Due to a serious lack of foreign currency, Sri Lanka will limit gasoline imports for the next 12 months, the island nation’s energy minister announced on Monday as the new administration works to find a solution to a dire economic situation.
The 22 million-person nation has been battling a scarcity of necessities like fuel and medicine for months after its foreign exchange reserves ran out as a result of economic mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects.
Kanchana Wijesekera, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power and Energy, tweeted, ‘Due to Forex difficulties, Gasoline imports has to be restricted in the next 12 months,’ providing justification for the implementation of a fuel rationing scheme this week.
One of the first actions Sri Lanka’s new President Ranil Wickremesinghe will take after assuming office last week following a victory in a parliamentary vote to lessen the impact of the crisis is the rationing system.
After widespread demonstrations against his poor handling of the economy and demonstrators storming his official residence and office, his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, departed the country and later announced his resignation earlier this month.
Additionally, Sri Lankan schools were reopened on Monday after being closed for nearly a month due to acute gasoline shortages and political instability.
However, the administration stated in a circular released on Sunday that workers in the public sector were to continue working from home for an additional month.
Post Your Comments