Sri Lanka economic crisis: Newly appointed finance minister resigns in less than 24 hours
Ali Sabry, the newly appointed finance minister, also offered to resign from his position as a member of Parliament.
FollowAmid the island nation's severe economic crisis, the newly appointed finance minister, Ali Sabry, resigned less than 24 hours post taking office.
Former Justice Minister Ali Sabry took over for Basil Rajapaksa, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's brother.
Amongst the four ministers, Ali Sabry was sworn in before the President just hours before the entire cabinet resigned due to the mounting public anger and widespread protests against the government's mismanagement of Sri Lanka's economy.
He has also offered to resign from his position as a member of Parliament. In his resignation letter to the President, he wrote that he had decided to accept the post of the Minister of Finance only as an interim measure until a suitable, full-time, and long-term solution could be found.
After broadly reflecting and thinking, and understanding the current situation, he added that he is of the opinion that in order for the excellency to make suitable interim arrangements to navigate this unprecedented crisis, fresh, proactive, and unconventional steps, including the appointment of a new Finance Minister is required.
Enraged Sri Lankans, who are suffering from food, fuel, medicine shortages, and rising inflation, have called for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation.
The President has announced a state of emergency post an angry mob surrounded his private residence in Colombo on March 31. Even a 36-hour curfew was clamped, and social media was blocked to quell widespread anti-government protests.
The opposition parties in Sri Lanka rejected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's invitation to join the proposed unity government on Monday, calling it a "sham" after he fired his brother Basil Rajapaksa as finance minister.
Basil Rajapaksa, who negotiated the Indian economic relief package to aid Sri Lanka in dealing with the current foreign exchange crisis, targeted a backlash within the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) coalition.
He was scheduled to travel to the United States to meet with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a possible bailout package to help the country recover from the unprecedented economic meltdown.
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