More Sri Lankans to slip into poverty this year, warns World Bank



More Sri Lankans will slip into this year, the has warned, as it urged the debt-ridden island nation to undertake urgent policy measures to address the high levels of debt, trim the fiscal deficit, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable.


is currently in the throes of an unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.





The crisis is caused in part by a lack of foreign currency, which has meant that the country cannot afford to pay for imports of staple foods and fuel, leading to acute shortages and very high prices.


Around 11.7 per cent of people in earn less than USD 3.20 per day, the line for lower-middle income countries, up from 9.2 per cent in 2019, the Bank said in its Spring Update on the South Asian region.


The other reason for the increase in rates in the country was because the government’s Samurdhi programme, which covers around 1.2 million poor families in the country, remained inadequate.


Less than half of the poor were beneficiaries of the Samurdhi, Sri Lanka’s social safety net programme, and benefit amounts remain largely inadequate, it said.


Due to the pandemic, the Sri Lankan has contracted by 3.6 per cent in 2020, it stated.


The World Bank’s April 2022 update of Macro Poverty Outlook for asserted that the heightened fiscal and external risks as well as the challenging political situation pose significant uncertainty to the economic outlook and the country faces an external financing gap in 2022 and beyond.


Sri Lanka’s economic outlook is highly uncertain due to the fiscal and external imbalances. Urgent policy measures are needed to address the high levels of debt and debt service, reduce the fiscal deficit, restore external stability, and mitigate the adverse impacts on the poor and vulnerable, the development lender said in its twice-a-year regional update.


The necessary adjustments may adversely affect growth and impact poverty initially, but it will correct the significant imbalances, subsequently providing the foundation for stronger and sustainable growth and access to financial markets, it added.


Last week, the readied a USD 10 million package to Sri Lanka for the purchase of medicines and other essentials.


Sri Lanka needs at least USD 4 billion to tide over its mounting economic woes, and talks with international institutions such as the as well as countries like China and Japan for financial assistance have been going on.


Sri Lankan officials led by Finance Minister Ali Sabry were in Washington last week to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.


India has agreed to extend an additional USD 500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel.


India has already agreed to defer USD 1.5 billion in import payments that Sri Lanka needs to make to the Asian Clearing Union.


Last week, the Sri Lankan government said it would temporarily default on USD 35.5 billion in foreign debt as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine made it impossible to make payments to overseas creditors.


Thousands of demonstrators have hit the streets since April 9, clamoring for the removal of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, blaming him for the gross mismanagement of the .

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor



business-standard.com

Share