We all know about the uprising of the people of Sri Lanka and how the (now former) president fled the country. It is very difficult to live there: from the lack of fuel or medicine to the endurance of rations. In a word: the economy is in the ground.

HotNews.ro talked to Harshana Jayassoria, an entrepreneur living in Sri Lanka, to find out what life is like there now and what hopes people have.

What are the economic problems affecting people in Sri Lanka: High prices and lack of investment make life unbearable

“Sri Lanka is currently experiencing an acute economic crisis. The result of this crisis is a very high cost of living. So, people are facing a lot of economic and social problems,” he told us.

• There is not enough fuel, electricity for the healthcare system, medicine, transport, high unemployment, and agriculture, education, etc. suffer.

According to him, foreign investors do not come to Sri Lanka to invest their capital. Manufacturing and export factories are not hiring new workers, such as machine operators and others. As a result of the economic crisis, small entrepreneurs stopped their business and production.

“The fishing industry has suffered due to fuel shortages, high prices for boats, fishing nets and other tackle. Fishermen always face various problems. Therefore, their families always have economic problems,” said Harshana Jayasoria.

• Day laborers such as masons, carpenters, masons, granite masons lost their jobs because people could not pay their daily wages.

“The cost of building houses is increasing every day. It is unbearable for people. The construction of new houses and other types of construction has been stopped,” he explained.

Education… on rations in Sri Lanka

As for clothes, jewelry, electronics, mobile phones, laptops, calculators: the prices are increasing day by day.

“The Ministry of Education limited school from 5 to 3 days. The government has decided to move to online education but the students/pupils are not able to buy electronic devices due to inflation, so the education system is facing a lot of difficulties,” he said.

• Due to these problems, teachers could not conduct online courses, one of the reasons being power outages. Therefore, teachers and students face great problems.

What people think of Sri Lanka’s new president and why some reject him: Ranil Wickremasinghe

“Ranil Wickremasinghe represented Parliament for 45 years. He was prime minister 6 times. At the same time, he worked as an opposition leader. Then he could not solve the problems in the country. Today he has 2 years to do it as president,” says Harshana Jayasoria.

The president is asked how he will overcome the current economic crisis in such a short period of time.

• There is a belief in the country that Ranil Wickremasinghe had a connection to the murder that took place during the civil conflict of 1988-1989: he is accused of supporting the Batalanda detention center (which was used to torture and exterminate enemies of politics).

“The current president was not elected by popular vote, as a result, most people reject him. When he was in power, there were two major attacks on the society and economy of Sri Lanka, one was the Central Bank bond scam and the other was the Easter attack on a church in Negombo, Kathuvapitiya,” said the Lankan.

• People do not believe him and always criticize him. They are not ready to believe his words and oppose the privatization of state property.

• If he wants to avoid these accusations, he must lead the country with peace and trust. He must provide real solutions to the economic crisis.

Why did the new president go to Temple of the Tooth?

Question: I saw that Ranil Wickremesinghe presented his plans at the famous temple (Temple of the Tooth). Is it customary for presidents to present their plans to monks?

“It is a difficult task to please everyone. Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, even multi-ethnic country. At the same time, Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country. Buddhist monks advised the first people who ruled the country to rule. Such was the opinion of society in our country. Without a good mix with Buddhist monks, you cannot rule the country,” says Harshana Jayasoria.

• The Malwatta Capitol, the Asgiriya Capitol and others rank first in Sri Lankan society. Therefore, President Ranil Wickremasinghe handed over his new administrative plan to Malwatta branch leader and other leaders. He is trying to attract people, to get them on his side on this path. Every village in Sri Lanka has a temple. Peasants are tied to rural times.

Where the former president of Sri Lanka went wrong: ignorance and stupidity

“Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country on July 9 when the fighting took place. Then he realized that he had lost the presidency,” Jayasoria said.

• He could not cope with and solve the economic crisis in the country. He did not add fertilizers to the country’s agriculture, and all the people were against him. He did not pay attention to the voice of the farmers. The former president showed his ignorance and stupidity. He had a bad minister of agriculture.

“Gotabaya Rajapaksa has gone into hiding. He did not address the nation when he should have. He did not communicate with people. He did not listen to the voice of the people. People say that it was the advisers who misled him and led him astray until he lost his power. Today, people say that he did not ‘meditate’ on the Sri Lankan bribery cases,” the Lankan said.

• Some of the people who handled the bribery cases are now in parliament and people are upset about that.

• The former president appointed pensioners to the army without paying attention to the people. The Sri Lankans refused to do so.

The created ministries did not suit the country. Today life in Sri Lanka is miserable. People face various problems. That is why some people committed suicide in previous days because they could not stand hunger and inflation.

Today’s population thinks about tomorrow / The government wants to develop tourism

Today, the population is thinking about their future and what will happen tomorrow, says Jayasoria.

“People do not have a clear goal. Due to high inflation, people’s purchasing power is deteriorating day by day,” a Lankan told us.

Today, the government wants to develop the tourism industry in Sri Lanka.

And before that, according to him, the Government must first solve the problem of lack of fuel, transport, electricity, etc. In addition, improve the infrastructure.

“Sri Lanka has natural beauty, a proud history and ancient cities. That is why Sri Lanka attracts the most tourists. It has a pleasant environment and a wide coastline,” said Jayasoria.

Photo source: DreamTime.com