By Obiabin Onukwugha
The Sri Lankan government has announced a record $320 million relief package for vulnerable persons across the country.
The intervention is to cushion the effect of the soaring energy cost propelled by the Middle East war on farmers, fishermen, and low-income households across the country.
Sri Lankan President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who announced the intervention on Tuesday, said the package, which is the biggest state handout ever, will be paid directly into the accounts of thousands of fishermen, rice and tea farmers.
Dissanayake highlighted that those living below the poverty line, about 25 percent of the country’s population, will get an additional $25 in April to celebrate the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year festivals, and also have their electricity bills subsidised.
“The total relief package is valued at 100 billion rupees ($320 million) over three months. We are funding this through the existing budget,” he said.
He emphasised that “the government was keen to avoid a repeat of the 2022 meltdown, when the country saw record inflation of 70 percent after the government printed money to fund subsidies.”
The president also stated that the government was hopeful of drawing down the next tranche of about $700 million from the IMF by the end of next month, following the conclusion of a staff-level agreement with the Washington-based lender this week.
“Under the latest scheme, fishermen using smaller boats will get up to about $300 a month fuel subsidy, while operators of bigger boats will get about $483 a month for three months.
“For farmers, the government will absorb about 30 percent of the cost of urea fertiliser, he said, adding that the state will also bear part of electricity generation costs, up to 15 billion rupees ($48 million),” Dissanayake said.
Channels reported that a four-day working week introduced last month will be discontinued this week, as officials said the Wednesday day off had not led to expected energy savings.
