THE MELTDOWN IN SRI LANKA

FACED WITH A SERIOUS ECONOMIC CRISIS, THE ISLAND NATION HAS BEEN FORCED TO LOOK OUTWARDS FOR HELP WHICH, IN TURN, IS BURDENING IT WITH HIGH EXTERNAL DEBT

- Namini Wijedasa in Colombo

Sri Lanka is wilting under its worst economic crisis in decades. And battered by shortage after shortage, its citizens are enraged.

Snaking queues of sweat-drenched men and women are a familiar sight in every town and city, waiting for cooking gas, kerosene, diesel and petrol. Lining up starts in the early hours and often continues overnight. Pharmacies are running out of even basic medications like antihistamines and paracetamol. Since February, there have been rolling power cuts because foreign exchange reserves, down by 70 per cent in two years, have dwindled to $ 2.3 billion, too low to procure regular fuel imports for transport or thermal power.

Now, the levels in hydropower reservoirs are dropping. With rains due only in May, water is the next looming scarcity and must be preserved for agriculture, not power generation. On March 29, the government said ongoing interruptions to electricity supply will extend up to 10 hours a day, with the possibility of rising further.

The announcement was met by howls of dismay. A spate of small and medium businesses, including bakeries and restaurants, has already closed down. The country’s budding information and communications technology (ICT) sector, a key foreign exchange earner, will take a hit.

Term tests were put off for lack of paper. The motor traffic department can’t import plastic cards for new driver’s licences. Milk powder, a household staple, had been in short supply since 2021 and is no longer available on supermarket shelves. The local animal husbandry industries cannot afford feed, which is also imported, and domestically-produced liquid milk is scant.