In the wake of the fuel and gas shortage, people are forced to wait in long queues near gas stations, and some are left empty handed indicating the ongoing fuel crisis in the country.
In the backdrop, unrest is unavoidably being grown and as to whether there is an effective process followed by the government to manage the crisis is in question.
MIAP
The entire people of the country from fisherman to other employments are under immense pressure and the entire country is suffering from an unbearable cost of living, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, addressing the opening ceremony of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Matara Devinuwara Electorate Office today (18).
Although the government blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the economic crisis, it was the government itself that played with myths by allowing the contagion to spread, he noted.
The SJB also organised a protest at the venue against what it called as the government’s brutal rule.
MIAP
The price of crude oil in the global market has soared again, marking a barrel of crude oil over US$ 100.
The price of a crude oil barrel was less than US$ 100 in recent days, but has soared over the margin, marking US$ 107 per brent barrel and US$ 104 per WTI barrel.
The crude oil price indicated a promising decline upon the signs of the Russian-Ukrainian war being cooled down, but hopes for a ceasefire have been dashed recently, giving another strike on the prices.
MIAP
The Socialist Youth Union has organised an anti-government protest in Colombo Fort today (18).
The protest is marched from Maradana Technical Junction to Colombo Fort Railway Station.
The demonstration is in objection to the selling of local resources to foreign states and the fuel price hike.
The protest is attended by thousands of demonstrators.
MIAP
A group of robbers have reportedly barged into a petrol station in Nawala this (18) morning and snatched the cash belonging to the employees working in the filling shed.
A gang of five robbers who had arrived in a three-wheeler with a can under the pretext of purchasing fuel had robbed the employees and their belongings by threatening them with weapon point, Police said.
The amount robbed is yet to be determined, they added.
The event was recorded on CCTV at the station and the Police are conducting investigations to identify the culprits. Making arrests will be possible, Police added.
MIAP
It is reported that the daily activities of government hospitals have been severely affected due to several problems including fuel shortage, gas crisis and shortage of medicines. If the crisis continues, many hospitals will have to close within the next week, the President of the Government Medical Officers’ Forum, Dr. Rukshan Bellana has told the media.
Due to the shortage of fuel, members of the medical staff, including doctors, have been unable to report for duty and the daily services of those who report for duty have been disrupted.
In addition, restaurants in some hospitals have been forced to close due to fuel and gas shortages. According to Dr. Bellana, meeting the food needs of patients as well as health staff members has become a serious problem.
Of all these crises, the most serious problem facing the health sector is the shortage of medicines. The doctor says that even some of the essential medicines in some hospitals are in short supply.
Dr. Bellana warns that many hospitals will have to close within another week if the crisis continues.
The trade unions point out that the Sapugaskanda oil refinery will have to be closed from tomorrow (20) due to the depletion of crude oil imported to the country. Ananda Palitha, Media Spokesman of the Oil-Ports-Electricity Joint Trade Union Alliance says that the stocks of crude oil required for the operation of the refinery have not been imported in the coming days.
Accordingly, the oil refinery will have to close down indefinitely, he said.
If the oil refinery closes, Sri Lanka will face another round of fuel crisis, which will require the import of kerosene and even jet fuel. In addition, due to the closure of the oil refinery, 2000 metric tons of fuel oil used for power generation will be lost and accordingly power generation will have to be further restricted, said Ananda Palitha.
Ananda Palitha points out that even if the oil refinery is closed, maintenance work will have to be done from time to time and employees will have to pay overtime for it, adding that it will be an additional burden for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation which is facing a major financial crisis.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has begun discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities to help Sri Lanka recover from the major economic crisis. The regional head of the IMF visited Sri Lanka recently and during his visit held discussions with President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.
Rice said further discussions would be held on how to help Sri Lanka overcome the economic crisis and that a final decision would be taken during Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to Washington next month.
The Regional Head has submitted a special report on the Sri Lankan economy to the Government of Sri Lanka, which includes some recommendations on how to overcome the crisis.
Addressing the nation on the 16th, President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa also stated that he was ready to hold discussions with the International Monetary Fund to overcome the crisis.
Crises ranging from shortage of dollars and fuel and electricity supplies, have slowed the growth of the manufacturing and service sectors in February as per the Purchasing Managers’ Index (MPI) report compiled by the Central Bank.
It said the Manufacturing PMI remained expanded, recording an index value of 52.5 in February. This was a decrease of 6.2 index points compared to January.
The services sector PMI recorded an index value of 51.8 in February indicating a marginal growth across the services sector. This was a decrease of 5.7 index points in comparison to January. The PMIs for manufacturing and services sectors grew at a slower pace in January as compared to December last year.
CBSL said the Manufacturing PMI’s improvement in February was mainly attributable to the continued expansion in new orders. However, production, stock of purchases and employment declined while suppliers’ delivery time lengthened on a month-on-month basis.
An expansion in new orders, particularly in the manufacture of food and beverage, was witnessed in February, ahead of Sinhala and Hindu New Year season.
However, the production declined on a month-on-month basis, especially in the manufacture of food and beverage, and textiles and wearing apparel sectors, following the seasonal pattern as there were fewer working days in February, and due to supply-side constraints.
Moreover, the stock of purchases declined due to supply side impediments.
Many respondents highlighted that it was difficult to acquire imported raw materials and packing materials due to delays in opening letters of credit. For the next three months, the expectations for manufacturing activities remain at elevated levels anticipating continuous improvements in economic conditions locally and globally.
CBSL said the services sector PMI’s marginal increase in February was underpinned by the increases observed in new businesses, business activities and expectations for activity sub-indices.
New businesses rose at a slower pace in February compared to January, particularly with the improvements observed in financial services, professional services, real estate, telecommunication and transportation sub-sectors.
Business activities continued to grow in February, even though at a slower pace, with the improvements observed in several sub-sectors.
Accordingly, financial services, education, professional services, other personal activities, real estate and transportation sub-sectors reported improvements during the month. In addition, business activities in the accommodation, food and beverage sub-sector also recorded a marginal growth amid the steady increase in tourist arrivals despite the disturbances occurring from disruptions to fuel and electricity supplies during the latter part of the month.
Nevertheless, business activities related to the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector observed a deterioration during the month. Employment fell slightly in February for the first time after three months of increase due to retirements and increasing number of resignations. Meanwhile, Backlogs of Work continued to decline at a higher pace during the month.
CBSL said expectations for Business Activities for the next three months improved in February, yet at a much slower pace, as the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector expects their business outlook to deteriorate due to cost pressures and supply shortages following the float of the exchange rate and the imposition of import restrictions.
Further, the uncertainties associated with fuel, electricity and LP gas supplies are also negatively affecting most of the sub-sectors, CBSL added.
Sri Lanka will be making every effort to attract Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) and re-investments from Germany at a time where the island nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis triggered by dwindling foreign reserves and mounting foreign debt payments.
The Board of Investment is working on wooing new FDI’S From Germany while negotiating reinvestment joint ventures which are in operation at present.
These details were discussed at a meeting attended by Ambassador of Germany Holger Seubert, Deputy Head of Mission / Counsellor Olaf Malchow and Chief Delegate of German Industry and Commerce in Sri Lanka (AHK) Alexandra Voss along with Chairman BOI Eng. Raja Edirisuriya and Director General Renuka Weerakone on 10 March at the BOI.
Head sof Corporate Affairs / Export Promotion (AHK) Malintha Gajanayake and BOI Director (Investment Promotion) Nilupul De Silva also participated in the discussion.
The objective of the meeting was to introduce the new Head of AHK in Sri Lanka to continue the good working relationship between the BOI and AHK.
During the discussion the matters discussed comprised of the facilitation provided for existing investors to encourage them to re-invest and expand their operations in Sri Lanka, as well as attracting more FDI from Germany, especially in the pharmaceutical sector.
The BOI Chairman briefed the Ambassador and his team regarding the pharmaceutical zone that is currently being developed in Hambantota, and requested the Ambassador to invite leading world class German companies to invest in Sri Lanka in the pharmaceutical sector.
Both sides agreed to continue the dialogue on a regular basis, to discuss the issues faced by the Existing German investors, in order to make the facilitation more effective.
The Ambassador stated that whilst appreciating the assistance provided by the BOI for the existing German investors,
The German Embassy in Colombo in close collaboration with AHK will continue to work closely with the BOI to provide an effective facilitation program for the German companies to encourage them to re-invest as well as invite potential German companies to invest in Sri Lanka. The Ambassador assured their fullest co-operation in attracting FDI to Sri Lanka.
