Team Arutha

In the first issue of Lanka Dispatch, we move beyond quarterly updates on China-Sri Lanka relations to look at something broader: how our island navigates a world that is fragmented and volatile.

Arutha's Co-Founder and Director-Civic Education, Rehana Thowfeek, spoke to ABC Asia on how the war in the Middle East will affect Sri Lanka in the short term and long term and whether Sri Lanka was adequately geared for the shock. She explained that since the crisis, Sri Lanka has rebuilt some macroeconomic buffers. Foreign exchange reserves are in good shape, and the government's fiscal measures allowed for additional spending on Ditwah recovery. Inflation has remained low, at times dipping...

Arutha's Civic Education and Outreach Consultant, Amalini De Sayrah speaking to The Morning on the new Microfinance bill explained the implications of reliance on the microfinance sector by the vulnerable amidst crises.  “People are likely to take, or have already taken, loans to help rebuild their homes or livelihoods. They are then faced with twice the pressure to repay: repaying these new loans and repaying any loans they had taken before the disaster. At a time when they are required to...