Bankrupt Sri Lanka to drastically slash military by half amid looming economic crisis
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The armed forces of Sri Lanka are next to face a drastic cut, as the defence ministry declared that 65,000 soldiers would retire from its 200,000-strong army in a year as part of its plan to downsize the land force of the country to 100,000 by the end of the decade.
Sri Lanka, which has been battling a severe economic crisis, is set to reduce its military by half, said the defence ministry on Friday as the government continues to take steps to overhaul its financial situation. For months, the nation has been facing fuel and food shortages that have made 22 million people’s life miserable from last year.
Taxes have been increased and tough spending cuts have been imposed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to clear the way for an anticipated bailout by International Monetary Fund following a government debt default.
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The armed forces of Sri Lanka are next to face a drastic cut, as the defence ministry declared that 65,000 soldiers would retire from its 200,000-strong army in a year as part of its plan to downsize the land force of the country to 100,000 by the end of the decade.
"The overall aim of the strategic blueprint is to broach a technically and tactically sound and well-balanced defence force," said a ministry in a statement.
The armed forces of Sri Lanka remain bloated more than a decade after the traumatic civil war of the country. Last year, defence accounted for almost 10 per cent of public spending and expert analysts say that half of the salary bill of the government is used in paying for security force personnel.
WATCH | Gravitas Plus | Explained: Sri Lankan economic crisis
This week, Sri Lanka issued a warning that it did not have enough revenue to clear the pensions and salaries of public employees even after a drastic increase in the tax in 2023.
Last year, the economy declined by 8.7 per cent as people faced blackouts, empty shelves of the supermarket, long queues for petrol, and runaway inflation.
(With inputs from agencies)
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