The country is again at risk of bankruptcy - Sajith

As Sri Lanka once again faces a serious risk of bankruptcy, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa emphasizes that the government should set aside its boasting and urgently enter into the next successor agreement with the IMF, or the International Monetary Fund.

The Opposition Leader made this statement while participating in an initial discussion to establish the party's teachers' union, held at the Samagi Jana Balawegaya party headquarters in Colombo.

While the current President travels across the island attempting to show that there is no economic crisis in the country and claims that Sri Lanka has sufficient dollar reserves, the Opposition Leader pointed out that current statistics clearly illustrate the true precarious situation the country is in. He stated that although the government claims the country possesses $7 billion in reserves, the actual reserve amount is significantly less than $7 billion because billions of Chinese Yuan within those reserves cannot be utilized.

According to internationally recognized methods, any country's foreign reserves should be sufficient to cover at least three months of import expenses, but Sri Lanka currently lacks such a situation. He explained that the country's monthly import expenditure is $2 billion, and under current conditions, there are insufficient foreign reserves to cover imports for the next three months. Although the amount of foreign remittances received by the country has increased to $8 billion, he also warned that if the war situation in the Middle East region further escalates, it would severely impact the country's economy.

The Opposition Leader accused the government of not holding any discussions regarding the severe risk of job losses for Sri Lankan migrant workers in the Middle East if the region's economy collapses. He noted that while neighboring countries like India provided various aid and assistance to Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2022, the opportunity to obtain such aid is now lost amidst the current global and local economic crises. Sajith Premadasa further stated that while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has correctly informed his country's people about the true situation, the rulers of this country have not yet acted with such transparency, and therefore, the people have a right to understand the true reality of the country.