‘Not The IMF, Only Reforms Can Save Sri Lanka’

Sri Lanka’s attempts to get an IMF loan to tide over its worst economic crisis since its independence has been caught in the crossfire of global geopolitics, with China refusing to align with the IMF terms on restructuring its loans, and instead offering a two-year moratorium. Dhananath Fernando, the CEO of Advocata Institute, a prominent Colombo-based independent policy think tank dedicated to economic development through free-markets, believes that the issue is not just about getting an IMF bailout, which Sri Lanka has done 16 times before. In a long chat with Ramananda Sengupta, Fernando argues that unless the Sri Lankan government and its people agree to endure the further hardships required to undertake serious structural reforms to kickstart the economy, the future of the small island nation will remain bleak and dependent on external aid to just survive....Read More