Sri Lanka’s central bank governor Nandal Weerasinghe announced that “there will be no debt service payments until Sri Lanka can restructure its $51 billion external debt” and expressed hope that “we can reach an agreement with our creditors.” our position is very clear.”

In an effort to improve dollar liquidity at commercial banks, the Central Bank on Thursday made it a criminal offense for Sri Lankans to hold a dollar for more than two weeks.

Current laws allow Sri Lankans to receive a maximum of $15,000 within three months before they have to deposit it in a bank or transfer it at the official exchange rate.

In two weeks, they will be able to store a maximum of $10,000 for a maximum of 14 days, Weerasinghe said.

Weerasingh said street violence like the one that killed nine people last week, as well as the government’s failure to appoint a finance minister, could delay negotiations between creditors and the International Monetary Fund.

The new prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, has been trying to form a “unity government” since his appointment last Thursday, but only four ministers, all from the Rudo Jan Peramoun Party (SLPP), President Gotabay Rajapaksa’s party, have been sworn in.

On Thursday, Wickremesinghe asked public sector workers to stay off work on Friday and take a long day off due to severe fuel shortages that are hurting the country of 22 million people.

The Sri Lankan authorities are unable to finance its imports, and its people have been suffering from food, medicine and fuel shortages, prolonged power outages and record inflation for months. The government also announced the closure of public schools from Thursday.