Opposition and Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader Sajith Premadasa on Tuesday became the first non-Government politician in recent times to appeal to Lankans abroad to remit funds via official channels.

Sajith Premadasa

In a tweet, Premadasa said: “The need of the hour is for all Sri Lankans living abroad to use the formal banking channels for remittances. This is what supporting the country at this moment looks like. If you can influence anyone to do so, please do it.”

Such requests were previously done by Central Bank Governors and Ministers and ruling party MPs. Premadasa’s appeal comes as workers remittances have more than halved in the first quarter of this year to $ 783 million in comparison to a year ago.

Earlier this week, SJB’s Parliamentary Group unanimously decided to extend support to the Government led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on decisions taken for the betterment of the country and to uplift the country, the party said in a news release. However, the SJB said it would provide its support towards the Parliamentary process on the said matters and would not obtain any position in Government.

Workers’ remittances inflow halves in 1Q