All Wednesdays will now be a holiday in Sri Lanka as the country moves to a 4-day work week to conserve its scarce fuel reserves amid the prolonged war in the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which some 20 per cent of global exports pass in peacetime, has been effectively closed by Iran in retaliation for the US and Israeli war against it, now in its third week.
Wednesdays off
State institutions will operate only four days a week starting Wednesday, March 18, said Commissioner-General of Essential Services Prabath Chandrakeerthi. The new measures will also apply to schools and universities and will remain in place indefinitely.
“We are also asking the private sector to follow suit and declare every Wednesday a holiday from now on,” Chandrakeerthi said.
However, essential services, including hospitals, ports and emergency services, will continue to operate as usual, the President said. A four-day work week “would be applicable to schools, universities and the judiciary.”
The decision was taken at a special meeting convened by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake with the participation of the full state machinery “to discuss strategies for ensuring the continuity of public services amidst the energy disruption by the Middle East conflict”.
“We must prepare for the worst, but hope for the best,” Dissanayake told senior officials.
The Sri Lankan government has also suspended all public ceremonies and has asked civil servants to work from home where possible to limit fuel use.
Fuel rationing
Sri Lanka imports all of its oil and also buys coal for electricity generation. They buy refined petroleum products from Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea, while crude oil for its Iran-built refinery is sourced from the Middle East.
On Sunday, the country began fuel rationing, limiting each motorist to 15 litres of petrol or diesel per week, while public transport was allocated up to 200 litres.
Long queues were seen near fuel stations since the announcement of the new rationing system.
A Sri Lankan official said that the country’s petrol and diesel reserves would last nearly six weeks. The country has warned that any disruption to fresh supplies could severely affect the island.
The government has warned that any escalation in fighting in the Middle East and a prolonged war could seriously undermine its efforts to emerge from the economic meltdown of 2022.
According to the government, talks are ongoing with both India and Russia to ensure a continuous supply of fuel.
Sri Lanka to make emergency coal purchase from India
Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved an emergency purchase of 300,000 metric tons of coal from an Indian company named Taranjot Resources Pvt Ltd, a cabinet statement said on Tuesday.
The purchase comes at a time when the island nation is rationing fuel to extend the life of its energy stockpiles amid a supply squeeze resulting from the war.
Sri Lanka defaulted on its $46 billion foreign debt in 2022 after the country ran out of foreign exchange. Since then, Colombo has secured a $2.9 billion IMF bailout.
