Ms. Nirosha Guruge of the Women’s Movement for Freedom says that the prices of goods have increased over a night and the people who are unable to pay even the loan installments have faced so many difficulties today.
She says the whole country is in a lockdown, but Sri Lankan financial institutions have been licensed to go door-to-door collecting premiums, but people have not been allowed to meet their basic needs.
She points out that no matter how much the government brags about the Covid concessions, microfinance has not received any relief and that the plantation workers in particular have been trapped in this microfinance debt trap.
Ms. Nirosha points out that only public transportation was disrupted during the lockdown, and that these days people who come to pick up cash premiums are either trying to claim the premium amount or the amount they have, or stay in front of the house.
She alleges that the government is only bragging when the fertilizer crisis has created problems in all crops and the people are unable to repay their loans.
She further says that those who were given Rs.2000 by the government cannot be found today and that the government is not in a position to provide relief to the people in such an epidemic situation and a struggle should be waged against this in the future.
She made the remarks during a discussion on the “Epidemic of microfinance, which is worse than Covid epidemic”. This was organized by the websites www.aithiya.lk and www.right2lifelanka.org.