Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, July 29: The World Bank does not intend to provide new financing to Sri Lanka until the island nation, which is going through its greatest crisis, has put in place an acceptable macroeconomic policy framework.
Deep structural adjustments are required, according to a statement from the international financial organisation.
To ensure that Sri Lanka’s future recovery and growth are robust and inclusive, reforms must prioritise economic stabilisation as well as address the fundamental structural issues that led to this catastrophe.
The World Bank Group expressed its great worry over Sri Lanka’s catastrophic economic position and its effects on its people in relation to the ongoing crisis.
“To help alleviate severe shortages of essential items such as medicines, cooking gas, fertilizer, meals for school children, and cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, we are repurposing resources under existing loans in our portfolio. To date, about $160 million of these funds have been disbursed to meet urgent needs,” the statement said.
Additionally, other ongoing initiatives keep supporting fundamental services, the distribution of medication and medical supplies, school meals, and tuition subsidies.
To ensure that our assistance to the Sri Lankan people has the greatest possible impact, we are also working closely with other development partners.
Notably, peaceful demonstrations started in March as a result of the significant shortages of basic necessities, such as food and fuel, experienced by many Sri Lankans. Both Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country’s former prime minister, and his brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, left the country on July 13 and announced their resignations the next day as a result of the demonstrations.
With the backing of the Rajapaksas’ political party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Ranil Wickremesinghe was voted as the new president by parliament on July 20 after taking office as interim president. Peramuna Podujana
Sri Lanka is going through a severe economic crisis, and the country’s government has stopped paying its foreign debts. 5.7 million people ‘need emergency humanitarian assistance,’ the UN warned.
