Sri Lankan people stand in a long queue to buy kerosene oil for home use at a petrol station in Colombo on March 21. (Photo: AFP)
Sri Lanka’s most senior Buddhist prelates have urged the government to formulate a national policy to provide relief to people affected by the economic crisis in the country.
Ven. Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera of the Malwatta chapter and Ven. Warakagoda Gnanaratana Thera of the Asgiriya chapter have called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to convene a conference of local and foreign scholars to devise a plan for sustainable development.
“Restructure public debt, reduce the cost of living, provide relief to low-income earners, formulate a sustainable plan to prevent waste, corruption and misuse of resources,” said the chief monks in a letter to the president on March 21.
They further underlined the need for enforcing the law against swindlers who artificially create a shortage of essential commodities for ill-gotten financial gains in the face of the economic crisis.
Sri Lanka’s inflation rate has touched 17.5 percent, the highest ever recorded in the history of the island nation. The country has requested a US$2.5 billion loan from China.
Long queues have formed nationwide for filling petrol and diesel or buying daily essentials like milk powder, medicines and food items amid crippling shortages and daily power cuts.
The government said it had also written to the International Monetary Fund seeking technical support to manage the economic crisis
Canada and the United Kingdom have warned their citizens about the dire economic situation even as military troops were deployed at fuel stations and on the streets to ensure calm.
The prelates commended President Rajapaksa for his visionary work for the security and sovereignty of the country but emphasized the need for the full commitment of all members of parliament to build the country economically.
They further called for being sensitive to the people’s plight at the time of the disaster, regardless of political party affiliations.
Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Kingsley Ratnayake denied reports circulating on social media that President Rajapaksa is considering resigning.
The president has appointed an advisory committee to assist the National Economic Council, which sought to “immediately appoint a technical team to formulate programs proposing international financial assistance.”
The government said it had also written to the International Monetary Fund seeking technical support to manage the economic crisis.
Thousands of people have been protesting outside the president's office for the past couple of weeks demanding that the government either find solutions to the deepening crisis or give up power.
A Catholic nun who did not want to be named said the country is struggling to pay for imports with not much foreign currency left in the economy. "We have elected corrupt and self-serving politicians as our leaders,” she said.
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