Sri Lanka's economy worsens, Forex reserves plummeting to USD 500 million
Apr 04, 2022
Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 4 : Financial crisis in Sri Lanka continues to worsen with the Forex reserves plummeting to USD 500 million.
Frequent street protests, including the March 31 campaign organized by the Civil Society organizations outside the residence of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa were staged over the hardships caused by spiraling inflation, extended power outages, and shortages of essential commodities.
Even though the political parties have distanced themselves from these protests Sajith Premadasa, leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan government, has extended moral support to these protests and has separately planned to hold protests across Sri Lanka on April 7.
Sri Lankans on Monday staged a protest at Independence Square in Colombo against the government of Sri Lanka and voiced their demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The country is currently battling a deep economic crisis. On Sunday, 26 Sri Lankan Cabinet Ministers resigned en masse from their positions amid rising public anger against the government over the economic crisis. All 26 of them signed a general letter, consenting to resign paving the way for a new Cabinet to be formed.
Mahinda Rajapaksa will continue to be in the office and all other members of the Cabinet have tendered their resignations to the PM.
The country's government on Saturday blocked access to social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube, but lifted the ban on Sunday afternoon after the PM's son Namal Rajapaksa spoke against it.