Sri Lanka Finance Minister Resigns After a Day in Office

Synopsis: However, not only Ali Sabry but the entire cabinet resigned due to the raging anger of the public and widespread protests going on in the country because of mismanagement of the country’s economy. 

Amid the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, a new problem arose when Ali Sabry, the new Finance Minister of the country resigned from his post in 24 hours. He was among the four ministers appointed by Prime Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday, April 4 but Sabry bid a farewell to the position on April 5, Tuesday. 

The President sacked his own brother Basil Rajapaksa and gave Sabry the position of Finance Minister of the island. Sabry, in his letter to the President, wrote that he took up the position on a temporary basis due to the ongoing crisis within the country. 

In the letter, Sabry said, 

However, after much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation, I am now of the view for Your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate the unprecedented crisis fresh and proactive, and unconventional steps need to be taken including the appointment of a new finance minister.

However, not only Ali Sabry but the entire cabinet resigned due to the raging anger of the public and widespread protests going on in the country because of mismanagement of the country’s economy. Besides resigning from his post, Sabry also asked if he could step down as a member of Parliament. In his letter, he also wrote, 

I decided to accept the post of Minister of Finance only as an interim measure until a suitable, full-time and sustainable solution could be found.

This ongoing crisis has also led Basil Rajapaksa to negotiate the Indian economic relief package so as to help Sri Lanka for tackling the current situation of the foreign exchange crisis.

The economic crisis of Sri Lanka has led Prime Minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa to impose a state of emergency in the country after his private residence was surrounded by an angry mob on March 31. Also, according to the reports police had to use tear gas for dispersing the protesters from the prime minister’s residence. In line with this, access to social media has been blocked within the country along with a 36 hours curfew, in order to curb the anti-government agitations. 

One of the police spokespeople said “Protesters broke through two barricades that had been placed near the residence and police had to use tear gas to move the protesters away. Police continue to provide security to the houses of parliamentarians.”