Sri Lanka down to last day of petrol, PM tells crisis-hit nation
Sri Lanka's new prime minister said on Monday the crisis-hit nation was down to its last day of petrol, as the country's power minister told citizens not to join the lengthy fuel queues that have galvanised weeks of anti-government protests.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, appointed prime minister on Thursday, said in an address to the nation the country urgently needed US$75 million in foreign exchange to pay for essential imports.
"At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day. The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives," he said.
"We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period."
Two shipments of petrol and two of diesel using an Indian credit line could provide relief in the next few days, he added, but the country is also facing a shortage of 14 essential medicines.
The crisis led to widespread protests against President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, culminating in the resignation of his elder brother Mahinda as prime minister last week after fighting between government supporters and protesters killed 9 people and wounded 300.
DESPERATE BID
The president replaced him with Wickremesinghe, an opposition parliamentarian who has held the post five times previously, in a desperate bid to placate protesters.
But the protesters have said they will keep up their campaign as long as Gotabaya Rajapaksa remains president. They have also labelled Wickremesinghe a stooge and criticised his appointment of four cabinet ministers, all members of the political party run by the Rajapaksa brothers.
Wickremesinghe said on Monday he took the role for the good of the country.
In Colombo, the commercial capital, long queues of auto rickshaws, the most popular means of transport in the city, lined up at gas stations in a fruitless wait for fuel.
"I have been in the queue for more than six hours," said one driver, Mohammad Ali. "We spend almost six to seven hours in the line just to get petrol."
Another driver, Mohammad Naushad, said the gas station he was waiting at had run out of fuel.
"We've been here since 7-8 a.m. in the morning and it is still not clear if they will have fuel or not," he said. "When will it come, no one knows. Is there any point in our waiting here, we also don't know."
Hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, rising oil prices and populist tax cuts by the Rajapaksas, the strategic Indian Ocean island nation, where China and India are battling for influence, is in the midst of a crisis unparalleled since its independence in 1948.
A chronic foreign exchange shortage has led to rampant inflation and shortages of medicine, fuel and other essentials, bringing thousands out on the streets in protest.
A diesel shipment using an Indian credit line arrived in the country on Sunday, but is yet to be distributed across the island.
"Request the public not to queue up or top up in the next three days until the 1,190 fuel station deliveries have been completed," Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said on Monday.
Wickremesinghe is yet to announce key ministers including the crucial post of finance minister, who will negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for badly needed financial help for the country.
Former Finance Minister Ali Sabry had held preliminary talks with the multilateral lender, but he quit along with Mahinda Rajapaksa last week.- Reuters
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2022/05/17/sri-lanka-down-to-last-day-of-petrol-pm-tells-crisis-hit-nation
Singapore Investment
-
-
-
-
No surprise that AI’s bagging the bucks5 hours ago
-
-
I Bought MPACT5 hours ago
-
-
-
-
Brutal bruising of some Stock Indices13 hours ago
-
Portfolio Update13 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Beware Of Scams1 day ago
-
-
-
Buying a home for face3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Finance Investment Movement 445 days ago
-
-
-
-
Going REITs Shopping Again6 days ago
-
-
Weekly Markets Outlook6 days ago
-
Market indeed coming down6 days ago
-
Cory Diary : Dividend Q1 '246 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Banks and Miles Report – Mar 20241 week ago
-
-
Revisiting Bitcoin1 week ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
2024 (Portfolio Update)2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
Retirement Journey Update for March 20242 weeks ago
-
-
-
1Q 2024 Investment Strategy Update2 weeks ago
-
-
Portfolio Summary for March 20242 weeks ago
-
Reasonable Dividend Yield 2024Q23 weeks ago
-
-
-
Portfolio (March 30, 2024)3 weeks ago
-
-
-
QAF #77 - 2023 Annual Report3 weeks ago
-
Lentor Hills Residences3 weeks ago
-
Burnt out!3 weeks ago
-
-
-
Feb 2024 Expenditure3 weeks ago
-
-
Starting Our Second Property Cycle4 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Feb 2024 Portfolio1 month ago
-
-
Summary of February 20241 month ago
-
The Market Is A Scam!1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Options Trading Journal Jan 20242 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
End of 2023 Review3 months ago
-
-
Year 2023 DIYQuant Portfolio Performance Report3 months ago
-
Monthly Summary of November 20234 months ago
-
3 Simple Poker Strategies for Beginners4 months ago
-
Migration of website4 months ago
-
-
Abandon REITS?4 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
August 2023 Portfolio Updates7 months ago
-
-
-
-
Hello SP Group, I'm Back!9 months ago
-
-
-
-
A New Light11 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Demoralized1 year ago
-
2022 Thoughts, Hello 2023!1 year ago
-
Series of Defaults for Maple Finance1 year ago
-
Takeaways from “Sea Change”1 year ago
-
-
Greed is Coming Back1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
What is Overemployment1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-