The United National Party (UNP) says that the Government's recent fuel price hike is another indication of their continued economic mismanagement and short-sighted policies.
"This Government's refusal to continue the positive measures introduced by the UNP Government has resulted in a growing financial burden being endured by the public," the UNP's Central Media Unit said in a statement on Friday (11).
The Government yesterday increased fuel prices after 21 months which is bound to increase the cost of living amidst the worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Ministry of Energy, the price of 92 octane petrol has been increased by Rs. 20 per litre and 95 octane petrol by Rs. 23 per litre.
The price of a litre of auto diesel has been increased by Rs. 07 and the price of a litre of super diesel by Rs. 12.
The price of a litre of kerosene has been increased by Rs. 07.
The UNP observed that although global oil prices fell as low as USD 30.38 a barrel in May 2020, the SLPP Government had rejected the fuel price formula introduced by the UNP in 2018.
"This meant that the local fuel prices did not reduce to reflect the global prices. Savings which could have been incurred by the drop in global prices were not passed onto the consumers," the Party noted.
Highlighting that the economy continues to stagnate in Sri Lanka while citizens' earnings reduce drastically due to the prolonged lockdown, the UNP said that this latest fuel hike will only increase the financial burden on the public, adding that "this is a key indicator of this Government's financial mismanagement."
