Sri Lanka's president creates a council to assist the govt on the economic crisis
Key Takeaways:
- On Thursday, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa launched a Presidential Advisory Group, employing a group of economic and fiscal experts.
- Sri Lanka has been unable to select a new finance minister since Ali Sabry quit a day after being chosen by the Prime Minister.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka established a Presidential Advisory Group on Thursday, hiring a group of economic and fiscal specialists to assist the government in dealing with the country's greatest economic crisis in decades.
Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, the former governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, former World Bank chief economist Prof. Shanta Devarajan, and former International Monetary Fund deputy director for Africa Dr. Sharmini Coorey is among the members of the advisory group, according to a government note obtained by ANI.
"Since the appointment of the presidential advisory committee, the members have held a round of conversations with the President on critical issues linked to moving forward with the IMF program, and continue to be in regular communication with associated needs," according to the government message.
The decision comes a day after state minister Shehan Semasinghe met with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss urgent actions to improve the country's economic position so that civilians would no longer have to line for petrol, gas, and basics, according to PTI.
After Ali Sabry resigned a day after being nominated by the Prime Minister, Sri Lanka has failed to name a new finance minister. "Sri Lanka needs to restructure a $1 billion international sovereign bond that will mature in July. He urged Parliament that the country should seek a financial rescue, a debt moratorium, or other measures to handle the situation.
For a few weeks, the island nation has seen large rallies protesting a lack of gasoline, cooking gas, food, and other necessities. The public outrage has led nearly all of Rajapaksa's Cabinet ministers to resign, as well as a large number of parliamentarians.
According to sources, the police plan to deploy special security arrangements at VVIP locations such as the President's House, Presidential Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office-cum-Residence, and Parliament.