Crisis beyond government. control – The Island

Acknowledging the growing difficulties experienced by the people, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa urged them to trust him. Blaming the currency crisis for the current forecast, the President said in a pre-recorded speech last night that he was aware of the shortages of essential items and rising prices and sensitive to the many sufferings that people are having to live during the last two months.

Text of the President’s statement: “I know that this situation will continue for reasons beyond our control, even if we make every effort to deal with these situations.

“I accept responsibility for the actions I take. Today, I am determined to make difficult decisions to find solutions to the inconveniences people are experiencing. I have appointed a National Economic Council and an Advisory Committee for the I will constantly monitor whether the decisions I make within this framework are implemented.Therefore, I ask you first of all to have faith in the actions I will take on behalf of the people.

“I am well aware of the difficulties faced by people. I was able to better understand and deal with all the difficulties faced by the soldiers who were at the forefront of the war against brutal terrorism and the innocent civilians who were affected by the war.

“Our country is not the only country in the world affected by the current crisis situation. The whole world is overwhelmed with various difficulties. Increased shipping costs, rising raw material prices and shortages of certain commodities caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are all beyond our control. However, we have adopted concessional initiatives for the benefit of the population.

“This crisis was not created by me. As those who helped create this crisis criticize the government in front of the people today, I am trying to immediately resolve this crisis and bring relief to the people.

In a crisis situation like this, it is the responsibility of a country’s politicians and intellectuals to collectively find solutions to the problems.

The root cause of the current problems is our currency crisis.

“The projected export earnings for this year are $12 billion, before the floating of the rupee. According to the data of the past two months, we have to bear 22 billion dollars as the import cost this year. As a result, this will result in a trade deficit of $10 billion.

Based on recent data, this year we will receive about $3 billion from tourism, as well as export services such as information technology, and $2 billion from remittances from expatriate workers. As a result, the trade deficit will be $5 billion.

Meanwhile, $6.9 billion will have to be paid in loan installments and sovereign bonds this year. Then there will be a deficit of $11.9 billion.

We plan to generate $2.5 billion in other grants and investments. As a result, there is a total deficit of USD 9.4 billion in foreign currency.

However, once the rupee floats, export earnings are expected to reach $13 billion. It will also reduce the cost of imports from USD 22 billion to USD 20 billion. If that happens, the trade deficit could be reduced to $7 billion. We should aim for this goal.

“We can also expect $4 billion in providing export services and $5 billion in remittances from expatriate workers. As a result, our trade deficit will be $2.4 billion.

“We must act to close this deficit and increase our foreign exchange reserves.

To this end, we have entered into discussions with the international financial institutions as well as with our friendly countries concerning the repayment of the installments of our loans. The government is in talks with various parties to put in place a new method in this regard which will be beneficial to our country. Yesterday’s discussion with the International Monetary Fund was also for this purpose.

Through these discussions, we hope to find a way to repay our annual loan maturities, sovereign bonds, etc. Following my discussions with the International Monetary Fund, I decided to work with them after considering the pros and cons.

“Thanks to some decisions I made recently, we have been able to control import expenses to a large extent. We suspended the import of vehicles two years ago because we had seen this problem in advance In addition, we have encouraged local industries. We have also stopped importing many non-essential food items and taken steps to grow these crops in our own country. We can now see the positive results of these initiatives.

“The most serious problem we face in controlling the cost of imports is the rapid rise in fuel prices on the world market. Generally, more than 20% of our import expenditure is devoted to the purchase of fuel. In the past few months alone, fuel prices on the world market have more than doubled. This is the reason why the increase in fuel prices in our country was inevitable. Fuel is widely used in our country, not only for vehicles, but also for generating electricity.

“Therefore, I have constantly taken steps to discuss and encourage relevant agencies to use renewable energy sources as much as possible.

Therefore, by limiting the use of fuel and electricity as much as possible, citizens can also support the country at this time. I hope you will understand that the responsibility lies with you at this difficult time.

The tourism industry, which has collapsed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is booming. The past two months have seen a marked increase in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka.

Also, due to the acceleration of government provision of infrastructure facilities in the IT and telecommunications sectors, the revenue generated from these sectors is increasing.

“We are a nation that has seen many adversities and at the same time overcome these challenges throughout history. We have faced foreign invasions, great famines, natural disasters and terrorist threats. The way we handled the Covid-19 situation has been praised even by international organizations. However, we all have to understand that we have to face difficulties while implementing problem solutions for some time. Therefore, I urge you all not to be discouraged but to unite as a nation to overcome this crisis.

You asked me to build a safe, disciplined and modern country, as well as a better education for your children. Nearly two and a half years of my tenure have been dedicated to protecting you and your child from the 4

pandemic. I will devote the remaining period of my mandate to the achievement of these initial objectives.

I urge Cabinet, Parliament and civil servants to work together as a team to achieve our desired goal of delivering a better country for our children with great commitment.

I entered politics at your invitation. You have all given me the greatest confidence. I will never betray the trust you have placed in me and I will protect it with great commitment.