With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka keeps schools closed

A huge foreign debt has left the Indian Ocean island with none of the suppliers willing to sell fuel on credit. The available stocks, sufficient for only several days, will be provided for essential services, including health and port workers, public transport and food distribution, officials said.

Several other fuel shipments are in the pipeline. But he said authorities are struggling to find US$587 million to pay for the fuel. Wijesekera said that Sri Lanka owed about $800 million to seven fuel suppliers. Wijesekera said the main problem is the lack of dollars and appealed to some two million Sri Lankans working abroad to send their foreign exchange earnings home through banks instead of informal channels.

The drop came after the government last year ordered the mandatory conversion of foreign currency. It said that black-market premiums have led people to hoard foreign currency.

This is far beyond school closings. This is a major humanitarian crisis! Peasants are dying of starvation for lack of food, no medication for the sick, etc. etc. Instead of spending billions on warfare, such situations warrant international aid soon.😢😢

Oh well

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With no fuel and no cash, Sri Lanka keeps schools closedCash-strapped Sri Lanka on Sunday extended school closures for one week because there isn't enough fuel for teachers and parents to get children to classrooms, and the energy minister appealed to the country's expatriates to send money home through banks to finance new oil purchases. Here come the 'education refugees' I’d rather help them than give Ukraine 1 more penny… i'm sure liberals will welcome them over here while putting our own on the back bench!
Source: CP24 - 🏆 30. / 67 Read more »