Colombo: Money-strapped Sri Lanka on Sunday prolonged faculty closures for one week as a result of there isn’t sufficient gasoline for academics and oldsters to get youngsters to school rooms.
The vitality minister appealed to the nation’s expatriates to ship cash dwelling via banks to finance new oil purchases.
An autorickshaw driver waits in a queue hoping to get gasoline in Colombo.Credit score:AP
An enormous international debt has left the Indian Ocean island with out suppliers prepared to promote gasoline on credit score. The obtainable shares, enough for under a number of days, might be offered for important providers, together with well being and port employees, public transport and meals distribution, officers stated.
“Discovering cash is a problem. It’s an enormous problem,” Energy and Power Minister Kanchana Wijesekera instructed reporters.
He stated the federal government has ordered new gasoline shares and the primary ship with 40,000 metric tons of diesel is anticipated to reach on Friday, whereas the primary ship carrying gasoline would come on July 22.
A number of different gasoline shipments are within the pipeline, however he stated authorities are struggling to search out the cash wanted to pay for the gasoline. Wijesekera stated that Sri Lanka owed about $US800 million ($1.7 billion) to seven gasoline suppliers.
There may be little cash to be spent at this vegetable market in Colombo.Credit score:Bloomberg/Buddhika Weerasinghe
Final month, faculties had been closed nationwide for a day as a result of gasoline shortages and had remained closed for the final two weeks in city areas. Faculties will stay shut till Friday.
Authorities additionally introduced countrywide energy cuts of as much as three hours a day from Monday as a result of they’ll’t provide sufficient gasoline to energy producing stations. Sweeping energy cuts have been a blight on Sri Lanka’s financial system for months, together with extreme shortages of necessities together with cooking gasoline, drugs and meals imports.
