News In Brief World News
News In Brief World News

Nandalal Weerasinghe Warns Sri Lanka Faces Shutdown

Share Us

377
Nandalal Weerasinghe Warns Sri Lanka Faces Shutdown
16 Jul 2022
6 min read

News Synopsis

Nandalal Weerasinghe, governor of Sri Lanka's central bank, has warned that the country may shut down if a stable government is not formed soon. He told the BBC's Newsnight programme that there is "a lot of uncertainty" about whether enough foreign exchange can be found to pay for essential petroleum. He stated that progress toward obtaining an international bailout package was dependent on having a stable administration.

The country is gripped by widespread unrest as a result of the economic crisis. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled to the United Kingdom, and acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has declared a curfew for the second day.

Sri Lanka's economy has collapsed, and the cost of food, fuel, and other basic necessities has skyrocketed for ordinary people. Many blame Rajapaksa's administration for mishandling the crisis, and Mr. Wickremesinghe, who took office in May, is seen as part of the problem. Nandalal Weerasinghe, who took over as governor of the central bank in April, said he did not "see a way forward" in terms of providing essentials in the absence of a stable administration.

"We have been able to finance at least three shipments of diesel probably until the end of this month and someone or two shipments of petrol, but beyond that, there's a lot of uncertainty whether we even will be able to provide sufficient foreign exchange to finance essential petroleum for this country," he said.