|HT|
Ranil Wickremesinghe, the new prime minister of Sri Lanka who was sworn-in last Thursday, is likely to address the country on Monday, in what would be the first national address of his record sixth term as the island nation’s premier. During the speech, Wickremesinghe will present the ‘full picture’ of Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis, its worst since 1948 when it gained independence from British rule. “There is a lot to be done and undone. We are prioritizing matters, rest assured they shall be addressed as early as possible. We have managed to get things moving in the last 48 hours. I will provide a full explanation of the financial crisis faced by the country tomorrow,” the United National Party (UNP) leader said in a Twitter post last evening. On fuel, the 73-year-old wrote that due to a scarcity of dollars in banks, his government was exploring options such as securing the necessary funds to pay for immediate fuel requirements. On gas, he informed that his government had secured payments for a consignment, which, he said, will be unloaded and distributed ‘as soon as possible.’ “Medicine, Food and Fertilizer: At the conclusion of our meeting today, The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have pledged support to assist in procuring essential items,” Wickremesinghe also wrote.
“21st Amendment: This will be taken up for discussion with the Attorney General’s Department tomorrow and then be presented to Cabinet for approval,” he concluded his thread. On April 21, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), the country’s principal opposition party, presented in Parliament a draft bill of the 21st constitutional amendment. The bill proposes, among other things, the abolition of the current executive presidential system. Meanwhile, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s address, if it happens today, will come exactly one week after the resignation of his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the older brother of the embattled President, Gotabaya. Already under pressure to step down, Mahinda Rajapaksa finally buckledafter a group of Rajapaksa supporters attacked anti-government demonstrators, in Colombo, on May 9.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)