Sri Lanka’s Rupee is depreciating at a faster pace than during the country’s worst economic crisis period, according to Sarvajana Balaya leader and MP Dilith Jayaweera.
Addressing a media briefing (15), Jayaweera claimed that the government’s import and export policies had not been implemented based on an independent economic vision, but rather on external advice.
He said his party had previously warned that the US Dollar would appreciate against the Rupee and argued that policy decisions had contributed to the current trend.
“Vehicles were imported using Dollars while taxes were collected in Rupees. Rupees were generated while Dollars flowed out,” he said.
Jayaweera further claimed that industries were already facing severe difficulties and warned that the country was heading toward a broader economic challenge.
He also cautioned that unless policy decisions were changed urgently, the economic contraction could begin affecting the public in the near future, leading to wider social consequences.
“We have never seen the Rupee collapse at this speed. Even during the worst period, it did not fall this rapidly,” he said. (Newswire)