Sri Lanka yesterday ordered civil servants not to express opinions on social media after some officials claimed schoolchildren were fainting from a lack of food due to the country’s dire economic crisis.
In a fresh order to 1.5 million state employees, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Public Administration and Management said a long-established ban on speaking to reporters now extends to social media posts.
“Expressing opinions on social media by a public officer ... shall constitute an offense that leads to taking disciplinary action,” the order said.
Photo: AP
It followed claims from provincial health officials and teachers that dozens of students were fainting in schools because of a lack of food.
Since late last year, Sri Lanka’s 22 million people have been enduring the country’s worst-ever economic crisis after the government ran out of dollars to import many essentials.
This triggered huge shortages and unofficial inflation rates second only to Zimbabwe, as well as protests that led to the ouster of former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July.
Sri Lankan Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella dismissed claims of malnutrition among young children. He said that “politically motivated” public health workers were exaggerating the situation.
However, the World Food Programme said in its latest report that 6 million Sri Lankans — nearly one-third of the island country’s population — are “food insecure and require humanitarian assistance.”
Rajapaksa’s successor, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, has cracked down on anti-government protesters and banned demonstrations in much of the capital.
This month, his government struck a conditional agreement with the IMF on a US$2.9 billion bailout.
The lifeline is dependent on Colombo reaching a deal with creditors to restructure its external debt mountain of about US$51 billion.
Its biggest creditor China has so far not publicly shifted from its offer of issuing more loans instead of taking a cut on outstanding ones.
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