Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry was in Washington last week to talk to the IMF, the World Bank, India and others about financing help for his country, which has suspended payments on portions of its $51 billion in external debt.

Sri Lanka must tighten monetary policy, raise tax and adopt flexible exchange rates to address its debt crisis, a senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Tuesday.

The country of 22 million people has requested loans from the IMF as it struggles to pay for imports amid crushing debt and a sharp drop in foreign exchange reserves that has fueled soaring inflation.

“We’ve had very good, fruitful, technical discussions on preparations for the negotiations with authorities over the past weekend and couple of days before,” said Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, acting director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, speaking at an online news conference.

Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry was in Washington last week to talk to the IMF, the World Bank, India and others about financing help for his country, which has suspended payments on portions of its $51 billion in external debt.

“The requirement for fund lending will be progress toward debt sustainability,” Gulde-Wolf said, calling on Sri Lanka for measures to increase tax revenues to address critical spending needs.

“Monetary policy has to be tightened to keep inflation in check,” she said. “We see a need for flexible exchange rates.”

Gulde-Wolf did not reply to a question on the total value for any IMF package, nor the estimated timing of a conclusion to the negotiations with Sri Lanka.

Hindustani Times

Nearly 1000 trade unions in the country will be joining the all-island one day token strike to be held tomorrow (28) and the railway operations will also cease from midnight today (27) in support, said the Railway Trade Union Alliance speaking to media this afternoon.

“Many Railway Department bodies including the railway tracks, industrial units, track divisions as well as railway offices and administration offices are joining the strike. These railway workers have contributed to the success of the one-day token strike from midnight today to midnight tomorrow (28). Therefore, we have to say that the train service will not be operational tomorrow” said Convener of the Railway Trade Union Alliance S.P. Withanage.

MIAP

Police have unpinned and thrown away some of the posters set up by anti-government protesters on the fence in front of the Presidential Secretariat.

These posters featured photos of the abducted, assassinated or assaulted journalists in the course of time and demanded justice.

The posters included slain journalists Mailvanagam Nimalarajan, Lasantha Wickramatunga and Dharmaratnam Sivaram, abducted journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda and assaulted journalists Keith Noir and Poddala Jayantha and were thrown away on to the ground by two Police officers in plain clothes.

MIAP

Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe told LNW, Sri Lanka is now confronting a complex economic crisis with extraordinary public health, economic, political, and social implications.

This demands steps that may be difficult, with benefits that are not immediately evident. Given where we are, with a sense of crisis and panic gripping the country, I believe statesmanship is what is required.

We need to listen to the people. Positions in the government don’t matter, we need to immediately address the serious economic problems faced by our people. The next few weeks and months are going to be extremely challenging for the country.

I am willing to assist through parliament to overcome the current economic crisis by working closely with the authorities on their economic program. A timely resolution of the crisis is possible with a good economic plan, he noted.

In the backdrop where a President and a Government were elected with a 6.9 million mandate along with a two-thirds majority in Parliament only to deceive the country, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya has no deal with the corrupt whatsoever, said Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa emphasised today (27).

Certain politicians dependent of ravens-like corrupt leaders of the government are accusing the SJB of dealing with the corrupt, which would be baseless, he noted, reminding that today is the International Crow and Raven Appreciation Day.

The ‘Samagi Bala Pa Gamana’ walk fighting for freedom organised by the SJB against the oppressive government commenced its second day in Mawanella today. Leader of the Opposition Premadasa together with a large number of public representatives of the SJB are joining the walk.

“My friends, how on earth are we dealing with the government? When the youth generation of this country is fighting in hundred thousands without any political affiliation at the Galleface sacrificing their lives, should we be making deal with this corrupt regime? What a joke! My friends, these accusers are demonstrating the internal crisis of the government. One faction urges the President to step down, one urges the Prime Minister to stay, one says the President must stay and another urges the Prime Minister to go home. When we do not take part of this corrupt regime, we are being accused of dealing with them. We have a deal with the 22 million people who live in the grassroots of this country, not with the corrupt regime.” Premadasa commented.

MIAP