Sri Lanka through its energy minister has issued a warning regarding the country’s gasoline supplies in light of the worst economic crisis the country has seen in more than 70 years.
On Sunday, Kanchana Wijesekera claimed that the nation barely had enough fuel to meet typical demand for less than a day. He also mentioned that the company would not receive its next cargo of fuel for over two weeks.
Sri Lanka banned sales of gasoline and diesel for non-essential cars this week as a result of its financial difficulties in paying for imports of food, medicine, and fuel. However, Mr. Wijesekera told reporters that there are still 4,061 tonnes of gasoline and 12,774 tonnes of diesel on hand in the country.
Mr. Wijesekera warned that the nation does not have enough money to cover the planned fuel and crude oil imports. Diesel is anticipated to arrive during the weekend, though.
He claimed that the $125 million Sri Lanka’s state bank could provide would be much less than the $587 million needed for its anticipated petroleum supplies.
The country owed seven vendors $800 million for transactions made earlier in the year, Mr. Wijesekera said.
Last Monday, Sri Lanka restricted the sale of gasoline for private vehicles for two weeks.
Experts claim that it is the first country since the US and Europe implemented fuel rationing in reaction to the oil crisis of the 1970s to take such a drastic step as to stop selling gasoline to the general population.
The 22 million-person island country is experiencing its biggest economic crisis since achieving independence from the UK in 1948 because it does not have the foreign currency necessary to pay for the importation of necessities.
The nation, where a large portion of the population depends on automobiles for their livelihood, has seen severe shortages of food, medication, and gasoline, which has pushed the cost of living to record highs. Additionally, it has led to violent public protests.
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The government blamed the Covid outbreak, which severely affected Sri Lanka’s tourist business and is one of its key sources of foreign cash. However, a lot of specialists claim that the problem is inadequate economic management.
For the first time ever, the country failed to make a payment on its foreign debt in May.
The normally bustling streets of Colombo’s capital feel like a city on lockdown as they are now noticeably quieter. Because there is a shortage of fuel, people have been urged to stay at home as much as possible.
However, there are often lengthy lineups outside of gas stations. Military personnel guard the forecourts and keep an eye on the pumps because gasoline has surpassed gold in value here.
Along with the battle for gasoline, food is a continual threat. Since food inflation for the month of June was approximately 80%, many Sri Lankans skip meals. According to the nonprofit organization Unicef, more than two-thirds of the country have cut back on their food intake this year.
According to its Sri Lankan spokesperson’s remark to the BBC, this island nation may experience a humanitarian crisis in the upcoming months.
The cash-strapped nation has also sent delegates to Russia and Qatar, two major energy producers, in an effort to secure cheap oil supplies.
