Sri Lanka Crisis: Finance Minister Ali Sabry Resigns Only a Day After Being Appointed

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• Apr 6, 2022 | Pratiksha

Ali Sabry entered the new Cabinet on Monday, along with Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena, who was designated education minister, 

Digital Desk: Sri Lanka's new Finance Minister, Ali Sabry, resigned on Tuesday, a day after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appointed him after dismissing his brother, Basil Rajapaksa, in the middle of the island nation's greatest economic crisis.

Sabri stated in a letter to the President that he took the role as a temporary solution.

"However, after much reflection and deliberation and taking into consideration the current situation, I am now of the view for Your Excellency to make suitable interim arrangement to navigate the unprecedented crisis fresh and proactive, and unconventional steps needs to be taken including the appointment of a new finance minister," Sabry said in the letter.

"Whilst I regret the inconvenience caused, I believe I have always acted in the best interests of the country," Sabry further stated, adding that "fresh and proactive and unconventional steps" were needed to solve the country's problems.

Ali Sabry entered the new Cabinet on Monday, along with Leader of the House Dinesh Gunawardena, who was designated education minister, and Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando, who was named roads minister. Foreign Affairs Minister GL Peiris has been reappointed.

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Sabry, Gunawardena, Fernando, and Peiris were all sworn in in the Presidential Secretariat on Monday, only hours after the previous Cabinet quit in unison.

Namal Rajapaksa, the Prime Minister's son, resigned as Cabinet Minister of Youth and Sports on Sunday, along with other ministers.

Following suit, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Governor of Sri Lanka's Central Bank (CBSL), resigned to the president on Monday.

Sri Lanka is now in the grip of its greatest economic crisis in its history.

The public has been suffering for months due to lengthy queues for gasoline, cooking gas, other staples in low supply, as well as long hours of power outages.