The Sri Lanka vibe is changing – By Dr Harold Gunatillake
The Economist-An interview with the president of Sri Lanka Concretely though, there’s more fuel in the country,
the QR code system seems to be a big success, and the fuel queues have vanished. There are more cars and auto rickshaws on the street.
What steps have been taken in the past three weeks to have changed the mood of the country?
Soup kitchens in crisis-hit Sri Lanka are feeding the poor. People stand in a queue to receive food at a community kitchen in Colombo The Economist interviewed the president of Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 14th. The country was obviously in crisis last time they were in Sri Lanka. They said,” We got in last night, and the vibe has changed tremendously. It’s visible on the street, on the way in from the airport.
What has happened since July 21st to have caused that change?
Ranil Wickremesinghe said: Firstly, I think people wanted law and order. Many people are losing out…employed people can’t go to work. They had complaints about the government, but when President Gotabaya [Rajapaksa, Mr Wickremesinghe’s predecessor] left, they were willing to give us another chance. The president’s election went constitutionally, parliament Felicitation to a Learned & Generous Retiree. Doc. Harold Gunatilleke, an iconic and renowned figure in the Medical & Social Community Services Dwelling whole-heartedly in the field of Medicine with pride and zest Adhering to the concept of “Never rest until you have done your Best.”
A retiree who continues to give his vastknowledge in medicine By way of his continuous News-Letters and video presentations With practical and absorbing advice/information leading to longevity & healthy lifestyles While others of his calibre have since retired and live /on their laurels Doc. Harold continues with his passion for helping his fellow human beings By continuously giving a hand to all those who wish to follow his advisories And by his conduct & example that his character exemplifies In addition, he re-lives his passion for his Motherland in whichever way he rekindles The many video presentations to highlight its history and current situations For all his humane workin propagating health & its’ attributes And for his noted good community social services The Government of Australia has recognised his significant contributions And hence conferred upon him a prestigious accolade that he so richly deserves That of “the Order of Australia Medal”; in recognition of health & human services Let’s facilitate & thank this Icon with all our sincere good wishes Noor Rahim August 24 2022 https://youtu.be/pMXa1NKjV0w voted, and has taken on the existing cabinet so we can call for an all-party government, with people from outside within the committee system.
We will devise some new mechanisms for that. People know that we are going in for a tough time. And they want to get out of it as soon as possible. Even those that supported the aragalaya [the protest movement], from about the end of May, were tired of [the chaos]. And they didn’t expect the violence that took place on the 9th and the 13th.
Regarding the IMF bailout, Mr Wickremasinghe said, We’ve been discussing, there are about three items that have been finalised, and the team is coming. You’re also picking up the discussions with Lazard and Clifford Chance [Sri Lanka’s financial and legal advisers]. The problem is that the disturbances of July pushed back the time for this to go ahead.
If we get the board agreement, we can get some of the other organisations’ advances and get us some money until the tranche comes through. But more than that, it will inspire investor confidence. We speak to some other countries, too. The main issue after that is debt sustainability. First, we have to tackle this with the significant official donors; then, for the first time, you’d have to go to the London Club [of private creditors].
The situation today, as we observe, is that the long queues for fuel have vanished. The noise of traffic has returned. So have the crab and cassava-chip hawkers on the seaside promenade and the ambling families munching their snacks. The protesters are gone, some evicted by force, the rest eventually leaving voluntarily. The security presence has dwindled, too. Power cuts, although still commonplace, are markedly shorter. A sense of normality has returned. IMF eyes creditor assurances as it prepares for Sri Lanka visit The International Monetary Fund said it would need “adequate assurances” from Sri Lanka’s creditors for a new program as it prepares a visit to Colombo later this month. The goal of the visit is to make progress on a staff-level agreement for an aid package “in the near term” to help the island nation weather a severe economic crisis, the IMF said on Friday.
The IMF said that staff from the global lender would be in Colombo from August 24 to 31. “Because Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the IMF Executive Board of the Extended Fund Facility program would require adequate assurances by Sri Lanka’s creditors that debt sustainability will be restored,” the IMF said. Reuters reported on Thursday that Sri Lanka would ask Japan to invite the Indian Ocean island’s leading creditor nations, including China and India, to talks on bilateral debt restructuring.
The IMF said that staff from the global lender would be in Colombo from August 24 to 31. The loan package negotiated with the IMF is for between $2 billion and $3 billion, according to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who said he would present an interim budget in September focusing on fiscal consolidation measures agreed with the IMF.
Sri Lanka Central Bank Governor Weerasinghe on Rate Hike, IMF Talks Central Bank of Sri Lanka Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe discusses monetary and fiscal policies, the outlook for the economy, and the talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout. The central bank raised borrowing costs to rein in record prices that have stoked Asia’s fastest inflation. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday that talks with
the IMF are complicated because the nation is bankrupt. Governor Weerasinghe speaks on “Bloomberg Markets: Asia.” That was the talk given by Governor Weerasinghe on rate hikes. I hope this presentation was useful
Stay safe, stay well, Goodbye for now.
Felicitation to a Learned & Generous Retiree
Doc. Harold Gunatilleke, an iconic and renowned figure in the Medical & Social Community Services
Dwelling whole-heartedly in the field of Medicine with pride and zest Adhering to the concept of “Never rest until you have done your Best.”
A retiree who continues to give his vastknowledge in medicine By way of his continuous News-Letters and video presentations With practical and absorbing advice/information leading to longevity & healthy lifestyles.
While others of his calibre have since retired and live /on their laurels Doc. Harold continues with his passion for helping his fellow human beings By continuously giving a hand to all those who wish to follow his advisories
And by his conduct & example that his character exemplifies
In addition, he re-lives his passion for his Motherland in whichever way he rekindles The many video presentations to highlight its history and current situations For all his humane workin propagating health & its’ attributesAnd for his noted good community social services The Government of Australia has recognised his significant
contributions And hence conferred upon him a prestigious accolade that he so richly deserves
That of “the Order of Australia Medal”; in recognition of health & human services Let’s facilitate & thank this Icon with all our sincere good wishes
Noor Rahim August 24 2022
