NCE urges political stability in the country

The National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka urges the government to stabilize the crumbling political system and economy of the country by paying attention to the voice of the common people. Sri Lanka is currently facing the worst political instability and economic crisis since independence due to manifold reasons both short and long term. The recent upheaval by the general public and seizing of the Presidents’ House and the Temple Trees clearly indicates the weakness of ruling parties to address the detrimental issues crippling the country.

Pressure on both President and Prime Minister has escalated as the country’s socio-economic meltdown has led to acute shortages of essential items, medicine, fuel and domestic gas, to name a few, leaving people struggling to survive on a day to day basis. Managing the shortage of foreign exchange within the shortest possible time and restore the supply of goods and services has become the priority. In order to bring solutions, the recently appointed Premier has initiated crucial talks with the International Monitory Fund for a bailout program and with the World Food Program to prepare for a predicted food crisis.

According to reports, IMF officials have stated that they are closely monitoring the ongoing developments in Sri Lanka and hope for an early resolution of the current situation to allow for resumption of the dialog between IMF and the Sri Lankan Government. Yet, with the nature of incidents currently taking place indicates much-anticipated IMF bailout will be delayed deepening the crisis. It is therefore the utmost duty of all political parties to arrest the situation and stabilize the country.

The NCE strongly suggest that leaving aside all political indifferences, the government must introduce prudential policies and if necessary drawing from industry best practices followed worldwide to uplift the crumbling economy. While doing so, the country’s present situation must be controlled in order to obtain the projected support from the IMF and any other nations who are economically sound. The supply of essential items, primarily fuel and domestic gas needs to be stabilized. Most importantly, the government must ensure the entire system is resurrected, supported and strengthened within a short period of time to guarantee important functions are carried out without any interruptions which include Customs, Ports and Public Transport etc.