet to address the island nation’s extraordinary situation during the meeting.
Moreover, apart from Mahinda, the entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigned last week as the country faced its greatest economic crisis since obtaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1948.
Moreover, the MPs will also hand out a list of proposals to President Rajapaksa to bail out Sri Lanka from the current economic and political crisis, according to the sources.
Meanwhile, on behalf of the 42 MPs who left the government and sat in Parliament as an independent group, the President of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, former President Maithripala Sirisena, MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara, MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and President’s Counsel Wijayadasa Rajapaksha signed a letter to the President on Friday, according to sources.
Also Read: SRI LANKA’S RULING COALITION LOSES PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY, 2022
