From currency board to Chinese loans - How accurate are the claims about Sri Lanka’s economic crisis?

Sri Lanka is currently going through the worst economic crisis since its independence and defaulted foreign debt repayment in April 2022. This crisis is the result of a series of policy mishaps that have steadily weakened the economy over the last few decades. Decisions made contrary to the advice of experts in 2020 and 2022 exposed the extent of the damage. Consequently, the country was compelled to default its debt and seek IMF support. While there roots of the crisis constitute long lasting policy and governance issues, certain global ‘experts’ and politicians have offered their own takes on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis. We’ve had a comprehensive look at some of these claims and laid the facts out here.

Gota Go, Gota Gone — Sri Lanka’s Bastille Moment

As Sri Lanka trundled into its worst economic crisis since Independence - partly due to corruption, terrible policies, vampiric politicians, and mismanagement - the public rose with one main demand: for its reigning (former) President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa to leave immediately. In this piece, we follow the birth of the protests, the runaway ex-President, and what it all led to.

Oddamavadi: no rest for the dead

Two years ago, the government passed a compulsory cremation policy for those who died of COVID-19, with no clear reason for it other than hyper nationalism and xenophobia. After months of campaigning and pressure both locally and internationally, the gazette on the subject was revoked. Instead, families had to bury their dead in a far-flung village in the East, and supply funds and labour - despite the government sitting on billions raised by the Itukama fund.

Going “Organic” - The Farmer’s Tale

We spent a week on the road in April (before the fuel crisis hit particularly hard) speaking to farmers across the five main agricultural districts in the country. These are the people’s stories spanning an island, which have been ignored for way too long.

Hambantota: fertiliser, fuel, and man-made disaster

In this series assessing the impact of the fertiliser ban on farmers, Watchdog travelled across five major agrarian districts. Here, in the first of five pieces, is our update from Hambantota — of drastic drops in yields and the farming community’s fears for the future.

7-Billion Rupee Software: The Monstrous Idiocy of the State Pharmaceutical Corporation

What does the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation want, exactly? We read the documentation so you don’t have to. Welcome to one of the stupidest software requests we’ve seen.

Fertiliser - Broken Promises & Policy Blunders

Sri Lanka is facing its harshest food crisis in recent history. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s blanket ban on fertiliser can be attributed as the direct cause for this crisis. In this piece we’ll explore the history of the fertiliser subsidy, the timeline against which Sri Lanka’s fertiliser ban was set, the cost so far, and a glimpse into its impact.

Anonymous #OpSriLanka - Hackers & Gatecrashers

If you invite strangers to a party, you have to deal with the consequences. In this piece we try to establish a timeline of events for Sri Lanka’s most recent outing with Anonymous. We assess the impact, and give you some insights into the movement’s modus operandi.

Sri Lanka’s future with the IMF

Following our series on Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, we take a look at what the IMF can do for us, and how we need to step up — by reforming taxes, legislature, and policies.

The Attack on GotaGoGama: The Aftermath

It’s been an incredibly long week — from vigilantes setting fire to things, the Central Bank Governor threatening to resign, the Prime Minister actually resigning, to swearing in a new (but old) Prime Minister after days of chaos. Here’s the breakdown.

The SLPP Attack on GotaGoGama: a Timeline

A record of what happened on the 9th of May, 2022, told with images, video and the occasional map.

Crosses and Curses — the legacy of the Easter Sunday Attacks

Sri Lanka’s road to IMF, explained

#AskWatchdog: where do we go from here?

Explainer: What is this state of Emergency?

Incident report: The Mirihana Protest, summarised

What exactly is the Special GST and Surcharge Tax Bill?

Fertilizer: a Sri Lankan Tragedy

The Myth of the Agricultural Nation

The Sri Lankan Foreign Debt Problem

Dollars and debt; the battle-cry of our times. As our economy slowly sinks, we dig into the debt story to show you exactly who Sri Lanka owes money to, why, when, and for what. Are we in a Chinese debt trap? What does our ISB debt really look like? Can we actually repay all this? Click here to read.

@March 6, 2022

What's happening with the Sri Lankan economy?

Our economy is fucked. But why? And how? Our resident economist explains how we ended up tilting headlong into this crisis. Click here to read.

@February 1, 2022

Forced conversions?

Don’t panic! In this piece, we dig into the laws of the country to explain how the Central Bank converts your dollars to rupees. Click here to read.

@February 1, 2022

The Sri Lankan powercut saga: a history of bad decisions

Why are we having all these powercuts? And why doesn’t anyone seem to be able to do anything about it? We dig into every aspect of power generation in this country: from the power plants, to their output, to how we ran out of fuel to keep the lights on. Click here to read.

@January 23, 2022