A state of emergency has been declared in Sri Lanka amid ongoing nationwide protests over the severe economic crisis. The state of emergency was declared in the official gazette on Friday night. News Reuters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Regarding the state of emergency, Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said the decision was taken to maintain public safety, order and supply of essential commodities and emergency services.
Over the past few months, imports of goods to Sri Lanka have been hampered by the reserve crisis. As a result, the prices of daily necessities are increasing uncontrollably. In the midst of a massive energy crisis, deaths have been reported from standing in line for hours to get kerosene from the stove.
More than 13 hours of load shedding is taking place daily due to power outage due to oil crisis. Schools have stopped taking exams due to lack of papers. The printing of daily newspapers is being disrupted.
Sri Lanka is facing the biggest economic crisis in its post-independence history. The country’s leaders have sought to avoid responsibility for the crisis, claiming it was the result of the Easter bombings in April 2019 and the Kovid-19 epidemic that began in February 2020, but this is not the case.
Certainly these two shocks have significantly reduced the flow of tourism in the country’s tourism industry and have had some negative effects on the economic sector. But remember, tourism is only a small part of the country’s economy. The country’s annual income from the tourism sector is 400 million. This amounts to 20 to 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. In other words, the contribution of tourism to the real GDP is only 1.5 percent.
The Kovid-19 epidemic, in turn, led the country to a long-term lockdown. Its push has derailed the country’s economy from the path of normal growth. But even that could be quickly corrected through appropriate policy. But the crisis in Sri Lanka did not arise suddenly, but as the country began to deteriorate in 2012, the current crisis is the ultimate consequence.
We see Sri Lanka as it is today as a result of being driven by an inappropriate economic strategy adopted by the then government in 2005. Sri Lankan leaders have leaned towards a domestic economic policy with an emphasis on developing the country’s war-torn economy. The country has amassed wealth and prosperity through international trade for more than three millennia they have not kept that in mind. As a result, the export sector did not get the recognition it deserved. This is evident from the decline in exports compared to the growth of gross domestic product (GDP).
