Sri Lankans on Monday woke up to more news of crisis engulfing their island nation as the president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa formally invited the opposition parties to help forming an interim government to bring about stability.
News of Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Sri Lanka’s central bank governor, resigning from his post on Monday angered the opposition as well. One leader, Harsha De Silva, even denied accepting his resignation highlighting that the government did not pay heed to the warnings with regard to the economic crisis when the opposition warned them.
Meanwhile, a new cabinet is being sworn in according to Sri Lankan news agencies. Decision has been taken to appoint Ali Sabry as the finance minister. GL Peiris has been appointed as the new minister for foreign affairs while the ministry of highways and ministry of education has gone to Johnston Fernando and Dinesh Gunawardena.
Protests against prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa continued on Monday in Sri Lanka’s Tangalle. Members of the Sri Lankan opposition protested outside prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s house with many breaking the barriers to enter the prime minister’s residence. An important road in Homagama has also been blocked due to the protests.
At least 26 cabinet ministers submitted their resignations late on Sunday. Only president Gotabaya Rajapaksa and prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa are yet to resign with the opposition and certain sections of the civil society demanding their resignation. Trading was halted on the Sri Lankan stock exchange after shares fell by more than the 5% threshold.
Unprecedented food and fuel shortages continue to wreak havoc on Sri Lankans as the nation faces a crisis of essentials which is being said as the the worst shortages of essentials since independence from England in 1948. The government is yet to announce when it will seek help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a bailout.
Some Sri Lankan opposition have also urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend help to Sri Lanka in case the situation goes out of hand. “Please try and help Sri Lanka to the maximum possible extent. This is our motherland, we need to save our motherland,” Sajith Premadasa appealed to India while speaking to news agency ANI. India has extended a $1 billion credit line to help Sri Lanka purchase essentials and is sending 40,000 tonnes of rice for prompt shipment.
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