By Raj Gonsalkorale The international outlook is uncertain again amid financial sector turmoil, high inflation, ongoing effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and three years of COVID – The IMF Global growth is projected to slow significantly amid high inflation, tight monetary policy, and more restrictive credit conditions. The possibility of more widespread bank turmoil […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale On the night of April 14, 1912, though, only a few days into the Titanic’s maiden voyage, its Achilles’ heel was exposed. The ship wasn’t nimble enough to avoid an iceberg that lookouts spotted (the only way to detect icebergs at the time) at the last minute in the darkness. As the […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale It was the Roman lawyer, Cicero, who in his De Re Publica, uses the literary device of the Dream of Scipio to give the authority of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the greatest of the Roman Republic’s citizen soldiers, to the proposition that the ‘populus’, the people, served by a true republic is […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale As for food security, the foundation would do better by supporting agroecological (agrochemical-free) approaches to agriculture, which various high-level UN reports have advocated for ensuring equitable global food security. This would leave smallholder agriculture both intact and independent from Western agro-capital, something which runs counter to the underlying aims of the corporations […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale An Eastern analogue is found in the Suvannahamsa Jataka, which appears in the fourth section of the Buddhist book of monastic discipline (Vinaya). In this the father of a poor family is reborn as a swan with golden feathers and invites them to pluck and sell a single feather from his wings to […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Many Sri Lankans are concerned about their next meal, the high cost of living, deteriorating health, stagnant incomes, how to buy school requisites for their children, malnutrition and increasing poverty which they experience on a day-to-day basis. While restructuring the economy is a must, politicians must balance this with redress for the […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The IMF agreement is much more than the USD 3 billion that accompanies it. In the overall scheme of the country’s foreign debt (now estimated at around USD 48 Billion) and overall debt at 115% of GDP, with no funds for foreign debt repayments and no foreign exchange to purchase essentials, the […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Former Prime Minister of Australia Paul Keating has labelled the AUKUS military alliance and more specifically the recently concluded submarine deal as the worst mistake Australia has done in its history. His national press club address has been widely publicised and does not need repetition here. It is however interesting to discuss […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Tourism, as it is well known, is a major industry in Sri Lanka. The foreign exchange it brings into the country and the hundreds and thousands of people who are directly and indirectly employed in this sector makes this industry a vital one for the country. It is one of the most […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale While levying an income tax on individual earnings to supplement government revenue is a necessity to meet government expenditure, the issue in question is the perception and/or the reality of its unfairness and the lack of confidence and trust that people have about the way the tax they pay is spent by […]

Raj Gonsalkorale The following passage from the Britannica (https://www.britannica.com/topic/democracy) is a good commencement point to discuss the much debated Local Government poll in Sri Lanka. Conducting the election is said to cost around 10 Billion Rupees of State funds, assuming such funds are available to spend in the bankrupt Sri Lanka. Besides State money, individual […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale “In my mind I see a group of chickens in a cage disputing over a few seeds of grain, unaware that in a few hours they will all be killed,” -Venerable Thích Nhất Hạnh Zen Master late Thich Nhat Hanh was a global spiritual leader, poet, and peace activist, renowned for his […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Has the symbiotic interdependence between the political system, politicians and religious institutions been a major contributory factor for Sri Lanka’s economic bankruptcy? A dog is not considered a good dog because he is a good barker. A man is not considered a good man because he is a good talker – It’s […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results -Albert Einstein A challenge for all political parties.  Why not a second chamber with equal representation for Tamils, Sinhalese, and Muslims? The momentum for resolving the ethnic issue that has bedeviled the country since independence has taken a […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Food Security means that all people always have physical & economic access to adequate amounts of nutritious, safe, and culturally appropriate foods, which are produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially just manner, and that people are able to make informed decisions about their food choices (https://www.resilience.org/stories/2015-01-09/what-is-food-security/). The FAO defines the four […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Another global recession is imminent. The US, UK, EU are all expected have lower growth rates and China’s growth has slowed down. India stands alone as a country that my bets weather the storm. There has been no discussion about its possible effect on Sri Lanka and what mitigating steps should be […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale One needs to question whether strengthening of Sinhala Buddhist hegemony has been a consequence of other religious denominations veering more towards orthodoxy and fundamentalism or whether it has been the other way about. There is confusion as to where the Egg is and where the Chicken is. During a meeting in Anuradhapura […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results – Albert Einstein Where are the protestors, the system has drowned them. Where is the system, it is where it has always been. Where are the people? they’re all back in the hole they have always been” – paraphrasing the lines […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made mistakes as President. However, he should not be treated like a Pariah. There are other opportunists riding the wave of discontentment, who should wear the hat of a Pariah before Gotabhaya. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa made mistakes as the President of the country, and grave ones at that too. Some of […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale A chattering crow lives out nine generations of aged men,but a stag’s life is four time a crow’s,and a raven’s life makes three stags old,while the phoenix outlives nine ravens,but we, the rich-haired Nymphsdaughters of Zeus the aegis-holder,outlive ten phoenixes. The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”  Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States The Prime Minister has been as frank as he could be about […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale A shortage of medicine caused by an economic crisis in Sri Lanka could soon cause deaths, doctors said, as hospitals are forced to postpone life-saving procedures for their patients because they do not have the necessary drugs – Reuters In a news item titled as above, Reuters have bared what many in […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Sri Lanka has defaulted on a foreign loan interest component for the first time in its history. It is a day of shame for a country that boasts of such a rich and ancient cultural heritage, and which has produced so many people of eminence in so many fields of expertise over […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology (with analogs in many cultures) that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, others that it simply dies and […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale Those who desire to treat politics and morals separately will never understand anything of either. The practice of politics not only can, but must be reconciled with the imperatives of honesty – Jean-Jacques Rousseau It is often said that politicians have the morals of alley cats. Some say asking a politician whether he or she is […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale During Mahinda Rajapaksa’s time at the helm of Sri Lankan politics, the 30 year war was won, GDP growth reached 7% by 2015, per capita income rose from USD 1065 in 2004 to USD 3843 by 2015 and GDP rose from USD 20.66 Billion in 2004 to USD 80.6 Billion by 2015. […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale The sign “The Buck Stops Here” that was on President Truman’s desk in his White House office was made in the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma. Fred A. Canfil, then United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri and a friend of Mr. Truman, saw a similar sign while visiting […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale While negotiating the IMF package of assistance, the Sri Lanka government could consider a summit with Japan, South Korea, China, India, the EU, UK, USA and the Middle Eastern Arab States for a relief package. Such a package could potentially be up to USD 10 Billion if handled at the highest levels […]

By Raj Gonsalkorale In the immediate term, all political parties in Parliament should bury their respective hatchets, and agree on a political truce for the next two years. They could take the next step and agree to form a national government or a national governance council for two years. The theme of such a government […]