Sri Lanka’s embattled Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has proposed to amend the Constitution to meet the aspirations of the people by incorporating the positive aspects of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, according to media reports on Tuesday, as the country faced its worst economic crisis in decades which has led to anti-government protests. Rajapaksa said he pays special attention to the requests from various quarters to create a government that is accountable to the people.
Based on those requests, he hopes to present to the Cabinet a new proposal for a constitutional amendment incorporating the positive aspects of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, the Colombo Page reported. It is my hope that the amended Constitution will be able to achieve the aspirations of the people, the Premier said in a statement on Monday.
Sri Lanka’s leader dropped two of his brothers and a nephew from his cabinet Monday, following public anger over the ruling family’s mismanagement of a crippling economic crisis and calls for his resignation. The new cabinet retains PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, Gotabaya’s older brother and the head of Sri Lanka’s ruling clan, while leaving out eldest sibling Chamal and younger brother Basil, the former finance minister.
Mahinda’s eldest son Namal, who ran the sports ministry and had been touted as a future leader before the crisis, was also dropped. The 21-member cabinet is seven people fewer than its predecessor, which resigned en masse two weeks ago in response to public outrage over nepotism and corruption.
The new session of Sri Lanka’s parliament will sit starting Tuesday until April 22.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has presided over the island nation’s most painful downturn in memory and his government is preparing for imminent bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
Dozens of lawmakers have turned against the administration and opposition parties have rebuffed invitations to join a unity government from the president, who insists he will remain in office to guide Sri Lanka through the crisis.
Here are the latest updates on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis:
• Sri Lanka police on Tuesday fired at anti-government protesters, killing one person, AFP reported.
• Chinese government has decided to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka to help the country cope with the current economic difficulties, a spokesperson for the China International Development Cooperation Agency said on Tuesday.
• India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman met her Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry here and assured him that as a close friend and good neighbour, India will try to extend all possible cooperation and assistance to the island nation amidst its worst economic crisis.
• The Prime Minister is expected to propose to the Cabinet a Constitutional Amendment that would include the Executive, Judiciary and the Legislature,” a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
• Sri Lanka’s state oil entity has raised its retail price from Monday midnight, a day after the Indian Oil Company’s local operation raised its prices, adding to the woes of the people who are impacted by the island nation’s worst economic crisis. The state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation’s (CPC) new price of 92 octane petrol Rs 338 per litre is an increase of Rs 84 and now matches the per litre price of Lankan Indian oil company.
• Former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka said the government failed to respond to the problems faced by the people. “This is the reason the people have taken to the streets. If the govt is a total failure, then the Supreme court can’t do anything,” Sarath Nanda Silva said.
• In the first meeting since President Gotabaya Rajapaksa declared a state of emergency following massive protests over the country’s economic crisis, the new cabinet will reconvene today.
• The increase came as Sri Lanka’s new finance minister Ali Sabry led a delegation to Washington seeking between $3 billion and $4 billion from the IMF to overcome the balance-of-payments crisis and boost depleted reserves.
• A key fuel retailer in Sri Lanka raised prices by up to 35 percent on Monday as the cash-strapped government was set to open crucial bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund. Lanka IOC, a fuel retailer which accounts for a third of the local market, said it raised the diesel price by 75 rupees to 327 a litre while petrol was increased by 35 rupees to 367 rupees ($1.20).
• Speaking to his newly inducted Cabinet Ministers, President Gotabaya termed his decision to ban chemical fertilisers in farming “a mistake” and that corrective steps were being taken now.
• The government last week announced a sovereign default on its huge foreign debt and the Colombo Stock Exchange announced trading would be halted for five days from Monday amid fears of a market collapse.
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