The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has urged government to seek the assistance of acknowledged independent and non-partisan experts both domestically and internationally to address the prevailing economic crisis in the country.
In a statement, BASL Secretary Rajeev Amarasuriya stated that the BASL has gravely concerned regarding the signs of a looming economic crisis in Sri Lanka and its possible impact on the Rule of Law and Democracy and on the living conditions of the people.
The BASL maintains that such assistance will result in the prescriptions that manifest to the world Sri Lanka’s belief in institutions as a country where effective governance is not contingent on personalities.
“It will manifest the fact that Sri Lanka has the desire and institutional capacity to
respond to the exigencies brought by the present crisis via prescriptions that subscribe to the Rule of Law. Moreover, it is our belief that only such a response will create the institutional framework
that ensures the efficient collection of revenue and the result in the efficient allocation of scarce resources and the formulation of monetary policy that ensures economic stability rather than a permissive one which facilitates executive expediency and convenience”, BASL announced.
The spiraling inflation, shortages of essential goods including gas, the unavailability of foreign currency, the inability to remit monies overseas, the downgrading of Sri Lanka’s ratings by multiple international rating agencies; the temporary closure of the fuel refinery at Sapugaskanda; reports of the operations of certain foreign airlines being suspended; warnings of a possible power crisis are all indicators which demonstrate the urgency of the need for the Government to address the economic crisis without any further delay.
