The extraordinary gazette declaring Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has been issued last (13) night.
MIAP
Gammanpila says even if he has no trust in Ranil, they will not try to overthrow the govt.
MP Udaya Gammanpila says that although they will not attempt to overthrow the government as there should be a government to run a country, they have no trust in Ranil Wickremesinghe either.
He said that his history did not set the stage for such confidence.
However, if the agenda pursued by Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was in power is not further implemented and the country continues to act in a manner that does not further abyss, he said that they can act in a manner that does not destabilize the government.
People protests at Navinna Junction demanding for gas
Traffic at the Navinna Junction on the High Level Road and the Baseline Road leading to Colombo has been blocked due to public protests demanding gas.
Despite being told that gas will be available today, the people are protesting by blocking the road due to the lack of gas in the distribution centers.
On the 8th, residents of the area blocked the Navinna Junction on the High-Level Road and staged a protest against the non-availability of gas.
A meeting between the President and the independent MPs of the government
It is reported that a discussion between the President and the independent members of parliament is to be held at the President’s Residence this morning (14).
It is said that with the appointment of Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister, the future political activities of the country will be discussed.
The group and the President have been in discussions for some time and despite their opposition to Ranil Wickremesinghe, the group stated at a media briefing in Colombo yesterday that they are ready to support the good work being done by the new government.
However, the SLFP had stated that it would not support the government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Lakshman Hulugalle passes away
Lakshman Hulugalle, the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Sydney, Australia has passed away.
He passed away in Australia this morning (14) at the age of 66.
During Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, Hulugalle served as the Director General of the Media Center for National Security.
The morning after
Sri Lanka has no money and no government. What now?
For more than a month the anti-government protesters camped along Galle Face, the seafront in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, had been mostly peaceful. They were demanding the departure of the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, his brother. There were tents, stages for political plays, and singing. “Go home Gota!” their signs read, using the name by which the president is commonly known. He did not budge. Neither did the protesters
All that changed on May 9th when hundreds of government supporters descended on the camp at Galle Face and other protest sites in the city. Unmolested by police, they attacked the demonstrators and burnt down their tents. Many had come straight from a meeting at the residence of the prime minister, who had hosted them in a bid to cling to his job. As anti-government protesters counter-attacked and the violence began to spiral out of control, the prime minister at last heeded calls to resign, in the process triggering the dissolution of his cabinet.
In theory, that should pave the way for a new government of national unity led by a prime minister who enjoys cross-party support, and made up of representatives of all the main parties and perhaps some technocrats. But unity is the last thing on the minds of many Sri Lankans, who are enraged to find themselves demoted from relatively well-off by South Asian standards to begging for handouts from India. The protesters responded to the attacks on them by burning down the homes of many cabinet ministers and a museum dedicated to the Rajapaksas. The buses that had carried government supporters into Colombo were also set ablaze. A minister’s car was dumped in a lake.
Hundreds of people were injured as the violence continued into the next day. Several died, including a member of parliament who shot and killed a protester as a crowd surrounded his car, according to police reports. Mahinda and his family were airlifted to safety by security forces on May 10th after an angry mob surrounded his residence. Troops were deployed across the country and ordered to shoot on sight anyone seen damaging property or attacking people. The following afternoon, police told protesters at the Galle Face encampment to clear the area to comply with an island-wide curfew, though they did not immediately enforce the order. The governor of the central bank said he would resign unless political stability was restored.
Perhaps it was this threat that cured the president of the temptation to rule by decree, as he would have been entitled to do following the dissolution of the cabinet. Late on May 11th Mr Rajapaksa addressed the nation, promising to appoint a new government. He appeared to agree to most of the conditions outlined by the opposition, including a reduction in the powers of the presidency, which he had boosted by amending the constitution in 2020.
All-party talks to choose ministers for an interim cabinet were under way as The Economist went to press. Ranil Wickreme singhe, a veteran lawmaker, looked set to be sworn in as interim prime minister. But his putative government faces obstacles, not least the fact that many mps do not want to sabotage their careers by associating themselves with Mr Rajapaksa. The president’s refusal to step down may damage the credibility of any interim government from the start. A way forward will require balancing the necessary political stability with enough accountability to command public support.
That is particularly important given the daunting task facing any new government. Sri Lanka must implement a series of painful economic reforms—a tall order in such a febrile atmosphere. A combination of bad policy and external shocks, notably a collapse of tourism during the pandemic and spiking commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have depleted Sri Lanka’s foreign-currency reserves and raised consumer-price inflation to almost 30% year-on-year in April, from 19% in March (see chart). For nearly two months, Sri Lankans have had to live with long power cuts, soaring prices for staples such as rice, and shortages of essentials as petrol—largely a function of the lack of currency with which to pay for imports.
The government’s foreign reserves are down to $50m—nothing, in effect. It burned through all its cash in recent months in a doomed effort to prop up the currency and service its foreign debts. On April 12th it conceded defeat and said it would stop paying interest, seek a bail-out from the imf and ask creditors, including China and India, to restructure their loans. Since then the government has relied on temporary credit, mostly from India, to import essentials such as food and fuel. Even if the political class gets its act together, turning Sri Lanka’s economy around is getting harder by the day. ■
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “The morning after”
THE ECONOMIST
Five frontline leaders of the UNP to be appointed as MPs?
Sources say that there are plans to appoint five frontline leaders of the United National Party as Members of Parliament.
According to sources, it has been proposed to remove five members of parliament from the SLPP’s national list and appoint UNP representatives in their place.
It is said that it has been proposed that UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe cannot act alone as the Prime Minister in Parliament and that he should have a strong representation in the Cabinet.
Lanka News Web, reported that this proposal had also been put forward at the national government talks held several months ago.
Curfew to be re-imposed at 06.00 pm
The curfew which was lifted at 06.00 am today (14) will be re-imposed at 06.00 pm, according to the Presidential Media Unit.
They announce that the curfew will be in effect until 05.00 am tomorrow (15).
Sajith writes to the President again!
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has said that he would have not refused to accept the post of Prime Minister unless the people demanded that the President resign and at least a specific period be announced for his resignation.
Sajith Premadasa has stated this in a reply to a letter sent by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa on May 12.
In his letter, Sajith Premadasa has clarified and recalled the discussions held between the President’s representatives and his representatives regarding the formation of a new government by assuming the office of Prime Minister.
The Leader of the Opposition has also stated in the letter that no one from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya will participate in the cabinet to be formed by the government which is already being formed outside the public opinion.
India Exim Bank to restructure US$1.3 billion Sri Lanka Debt
Export financing institution India Exim Bank is looking at restructuring its $ 1.3 billion exposure to crisis-ridden Sri Lanka.
It however does not have any exposure to Ukraine or any direct exposure to Russia. Besides, it will foray into services to assist MSME exporters with easier risk protection and is set to launch factoring and other trade finance products to promote exports from this sector.
“There is an imminent restructuring of Sri Lanka exposure” said Harsha Bangari, MD India Exim Bank. ” We will wait for the signal from the government any restructuring.”
The country facing its worst-ever foreign currency crisis. Exim’s exposure through various channels is at around $1.3 billion. Though there are no over dues as of now, the terms of restructuring could be in the form of deferment of repayment, according to senior Exim officials
Exim is also expected to expand its activities as it is soon set to get back to factoring- a kind comfort letter for exporters’ funding which makes export financing easy and less risky. It is in the process of setting up a factoring business.
The focus will be on overseas funding clarified Bangari. ” We have got Board approvals. But we still have to decide whether the business will be through a bank or a subsidiary or a separate entity” Bangari said.
Exim has also initiated Trade Assistance Programme (TAP) to support the MSME Sector. Under this programme, trade lines will be extended to participating overseas banks/institutions in the emerging markets, and credit enhancement to participating commercial banks in India to cover payment obligations on identified banks.
TAP would assist banks in India to draw comfort under this programme of India Exim Bank wherein it would extend guarantee/comfort, and thus extend export finance to relatively unfamiliar bank(s) abroad, amongst many others.
TAP at its initial stages of operations will be looking at 54 economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin-America.
Exim reported a 13 per cent growth in loans during 2021-22 and is looking at raising up to $ 3 billion in foreign currency and has targeted even higher growth in business this year.
” It requires servicing of $2.3 billion this year,” Bangari said.” Looking at the market conditions we are looking at raising up to $3billion in FY’23” This would include raising through bonds, loans as well as multilateral agencies.