Former Prime Minister and UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (14) issued a special statement saying that the government should negotiate with the International Monetary Fund to overcome the foreign exchange and economic crisis.
Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves are $ 4 billion, and when the bond debt is settled in the middle of the year, it will drop by $ 1 billion, leaving only $ 3 billion, he said. He also pointed out that the value of the CPC’s unpaid bills was $ 1.30 billion, but that there was no foreign exchange in the banks at the moment and that the amount of debt we had to repay at present was $ 430 billion. He also says that with the remaining $ 3 billion we will have to pay off the bond at the end of the year.
He says what we need to do in the face of the economic crisis is that the $ 800 million that has benefited from the IMF is not enough to get out of the crisis, so we need to discuss with them and get the money we need for the next few years.
He added that since the Central Bank and the Treasury were subject to parliament, he would call for a parliamentary debate on the issue, adding that if the economic crisis was not resolved soon, the country’s hunger and unemployment would not be prevented from rising.
-Shani-