By Garvin Karunaratne It is an opportune moment to highlight the fact that Sri Lanka can do better by having its own industries, instead of depending on imports. We have to create employment for our youth and also save foreign exchange by making things we import.  I have many a time, while offering flowers at […]

Garvin Karunaratne, PhD Michigan State University* The DDCP was the major development programme undertaken by the Government of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranayake during her 1970-1977 rule. This was also the first major islandwide development programme ever to be implemented in Sri Lanka. Earlier there was the Rural Development Programme and the Small Industries Development Programme […]

By Garvin Karunaratne Selling the Motherland crept into our leaders only after the General Election of 1977.  In my working life from 1955 to 1973 in Sri Lanka   I have kept close association with ,many of our leaders- Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, , Ministers P.C.Imbulana, Vimala Kannangara,  Dr N.M. Perera, P.G.B Kalugalle,  T.B. Subasinghe, NH […]

By Garvin Karunaratne , Ph.D. Michigan State University In the current chaotic situation where our economy has totally floundered, with a massive debt that defies any solution it will be prudent to note that till 1977 our country managed the economy, attending to massive development tasks also,  without falling into debt. I happen to be […]

Garvin Karunaratne,Ph.D. Michigan State University, former Government Agent, Matara.  I am prompted to write about what was achieved in Sri Lanka since we gained independence in order to educate some of our presidential aspirants who have said that we have not achieved anything. I can emphatically state that Sri Lanka had done wonders in the […]

Garvin Karunaratne I am prompted to write about what was achieved in development since Sri Lanka achieved independence because some of our presidential aspirants have said that Sri Lanka had no development from the time we got independence 71 years ago.  It is sad to note that some of our presidential aspirants happen to be […]

By Garvin Karunaratne, In the Seventies, the Government Agent’s Conference  was accorded great prominence.  The Government Agent  was the Head of the District and presided over as the Head of the District Coordinating Commiittee that coordinated all development programmes in the District. He was also the Head of the District Agricultural Committee. All allocations of […]

by Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent, Matara I am prompted to write about what was achieved in development since Sri Lanka achieved independence because some of our presidential aspirants have said that Sri Lanka had no development whatsoever since gaining independence 71 years ago. It is sad to note that some of our presidential aspirants […]

Garvin Karunaratne, former G.A. Matara Red Onions was a major crop produced in the Jaffna Peninsula. Gerry Stevens the Assistant Commissioner ran round in circles to ensure that the cooperatives bought red onions from producers at the premium price we offered and handed the stocks to our stores where we stored them and dispatched them […]

By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. Clearing my RV at Baltimore Docks reminded me of my Marketing Departments days in 1955 when we worked from sheds and temporarily built structures. Today our plan to bring down the Cost of Living needs brand new shops to house the Coop and CWE Outlets.  I was told that I could […]

By Garvin Karunaratne Seeing what is happening in Elpitiya my mind travels back decades to a youth that struck me most in my eighteen years’ service in the Administrative Service of my beloved country. It was a youth from Elpitiya. In 1970 I was the Deputy Director in the Small Industries Department in charge of […]

By Garvin Karunaratne Many authorities in Sri Lanka  are waiting with open arms to grab the MCC Grant of $ 480 million. They do not care that some 28% of the country will be sold off to the USA for two hundred years.. Two hundred years is well over the period that Sri Lanka was […]

By Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. In view of the fact that over twenty percent of young people in the World, have failed to find a due place in the economic ladder and have become drop offs of the education and development system, definite action to equip them to become contributors to society has to get priority. […]

By Garvin Karunaratne It is perhaps the right time to address our economic situation. We are currently deep in debt with some $ 60 billion to repay which we never can. Poverty is on the increase because 51% of the country’s income is earned by the richest 20% of the people. In 1976 we did […]

By Garvin Karunaratne It was these two facts that caused the failure of Zimbabwe. My Paper reproduced here tells the details. The death of Robert Mugabe has brought a spate of writing which appears to portray him as a lost cause, due to his failings. However as my earlier writing of 2008 portray that the […]

By Garvin Karunaratne The Senior Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Nandalal Weerasinghe has warned any new Government: Follow the beaten track or else there will be chaos. (Sri Lanka Risks losing debt market access if future government policy changes” , (AdaDerana:9/8/2019) I would tend to think that there could have been some substance in […]

By Garvin Karunaratne In the Eighties, we sacrificed the verdant Kotmale Valley for a mere 200 MW of Power. The Kotmale Dam does not provide any water for irrigation. That 200MW of power at that time when there were wind turbines that produced an easy 3 MW, could have been produced by 70 wind turbines […]

Garvin Karunaratne.M.Ed, Manchester, M.Phil.Edinburgh, Ph.D. Michigan State University. Introduction In my own life as an automobile owner – all my earlier cars were made in Great Britain- a Hillman Minx,  a Humber Hawk, a Vauxhall Cresta, a Morris Oxford. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in the Sixties, That Humber Hawk was a dependable, comfortable […]

Garvin Karunaratne Former Government Agent The vast colonization schemes of the Dry Zone, the peasantry, in thousands  that enjoyed the land,  earning bountiful crops were all due to the great achievement of our Leader, DS Senanayake, all achieved during his days as the Minister for Agriculture and Lands. It was his dream to uplift the […]

By Garvin Karunaratne I write in support of the suggestions made by the former Minister Milinda Moragoda. We have to be thankful to Mr Moragoda for his patriotism. Patriotism is what we need today to save our Motherland. It is sad to say that Sri Lanka is today disintegrating fast. Our economy is in tatters […]

by Garvin Karunaratne Message for Sri Lankan readers Sri Lanka with other Third World countries has achieved a status of high indebtedness due to following the neoliberal policies embedded in the Structural Adjustment Programme of the IMF. . In that process its assets and riches are being sucked dry by multinationals, International banks  and Developed […]

By Garvin Karunaratne Two years have passed and the meetotamulla garbage mountains are yet intact.  Many attempts have been made at clearing but none have so far worked. Two years ago I suggested that it be used as compost on coconut estates. To me that seems the easiest solution and done in rupees and we […]

by Garvin Karunaratne Sri Lanka is a country which is rich in resources. Sadly we, our leaders, do not realize that we can develop these resources and save our foreign exchange. Even our water in our streams is being converted to foreign exchange and is being sent abroad as profits by multinationals. In the Papers […]

By Garvin Karunaratne

By Garvin Karunarathe Economist Uswatta Aratchi  criticises the role played by the Chinese in his Paper:Capital Cheap in Chong Guo and expensive in Sri Lanka”(The Island 20/2/19) If not for the support Sri Lanka received from China with the provision of weapons, all on loans, we could never have defeated the LTTE. It is true […]

by Garvin Karunaratne,  Right or wrong, our President Sirisena has taken a step, as described by me earlier, “If a Prime Minister appointed by the President, is not acting in the interests of the country and its people by opening up the country for foreigners and foreign countries to rule, selling family silver, neglecting the […]

By Garvin Karunaratne  former G.A. Matara Instead of reflecting back on their ignominious past, the Ambassadors of the UK, the USA among others have thought it fit to at first declare that the decision of the President of Sri lanka to remove the Prime Minister and replace him with another as unconstitutional. Later once our […]

By Garvin Karunaratne The Chinese Company- the China Merchants Port Holdings to whom the Hambantota Port and its 1235 acres of land was leased, insisting on as much as Rupees 23 million as Ground Rent for the miniscule bit of land where the five Wind Turbines are sited is a fore runner of what is […]

Garvin Karunaratne On 23 rd August 2018,  a relation of mine who was unconscious was discharged from a leading Private Hospital in Colombo., because the son and daughter  could no more pay hospital bills They had paid three million rupees to the Hospital  for 17 days stay and had no more funds. Until then they […]

By Garvin Karunaratne Scotland Yard is no more what it was a few decades ago, when there was hardly any criminal activity in Britain. The situation is getting worse by the day. Last week a criminal gang closed down a major road in Wimbledon Village, the home of millionaires, chased away everyone in sight at […]