No money to buy petrol says Lankan govt as it urges citizens not to queue up for fuel
Colombo, May 18: Crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Wednesday revealed that it does not have foreign exchange to pay for a vessel of petrol anchored in its waters for nearly two months as it appealed to citizens "not to wait in line" for fuel.
However, the country has received sufficient stocks of diesel, the government said.
Since March 28, a vessel with petrol has been anchored in Sri Lankan waters, power and energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera told Parliament, confirming that the country is facing an issue of petrol availability, online portal newsfirst.lk reported.
"We do not have US dollars to make the payment for the vessel with petrol," he said, adding that another USD 53 million is due for the same vessel for a previous shipment in January 2022.
The minister said the shipping company concerned has refused to release the vessel until both the payments are settled.
Wijesekera said following an assurance from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to make the previous payment, the company had agreed to release the current vessel after the due payment is made.
However, "we are yet to source the fund for this purpose," he said, adding that the ministry is working towards releasing the vessel either on Wednesday or Thursday.
"This is why we requested the people not to wait in line for fuel. There is no issue with diesel. But, please do not stay in line for petrol. We have limited stocks of petrol and are trying to distribute it accordingly for essential services, especially ambulances," the minister said.
"We
apologise
for
this.
We
understand
that
three-wheelers
can
only
operate
with
the
daily
fuel
purchases.
We
appeal
to
the
public
not
to
remain
in
line
for
fuel
on
Wednesday
and
Thursday,"
he
said.
The
minister
also
appealed
to
the
people
to
stop
stockpiling
fuel,
as
there
is
no
way
of
delivering
petrol
for
the
next
two
days.
Wijesekera said it would take another three days from Friday to complete the distribution of petrol to all filling stations.
"Of the 67 proposals made to the ministry on fuel purchases, 39 were identified as practically applicable in Sri Lanka," he said, adding that no matter what proposal is made, the country cannot import petrol without opening the letter of credit.
A letter of credit, also known as a documentary credit or bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking, is a payment mechanism used in international trade to provide an economic guarantee from a creditworthy bank to an exporter of goods.
Wijesekera said Sri Lanka has received sufficient stocks of diesel.
"On Tuesday, we distributed super diesel and auto diesel to all the filling stations in the country. We hope to ensure the continuous supply of diesel from today (Wednesday) to all the 1,190 active filling stations in the country, although there are 1,300 filling stations," he told the House.
For
June
2022,
Sri
Lanka
needs
USD
530
million
for
fuel
imports,
the
minister
said,
noting
that
even
if
the
country
receives
the
benefit
of
an
Indian
Credit
Line,
it
needs
over
USD
500
million
for
fuel
purchases
per
month,
compared
to
the
USD
150
million
from
two
years
ago.
"The
high
demand
for
fuel
and
currency
depreciation"
can
be
cited
as
the
main
reasons
for
this,
he
said,
revealing
that
Sri
Lanka
is
to
make
a
payment
of
over
USD
700
million
for
previous
shipments
of
fuel.
Earlier
this
month,
India
extended
its
current
credit
line
by
a
further
USD
200
million
to
replenish
Sri
Lanka's
rapidly
depleting
fuel
stocks.
India
has
committed
over
USD
3
billion
to
the
debt-ridden
island
nation
in
loans,
credit
lines
and
credit
swaps
since
January
this
year.
Earlier
on
Wednesday,
Prime
Minister
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
told
Parliament
that
USD
160
million
has
been
received
from
the
World
Bank
and
a
grant
from
the
ADB
(Asian
Development
Bank)
is
also
expected.
However,
the
money
received
from
the
World
Bank
cannot
be
used
to
buy
fuel.
"We
are
trying
to
see
if
we
can
use
some
of
it
for
fuel
purchases,"
he
said.
Sri
Lanka
is
going
through
the
worst
economic
crisis
since
independence
in
1948.
A
crippling
shortage
of
foreign
reserves
has
led
to
long
queues
for
fuel,
cooking
gas
and
other
essentials
while
power
cuts
and
soaring
food
prices
heaped
misery
on
the
people.
The
economic
crisis
also
triggered
a
political
crisis
in
Sri
Lanka
and
a
demand
for
the
resignation
of
the
powerful
Rajapaksas.
President
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa
sacked
his
Cabinet
and
appointed
a
younger
Cabinet
as
a
response
to
the
demand
for
his
resignation.
A
continuous
protest
opposite
his
secretariat
has
now
gone
on
for
well
over
a
month.
On
May
9,
Gotabaya
Rajapaksa's
elder
brother
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
resigned
as
the
prime
minister
to
make
way
for
the
president
to
appoint
an
interim
all
political
party
government.
Wickremesinghe
was
appointed
the
country's
new
prime
minister
on
Thursday.