Protest in Sri Lanka has escalated on Wednesday as investors have taken onto the street, burning tires and blocking highways in demand of the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his failure in management that leads to economic crisis, but he refused to do so.
A protest in Rambukkana has three injuries and one death from suspected gun shots, according to the report.
Sri Lanka is facing one of its worst financial crises as the country has just defaulted on its foreign debts for the first time since its independence from the British in 1948. Due to failure in many policies, including tax cut and import policies, and unfortunate events such as the bombing in 2019 that led to a decline in tourist and the Covid-19 pandemic, the country foreign exchange reserves remained under strain.
A decline in the productivity of tea and rubber from its ban on importing fertiliser leads to lower export incomes, resulting in less money available to import food, sparking food shortage.
Sri Lanka’s annual inflation jumped to 18.7% in March 2022 from 17.5% in the previous month.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that it is discussing with Sri Lanka on a potential IMF loan program. However, the discussion is in an early stage and would require “adequate assurances” that the debts can be put on a sustainable path.
