28 July 2021 03:18 pm Views - 2056
Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves have declined to $3 billion from $4 billion with the recent settling of a loan instalment of $1 billion, UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene said today.
Mr. Wijewardene who met party activists of Biyagama said this billion-dollar settlement was a loan which the government had raised by keeping treasury bills as a guarantee.
“The foreign reserves stood at $7 billion when we handed over the government in 2019,” he said.
“Government claims that reserves can be increased, according to the State Minister of Finance. Sri Lanka will get a total of $2.65 billion. India will provide $400 million, Bangladesh $200 million; the government will also borrow $300 million from the Chinese Development Bank. The Central Bank is planning to borrow $200 million from international financial markets. It has been planned to borrow a further $300 million by keeping sovereign bonds of local banks. In addition, IMF is expected to give a grant of $800 million for COVID prevention. Also, the government plans to earn $400 million by selling its assets. The very people who accused us of selling off state assets are doing the same thing,” he alleged.
“It is the Sri Lankan people who will have to settle these loans. Sri Lanka is going to face a fuel shortage and food shortage in the near future. The government had failed to come up with a solution to the closure of LAUGFs gas,” he added.(Yohan Perera)