All government institutionsnot essential“, as well as schools will remain closed until July 10 to reduce travel and save energy.
Sri Lanka’s gasoline reserves stood at 4,000 tons on Sunday. This is a level lower than the ordinary consumption of the island in one day, warned Kanchana Wijesekera, Minister of Energy.
Public transport was at a standstill. As for private buses, which represent two-thirds of the fleet, only 1,000 vehicles out of 20,000 were able to drive on Sunday. The situation should not improve quickly. “The next gasoline delivery is expected between July 22 and July 23“said Kanchana Wijesekera. All government institutionsnot essential“, as well as schools will remain closed until July 10 to reduce travel and save energy.
For months, the 22 million inhabitants of the island have been living to the rhythm of daily power outages, fuel and food rationing, with, in addition, galloping inflation (+54% in June).
Shortage of foreign currency
The island located in the south of India lost, with the pandemic and the attacks of 2019, the bulk of its income linked to tourism and remittances from the diaspora. A severe shortage of foreign currency no longer allows it to import enough food, fuel and other essentials.
Unable to repay its $51 billion foreign debt, the government declared default in April and is negotiating a possible bailout with the International Monetary Fund. But the Fund believes that there is still a lot of action to be taken, particularly in terms of corruption, to redress the accounts before concluding a financing agreement.
The UN has warned that the economic crisis could turn into a serious humanitarian crisis, with millions of people already in need of aid.