A puzzled leader in Sri Lanka dropped his two brothers and his nephew from his cabinet on Monday.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presides over the island nation’s most traumatic memory deterioration, and his government is preparing for imminent bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Dozens of lawmakers have opposed the administration, opposition has refused the president’s invitation to a unified government, and the president claims to stay in Sri Lanka to survive the crisis.
Nonetheless, massive protests demanded the eviction of Rajapaksa, including tens of thousands of people camping outside his seaside office for over a week.
The new cabinet retains Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s older brother and head of the ruling party in Sri Lanka, excluding his older brother Chamal, his younger brother Basil, and a former finance minister.
Mahinda’s eldest son, Namal, who ran the Ministry of Sports and was touted as a future leader before the crisis, also resigned.
The 21-member cabinet is seven less than its predecessor, who resigned all at once two weeks ago in response to public anger at nepotism and corruption.
The Minister is entitled to several SUVs, a large delegation of bodyguards, unlimited fuel, and state housing and entertainment benefits.
New Treasury Minister Ali Sabley led a delegation to Washington over the weekend to meet with the International Monetary Fund from Tuesday, officials said.
Sri Lanka is asking the IMF for $ 3-4 billion to overcome the balance of payments crisis and increase its depleted reserves.
-Fuel costs skyrocket again-
In addition to a serious shortage, Sri Lanka also faces record inflation and long-term power outages as the government runs out of foreign currency to import fuel.
Lanka IOC, a gasoline retailer that occupies one-third of the local market, announced a further surge in fuel costs on Monday to explain the depreciation of the local currency.
The cost of diesel, the most commonly used fuel in public transport, has risen 138% since the beginning of the year, while gasoline prices have almost doubled.
Last week, the government announced a default of Sri Lanka’s $ 51 billion external debt, and the Colombo Stock Exchange suspended trading to prevent the expected market collapse.
After the former allies abandoned the ruling coalition, the majority of Rajapaksa’s parliament was questioned.
Opposition parties said they would try to overthrow the government through a vote of no confidence in the coming weeks.
On Monday, protests were held outside Rajapaksa’s office for 10 consecutive days, and demonstrators set up protest camps, which they said would continue until the leaders stood aside.
Activists blamed corruption, shined a digital projection of the office demanding the president to “go home,” and urged police to lift the big screen to block the rays.
AFP
