Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe said the bankrupt country has taken difficult measures and is pushing closer toward securing an IMF loan to address the worst economic crisis in its independent history.
Wickremesinghe laid out his policies for recovery while calling for unity during his so-called Throne Speech at a new session of parliament yesterday, marking the 75th year of independence from British rule, which it commemorated on Saturday.
“We have now reached the final stage of negotiations with the IMF. We have no other way but this process,” the president told parliament.
Photo: AP
Since coming to power after former Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned in May last year following weeks of street protests, Wickremesinghe has been pushing toward the US$2.9 billion IMF loan program to help the island nation out of its economic malaise.
Western lenders on Tuesday stepped up pressure on China to stop playing solo and join the international effort to provide debt relief to Sri Lanka amid growing fears that Beijing’s unilateral positioning might delay and complicate the financial rescue of the South Asian nation like in the case of Zambia.
“We are in direct discussions with China,” Wickremesinghe said yesterday. “We have received positive responses from all parties. We are now working toward unifying the approaches of other countries and that of China.”
Wickremesinghe has also made some efforts at political reforms to curb sweeping powers granted to the president in a bid to calm public anger that climaxed with the ousting of Rajapaksa and called for unity among political parties to foster reconciliation, given it has been more than a decade since the end of the island’s long-drawn war with the Tamil Tiger rebels.
Wickremesinghe summoned an all-party conference on Jan. 26 to discuss implementing a so-called 13th amendment to the constitution that calls for devolving powers to the provinces — a bid to promote reconciliation and appease the international community.
“We expect to devolve power within a unitary state,” Wickremesinghe said in his speech. “There will be no division of the country.”
In his budget for this year, the president, who also doubles as the finance minister, sharply increased taxes and pledged to curtail spending to narrow the fiscal deficit, wean the economy away from populist policies and unlock the IMF funds.
Sri Lanka’s foreign currency reserves have been below US$2 billion for months. The nation has relied on repurposed funds and aid from friendly countries to ease crippling shortages and stay afloat amid a deep recession, inflation that is above 50 percent and borrowing costs that jumped 950 basis points last year.
“Due to the measures taken, we have been successful in reducing the burden gradually. Now there is stability in the economy. However it is not yet over,” the president said.
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