'Every second you protest on the road, we are losing dollars', says Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa

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Amid an economic crisis and an angry population struggling to make ends meet, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa addressed the country. Clearly expressing his displeasure over constant protests by the people of Sri Lanka, Rajapaksa said, "Every second you protest on the road, we are losing dollars."

Listing out the government's efforts to put an end to the economic crisis, Rajapaksa said, "We ended the war not to put the people of this country into this status, we constructed highways not to keep people in queues. We built ports not to idle oil ships in our ports until we find dollars to pay for them. We will make all efforts to overcome this crisis."

Rajapaksa also said that none of the parties in the Sri Lankan Parliament has come forward to lend a hand. "So, as the party in power, the Government will take all possible steps to resolve the crisis." he said.

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Meanwhile, efforts to establish an all-party interim government also remained inconclusive as the talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the group of independent MPs from his own ruling SLPP coalition failed to make progress on Sunday.

The gathering calling for the Rajapaksa family's resignation has continued their all-night vigil.

Last week the entire Sri Lankan cabinet resigned apart from Mahinda Rajapaksa at a time when the country was facing its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the UK in 1948.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his elder brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, continue to hold power in Sri Lanka, despite their politically powerful family being the focus of public ire.

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