Sri Lanka asks government employees to work from home amid fuel shortages
By Uditha Jayasinghe
COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s authorities on Friday ordered public sector staff to work at home for 2 weeks as a consequence of extreme gasoline shortages because the island nation grapples with its worst monetary turmoil in seven a long time.
Sri Lanka is scrambling to search out overseas trade to pay for desperately wanted gasoline imports, and its current inventory of petrol and diesel is projected to expire in a matter of days.
A mix of presidency mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the nation of twenty-two million individuals into its deepest financial disaster since independence from Britain in 1948.
“Taking into account the extreme limits on gasoline provide, the weak public transport system and the issue in utilizing non-public autos this round permits minimal workers to report back to work from Monday,” the Public Administration and Residence Affairs Ministry stated on Friday.
Of its roughly a million authorities staff, these offering important companies like healthcare will proceed to report for obligation at their workplaces, the round stated.
Earlier this week, the federal government additionally authorized a four-day work week for public sector staff to assist them deal with a power gasoline scarcity and encourage them to develop meals.
Snaking strains of autos stretching a number of kilometers have fashioned at many fuel stations countrywide this week, leaving some individuals ready for greater than 10 hours for gasoline.
The nation is in talks with the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) for a bailout bundle with a delegation anticipated in Colombo on Monday.
The United Nations has outlined a plan to lift $47 million to offer help to 1.7 million Sri Lankans worst hit by the disaster over the following 4 months.
As many as 5 million Sri Lankans could possibly be instantly impacted by meals shortages within the coming months, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s workplace stated in an announcement on Friday.
(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, Modifying by Devjyot Ghoshal)
