Sri Lanka: Opposition parties criticise President Ranil Wickremesinghe for expanding his cabinet

Colombo, Sri Lanka

The opposition parties in Sri Lanka have criticised President Ranil Wickremesinghe for expanding his cabinet amid the country's economic crisis.

It comes after Wickremesinghe announced the addition of 37 state ministers, including lawmakers Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Shehan Semasinghe who were sworn in as state ministers in the finance ministry.

Buffeted by runaway annual inflation that stands at almost 65 per cent, the veteran lawmaker has faced an uphill struggle to stabilise the economy.

Since its independence from Britain in 1948, the island of 22 million people is facing its worst economic turmoil.

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Stemming from economic mismanagement, the crisis worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out its key tourism industry.

Leaving the country struggling to pay for essential imports of fuel, food and medicine, foreign exchange reserves have dropped to historic lows.

Following mass protests in July, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was the country's prime minister, resigned from their respective positions.

Although an uphill battle to negotiate repayments of billions of dollars with creditors, Sri Lanka secured a staff-level agreement for a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this month.

Extending financing assurances to the crisis-hit island nation, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Washington will support the restructuring of Sri Lanka's debt.

(With inputs from agencies)

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