Sri Lankan President admits making mistakes as economic crisis persists

Colombo [Sri Lanka], April 18 (ANI): Admitted that his government made mistakes on some policy fronts, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday said he is ready to correct those mistakes and move forward.
Sri Lanka's economy has been under pressure since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A crash in the tourism sector was followed by a crash in the agriculture sector after the government's move to ban all chemical fertilizers in a bid to make the Island country's agriculture fully organic.
Addressing the newly appointed Cabinet Ministers, Rajapaksa said he now thinks that it is a mistake not to provide chemical fertilizer to farmers and measures will be taken
He said the people were suffering due to the economic crisis and expressed his regret over it, the Colombo Page reported.
Rajapaksa even acknowledged the anger of people who are spending time in queues to get essential items. "I am speaking to you at a time when Sri Lanka is facing a decisive moment economically, politically, and socially," he added.
Twenty-one new state ministers took oaths before Sri Lankan President on Monday, hours after 17 new cabinet ministers were sworn in earlier.
In a ceremony held at the president's official house, the ministers were sworn in by the president as the South Asian nation faced severe political and economic instability.
The island nation is facing its worst economic crisis since independence with food and fuel shortages, soaring prices and power cuts affecting a large number of the people, resulting in massive protests over the government's handling of the situation.
Sri Lanka is facing a foreign exchange shortage, which has affected its capacity to import food and fuel. The shortage of essential goods forced Sri Lanka to seek assistance from friendly countries.
The economic situation has led to huge protests with demands for the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Earlier, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in a special address to the nation had requested people to remain patient and stop taking to the streets in order to enable the government to resolve the situation. (ANI)