COLOMBO: Sri Lanka requested its abroad nationals to send money home to help pay for food and gasoline after defaulting on its $51 billion international debt.
The island country is suffering from its greatest economic crisis since 1948, with significant shortages of key products and frequent outages.
Authorities are dealing with public outrage and rallies calling for the government’s resignation ahead of IMF bailout talks.
“Support the country at this important time by providing much needed foreign cash,” stated Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe.
His appeal came a day after the government declared it would postpone all debt repayments to free up funds for gas, medications, and other needs.
And he told Sri Lankan expatriates that money would be spent where it was most needed.
Food, gasoline, and medications would be imported alone, Weerasinghe stated in a statement.
The default on Tuesday will save Sri Lanka nearly $200 million in interest payments due on Monday, he added.
Sri Lankans living overseas have so far rejected Weerasinghe’s request.
“We’d want to contribute, but we can’t trust the government with our money,” one Australian Sri Lankan doctor told AFP.
A Sri Lankan software developer in Canada doubted the funds would get to the poor.
In December 2004, the island got millions of dollars in relief after the tragedy claimed at least 31,000 lives.
Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was obliged to refund tsunami assistance payments transferred to his personal account, was said to have pocketed a large portion of the international financial donations meant for survivors
The coronavirus epidemic hit Sri Lanka hard as tourism stopped and remittances suffered.
The government issued a broad import embargo to preserve diminishing foreign currency reserves for debt servicing.
Because of this, day-long lineups for petrol and kerosene, used for cooking stoves in poorer families, have formed around the island.
Since the previous month, at least eight individuals have perished in gasoline lines.
The shortages have ruined the ceremony of creating milk rice at an astrologically opportune moment, with both components rare.
Economists blame the government’s incompetence, years of accumulating debt, and ill-advised tax cuts for the disaster.
The major opposition SJB party stated Wednesday that those responsible for the crisis should be prosecuted.
Crowds tried to attack government leaders’ residences, but security officers dispersed them with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Thousands of people protested outside President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s oceanfront office in Colombo for the sixth day on Wednesday.
