May Day Resolutions

Sri Lanka's government has promised lending agencies to turn a new leaf after May Day, kicking off the process with a hike in fuel prices, LBO learns.







Sri Lanka's government has promised lending agencies to turn a new leaf after May Day, kicking off the process with a hike in fuel prices, LBO learns. A top economics team headed by Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama attended the IMF and World Bank spring meetings this month and also had talks with World Bank's Vice President in Charge of South Asia, Praful Patel.

Market pricing of fuel prices is a key reform needed to put the breaks on unproductive public sector credit growth, monetary expansion, and inflation.

But to raise fuel prices before the May 01 is thought to add unnecessary fuel to opposition May Day fires.

Noises from the Finance and Energy Ministries as well as the treasury have increased in recent days about the need for a fuel price adjustment.

There has also been talk of a return to the automatic pricing formula that successfully put the breaks on inflation in 2003.

In contrast, last year, the treasury spent about US$ 140 million on fuel subsidies, while the Ceylon