Economic crisis in Sri Lanka: no school exams for lack of paper
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa (center), accompanied by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (3rd from left), during the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Beijing.
Colombo, January 9, 2022. AFP - ISHARA S. KODIKARA
Text by: Côme Bastin Follow
2 mins
School exams are canceled for millions of students in Sri Lanka for lack of paper.
This is the latest rebound from a terrible economic crisis, which has hit the country since the Covid-19 epidemic.
Advertising
Read more
With our correspondent in the region,
Côme Bastin
No paper or ink to organize exams.
This is surprising and alarming.
The more time passes, the more the crisis and shortages affect all sectors in Sri Lanka.
At the beginning of this month of March, all public transport came to a standstill for lack of petrol.
At the beginning of this year, food prices jumped by almost 20%.
Henceforth, it is the country's printers who are out of ink, which affects three million students.
The situation is becoming catastrophic and all these problems have the same explanation each time: Sri Lanka is short of foreign currency to supply itself on foreign markets.
“Before, we were short of dollars to import food.
Now we don't have rupees to buy the dollars,” summed up the country's energy minister recently.
Why did we come to such a situation?
Sri Lanka is a small island far from being self-sufficient, which therefore relies on many imports to meet the needs of its population.
However, the main supplier of foreign currency were the many tourists who came to visit the archaeological sites and the splendid landscapes of Sri Lanka.
And these tourists have deserted since the Islamist attacks of Easter 2019, then the Covid-19 epidemic that followed.
The country now seems caught in a downward spiral.
Last week, the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada warned their citizens of the dangers of traveling to Sri Lanka due to shortages of medicine, food and fuel.
How is the government trying to respond?
The country is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Sri Lanka would first like to reschedule the very large debt it has contracted, particularly with China, which is showing itself to be rather intransigent.
The port of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, has already passed under Chinese control following an irrepayable debt.
So, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa moves away from Beijing and turns to new interlocutors.
He calls for help from the International Monetary Fund and India, which has granted him loans to finance the purchase of foodstuffs.
Beyond short-term solutions, Colombo wants to change its economic model and attract foreign investment, particularly Indian companies.
The country plans to open computer parks with tax exemptions and rapid authorizations, but all this will take time.
In an address to the nation, the President of Sri Lanka warned his fellow citizens that the situation was likely to last.
Within the population, anger is mounting against Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
►Read also: Sri Lanka paralyzed by a very serious fuel crisis which affects transport
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Sri Lanka
Economic crisis
Trade and distribution
Coronavirus
Tourism
Economy