brand logo

‘Acknowledge the economic crisis’ 

22 Nov 2021

  • Gammanpila asks Govt. to admit that SL has a problem
  • Says finding solutions impossible without acknowledgement
    Minister of Energy Udaya Gammanpila stated in Parliament on Saturday (20) that Sri Lanka is facing the biggest economic challenge it has ever faced in the history of the nation and called on the Government to accept this reality in order to address it.  “Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst economic challenge we have ever faced in the history of the nation. The challenges we are facing include lack of foreign exchange, inflation, unemployment, balance of payment deficit, and budget deficit. While the poor people might not be able to comprehend such big words or understand economics, they too are feeling the pinch of the economic crisis. The first step forward is acknowledging that we do have a problem in the country,” he said. Gammanpila further claimed that unless a person accepts the problem before him, he cannot find a solution to the said problem.  Currently, Sri Lanka is facing a severe foreign exchange liquidity crisis due to which the importation of essential goods such as fuel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), milk powder, and cement has been severely impacted, causing sporadic shortages throughout the year. In addition, Sri Lanka’s inflation in the 12-month period leading up to October 2021 has reached 7.8%, which is the highest level of inflation recorded since October 2017. Similarly, unemployment reached 5.2% during 4Q2020 up 0.7% YoY. Moreover, the budget deficit in 2021 is estimated to be in double digits in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the second consecutive year at 11.1% (2020: 14%).  However, a common criticism levelled against the Government by its critics and the opposition is that it has routinely underplayed the economic crisis facing the country and its insistence on favouring short-term economic policies instead of comprehensive structural changes has played a role in the worsening of the current economic crisis.  This sentiment was echoed by Gammanpila in Parliament, where he claimed: “The Government is currently in denial of the existence of the economic crisis like an ostrich who hides his head under the sand and assumes he is out of sight. With this mentality, we will not be able to come out of the situation we are in now.”  Gammanpila further claimed that he had warned of this situation as recently as June of this year when he asserted that Sri Lanka is facing an economic crisis and is at the inception of a severe foreign exchange crisis. “This problem we are facing is simply that the Government doesn’t have rupees and the country doesn’t have dollars,” he stated.  According to Gammanpila, the root cause for this crisis is the fact that Sri Lankans, as a nation, are known to spend beyond their means.  “Since 1995, all budgets have involved a deficit, with expenditure exceeding revenue and we have taken foreign currency-denominated loans to finance such deficits. Whatever political party, be it green, red, yellow, purple, or maroon, they have all played a part in the creation of this crisis. By taking loans and spending now, all we are doing is taking funds from our future generations for our temporary needs now, and they will have to pay the debts,” Gammanpila stressed.   Moreover, according to Gammanpila, this crisis was inevitable and the Covid-19 pandemic merely brought the crisis forward. He further claimed that this same crisis would have unfolded even if Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Leader Sajith Premadasa had become the President in 2019. Further, he argued: “Instead of uniting at this time of crisis we have divided ourselves along party lines and even into groups within the same parties and are content playing a blame game instead of uniting to find a solution.”

Kapruka

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!


More News..