By Asiri Fernando/The Sunday Morning Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, July 14:  Sri Lanka’s efforts to build sovereign capacity for marine scientific research and expand its understanding of its maritime domain and resource require strategic guidance, says former Naval Chief of Staff and Chief Hydrographer, Admiral (Retd) Y.N. Jayarathna.

More than the equipment, I would say what we need most is strategic guidance on how and what to do with ocean science for Sri Lanka. Once we have strategic guidance, everything else will gradually fall into place. Marine science and related equipment that are used for it are costly. Our national budget may not be able to fund them effectively.”

Therefore, for some time, we may have to depend on foreign donations. We will have to work with what we have. But to do so, we need to know what our national goals are for marine science. We have to plan these out. That’s why strategic guidelines is important,” Adm. Jayarathna told The Sunday Morning.

He pointed out that the data gathered from Marine Scientific Research (MSR) over the last few decades remained underutilised as national objectives and a roadmap to reach them were not clearly issued by the State.

When asked about Sri Lanka’s current sovereign capacity for Marine Scientific Research  Adm. Jayarathna stated: I would say our capacity is good, although we lack modern equipment. However, what we really lack is usage of what we have in hand. Our oceanographers are confined to the coastal area; they need to go out to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the high seas. We do not have the vessels for them to go to the high seas and spend two to three weeks at sea conducting research. Even if they do go, they lack deep sea research equipment to make the most of such a journey.”

Adm. Jayarathna also pointed out that due to the absence of meaningful funding for MSR, Sri Lankan academia and State institutions had got into the habit of welcoming any foreign funding and research opportunities.

When asked about Sri Lankan academia’s collaborations with foreign entities, the concerns that surround such agreements, and the lack of transparency about what becomes of the data derived from joint research that had taken place in the past, he said: Some universities jump at the funding and opportunities many foreign academia/institutions bring. They do so because there has been little or no funding from the State. Because the State is not investing, the universities work in a narrow-minded manner, which is where the problems start.”

When they do joint research, we later find that the data collected is missing. When the Navy was tasked with the National Maritime Data Repository, we found that much of the data from past joint research was missing. Or the data is there, but no one can access it, nor do we have the specific/proprietary software needed to access it. This is because local researchers who were part of the survey had travelled overseas for higher education or migrated.”

As such, it is important for Sri Lanka to first get its house in order while capacity-building is being done.

One of the other key issues that needs to be addressed is the lack of understanding in the State leadership regarding the subject, which necessitates awareness building within the policymaking community.

No change in Moratorium

Earlier this month, foreign and local media reported that Sri Lanka had decided to lift the one-year moratorium on research by foreign MSR vessels in Sri Lankan waters and its EEZ. However, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry refuted these reports.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Minister Sabry stated that reports had misquoted the essence of what he had said in an interview, and that no decision had been made by the Government regarding the moratorium, which was introduced for 2024.

This is misquoting the essence of it. Right now, we have a moratorium until the end of the year. We will assess the situation at the end of the year and then decide whether to continue the moratorium or lift it, in that there is a possibility of lifting it. However, it all depends on us and our institutions building sovereign capacity for such surveys,” Sabry said.

Of course, as a nation that aspires to become a regional and global maritime hub, we are duty-bound to respect and recognise our obligations in terms of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to provide facilities for port call and replenishment. Naturally, being a neutral and non-aligned country, we cannot have different rules for different countries, and thus China will also have equal opportunities just like any other country,” Sabry explained.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that control tools like the moratorium could not be kept in effect indefinitely, as it negatively affected the country’s national interest, adding that Sri Lanka would consider reviewing it once the island nation is comfortable with its sovereign capacity-building.

Sovereign capacity-building

In mid-2023, with heightened geopolitical pressure from India, the US, and other nations due to the multiple visits by Chinese MSR vessels, the Sri Lankan Government decided to build sovereign capacity for hydrographic research, reaching out to several countries for assistance.

India, Australia, Japan, and the UK are in discussion with Sri Lanka to aid in the effort. Sri Lanka also enacted new laws and established a National Hydrographic Office under the Ministry of Defence to further the national goal.

The Japanese government in May this year announced that it would offer Sri Lanka a vessel equipped for underwater surveys, which would aid in capacity-building to conduct hydrographic research and chart Sri Lanka’s maritime domain.

Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa stated: Japan and Sri Lanka are both island nations surrounded by the sea. Japan intends to further strengthen cooperation with Sri Lanka in the maritime domain in order to realise a ‘free and open’ Indo-Pacific. In this regard, based on a request from Sri Lanka, I have conveyed to Minister Sabry that Japan will offer a vessel equipped with sonar to be used for compiling maritime charts.”

According to State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, Sri Lanka is currently in discussions with Japan on the delivery and capacity-building for hydrography.

Tennakoon told The Sunday Morning that Sri Lanka is also in discussion with countries like the UK, India, the US, Australia, and France for sovereign capacity-building for marine scientific research.

It is reliably learnt that Sri Lanka may receive a towed multi-beam sonar for undersea surveys next year, which will be a significant capacity improvement for the island nation. Multi-beam surveys are a form of acoustic survey that uses sound to map the depth and topography of the seafloor.

When asked about Japanese plans to donate a vessel capable of hydrographic research to Sri Lanka, which was announced during Kamikawa’s recent visit to Colombo, Foreign Minister Sabry said that the matter is progressing quickly and that Japan is coordinating the donation with the Sri Lankan Government including the Ministry of Defence.  

Control and Clarity in SOP

According to senior government officials in touch with the matter, an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to grant diplomatic clearance to conduct marine research in Sri Lankan waters, its EEZ, and the continental shelf, is linked to Articles 238 and 265 of the UNCLOS.

It is reliably learnt that the SOP covers the approval-seeking process for foreign MSR vessels to conduct research and to call at Sri Lankan ports.

The new SOP dictates that a foreign research vessel must lodge a request to call at one of our ports or for a joint research, six months prior to the commencement of the research or arrival at a port. The foreign party must inform of any amendments two months ahead of schedule. Under the new SOP, Sri Lanka has also dictated that we may not consider requests to survey resource exploration and exploitation or destructive surveys, such as those where drilling of seabed or demolitions are involved.”

We will also decline any request where we find inaccuracies in the information provided. We have banned the use of the data collected for any military purpose by the foreign state which jointly conducts the research. We will have Navy observers on-board, check and verify equipment on-board, and the ships must keep their satellite beacon (Automatic Identification System – AIS tracking) switched on at all times during the survey,” a senior Government official told The Sunday Morning on condition of anonymity.

It is also learnt that the government reserves the right to suspend any approval granted if the research carried out diverts from that in the application. Further, if the research request involves several foreign states, the state which makes the application is considered as the key applicant. International organisations of research repute can also apply for permission for joint research. 

The senior government source also stated that the SOP dictated that all data gathered by joint research in the future shall be given to the Sri Lankan government and that Sri Lanka provided access to such data and reports derived from the research.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe stated in New Delhi and in Washington that Sri Lanka has consulted the countries that have raised concerns about frequent visits by Chinese MSR and satellite tracking vessel and the control of data derived from research (as they have potential for military applications).

The new SOP appears to be tailored to address such concerns and for Sri Lanka to protect its national interest when working with foreign research partners.

While the SOP is in effect, and as Sri Lanka has permitted some MSR vessels to call port for replenishment, no permission has been granted to any foreign MSR vessel to conduct research in Sri Lankan waters and its EEZ to date.

Chinese MSR Vessel in the IOR

It must be noted that the moratorium has not stopped Chinese MSR vessel visits to the Indian Ocean, with multiple vessels including satellite tracking vessels conducting surveys in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), calling on ports in the Maldives and in other countries over the past seven months.

This week, Chinese MSR vessel Zhong Shan Da Xue (IMO: 9909534) is reportedly in the southern Indian Ocean, while Xiang Yang Hong 3, whose visit Sri Lanka turned down in December 2023 (the vessel later called port in the Maldives and conducted extensive surveys in the south Indian Ocean), has returned to the IOR, according to The Intel Lab Geo-Intelligence Researcher Damien Symon.

By Namini Wijedasa Courtesy The Sunday Times

An Indian government proposal, which Sri Lanka has accepted, will see the New Delhi-headquartered Petronet LNG Ltd. (PLL) supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the rate of 40 containers a day to thermal plants in Kerawalapitiya.

These will be shipped from the port of Kochi and taken by road to the power plants run by Sri Lanka’s LTL Holdings Ltd. in Kerawalapitiya. There is potential under the India-initiated proposal to expand the shipments to 60–70 containers a day.

However, questions have arisen about the nature of the contract as there was no competitive tender. While it is being described as a government-to-government (G-to-G) deal, Sri Lanka has proposed licensing LTL Holdings Ltd., which has a convoluted ownership structure, to buy the gas directly from the Indian government-owned PLL. The PLL deal was struck even as Sri Lanka last year suspended a proposal for China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and Pakistan’s Engro Corporation to develop a floating storage and re-gasification unit (FSRU) at Kerawalapitiya and an offshore and onshore re-gasification LNG transmission pipeline network with an onshore receiving facility, etc. The expensive project was deemed unfeasible amidst changing—and much worse—economic conditions in the country.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet later submitted a joint proposal from LTL and PLL to operate the 350 MW Sobadhanavi combined cycle plant, which is under construction in Kerawalapitiya, using re-gasified LNG.

According to the report, it was proposed that LNG will be imported to Colombo Port via ISO tanks from PLL’s Kochi terminal, following a streamlined logistical process,” the Cabinet paper submitted by the Power and Energy Ministry says. LTL and PLL are to float a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) for this. And they have sought a take-or-pay guarantee from the Ceylon Electricity Board, which will purchase the electricity for the grid.

In the oil and gas industry, a take-or-pay contract obligates the buyer to take an agreed-upon minimum quantity of gas at a set contract price over a given period or to pay an agreed-on amount if the minimum gas quantity is not taken.

The price LTL pays will be indexed to what PLL already has contracted with its suppliers, of whom it has several,” an informed source said. LTL has the responsibility to negotiate a workable price and carry the procurement burden.”

It is a G-to G in the sense that PLL, a government company, is the Government of India nominee to supply LNG and LTL is the Government of Sri Lanka nominee to receive LNG, for its own requirements,” he added.

Detractors said, however, that this is similar to the Indian and Sri Lankan governments passing off the Adani contract for the wind power plants in the North as G-to-G by virtue of Adani Green Energy Ltd. being India’s nominee. There was no transparency in the PLL-LTL deal as well, and that contravenes IMF requirements,” one power sector source said. It was done behind closed doors.”

With limited fiscal space, balance sheet strength, and no track record, Sri Lanka will not be able to secure an LNG supply contract as an independent off-taker at a reasonable premium through competitive tender,” responded Saliya Wickramasuriya, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Chairman, in his capacity as head of the government’s Gas Utilisation Master Plan Committee (GUMPC). The only way the molecule can be sourced at this time is collaboratively, with a flexible and supportive supplier, who understands Sri Lanka’s needs.”

The PLL contract is an interim solution, Mr. Wickramasuriya added, pending the production of Sri Lanka’s own gas. The Cabinet recently sanctioned what he called the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle that enables parties to express interest in conducting exploration offshore with a view to eventual production.” But local gas production will take time.

Courtesy Gulf News

Aviation Minister Nimal Sripala de Silva said none of the bidding parties was ‘worthy’

Dubai: The government of Sri Lanka has decided against selling a minority stake of 49 per cent of its national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, after none of the bidding entities that expressed interest in it was deemed worthy.” Instead, the airline will undergo restructuring, Sri Lankan Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva said in a statement. Details about the restructuring agenda have yet to be revealed.

Silva said current regulations permit the transfer of 40 per cent of Sri Lanka’s national carrier shares to another entity, yet suitable investors have not shown interest so far.

We are not going to sell Sri Lankan Airlines but restructure it. According to Sri Lankan law, only 49 per cent of the airline’s shares can be given to a non-Sri Lankan entity. But there is minimal interest in the world for that.”

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Bid requests from six firms

Richard Nuttall, the CEO of Sri Lankan Airlines, told Gulf News that the government had received bids from six firms for the stake sale.

The Minister said, Only six parties bid for the airline, and we didn’t find anyone worthy among them. Even if we were to extend this opportunity to a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, their capabilities would need to be demonstrated.”

He added, The parties should have a strong balance sheet and expertise, as the jobs of 6,000 people are at stake.”

The requests for qualification (in response to a formal solicitation process) were received from AirAsia Consulting Sdn. Bhd., Dharshaan Elite Investment Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, FITS Aviation Private Ltd., Sherisha Technologies Private Limited, Treasure Republic Guardians Limited, and Hayleys PLC.

Dubai’s Emirates bought a 43.6 per cent stake in Sri Lankan in 1998, together with a ten-year management concession. However, it opted not to renew its contract in 2008. It divested its shares to Colombo in 2010, after which efforts at finding a strategic investor for the airline failed. In the mid-last year, reports of a Middle East investor wanting to acquire a stake in the airline emerged. However, Nuttall restated these rumours and said only one Qatari firm had expressed interest in buying the airline.

Attractive deal

In 2022, the Sri Lankan government agreed to restructure and partially privatise several state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including the airline, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The sell-off of state-owned companies is a fundamental component of the nation’s overall plan to mitigate losses incurred by state-owned businesses. This is a critical goal under the terms of a $2.9 billion IMF loan Sri Lanka secured.

The government of Sri Lanka, guided by the World Bank subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC), had hoped to raise $500 million by selling the airline’s catering and ground handling units.

The government even offered potential buyers an attractive deal, including assuming $510 million of the airline’s debt.

The statement is released by the Governments of the United States and Sri Lanka

The following statement is released by the Governments of the United States and Sri Lanka on the occasion of the Fifth United States-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue held on July 12 in Washington, D.C.

The United States and Sri Lanka convened the Fifth U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue on July 12, 2024, in Washington, D.C. to express their shared commitment to economic prosperity, security cooperation, sustainable development, democracy and human rights, and people-to-people exchanges.  The meeting was co-chaired by Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs of the U.S. Department of State John Bass and Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Aruni Wijewardane.  The United States and Sri Lanka reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral relationship, firmly rooted in upholding shared democratic values and respect for national sovereignty, and expressed a desire to further strengthen the partnership.

The United States welcomed the signs of economic stabilization in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s steadfast commitment to the IMF program and reforms, which will lay the groundwork for recovery, financial governance, and future growth.  Sri Lanka expressed its sincere appreciation for U.S. economic assistance during the past crisis, totaling more than a quarter-billion dollars.  The United States continues to support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring and economic and governance reform agenda to promote sustainable growth.

Both delegations reiterated their intent to explore new opportunities to enhance market access, bilateral trade, investment, and tourism.  The United States expressed its commitment to supporting Sri Lanka’s progress in its IMF program by encouraging private-sector investment, enhancing its capacity to combat corruption, and addressing food insecurity for vulnerable populations.  The U.S. delegation welcomed the Sri Lankan government’s increased investment in the social protection network, including measures to support women through the Women’s Empowerment Act.  Sri Lanka welcomed the role of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is committing $553 million to support the development of the West Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo, an investment that provides critical infrastructure and jobs.  DFC continues to explore additional opportunities to invest in Sri Lanka.  The delegations also welcomed continued discussions under the U.S.-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in the coming year, where they will discuss bilateral trade issues.

Both countries committed to continue working together to address climate change and other environmental challenges.  The United States welcomed Sri Lanka’s goal to produce 70 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and to attain carbon neutrality by 2050.  The United States is providing assistance under the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Sri Lanka Energy Program.  Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for ongoing U.S. grant assistance to help meet these goals, including technical assistance to support energy sector reform and a pipeline of renewable energy projects.  Sri Lanka appreciated U.S. support to achieve global climate financing targets and welcomed U.S. support on financing its energy transition as discussed during the COP 28 in 2023.

The United States expressed its intent to continue supporting the sustainable development of Sri Lanka through the U.S. Agency for International Development, including through programs to strengthen transparency, governance, and economic resilience; enhance environmental and climate resilience; and improve energy security and sustainability.  This includes the announcement of USAID’s forthcoming five-year activity to foster inclusive and sustainable agriculture-led economic growth in Sri Lanka.

The U.S. delegation reaffirmed its commitment to promote school nutrition and education cooperation for Sri Lankan children in consultation with the Sri Lankan Government.  Both sides recognized that these measures would facilitate Sri Lanka’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.  Sri Lanka appreciated the successful nutrition campaign conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)/Foreign Agricultural Service McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program PALAM/A project with Save the Children and the new five-year, $32.5 million project expansion to provide meals to about 200,000 students covered under Sri Lanka’s national school meal program.

The U.S. delegation affirmed their commitment to a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.  Sri Lanka and the United States resolved to continue cooperation on maritime security aimed at a safe maritime domain in the Indian Ocean, including through activities undertaken under Sri Lanka’s tenure as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).   Sri Lanka welcomed the planned arrival of the fourth High Endurance U.S. Coast Guard Cutter transferred through the U.S. Excess Defense Articles program and a King Air aircraft to strengthen Sri Lanka’s maritime domain awareness and respond to humanitarian and post-disaster needs, totaling $30.18 million.

Both delegations welcomed ongoing bilateral defense and security sector cooperation, including U.S. support for humanitarian demining and disaster relief and response, joint military engagements, cooperation on cyber security, and port security.  The United States resolved to explore opportunities to increase support for Sri Lanka’s hydrographic mapping capabilities and training and development of personnel in this field.  The United States also expressed gratitude to Sri Lanka for its participation and support in activities aimed at safety, security, and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

The United States welcomed steps taken by Sri Lanka to promote reconciliation and human rights and encouraged continued efforts on these issues.  Sri Lanka apprised the United States of the recent developments on reconciliation and domestic mechanisms to uphold democracy and further good governance, the rule of law and the promotion and protection of human rights.  The United States encouraged Sri Lanka to continue forward on these issues inclusively, incorporating input from stakeholders.  The United States appreciated the passage of anti-corruption legislation and the release of government-held lands back to the original owners in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka.

Both delegations expressed strong support for ongoing cooperation between the two countries in education and culture.  The delegations welcomed ongoing efforts to recognize and preserve Sri Lanka’s rich cultural heritage through the funding received from the United States over the last 23 years.  The United States emphasized the value of educational exchanges, such as the Fulbright program, and expressed interest in working together to further expand opportunities for university partnerships, joint research endeavors, and overseas study and exchanges that would benefit both countries.  The United States highlighted the launch of the U.S. Government’s Young South Asian Leadership Initiative, a regional leadership training program based out of Colombo.  The delegations decided to continue collaboration on English Language teaching, teacher training, curriculum development, and other support to strengthen Sri Lanka’s education sector. The delegations lauded the return of the Peace Corps to Sri Lanka in 2024 after a 26-year hiatus.

The United States and Sri Lanka emphasized the importance of their 76-year partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to encourage progress in a broad range of areas, including in economy and development, anti-corruption, climate change, security cooperation, governance and human rights, and people-to-people exchange.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, July 15 (Daily Mirror)- The Fundamental Rights petition filed by a lawyer seeking a declaration that the Presidential election should not be held without a referendum on the 19th amendment to the Constitution, was dismissed by the Supreme Court with a Rs. 500,000 cost a short while ago.

The Supreme Court three-judge-bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice Arjuna Obeysekera and Justice Priyantha Fernando decided to dismiss the petition citing that there is no merit in the petition.

The petitioner was ordered to pay the cost before July 31 this year.

In his petition, Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri challenged the holding of a Presidential election this year under the provisions of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, as he believes that the 19th amendment was not properly passed with a referendum.

ජනාධිපතිවරණය කල්දැමීමට ඉල්ලූ දෙවැනි පෙත්සමත් විසිවෙයි අගවිනිසුරුගෙන් පෙත්සම්කරුට දෝස් මුරයක් “මෙච්චර කියලත් තේරෙන්නේ නැත්නම්…”

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

අතිගරු ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමාගේ සංකල්පයකට අනුව අඩු ආදායම්ලාභී පවුල්වල දරුවන් හට ශිෂ්‍යත්ව පිරිනැමීමේ වැඩසටහන යටතේ ඔවුන්ගේ අධ්‍යාපන කටයුතු වෙනුවෙන් අවශ්‍ය මුල්‍ය ප්‍රතිපාදන ලබාදීම මේ වනවිට දීප ව්‍යාප්තව දිස්ත්‍රික් මට්ටමින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කෙරෙමින් පවතී.

ඒ අනුව පසුගිය දා (ජුලි 13) මාතලේ එඩ්වඩ් ක්‍රීඩාංගනයේදී පැවති මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කයේ අඩු ආදායම්ලාභී පවුල්වල සිසුන් වෙනුවෙන් ජනාධිපති ශිෂ්‍යත්ව පිරිනැමීමේ උත්සවයට ආරක්‍ෂක රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ප්‍රමිත බණ්ඩාර තෙන්නකෝන් මැතිතුමා සහභාගි විය.

එහිදී අදහස් දක්වමින් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා, පාඩම් පොතට සීමා නොවී ප්‍රායෝගිකව ජීවිත ගොඩනගා ගැනීමට හුරුකරන අධ්‍යාපන ක්‍රමවේදයක් අප රටේ ක්‍රියාත්මක කල යුතු බවත්, ඒ ඔස්සේ රටට වැඩදායී පුරවැසියන් බිහිකිරීම අත්‍යවශ්‍ය කරුණක් බවත් ප්‍රකාශ කලේය. එමෙන්ම ප්‍රබල මූල්‍ය ස්ථාවරත්වයක් සහිත රටවල පවා ක්‍රියාත්මක නොවන, අප රටේ සිසු දරුවන්ට මහඟු දායාදයක් වන නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය තුලින් එහි උපරිම ප්‍රථිපල ලබාගැනීම අප කාගේත් වගකීම බවද අවධාරණය කලේය.

එමෙන්ම අධ්‍යාපනයේ වැදගත්කම හඳුනාගනිමින්, රජය මගින් ක්‍රියාත්මක ‘කඳුකර දශකය’ සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘතිය යටතේ දඹුල්ල හා මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්ක සඳහා ලබාදී ඇති අරමුදල් වලින් 85%කට වැඩි ප්‍රමාණයක් පාසල් වල සංවර්ධන හා ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ කටයුතු වෙනුවෙන් භාවිතා කෙරෙන බවද, එම සංවර්ධන ව්‍යාපෘති දැනටමත් ක්‍රියාත්මක බවද අමාත්‍යවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කලේය.

අතිගරු ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මැතිතුමාගේ සංකල්පයකට අනුව ක්‍රියාත්මක වන ජනාධිපති ශිෂ්‍යත්ව වැඩසටහන” යටතේ 2024 වසර සඳහා ශිෂ්‍යත්ව එක්ලක්‍ෂ දහසය දහසක් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමට නියමිතය. ඒ අනුව අ.පො.ස (උසස් පෙළ) හදාරන සිසුන් 6000කට මසකට රුපියල් 6000ක් බැගින් මාස 24ක කාලයක් දක්වා ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ලබාදීම වෙනුවෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 824ක් වෙන් කර ඇති අතර, 1 ශ්‍රේණියේ සිට 11 ශ්‍රේණිය දක්වා අධ්‍යාපනය හදාරන සිසුන් 100,000කට මසකට රුපියල් 3000ක් බැගින් මාස 12ක් දක්වා ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ලබාදීම වෙනුවෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 3600ක මුදලක් ද වෙන් කොට ඇත.

ඊට අමතරව පිරිවෙන් සහ ශීල මාතා අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනවල ඉගෙනුම ලබන ශිෂ්‍ය භික්ෂූන් සහ ශීල මාතා වහන්සේලාට මෙන්ම ගිහි ශිෂ්‍ය ශිෂ්‍යාවන් සඳහා පිරිනැමෙන ශිෂ්‍යත්ව වැඩසටහන සඳහා රුපියල් මිලියන 288ක් වෙන් කර ඇත. තවද, අ.පො.ස (උසස් පෙළ) සඳහා විෂයක් ලෙස තොරතුරු තාක්‍ෂණය හදාරන සිසුන් වෙනුවෙන් නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාව සහ ජනාධිපති අරමුදල එක්ව පිරිනමන ශිෂ්‍යත්ව වැඩසටහන වෙනුවෙන් රුපියල් මිලියන 720ක් වෙන් කර තිබේ. ඒ අනුව දැනට පවතින ශිෂ්‍යත්ව වැඩසටහන්වලට අමතරව මෙම ශිෂ්‍යත්ව වැඩසටහන් සඳහා පාසල් සිසුන් වෙනුවෙන් තවත් රුපියල් මිලියන 5000ක් වෙන් කෙරේ.

මේ අනුව මාතලේ දිස්ත්‍රික්කය තුල ක්‍රියාත්මක ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ප්‍රදාන වැඩසටහනෙහි පළමු අදියර යටතේ ශිෂ්‍යත්වලාභීන් 3114ක් වෙත සංකේතාත්මකව ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ප්‍රදානය සිදුකළ අතර, අනෙකුත් සිසු දරුවන් වෙත ඉදිරියේදී කඩිනමින් එම ශිෂ්‍යත්ව ලබාදීමට අවශ්‍ය කටයුතු සලසා ඇත.

By Engr. Kanthar Balanathan DipEE (UK), GradCert (RelEng-Monash), DipBus&Adm (Finance-Massey), C.Eng., MIEE, Former Director of Power Engineering Solutions Pty Ltd, Consulting Electrical Engineers Leading Engineer of the World 2006, UK Authority Award

Recent unrest at the Chavakacheri Base Hospital (CBH) and the A9 roadside has prompted me to write this small narrative of the politics and culture of Tamil doctors from my experience with the Tamil doctors in SL.

I was on holiday and in my village which is about six miles from Jaffna town, I experienced pain in my right side of the belly. My dad who was a retired Police officer (Sub-Inspector) took me to the Araly West unit and the Apothecary there asked my dad to take me to the Jaffna Hospital immediately as I had an appendectomy (serious). He took me to the Jaffna hospital and the doctor immediately checked me and fixed me for operation. This was on a Sunday around 5 pm and the operation was fixed for 10 am on Monday. I was taken to the theatre and the Surgeon did the operation on Monday at 10:00 am and I was looked after well. After one week I was discharged, and the doctor asked me to check with him every three days for two weeks. This was in 1964 April. During this time the Jaffna Hospital was clean, effective, and efficient with Tamil doctors performing their duties with care. For the one week there I observed every patient was looked after well. It was the love of the medical facility towards the patients that attracted me. There was no bribery or corrupt act during this period.

In November 1965, I was given a job with the DGEU (Electricity department). I had to come to Jaffna for the medical examination that was required by the DGEU. All the tests were okay and finally, the ECG test and the signing-off were given to the recently returned Physician. His name was Dr Jeyasingham, I think (Dr. J). Recently returned as FRCP. He said that I had a heart issue and that he could not sign (based on the ECG). He said that I might die within three years if I did not have surgery to fix it. My dad spoke to the senior Physician Dr. Aanantharajah (Dr. A) and Dr. A came and checked me. He told the Junior physician that it was okay to sign me off as fit for duty. I noticed when Dr A came the junior doctor was a bit worried. Anyway, I worked with the DGEU until I left for the UK to finish my studies and came back and worked with the Cement Works at KKS up to 1977. Cement is hard work as a Works Engineer. After this, I worked in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, New Zealand and Australia. Nothing happened to me, and I was quite well.

In 2003 at 60 years of age, I had a heart issue and went through an Angioplasty in Australia. AT 60 I would have retired in Sri Lanka. However, I worked until I was 75 as a Consulting Engineer and retired in Australia. Today, I am 81+.

The issue here is that I presume that the Junior Physician, Dr. J may have expected a bribe from me. He was from Heartley College, and I was also from Heartly College. The doctor was from Point Pedro.

In 2003 I was surprised to meet Dr. A at Gladstone, Australia. What I gathered is that ECG was not a true examination for heart issues as in Australia doctors do not value ECG, however, other examinations. Dr. A also expressed his opinion. I am bringing this information to propagate that some young doctors from the North have a blown head and think that they are superior, just because they are doctors. Only a few doctors are blown-up characters.

There is a Forensic Pathologist here in Australia who talks about caste, and he is great. The guy looks like an African, dark black and from Karaitivu (Karainagar). Whatever it is, he deals with dead bodies.

The issue at CBH is that even if the relatives want to claim the corpse of their relative dead bodies, the hospital staff demands a bribe. What a sick country is SL!

When I was in Nigeria, I went to see a doctor and it was a Tamil woman (Dr. Mrs Arumugam). She is crazy and a sick person. I never went to see her after two times. I managed my medical affairs.

In NZ and Australia, I have never consulted a Tamil doctor.  Always go to a Sinhala doctor or an Australian. In Australia and NZ Tamil doctors want to be the President or the Chairman of Tamil societies or organisations and temples. One doctor was the President of the TRO.

At CBH:

• Why is the Northern administration keen on getting rid of RA?
• Are these jokers scared that their malpractices may be leaked with proof?
• The proof is that the people are with Dr. RA.
• Why have some threatened Dr RA?
• What happened to the expensive medical equipment that was allocated to CBH?
• The Maffia group do not function the total time allocated to function but takes unofficial leave.
• Maybe the private clinics have been throwing/dumping the Medi-waste at Ariyalai/Kallundai.
• The Tamils cannot be corrected as they are not flexible, but rigid in their thoughts and actions.
• Why cannot the government act against Dr. Ketheeswaran?
• The 25 doctors get paid by the government and they also get paid by the private clinics they own.
• How can they shift the state-of-the-art equipment to their private clinic? This is smuggling.
• The character of Tamils is that they are always violent and in a fighting mode.
• Does SL have an Attorney General? Do we have a law in SL?
• During the NPC time, all four ministers were involved in bribery and corruption.
• Why cannot Tamils correct themselves and live peacefully?
• Most Tamils are megalomaniacs.
• The Minister of Health should get up from sleep and act accordingly.
• The Governor of the NP should be given authority to deal with the health department.
• We all know that Keheliya Rambukwella was jailed for fraudulent practice.
• It is recommended that doctors shall be dealt with judicially and prudently.

I am 81+. I have a daughter who is a Surgeon, a Son who has a PhD, and a daughter-in Law who has a PhD and is a Scientist. (The difference between Sri Lanka and Australia). Why cannot SL get up from malpractices and grow up?

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ 2024.07.15 දින බස්නාහිර පළාතේ පළාත් පාලන ආයතන හී ස්ථිර නොවූ, අනියම්, ආදේශක, කොන්ත්‍රාත් තාවකාලික, සහන පදනම් සේවකයින් 1720ට ස්ථිර පත්වීම් ප්‍රදානය කිරීම නිමිත්තෙන් අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේ පැවැති උත්සවයේදීය.

මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරයා

පළාත් පාලන ආයතනවල සේවය කරමින් සිටි ඔබ ස්ථිරත්වය ලබන දිනය අදයි. ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් මේ  දිනය උදා කිරීමට ආණ්ඩුවටත්, පළාත් සභාවටත්,  අපේ අමාත්‍යංශයටත් විශාල ශක්තියක් වුන රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජානක වක්කුඹුර මහතාට ස්තූතිවන්ත වෙනවා. එතුමා මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්ගේත්, ඔබේත්, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශයේත් හඩ ඉදිරියට ගෙනාවේ අපේ රට අඛණ්ඩව මූල්‍ය ප්‍රශ්නයකට මුහුණ දෙමින් සිටි අවස්ථාවකයි.

පසුගිය වසර අපට බොහෝම දුෂ්කර වසරක් වුණා. සිටි තැනින් හිස එසවීමේ දැවැන්ත භාරකාරත්වය ගත්තේ ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතායි. ඒ සියලු අභියෝග මැද පළාත් පාලන ආයතනවල අස්ථිර, තාවකාලික, කොන්ත්‍රාත් සේවකයින් වෙනුවෙන් විශේෂ සහයෝගයක් ලබා දීමට ජනාධිපතිතුමා මැදිහත් වුණා. අපේ මන්ත්‍රී කණ්ඩායම පළමුවෙන් ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් කතා කරපු දවස, අපේ වෘත්තීය සමිති එකමුතුව ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් කතා කරපු දවස වගේම ජනාධිපතිතුමා හා අප මුණ ගැසුනු අවස්ථාවේත් මූල්‍ය තත්ත්වයේ අමාරුකම නිසා ඔබව ස්ථිර කරන්න බැහැ කිව්වේ නැහැ. තාවකාලික හෝ කොන්ත්‍රාත් ඉන්න කිසිම සේවකයෙක් අයින් කරන්න එපා යි එතුමා උපදෙස් දුන්නා. ආර්ථිකය ජය ගෙන ප්‍රශ්නය විසදන්න ශක්තියක් ලැබෙන තෙක් අඛණ්ඩව ඔබේ සේවා කාලය දිගු කරමු කිව්වා. ජනාධිපතිතුමා ඒ විශ්වාසය අපිට ලබා දුන්නා. මහජනයා කෙරෙහි තිබුණු විශ්වාසයයි, අමාරු තත්ත්වයෙන් රට ගොඩගන්න පුළුවන් කියන විශ්වාසයයි එතුමාට තිබුණා. පසුගිය වසරේ අපේ අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලයත් ජනාධිපතිතුමත් සාකච්ඡා කර අභියෝග රැසකට මුහුණ දෙමින් සරලව ඒ ප්‍රශ්න හරහා ගමන් කළා.

ඔබ කුමන රැකියාවක් කළත් අද ස්ථිර පත්වීමක් ලැබුණා. මේ දවස අමතක නොවන දිනයක් විදියට බොහොම ආඩම්බරයෙන් කතා කරන්න. ඔබේ ජිවිතයේ අලුත්ම පරිච්ඡේදයකටයි අවතීර්ණ වෙන්නේ. අපි ඔබගෙන් ඉල්ලන්නේ තමන්ගේ රාජකාරිය එලෙසම ඉටු කරන්න. වෙලාව පිළිබඳවත් නොසලකමින්, මුහුණ දෙන්න වෙන තත්ත්වයන් ගැන නොසලකමින් පළාත් පාලනය හරහා ඉටු කරන ජනතා සේවය ඔබ එලෙසම ඉටු කර තිබෙනවා. ඉදිරියටත් එසේම ඔබේ සේවය ලබා දෙන්න.

රටක මහජන සේවාවේ වැදගත්ම පුරුක පළාත් පාලනයයි. ඈත එපිට ගම්වල වාහනයක් දකින්න නැති, කඩමණ්ඩියක් නොපෙනෙන ගම්වලට සභාපතිවරයා හෝ මන්ත්‍රීවරයා හරහා පළාත් පාලන සේවය ගමන් කරන්නේ ඔබේ සහායෙන්. ඔබේ ජීවිතයට පමණක් නොවෙයි ඔබ සේවය කරන ආයතනයත් ලද ජයග්‍රහණයක් ලෙස ආයතනයත් ආරක්ෂා කරගනිමින් ඔබේ ආයතනය ඉදිරියට ගෙනියන්න පුළුවන්කම ලැබෙනවා. ”

බස්නාහිර පළාත් ආණ්ඩුකාර එයාර් මාෂල් රොෂාන් ගුණතිලක මහතා

අගමැතිතුමා මහජනතාවගේ ප්‍රශ්නවලට ඇහුම්කන් දීලා සේවකයාගේ පැත්ත ගන්නවා. එතුමාගේ ඉතිහාසය එහෙම එකක්. එතුමා මේ අවස්ථාවෙත් ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් පෙනි සිටියා. අගමැතිතුමා කැබිනට් පත්‍රිකාව දානකොට ඒ පිටුපස ජානක වක්කුමුර රාජ්‍ය ඇමැතිවරයාත් හිටියා. අද ස්ථිර පත්වීම් ලබන ඔබ සියලු දෙනා නිවාඩු දිනවලත් සේවය කළා. කම්කරු දිනයේ පවා ඔබ සේවය කරනවා.  මහජනතාව සමඟ සම්බන්ධ වන අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය පුරුකක් ඔබ. අද පත්වීම ලැබීමෙන් පසුව ඔබේ කාර්යක්ෂමතාවය තවත් වැඩි වෙන්න ඕනේ.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජානක වක්කුඹුර මහතා

වසර ගණනාවක් ස්ථිර නොකළ සේවකයින් අටදහස් ගණනක් සිටින දැනගත්තාට පස්සේ ඔබ ස්ථිර කරන්න නව වතාවක් කැබිනට් පත්‍රිකා දාලා දෙවතාවක් අනුමත කරන්න උනා.  පත්විම ස්ථිර වුනත් විශ්‍රාම වැටුප නොලැබෙන්න ගිය නිසා අගමැතිතුමාට දෙවැනි වරටත් කැබිනට්  අනුමතිය ගන්න වුණා. එබේ පත්වීම ස්ථිර කරලා දෙන්න ලොකුම කාර්ය භාරය කලේ අගමැතිතුමා. කිසිම පැකිලීමකින් තොරව මේ දරුවෝ ස්ථිර කරලා පවුලේ අයත් එක්ක සතුටින් ජිවත් වෙන්න අවස්ථාව දෙන්න ඕනේ කියලා අගමැතිතුමා කිව්වා. ඒ වගේම ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා කිව්වෙත් මුදල් අමාත්‍යංශයේ ගැටළු විසදලා ඉක්මනින් මේ වැඩේ කරනවා කියලා. වැඩ කරන දින ගණනට අනුවයි ඔබට වැටුප් ලැබුනේ.

පහුගිය මාසේ 11 වැනිදා ඉදලා ඔබ ස්ථිර සේවකයෙක්.රජයෙන් ලැබෙන  වරප්‍රසාද හිමියි. දැන් ඔබේ කාලාත්‍රයාට දරුවන්ට ඔබේ ප්‍රතිලාභ හිමිවෙනවා. අපේ විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවට ඔබ වෙනුවෙන් තවත් ෆයිල් අටදහස් ගණනක් විවෘත කරන්න වෙනවා.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන විදුර වික්‍රමනායක, නලීන් ප්‍රනාන්දු, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරුන් වන ජානක වක්කුඹුර,  ප්‍රසන්න රණවීර, පියල් නිශාන්ත, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් වන සරත් වීරසේකර, මදුර විතනගේ, යදාමිණී ගුණවර්ධන, සහන් ප්‍රදීප්, මිලාන් ජයතිලක, උපුල් මහේන්ද්‍ර, ඒ. එච්. එම්. ෆවුසි, සංජීව එදිරිමාන්න, අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් ප්‍රදීප් යසරත්න, බස්නාහර පළාත් ප්‍රධාන ලේකම් එස්. එල්. ධම්මිකා කේ. විජේසිංහ, දිසාපතිවරුන් ඇතුළු පළාත් පාලන ආයතන  ලේකම්වවරු, රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් හා පත්වීම්ලාභීන් රැසක් මෙම අවස්ථාවට එක් වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය  

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

දැනට මාස හතරකට පෙර තත්ත්වය හා සසඳන විට රජයේ වැඩපිළිවෙළ එදා මෙන් තුන් ගුණයකට වඩා පිරිසක් අනුමත කරමින් කර ඇතැයි වෙරිටර් රිසර්ච් ආයතනයේ නවතම සමීක්ෂණයක් හෙළි කරයි.

ආණ්ඩුව ගැන ජනතා අනුමැතිය 2024 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ තිබූ සියයට 7ක අගයෙ සියයට 24ක් දක්වා එනම් තෙගුණයකට වැඩියෙන් ඉහළ ගොස් ඇත.

වර්තමාන ආර්ථික තත්ත්වය හොඳ හෝ විශිෂ්ට මට්ටමක පවතින බවට සමීක්ෂණයකට සහභාගී වූවන්ගෙන් සියයට 28ක ප්‍රතිශතයක් වර්ගකර තිබෙන අතර එය 2024 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ තිබුණු සියයට 9ක අගයට වඩා තුන් ගුණයකින් ඉහළ යාමකි.

රටේ ආර්ථික තත්ත්වය යහපත් අතට හැරෙන බව විශ්වාස කරන ජනතාවගේ කොටසත් තෙගුණයකින් ඉහළ ගොස් තිබෙන අතර එම පිරිස ප්‍රතිශතයක් ලෙස සියයට 30කි. 2024 පෙබරවාරි මාසයේ එසේ සිතා ඇත්තේ සියයට 9ක පිරිසක් පමණි.

2024 ජූලි මාසයේ දැනගත හැකි මෙම ධනාත්මක පෙරැළිය 2023 ජූනි මාසයේ පැවැති මට්ටම හා සමාන වනවා මෙන්ම ඇතැම් අංශවලින් තරමක් ඉහළ දළ වේග 2022 ජනවාරියෙන් පසුව රට, ආණ්ඩුව සහ ආර්ථිකය ගැන වැඩිම පිරිසක් ධනාත්මකව සිතූයේ 2023 ජුනි මාසයේ බවද මෙම ප්‍රතිඵල ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් වෙරිටේ රිසර්ච් ආයතනය පවසයි.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

යහපාලන ආණ්ඩුවේ දූෂණ මර්ද ඒකකයේ ප්‍රධානියා ලෙස කටයුතු කළ අනුර කුමාර දිසානායක මහතා වංචා දූෂණ ලිපිගොනු 400ක් පෙන්වුවද ඒවායෙන් 360ක් පමණ හිස් ලිපි ගොනු බවත් ඒවායේ මුල් ලිපිගොනු ඇත්තේ තමන් සතුව බවත් ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා සඳහන් කරයි.

ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා මේ බව සඳහන් කර සිටියේ නීතිඥවරු සමඟ ජනාධිපති කාර්යාලයේ පැවති හමුවේදීය.

”අනුර ෆයිල් 400ක් පෙන්නුවා ඒ ටික මං ගාව තියෙන්නේ. ෆයිල් 400න් 40කට නඩු දැම්මා. ඉතිරු ෆයිල් 360 හිස් බලන්න අවශ්‍ය කෙනෙක් මට කියන්න. ෆයිල් 400ක් නොපෙන්වා 40ක් පෙන්වන්න තිබුණා.”

දේශපාලනය කිරීමට ඕනෑම අයෙකුට අයිතිය තිබෙන නමුත් රට ඉදිරියට ගෙන යන ආර්ථික රාමුව බිඳ දැමීමට කිසිවෙකු කටයුතු නොකළ යුතු බව පැවසූ ජනාධිපතිවරයා, ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමඟ ගිවිසුමට අත්සන් තැබීමත් සමඟ පසුගිය සති කිහිපය තුළ මෙන්ම ඊට පෙර සිදු වූ වැඩවර්ජන ඉදිරි ජනාධිපතිවරණය ඉලක්ක කර ගනිමින් ක්‍රියාත්මක වූ ඒවා බවද පෙන්වා දුන්නේය.

මෙහිදී වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දැක්වූ ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා මෙසේද පැවසිය,

පසුගිය වසර දෙක තුළ මේ රටේ දේශපාලන සංස්කෘතිය වෙනස් වුණා. එහිදී රට ගැන සිතා වැඩකරන කණ්ඩායමක් බිහි වුණා. ඔවුන් සම්ප්‍රදායික දේශපාලනයෙන් ඉවත්ව කටයුතු කළා. ඒ නිසා අද විවිධ පක්ෂවලට අයත් අය වගේම කිසිදු පක්ෂයකට අයත් නැති අයත් මෙම ස්ථානයේ සිටිනවා. 2022 මැයි 09 වනදා සිදුවීම පිළිබඳ මම අලුතින් සඳහන් කළයුතු නැහැ. රටේ ජනතාව පීඩාවට පත්වීම නිසා උද්ඝෝෂණ ඇති වුණා. ඇතැම් අය එම උද්ඝෝෂනවලින් ප්‍රයෝජන ගැනීමට උත්සාහ කළා. අවසානයේ සිදු වුණේ සාම්ප්‍රදායික පක්ෂවලට රටේ නායකත්වයට පැමිණීමට නොහැකි වීමයි.

2021 දෙසැම්බර් මාසයේ ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදලේ කළමනාකරණ අධ්‍යක්ෂවරිය සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කිරිමට මට අවස්ථාව ලැබුණා. රට තුළ ඉදිරියේ දී ආර්ථික ගැටළුවක් ඇති විය හැකි බවත්, ඒ පිළිබඳ කඩිනමින් කටයුතු කරන ලෙස ජනාධිපතිතුමාට දැනුම් දෙන ලෙසත් එතුමිය මා සමඟ ප්‍රකාශ කළා.

මම ඒ බව හිටපු ජනාධිපතිතුමාට දැනුම් දුන්නා. ඒ වගේම ලෝක බැංකුවේ නියෝජිතයන් පැමිණි අවස්ථාවේදීත් අප මේ පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡා කළා. ඒ සමඟම ජනාධිපතිතුමා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ සිටින දේශපාලන පක්ෂ කැඳවා මේ පිළිබඳ සාකච්ඡා කිරීමට කටයුතු කළා. එහිදී හැම පක්ෂයක්ම විවිධ අදහස් ඉදිරිපත් කර තිබුණා.

ඒ සඳහා විපක්ෂයෙන් සහභාගී වුණේ ද්‍රවිඩ සන්ධානයේ ආර්. සම්බන්ධන් මහතා සහ එම්.ඒ. සුමන්තිරන් මහතා පමණයි. එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂයෙන් සම්බන්ධ වුණේ මා පමණයි. විපක්ෂයේ අනෙකුත් පක්ෂ ඒ සඳහා සහභාගී වුනේ නැහැ. එය වැරිදි ක්‍රියාවක් බව කිවයුතුයි.

එම අවස්ථාවේ රට ඉදිරියේ අර්බුදයක් තිබුණා. ඒ සඳහා ගතයුතු පියවර කුමක්ද කියා සොයා බැලීම අප සියලුදෙනාගේ වගකීම වුණා. එම වගකීමෙන් කිසිවෙකුට ඈත් වෙන්න බැහැ. විපක්ෂ නායකයා කියන්නේ විකල්ප අගමැතිවරයායි. ඔහු බස් රියදුරෙකු නොවෙයි. ඒ නිසා මේ සඳහා සහභාගිවීමට ඔහුට වගකීමක් තිබුණා. නමුත් ඒ පිළිබඳ එක් දේශපාලන පක්ෂයක්වත් කිසිදු පියවරක් ගත්තේ නැහැ.

ඉන් පසුව මැයි 09 දා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ අගමැතිවරයා ඉල්ලා අස් වුණා. එම අවස්ථාවේදී පොහොට්ටුවට ආණ්ඩු බලය පවත්වා ගැනීමට හැකි තත්ත්වයක් පැවතුණේ නැහැ. අප එය පිළිගත යුතුයි. ඇමතිවරුන් ඉල්ලා අස් වුණා. අප බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ක්‍රමය ගැන කතා කරන නිසා විකල්ප අගමැතිවරයාට එය භාර ගැනීමට තිබුණා.

බොහෝ අය කිව්වා මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහත්මයා ඉල්ලා අස් වුණොත් සම්ප්‍රදාය අනුව විපක්ෂනායකතුමාට එම පළමු අවස්ථාව ලබාදිය යුතුයි කියලා. මම කිව්වා මට ඒ ගැන ප්‍රශ්නයක් නැහැ, අපි ඕන කෙනෙකුට උදව් කරන්නම් කියලා. නමුත් මැයි 10 වනදා පැමිණෙන ලෙස දැනුම් දුන්නත් ඔහු පැමිණියේ නැහැ. අගමැති ධූරය භාර ගන්නේ නැහැ කියලා ඔවුන් තීරණය කර තිබුණා. ඔහු තමන්ගේ යුතුකම ඉටු කළේ නැහැ. කෙටි දේශපාලනයෙන් යන්න උත්සාහ කිරීම නිසා ඉදිරියට එන්න බැරි වුණා.

ඇතැමුන් අය වැය විවාදයේදී රට ගොඩගන්නේ කොහොමද කියලා අදහස් ඉදිරිපත් කළා. නමුත් වගකීම භාරගන්න අකමැති වුණා. ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ ඊට උත්සාහයක්වත් දැරුවේ නැහැ. නමුත් අප මේ වගකීම භාරගත්තා. ඒ වන විට රටේ බංකොළාත්භාවය ප්‍රකාශ කර තිබුණා. එයින් රට ගොඩගන්න පුළුවන් කියන විශ්වාසය මා තුළ තිබුණා. ජනාධිපති කවුද කියන එක මට ප්‍රශ්ණයක් වුණේ නැහැ. නමුත් ඒ වෙලාවේ මට රට බේර ගැනීමට අවශ්‍ය වුණා.

අප විටින් විට මෙවන් අභියෝගවලට මුහුණ දී තිබෙනවා. 1971 කැරැල්ල තිබු අවස්ථාවේ ජේ.ආර්. ජයවර්ධන මැතිතුමා විපක්ෂනායක ලෙස සිටිමින් සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක මැතිණියට සහාය ලබා දුන්නා. එතුමාගේ පුතත් එක් අවස්ථාවක අත්අඩංගුවට ගත්තා. නමුත් ස්ථාවරය වෙනස් කළේ නැහැ. 1989 දී සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක මැතිණිය සහ රත්වත්තේ ඇමතිතුමා පැමිණ රටේ නීතිය හා සාමය ඇති කිරීමට සහයෝගය ලබා දෙන බව ප්‍රේමදාස ජනාධිපතිවරයාට ප්‍රකාශ කළා. එවිට එම දෙදෙනාගෙන්ම හමුදාපතිවරයා ඇහුවා අපි මේ වැඩේ කරන්නම් පස්සේ අපට දොස් කියන්න එපා කියලා. දෙදෙනාම එකඟතාව පළ කළා. මේ ආකාරයට විවිධ අවස්ථාවල අප සාකච්ඡා කර කටයුතු කර තිබෙනවා.

ඉන්දු – ලංකා ගිවිසුම අත්සන් කරන විට සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක මැතිණිය සහ ඩඩ්ලි සේනානායක මැතිතුමා එකට කටයුතු කළා. අනෙකුත් වෙලාවට ගැටුම් තිබෙනවා, නමුත් එය ප්‍රශ්නයක් නොවෙයි. කොච්චර ගැටුනත් ඡන්ද ප්‍රතිඵල අනුව බලය ජයග්‍රාහකයාට ලබා දී ඉවත්ව යන ආසියාවේ එකම රට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පමණයි.

අධිකරණ නිදහස ගැන කොච්චර කතා කළත් අධිකරණය ක්‍රියාත්මක වන්නේ ලංකාවේ පමණයි. ඉන්දිරා ගාන්ධි මැතිණිය යටතේ ඉන්දීය ශ්‍රෙෂ්ඨාධිකරණයේ ඇති වූ ප්‍රශ්න අප දන්නවා.

මේ වැඩකටයුතු කරන අතරතුර ජූලි 09දා සිදුවීමට මුහුණදීමට අපට සිදු වුණා. ජුලි 09වනදා හිටපු ජනාධිපතිවරයා ජනාධිපති මන්දිරයෙන් පිටවෙලා ගියා. එම අවස්ථාවේ අගමැතිවරයා ලෙස මටත් ඉල්ලා අස්වෙන්න කියලා කිව්වා.

මම කාටද අස්වීමේ ලිපිය භාර දෙන්නේ. මහ මුහුදුට ගිහින් ජනාධිපතිවරයා සොයන්නද, මම කිව්වා මට ඉවත්වීමට නම් බහුතරයක් ඇති කෙනෙක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න කියලා. විපක්ෂ නායකයා අපිට කියනවා නැහැ අපට කවුරු හරි ගන්න ඔබ ඉවත් වෙන්න කියලා.

එහිදී මම කිව්වේ ඉන්න කෙනා පළමුව ඉදිරිපත් කරන්න කියලයි. ඊට පස්සේ ඔවුන් කියනවා කථානායකතුමාට භාර ගන්න කියලා. කථානායක තුමා කිව්වා මට පාර්ලිමේන්තුව පාලනය කරන්න පුළුවන්, ඒත් ආර්ථිකය පාලනය කිරීමේ වගකීම මට ගන්න බැහැ කියලා. මේ විදියට රටේ දේශපාලන ක්‍රමය කැඩී ගියා.

අවසානයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තුව වැටලීමට උත්සාහ කළා. එම අවස්ථාවේ පක්ෂ නායකයන් සියලුදෙනා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ඇතුලේ සිටියා. හමුදාපතිවරයා ඒ බව දැනුම් දුන් විට ඔවුන් පැවසුවේ අගමැතිවරයා ඉවත්විය යුතුයි කියලා. එම අවස්ථාවේ හමුදාපතිවරයාට පණිවිඩයක් ලැබුණා විරෝධතාකරුවන් පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට පැත්තට එනවා කියලයි. ඉන් පසුව මිනිත්තු 05න් සියලු දෙනා පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙන් පිට වෙලා ගියා. පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ආරක්ෂා කරන්න කියලා හමුදාපතිවරයාට දැනුම් දෙන්න මට සිදු වුණා. මම ඒ පිළිබඳ කථානායකවරයාටත් දැනුම් දුන්නා.

ඔවුන් අවශ්‍ය අවස්ථාවේ වගකීම් භාර නොගෙන සටන් පාඨ ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් සිටියා. සාකච්ඡාවක් සඳහා පැමිණෙන ලෙස කිහිප අවස්ථාවකදීම දැනුම් දුන්නත් එක්කෙනෙක්වත් ආවේ නැහැ. ඉන් පසුව මේ රටේ අලුත් දේශපාලන සංස්කෘතියක් ගොඩනැගුණා. මම ජනාධිපති ධූරය භාර ගන්නා විට සෑම පක්ෂයකින්ම මට සහාය ලබා දුන්නා. ඒ වගේම සෑම පක්ෂයකින්ම මට විරුද්ධවත් ඡන්දය ලබා දුන්නා. පොහොට්ටුවේ සභාපතිවරයා ඇතුළු කණ්ඩායමක් විරුද්ධ පක්ෂයට ගියා. සජබෙ කණ්ඩායමක් මට ඡන්දය දුන්නා. අපි ආණ්ඩුවක් හැඳුවා. හිටපු ඇමතිවරු සමඟ මම වැඩ ආරම්භ කළා. මම ඒ කිසිවෙක් මාරු කිරීමට ගියේ නැහැ. ඇතැම් අය අයින් වුණා. ඒක වෙනම කාරණයක්. නමුත් මම කිසි කෙනෙක් මාරු කරන්න ගියේ නැහැ.

දේශපාලන පක්ෂ ගණනාවකට අයත් පිරිස එකතු වී රට වෙනුවෙන් වැඩ කළා. පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් පක්ෂ බේදයෙන් තොරව තමන්ගේ සහාය ලබා දුන්නා. ඒ වගේම පිටිනුත් සහයෝගය ලැබුණා. එදා ඉදලා අරුම පුදුම ආණ්ඩුවක් විදියට මේ ආණ්ඩුව ඉදිරියට පැමිණියා. අද අප පක්ෂ බේදයෙන් තොරව එකට වැඩ කර මෙම ජයග්‍රහණ ලබාගෙන තිබෙනවා. මේ වන විට අපි බංකොලොත් භාවයෙන් ඉවත් වුණා විතරයි. දැන් ණය ගෙවීමට හැකි හැකි රටක් ලෙස අපව ලෝකය පිළිගෙන තිබෙනවා.

අප ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ණය හිමියන්ගේ කමිටුව, චීන එක්සීම් බැංකුව හා පුද්ගලික බැදුම්කරුවන් සමඟ එකඟ වූ ගිවිසුම් ඒ අයුරින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කරනවා. අපිට විවිධ පෙරොන්දු දෙන්න බැහැ. තවදුරටත් පැරණි දේශපාලනයේ නිරතවීමට අවස්ථාවක් නැහැ. අප එය වටහා ගෙන තිබෙනවා. ඒ වගේම රට ඉදිරියට ගෙන යනවා නම් රට තුළ ආර්ථික පරිවර්තනයක් ඇති කළ යුතුයි. එහිදී අපනයන ඉලක්ක කරගත් නවීන ආර්ථික රටවාවකට ගමන් කළ යුතුයි. ඩොලර් බිලියන 85ක් වූ දළ දේශීය නිෂ්පාදනය 2048 වන විට ඩොලර් බිලියන 350ක් දක්වා ඉහළ නංවාගත යුතුයි. හරියට වැඩ කළොත් අපට එම ඉලක්කයට යන්න පුළුවන්. සිංගප්පූරුව, වියට්නාමය, වැනි රටවල් එක් ස්ථාවරයක සිට කටයුතු කිරීම නිසා අද දියුණු වී තිබෙනවා. දේශපාලනය කරන විට මූලික ස්ථාවරත්වයක් ඇති කර ගැනීමට අප කටයුතු කළ යුතුයි.

පාර්ලිමේන්තුව තුළ විවිධ අදහස් තිබෙන්න පුළුවන්. නමුත් රටේ ආර්ථික රාමුව නොකඩා ඉදිරියට ගෙන යා යුතුයි. අද බොහෝ දෙනෙකුට අවශ්‍යව ඇත්තේ මෙම රාමුව බිඳ දැමීමටයි. අප ජාත්‍යන්තර මූල්‍ය අරමුදල සමඟ ගිවිසුමට අත්සන් කළ පසු පසුගිය සතියේ සහ ඊට පෙර වැඩ වර්ජන කීයකට මුහුණ දුන්නද, එහෙම වෙන්නේ මේ වසරේ සැප්තැම්බර්, ඔක්තෝබර් වල ජනාධිපතිවරණයක් පැවැත්වෙන නිසායි. වැඩ වර්ජන කරන්න අවශ්‍ය නැහැ. තමන් එක් පක්ෂයකට කැමති නැත්නම් වෙනත් පක්ෂයකට ඡන්දය දෙන්න. ඔවුන් උත්සාහ කළේ මෙම ආර්ථික රාමුව බිඳ දැමීමටයි. නමුත් ජනතාව ඊට විරුද්ධ වුණා. දැන් අපට තිබෙන්නේ රට ලබාගත් ජයග්‍රහණය තහවුරු කරගෙන රට අලුත් මාර්ගයක ගෙන යනවාද, නැත්නම් පැරණි ක්‍රමය අනුව කටයුතු කරනවාද කියා තීරණය කිරීමයි.
අද මෙම අවස්ථාවට ඔබ සියලුදෙනාගේ පැමණීම විශාල ශක්තියක් බව ප්‍රකාශ කළ යුතුයි. අපි සියලුදෙනා එකතුවෙලා රට ඉදිරියට ගෙන යමු. ඉන්පසු නැවතත් වසර 05කින් පසු පක්ෂ දේශපාලනයේ නිරත වෙමු.

රටට ස්ථාවර ආර්ථික ක්‍රමයක් අවශ්‍යයි. ප්‍රංශයේ පාර්ලිමේන්තු මැතිවරණයේ පළමු වටයේදී සියලුදෙනා සිතුවේ අන්තවාදී දක්ෂිණාංශය ජයග්‍රහණය කරනු ඇති බවයි. නමුත් එහි මැද අවස්ථාවේදී දක්ෂිණාංශයක්, වමත් තිරණය කළා අපි තරගයකට යන්නේ නැතිව ඒ ආසනවල තුන්වැනියා ඉවත් කරමු කියලා. මගේ පක්ෂය නම් තුන්වැනියා මගේ පක්ෂයෙන් අයින් කරනවා, ඔබේ පක්ෂයෙන් ඔබ අයින් කළ යුතුයි කියලා. දැන් මේක අනෙක් පැත්තට පෙරළී තිබෙනවා. ඒ අනුව එකට වැඩ කර ඉදිරියට යාමට අවස්ථාවන් තිබෙනවා. අප මේ රට තුළ ඇතිකළ යුත්තේ එම තත්ත්වයයි.

අපි රට තුළ සිදු කළ දේශපාලන පෙරළිය තහවුරු කරගෙන ඉදිරියට ගොස් රටේ අනාගතය ගොඩනඟමු. අපට හැමදාම සිඟමන් යදින ජාතියක් වෙන්න බැහැ. ආර්ථික වශයෙන් පහළට යන්නත් බැහැ, රට ශක්තිමත් ආර්ථිකයක් තුළ ඉහළට ඔසවා තැබිය යුතුයි. එම වගකීම ඉටුකිරීමට සියලුදෙනා එක්වෙමු කියා ආරාධනා කරනවා. අද ඔබේ පැමිණීම පිළිබඳවද අප ස්තූතිවන්ත වෙනවා

– Media unit

Courtesy Hindustan Times

Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to settle the full payment of compensation to the victims of the 2019 Easter terror attacks before August 30.

Sirisena informed the Supreme Court that, out of the ₹100 million ordered to be paid as compensation for the victims of the Easter attack, Rs. 58 million has already been paid and he also requested for six years for the remaining amount to be paid.

In 2019, over 270 people, including 11 Indians, were killed when suicide bombers belonging to the local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat linked to ISIS carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on the Easter Sunday.

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered Sirisena to pay the outstanding compensation to the victims of the Easter attacks before August 30.

In January 2023, the Supreme Court ordered Sirisena, the then president, and his police and defence hierarchy to pay compensation to the victims in a fundamental rights petition.

The Supreme Court ruled that the respondents named in the Fundamental Rights petitions for failing to prevent the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks, despite having credible information of an imminent attack, had violated the fundamental rights of the petitioners.

The respondents named in the petitions were former president Sirisena, former defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando, former police chief Pujith Jayasundara, ex-National Intelligence Service chief Sisira Mendis, and former State Intelligence Services chief Nilantha Jayawardena.

The court ordered former president Sirisena to pay a compensation of ₹100 million, former police chief Jayasundara & former State Intelligence Services chief Jayawardene were ordered to pay a compensation of Rs. 75 million each, ex-defence secretary Fernando to pay a compensation of Rs. 50 Million.

Former National Intelligence Service chief Mendis was ordered by the court to pay a compensation of Rs. 10 Million.

The Supreme Court said that all these funds need to be collected and used to compensate the victims of the 2019 Easter attacks.

The deadline to complete the relevant compensation payments was originally set for July 12, 2023.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) has approved a significant reduction in electricity tariffs, amounting to 22.5%, which will take effect from midnight today (16), according to PUCSL Chairman Prof. Manjula Fernando.

Key Tariff Reductions for
Domestic Consumers:0-30 units: Reduced from Rs. 8 to Rs. 6 (25% reduction)
31-60 units: Reduced from Rs. 20 to Rs. 9
61-90 units: Reduced from Rs. 30 to Rs. 18 (55% reduction)
91-120 units: Reduced from Rs. 50 to Rs. 30
121-180 units: Reduced from Rs. 50 to Rs. 42
More than 180 units: Reduced from Rs. 75 to Rs. 65
Religious Places: Tariffs reduced by over 30%
Hotels and Minor Industries:
Daytime tariffs reduced by 33% for both low voltage and 33kV systems
Prof. Fernando highlighted that the revisions address stakeholder concerns, particularly the need for reductions for minor industries and hotels.

These changes aim to alleviate financial burdens and support various sectors by making electricity more affordable across the board.

e-Con e-News

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News 07-13 July 2024

‘Stay order issued on Gazette increasing daily wage of plantation workers’

– Ada Derana, July 04

‘National Chamber of Exporters expresses concern over Customs disruptions’

– Financial Times, July 12

‘Nearly 1,000 railway termination letters sent for print’

– Daily Mirror, July 11

Pantomimes keep being performed from port to plantation, and on the trains in between – the principal pressure points of the colonial import-export fraud of a merchant economy. The capitalist media (avenging teflon tribunes of the squeaky clean) egg-on the face-off between government & trade union officials. Rail services – left to rot at the behest of the car-import financiers – only have deadly problems when workers go on strike, or when trains fail to deliver fuel to the fast movers & high flyers.

     But behold! We were treated once again to the ruddy pink faces of the departing old World Bank Group Country Management, coyly bidding ta-ta. The WB even got a supine media to publish yet another WB press release, issuing a public ‘Thank you!’ For what? ee (1 Jan 2022) already reported on The World Bank Driving Madness on Our Roads.

     Perhaps the World Bank’s thank you is for the ‘good news’ about bondholding baldheads taking the shortest crewcuts, with odious debts being repackaged as dubious IMF my-way-or-the-highway package-tours to paradise (via Wall Street)… All this was reported out loud and in technicolor, and in the higher algebra of usury. All this in the week following the National Bankers Association’s celebratory  gathering at Colombo’s Galle Face Hotel, Friday, July 5, of which there was less than the ever-little news we hear from bankers, other than their rates.  Oh wait! They want their powers – to foreclose & dispossess defaulters on their loans provided for speculation – sustained, if not expanded.

*

     The Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) held their 95^th Annual General Meeting this week. Remember 1929? It was a harbor & tramways strike, with the English police killing 5 unnamed workers, that led to the formation of the EFC. The signing of the first collective agreement on wages & working conditions with AE Goonesinghe’s Ceylon Mercantile Union (CMU), began trade union legislation in Lanka. (That was a ‘sweetheart’ agreement signed after Goonesinghe was wined and dined and whatever-elsed in London in preparation for the Donoughmore Commission’s constitutional shenanigans to ‘reorient’ colonial rule through the ‘depression’).

• This week also saw the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (led by England’s Standard Chartered Bank, John Keells, Ernst & Young, etc) swarming the President to drape their Vision 2030 over his eyes.

     The President may not have asked them why, as Sunday Times headline records: ‘Imported inputs eat up US$ 1billion of apparel trade export income of $1.9bn’ And then, about an almost adjacent headline of an upcoming ‘Global Textiles Sourcing Exhibition in Colombo 7-9 August’,where the‘SL RMG (Ready-Made Garment) industry sources [aka imports, a] vast array of natural & manmade textiles, trims, accessories, dyes, chemicals & software solutions by connecting with over 200 suppliers from over 15 countries.’ How long can this go on? It’s not that we should not have international relations. It’s just that this fancy rag trade proudly does not make a pin, refuses to reinvest profits in upgrading skills & making machinery, and instead parks its profits abroad. Are these all entrepreneurs too?

     As SBD always said, if the country became one giant ‘garment’ factory, we would not need schools! Meanwhile, the white media celebrated, with white celebrities (incl. English mass-murderers Tony Blair & Boris Johnson!) in tow, the over-the-top half-billion dollar wedding of a scion of the family Ambani, which draped Indian & Sri Lankan bodies in plastic (for Ambani links to US Exxon & Dupont: ee 11 Sept 2021, How to Buy an Editor – Media & the Rise of the Polyester Prince).

     It may also be timely to recall it was the EFC that called for the mass sackings of 60,000 workers in July 1980, that then escalated the carnage of the 1980s and beyond. It may also be timely to contrast their attitude to the latest branding in the North Atlantic to bribe (& weaponize) their workers, while threatening nuclear war:

*

‘Unions are my domestic NATO’

– US President Joe Biden (see ee Workers)

The traders’ media in Sri Lanka, rather than examine the merchants’ failure to invest in workers and technology, have to conjure various failings on the part of the population for their inability to employ people with dignity to build the country.

*

‘Entrepreneurship the new mantra? – Well, I am writing

about entrepreneurship as it has suddenly become

the rave among politicians, trying to provide an avenue

for youngsters to enhance their skills & transform

into innovative businesspersons, & thereby secure their vote.’

– Feizal Samath, Sunday Times (see ee Economists)

*

The Sunday Times’ snipers are being super snide. Their actual target is the new political manifesto on ‘The Entrepreneurial State’ by the Sarvajana Balaya (SB, see below). Also, the word ‘entrepreneur’ has been thrown around in English in Sri Lanka since the 1950s, and in the North Atlantic since the 1930s at least.

‘In underdeveloped economies… entrepreneurs are an extremely small tribe

& this is one important reason why development is so slow.’

BB Das Gupta, ‘Theory & Reality of Economic Development’,

Bulletin, Central Bank of Ceylon, Oct 1955

Entrepreneur: As far as we can tell, Gupta’s usage is the first official registration of this English word in Sri Lanka. ‘Entrepreneur’ is now part of the latest abracadabra invoking modernity, being used by politicians & their parties. It is apparently another civilizing trait we lack. Infected by economists, these civilizers like to piss these heavily machined words on our heads to display the power of their funders & their cojones.

     SBD de Silva countered: Gupta assigns the capitalist entrepreneur ‘the role of a creator rather than the creature of the process’. Entrepreneurs are what underdeveloped countries supposedly lack. Yet what we really need is a process that produces entrepreneurs, invents inventors, manufactures manufacturers. (see ee Random Notes)

     Our economic departments & their curricula appear nonchalant about such subjects. How the Indian University of Lucknow’s BB Das Gupta, Sri Lanka’s 1^st teacher of economics (with the Hayekist BR Shenoy as assistant lecturer), came to be parachuted into University College of Sri Lanka’s Modern History & Economics department under the imperialist SA Pakeman, is indeed interesting, and tied into the history of the word ‘entrepreneur’ itself .

            The USSR led by Joseph Stalin was at that time offering the world: the example of the first socialist state whose workers had rapidly transformed their country to become one of the most powerful industrial nations, and remains so to this day. English imperialism therefore sought to destroy the USSR & prevent any such transformations anywhere else, by imposing fake labor-intensive industrialization and a fake middleclass.

*

The Central Bank has been hailed as

the counterpart of our political freedom.

– Walter Ladduwahetty, 1950 (see ee Random Notes)

This ee also examines the ‘colonial’ & ‘Indian’ origins of the Central Bank, which keeps promoting funny-money games, and has actively prevented investment of the country’s vast wealth, in modern industry. The new Central Bank Act proclaiming its so-called independence imposes similar constraints as were imposed by colonial England rule via India. Even after independence, the CB could ‘issue Rupees in Ceylon only when Rupees were deposited in India, with the Reserve Bank of India’ (see ee Random Notes)

     By having to target inflation alone, the CBSL can now only respond & react to external shocks & changes in the prices of imported essentials like fuel, which drive inflation. The CB cannot expand the money supply to initiative productive economic activity. Neither can it selectively lower the price of money to fuel productive activity. The interest rate is the price of money. That is why it is so expensive to be poor, because money costs more when you are not ‘creditworthy’.  Such shenanigans, all perfectly legal and not corrupt at all, have shut down the dream of a true development bank, which could have given flesh to deposed former-CB-governor WD Lakshman’s dream of a ‘school of development’:

*

‘Yet, a dream I had of seeing the evolution of a distinct ‘school

of development‘ within the Sri Lankan university system remains

unachieved: an administrative outfit located in a university complex,

devoted for advancing its own independent thinking and policy positions,

particularly in issues of development. I hope the future generations of university

economists will seriously undertake this challenging task of developing

such an independent Sri Lankan school of development.

– WD Lakshman, ee Focus

An incomprehensible arithmetic has taken over the debates over odious debt bondage. Discussions of finance disengage economics from its exact effects on human relations. If wages & prices represent hidden labor, the media’s economists do not tell us in simple words what will happen to whom & when.

     Clues as to how this number-crunching nonchalance has come about may be found in ee Focus’ final episode of WD Lakshman’s survey of the ‘Beginnings of Economics Teaching at University Level’. He examines how faculties of Management & Business Studies (but does not tell who – & how & why they were – funded) tremendously impacted the teaching of Economics. The increasing use of mathematics in teaching and writing on subjects in Economics, also enhanced student apathy towards Economics. WD recalls how with the ‘strong push towards a neoliberal package of economic policy in the 1990s, the earlier interdisciplinarity in Economics teaching, was dropped in favor of neoclassical hardcore Economics.

     We have already tasted the toxic harvest of such pedagogy in the current crop of pronouncers on Economics. Check Chanuka Wattegama’s seemingly tongue-in-cheek ‘Should an Econ student take Harshanomics 201?, in the Financial Times, which gently laments the CTC-AOG twins Harsha & Eran, etc, for shunning Premadasa’s garment fraud. He provides witty summary of how newspaper column economists & thinktanks have come to unanimously toe the same Chicago gangsta gospel… (see ee Random Notes)

*

_________

Contents:

The Bollywood-Media Manufacture of Mock Entrepreneurs

Dilrook Kannangara

Sri Lanka’s constitution has lost its gloss, credibility, supremacy and worth as it is regularly changed to suit politicians in power. In fact, the 47-year-old constitution has changed 21 times already and the 22 attempt is now being made. That is 22 changes within 47 years. No country has such a worthless piece of paper as Sri Lanka’s constitution that keeps changing every 2 years.

It is both a tragedy and a comedy. The parliament and the president have 5 years in a term but the constitution changed every 2 years and 1 month! Sri Lanka is the only nation where the constitution changes faster than the term of the parliament or the president.

This shows the unsuitability and irrelevance of the current Constitution. It must be replaced by a suitable constitution that has some lasting power.

It cannot be done by a government of Ranil or Mahinda. Both were in parliament when two failed constitutions were enacted and amended. These two political clans and the current constitution must be done away with as soon as possible. A brand-new constitution is needed.

In order to put the supreme law of the nation in order, a presidential election must be held immediately. Further constitutional gimmicks are loathsome and foolish. It shows the extreme greediness of Ranil who is doing everything he can to grab on to power when the whole nation wants him go to hell. Constitution-making must not be done by politicians alone. The general public must be consulted in every step of the way and individual equal rights must be upheld in it. If unable to agree to a constitution, Sri Lanka must adopt a constitution from a successful Asian nation with obvious changes.

KAMALIKA PIERIS

The Ramayana trail of Sri Lanka seems to have started in 2008.In 2008, 50 sites related to the ‘Ramayana trail’ have been selected by Sri Lanka Tourism in order to promote visits by Indian tourists.  The tours were from one to three weeks duration and contained a maximum of 25 locations spread across central and western Sri Lanka.

Hindustan Times stated in 2008 that the Ramayana trail was a hit with Indian tourists. Batches of 50 to 120 visitors had already toured these sites. The tours were from one to three weeks duration and contained a maximum of 25 locations spread across central and western Sri Lanka.  It is a 7 day package includes visits to at least 10 temples in south and central Sri Lanka. The 12 day package covers at least 54 sites identified by the Tourist Board. About 500 passengers had used 350 Ramayana packages, middle aged and elderly persons like the package.

 Sunday Times said in 2008 a group of 90 pilgrims from India went on a Ramayana trail. There are estimated 50 Ramayana sites in Sri Lanka it says, starting with the only Hanuman temple in Colombo at Kalubowila, then Munneswaram, Ashok vatika in Nuwara eliya, and Divurumpola.

In 2009 The Sri Lanka Convention Bureau was promoting Ramayana pilgrim tours to Sri Lanka. It held a Ramayana cultural programme presented to a group of 200 swamis and devotees.

Daily News said in 2010, thousands of Indian is coming to see the historic sites. They are on an 8 day tour to visit 16 legendary sites out of 52 already identified. They include Hanuman kovil at Saranankara Rd, Colombo 5, Rumassala, seethe Amman temple in Nuwara eliya, and Munneswaram in Chilaw. Ramayana Research Centre will be commissioned on June 5^th 2010 at Divurumpola.

A group of high profile ministers from India with a group of 150 pilgrims arrived in 2010 on an 8 day Ramayana trail. This is the first time that an Indian VVIP group is in Sri Lanka on a pilgrimage of the Ramayana trail, said the media. It is to visit 60 legendary sites of which 52 have already been identified. It was organised by Bernard Tours in Sri Lanka and Ashok Vatika Dharshan Yathra Samithi of New Delhi. The visit started with a Bhajan at Cinnamon Grand hotel with the participation of the 14 Indian lawmakers and two Sri Lanka cabinet ministers.

Also in 2010, another 15 VVIPs comprising Union ministers and business men from India are in Sri Lanka on a pilgrimage to see locations where king Ravana had kept Sita Devi. This tour was handled by Vikas Travels, New Delhi, reported Daily News in 2010. There was a special reception and Bhajan at Hotel Taj Samudra.

In 2015, the media said that Sri Lanka had re-launched the Ramayana trail from Bangalore. Ramayana trail is to be revived for tourists, with 52 heavily promoted sites.  They will include the places that Sita is supposed to have travelled according to Ramayana. This is the shared cultural heritage of Indian and Sri Lanka, said Daily News.

Sunday Times reported in 2018 that the Ramayana trail, a popular pilgrim attraction among Hindus is gaining momentum with a number of operators offering travel plans. Most believe this is a true account of history in the Indian sub continent while others are undecided on the history and mythology behind the story, said Sunday Times.

A release issued by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau(SLTPB)  states that in Sri Lanka according to popular belief the story is indeed a true account of what took place many millenniums ago. This belief has been supported by research, analysis and reasoning, continued Sunday Times.

To date, Sri Lanka has identified over 50 sites in and around its territory that have a direct connection to the legendary story and is further supported by local folklore and linguistic connections with the text especially with regard to the names of a few locations and villages in the territory, the release noted.

While this trail has gained interest among Indians it has now become possible to introduce organized tours for those interested in visiting these historic sites scattered across Sri Lanka. However due to accessibility issues, only around 20 sites are currently being recommended for visitors. It has been estimated that a travel period of around 9 to 14 days will be required to visit all 20 sites, continued Sunday Times.

Sri Lanka is working towards identifying many other locations and also making these locations accessible to visitors and this is further detailed in a dedicated website on Ramayana Yathtra that has all the necessary information for a traveler said Sunday Times.

.Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and SLTPB are now actively working towards creating awareness of this important part of human history and are also developing programmes to assist devotees and pilgrims in choosing itineraries that suit them best and also assist in planning trips continued Sunday Times.

.There have been 206,337 Indian visitors to Sri Lanka up to June this year and it is believed that about one per cent of the traffic would be visiting the country solely as pilgrims on the Ramayana trail. But it was noted that other Indian travelers would also visit the attractions on the trail during their holiday in Sri Lanka as well, concluded Sunday Times in 2018.

In 2022 a total of 78 Indian passengers arrived in Sri Lanka to visit the places mentioned in Ramayana. Other than those mentioned in the Ramayana, these passengers intended to visit other Hindu religious sites too .800 such Indian tourists will visit the country in groups over the next six months, said Daily Mirror.

Now to 2024.There are dozens of tour firm offering Ramayana tours in 2024.The time period varies, from 5 to 12 days so does the itinerary. In addition to the Ramayana temples, tourists are also taken to other Hindu temples such as  Kataragama,  and Koneswaram . They are also shown non- religious sites such as a  tea factory, Ramboda falls, Hakgala gardens, and Galle fort as well the Dalada Maligawa, Kandy. That is also included if the tour goes to Kandy. ( Continued)

KAMALIKA PIERIS

Ramayana trail is a pilgrimage to the Ramayana sites in Sri Lanka .The main sites of the Ramayana trail have been given in the earlier essays. This essay looks at some of the lesser known Ramayana sites,  as listed in the tourist itineraries shown on Google.

A selective collection of the lesser known Ramayana stops” is given below, with the Ramayana connection of each place. The absurdity of the so called Ramayana connections, the weak, ridiculous assertions and howlers can be spotted straightaway.

Anjaneyar Temple. Panchamuga Anjaneyar Temple located Colombo is the first Anjaneyar temple in Sri Lanka and also the only temple in Sri Lanka which is  dedicated to Lord Hanuman in his Panchamuga form, meaning five faces.

Ashok Vatika Is situated near the Hakgala Botanical Garden. Ashok Vatika is the place where Ravana kept the Sita captive.  Findings include the rock on which Sita used to sit and meditate.

Dolukanda Sanjeewanee Mountain. The beautiful rural village located near Hiripitiya is believed to be one of the five places where parts of the piece of Himalaya lord Hanuman brought fell on.

Dunuvila. Located in Laggala, Matale, Dunuvila is a rural village with natural beauty and historical value. The place is believed to be the location where Lord Rama’s army was firstly sighted by king Ravana’s troops. Dunuvila lake is believed to be the place where Lord Rama killed king Ravana by a single combat. As the folklore goes lord Rama had fired the Brahmaastharam at King Ravana from the lake you can still see in Dunuvila. King Ravana had meditated and prayed to Lord Shiva from the Laggala rock, as the rock was the highest peak of his Kingdom.

Gayathri Peedam. This temple is located in the city of Nuwara Eliya. This place has a deep religious significance. Many people believe that this is the place where Indrajit or Prince Meganath, son of the Demon King Ravana, performed the Shiva Thapa and Nikumbala Yagna with such concentration and devotion that the Holy Trinity – Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma – appeared before him to grant him his boon. This place holds significance and importance amongst the locals and many people come here to seek blessings and liberation.

Istripura   is situated in the Welimada area. This was one of the places to which King Ravana shifted Seetha Devi as a precautionary measure. Seetha Devi took a bath in the stream close by and had dried her hair sitting on a rock and put clips to her hair, hence this rock is known as Konda Kattu Gala.

Kanniya hot springs. One legend about Kanniya’s origin is that this is the place where King Ravana carried out the last rites for his mother. When he was unable to find water to duly perform the rites, he pierced his Trishula into the ground seven times. Water started gushing out immediately. The very hot water cooled down to the present degree when Ravana’s anger calmed down.

Kelaniya Raja Maha vihara. The Kelani River is mentioned in the Valmiki Ramayana and Vibeeshana palace was said to be on the banks of this river. After King Ravana’s death, Vibeeshana was coroneted as King of Lanka by Lakshmana at Kelaniya. In the temple, you can see ancient murals of the Vibheeshana’s coronation. Many devotees that visit king Vibeeshana’s shrine pray to him asking his intervention to their problems

Kotmale. When King Ravana was taking Sitha Devi to Sitha Eliya on his chariot, Sitha Devi dropped the vitaminized rice balls King Ravana gave her as refreshment, along the journey. So, Lord Rama can find where she was taken. Kotmale is a place where you can still see these rice balls (Sitha Goli) that the locals now use as a cure for stomach disorders and headaches and as a charm that brings prosperity.

Manavari is aHindu temple situated 6km north of Chilaw. It is the first lingam installed by Lord Rama and to date this lingam is called Ramalinga Shivan. This was done as a remedy for committing Brahminicide by killing King Ravana. Lord Rama was advised to build 4 lingams by Lord Shiva, in Manavari, Thirukoneshwaram, Thiruketheeswaram and Rameshwaram in India

Munneswaram Hindu kovil, located in Chilaw, is one of the oldest Hindu temples in Sri Lanka that bear close connections to Ramayana. The temple  is believed to be the place where King Rama prayed to Shiva asking for remedies after  killing King Ravana who was a priest of Brahmin caste and committing ‘Brahmahasti’ the biggest crime according to the Hindu Dharma.

Nilawari is a famous village in Jaffna, a pilgrim site that attracts thousands of locals and tourists each year. According to the folklore, the underground well of unknown depth is a well Lord Rama created when his army faced a water crisis during the war against king Ravana. Lord Rama had shot a magic arrow to the ground and the water sprung out which haven’t dried up until this day.

Pothgul Vehera In Polonnaruwa. To the north of the Pothgul Vehera is a granite boulder, adorned with a large statue. This is one of the finest statues in the Island and measures 11 feet 6 inches in height. The historians and the archaeologists have not confirmed its identity to date. Some refer to it as the statue of King Parakramabahu because its closeness to one of his major irrigation works; others refer to it as Rishi Pulasthi’s statue. The presence of a Brahmanical sacred thread that runs from the left shoulder across the body and the Ola leaf book that he carries confirms that it is of Rishi Pulasthi.

Ravana tunnels. These tunnels prove beyond doubt the architectural brilliance of King Ravana. The tunnels served as a quick means of transport through the hills and also as a secret passage. They networked all the important cities, airports and dairy farms. A close look at these tunnels indicates that they are man-made and not natural formations.
Existing tunnel mouths are situated at Ishtripura in Welimada, Senapitiya in Halagala, Ramboda, Labookelle, Wariyapola in Matale, and Seetha Kotuwa in Hasalaka and in many more places.

Ritigala has 70 caves that have been used as dwellings by the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka and subsequently as monasteries. Ritigala in the Anuradhapura District is associated with the episode in the Ramayana where Hanuman is sent to the Himalayas to fetch medicinal herb to treat the injured Luxmana. However, the mountain fragment slipped and fell while Hanuman was over Lanka, and it broke into pieces.

Rumassala is a massive hill oddly out of place in the landscape just outside the Galle harbour. Legend details that during the Rama – Rawana war Rama’s brother Ludhiana, was injured and Hanuman was sent to Himalayas to fetch medicinal herbs. Hanuman forgot the name of the herb but he brought a chunk of the peak containing many herbs. the mountain fragment slipped and broke into five pieces of which one fell to Rumassala. Other 4 places where the parts believed to fell on are Rumassala in Galle, Ritigala in Habarana Anuradhapura road, Thalladi in Mannar and Kachchativu in the north.

Sigiriya has a cave known as the Cobra Hood Cave. There is a distinct link between Sita and the cave. Tradition states that Sita was held in captivity here. There are many pre-historic drawings on its ceiling.  One inscription found there states ‘Parumaka naguliya lene’. It would have been inscribed after Rawana’s period but positively it has a connection to Sita’s stay in this case, as the word ‘naguliya’ refers to Sita.

Sitha Kotuwa is located at Gurulupotha, Hasalaka. According to the legend, this is the place where Sitha Devi was held captive. The place was King Ravana’s queen, Mandothari’s palace and was surrounded by waterfall and beautiful streams. Later the palace was called ‘Sitha Kotuwa’ or ‘Sitha fort’ as Sitha Devi stayed here

Sitha Tear pond is located in the jungle on the top of Ramboda Hills, on the Kandy – Gampola – Nuwara-Eliya road. The barren land here is believed to be the route along which Ravana took Seetha Devi from his capital city Lankapura to Ashoka Vatika, to show her the beauty of his kingdom which was a paradise on earth. To date no vegetation grows on this passage except grass.

Shankari Devi  Temple. Adjacent to Koneswaram temple there is another small shrine; with some significance for Hindu pilgrims. The original Shankari Devi temple was said to be built by Ravana, but its whole cliff was destroyed by Portuguese cannon balls. Only a pillar for commemoration is placed on that spot now. And it is believed that the original idol of the Goddess has been preserved and is venerated now in this nearby new Shankari Devi temple.

Vessagiriya. The stone monument placed at the celebrated Vessamuniya presently known as Isurumuniya Viharaya is of a bare bodied personality in deep meditation and significant bearing. A head of a horse can be seen behind the right shoulder. This sculpture has a head dressing and a sacred thread” (poona noola), a thread which is worn by ancient monastic personnel can be seen. The histories of these monuments are not properly explored by the archaeologists. They have a very irregular view about this outstanding sculpture and have named it as Man and Horse”. How they have come to these conclusions are not known.  This celebrated sculpture is of Rishi Visravasmuni and his white horse

Ussangoda. This is situated in the southern coast between Ambalantota and Tangalle. According to Ramayana, after meeting Seetha Devi Lord Hanuman decided to test the strength of the mighty King Ravana and his army of Rakshasas. In the   process Lord Hanuman’s tail was set on fire by the Rakshasas, who in turn went on to torch some parts of King Ravana’s empire. Ussangoda is one of the torched areas, which is said to have been an airport used by King Ravana.

Yahangala is believed to be the place where locals paid their respect to king Ravana for the last time and kept the body. The place located along the Mahiyanganaya – Wasgamuwa road is ideal for a hike and offers you amazing views of the surrounding. You can see the Yahangala rock from miles away. (continued)

Dilrook Kannangara

Sri Lanka is fast coming to its end. Having struggled a miserable 75 years of poverty, wars, insurrections, riots, bankruptcy, etc. it is now on its last legs. It will succumb to India within the next few decades if not years. Although it is resisted by some, there are supporters. India is home to 20 times more Tamils than Sri Lanka and India is home to 100 times more Muslims than Sri Lanka. Therefore, India will be a better nation to be part of than Sri Lanka for most Tamils and Muslims in the island. They need no Sinhala spokespersons to say otherwise.

This division of islanders was there since 1833 when the island was unified into one multiethnic nation which failed miserably. Sri Lanka has no reference point in history. Sinhala and Tamil people were at war since 205 BC at the latest. Sinhals lived in the island nation while Tamils lived in Tamilakam in south India as the world was made up of ethnicity-based nations. Invasions were short-lived and there was no concept of multiethnicity. That is a modern concept. However, the ethnic composition of Sri Lanka today is different and old boundaries are no longer valid.

There are only two choices for Sinhalas. Remain united with Tamils and Muslims and succumb wholesale to India or split Sri Lanka into mono ethnic nations and tread its own sovereign path to freedom and true independence from where it was lost in 1815.

Balkanizing Sri Lanka unifies India and ensures its security. Even if every islander is united, there is no way to fight off India. There are no guardian gods to save Sri Lanka. They have let down the island nation. Something must be given to defuse India’s expansionist agenda before the next round of war and violence. Politicians’ sweet talk has no place in reality. The Sinhala nation must save what is near and dear to Sinhalas and leave the sinking Sri Lanka ship. It is Sinhala people’s right of self determination

Dhesamaanya Dr Suddath Gunasekara. Mahanuwara

I want all patriotic Sinhala people of this country, to immediately open their eyes before they become extinct and take a closer look at this wanton and unprecedented destruction done by this government to the Geographical Heartland of this country, that decides the fate of the entire life system and the civilization of this Island nation.

 If you people don’t open your eyes and take immediate action to arrest this criminal destruction by the Indian Government all over the Hill Country, the day of the disappearance of this 2566-year-old Sinhala Buddhist civilization, from the surface of this planet is not that far.

First of all, the central hill country is the heart of this island from where all its rivers (103) that guarantee the survival of entire life system and the civilization of this Island. The perennial flow of these rivers depends entirely on the physical stability of the central hill country. Therefore, if these rivers cease to flow one day, that will draw the curtain on the civilization of this Island.

Second, the hill country with its hills was the bastion of the Kandyan Kingdom from 1505 to 1815that protected this island nation from three powerful invaders, Portuguese, Dutch and the British for 305 years in spite of the fact the all the coastal areas right round were captured by them. As such the loss of the central highlands will also be a threat to the security and territorial integrity of this country.

Therefore, the need to protect its physical stability and the devastation done to it by an Indian population, with their hearts and minds in India, while they have only their physical bodies here.

Secondly, getting it converted to Malaya Nadu with an Indian Airport at Nuwara Eliya, before long,  converting it to be the 29th State of India, the place from where India will deploy its last operation of taking control of the whole Island, a dream that never came true from the days of Rama over 5000 years ago.

Thirdly, the 2566-year-old land of the Sinhale Kingdom getting converted to EELAM, the dream of Prabhaakaran, Karupaiya and Suppayiya’s.

And

Finally, the disappearance of the 2566-year-old   Sinhala Buddhist civilization from the surface of this planet,

pigeon hole houses constructed in Bogawanthalaava at 5700 ft above sea level

by the Indian Government with the consent of this treacherous Government

Dr Sudath Gunasekara. Mahanuwara  13,7,2024.

DARSHANA SANJEEWA BALASURIYA   Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Colombo, July 13 (Daily Mirror) – As many as 45 Sri Lankan criminals –red noticed by Interpol are stationed overseas – mostly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – and carry organised criminal activities in Sri Lanka, a top police source said.   

The government has initiated action to trap and bring them here for prosecution in terms of the Extradition Treaties signed with these countries. The source the UAE, as a country, is extending cooperation in tracking them.  
 
In recent investigations into the shooting incident in  Athurugiriya, it has been revealed that notorious criminal Kanjipani  Imran masterminded the attack with the assistance of other criminals identified as Loku Patty and Gonakovile Shantha who are hiding in Dubai.  

It has been reported that several wanted criminals and drug traffickers, who initially sought refuge in Dubai to evade capture while continuing their illegal activities in Sri Lanka, have now relocated to other countries.  

Kanjipani Imran, who fled the country after being bailed out from a court case, is plotting criminal activities in Sri Lanka.  

Recently, Sri Lankan authorities, in collaboration with  Dubai authorities, arrested some Sri Lankan criminals based on Red  Notices and subsequently extradited them to Sri Lanka. Besides, five criminals have been arrested in Sri Lanka.   

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) repatriated two wanted underworld figures allegedly involved in multiple murders and other illegal activities in Sri Lanka from Dubai.  

The suspects, 48-year-old Dinesh Samantha de Silva alias  Babi” from Nugegoda and 26-year-old Kankanamlage Dimuthu Chaturanga  Perera alias Samitpura Chathu” from Samitpura, Mattakkuliya, were brought back to Sri Lanka at the Bandaranaike International Airport  (BIA) in Katunayake.  A team of four senior police officers from the CID escorted them back from Dubai.  

Police said that ‘Samitpura Chathu’ will be handed over to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD), while ‘Babi’ will be transferred to the Homicide and Organised Crime Investigation Division.  

On February 15, 2024, Hapuarachchige Don Piyum Hastika alias Piyuma,” identified as a primary accomplice of notorious drug trafficker Salindu Malshika alias Kudu Salindu,” was arrested in Dubai and subsequently extradited to Sri Lanka.  

In May of this year, notorious underworld figure and drug trafficker Ruwan Jayasekara alias Midigama Ruwan,” as well as notorious criminal Ramesh Mihiranga alias Manna Ramesh,” were arrested by Dubai  Police and extradited to Sri Lanka. Midigama Ruwan” was arrested based on an Interpol warrant.  

Courtesy Times of Oman

Manila: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $100 million policy-based loan to support and facilitate reforms in Sri Lanka, aimed particularly at enhancing the financial sustainability of the power sector in the island country.

As per a release from the regional development bank dated July 11, the Power Sector Reforms and Financial Sustainability Program will complement the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility arrangement and bolster the operational efficiency and competitiveness of the island country’s power sector.

The program will help create a conducive environment for private investments, boosting renewable energy development, and modernizing power grids.

“Developing cost-competitive renewable energy and providing reliable and affordable electricity supply–with a transparent and independent power sector regulatory framework–will help Sri Lanka drive economic growth and address the current financial and economic crisis,” said ADB Principal Energy Specialist Jaimes Kolantharaj.

“The program will also support the development of renewable energy to accelerate the country’s transition to clean energy as envisaged under Sri Lanka’s nationally determined contributions.”

It will support regulatory reforms with the implementation of the new national tariff policy that will improve financial sustainability of the sector through cost-reflective tariffs.

To help accelerate investments in renewable energy, the program will assist multiple initiatives under the renewable energy expansion plans for 2023-2030. The key initiatives include implementing a periodic revision of feed-in tariffs for small power plants and rooftop solar users, facilitating the integration of renewable energy projects into the national grid, and effective application of a competitive procurement framework for renewable energy projects.

ADB said it will provide an additional USD 1 million technical assistance grant from its Technical Assistance Special Fund to support the power sector reforms in the island nation.

The island nation’s economy is stabilizing from a crippling financial crisis of 2022, which was triggered by depleting foreign exchange reserves. Sri Lanka faced a severe economic crisis as a result of past policy missteps.

Its economy has shown signs of recovery in recent months since then.

The island nation defaulted on its overseas debt in May 2022 after depleted foreign exchange reserves triggered the worst financial crisis since its Independence.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT) has plqnned to launch a satellite next year. 

Chairman of the institute Prof. Chandana Jayaratne emphasized the need for further infrastructure development to educate school children regarding satellite technology. 

He made these remarks while participating in a programme aimed at educating students on the subject.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya has said that India, and Sri Lanka are working to trade in national currencies, a development that comes even as both sides have been focusing on financial connectivity.

Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, he said, it makes more sense to pay for those goods in the local currency. So I think it’s a very good proposal, and it will also be very easy for the Indian tourists to come and they come to Sri Lanka and pay in Indian Rupees”.

The minister was in Delhi for the BIMSTEC grouping’s foreign minister retreat. He termed the India Sri Lanka ties being at all time high”, and pointed to India’s economic support during the financial crisis his country faced.

He explained, India’s role in helping Sri Lanka was fundamental in Sri Lanka making a quick recovery..”. On BIMSTEC, he backed increased connectivity and focus on FTA within the 7 member grouping. He also spoke on the expansion of the sea bed issue, Katchatheevu island issue etc. Full interview:

Sidhant Sibal: How do you see India, Sri Lanka ties?

Tharaka Balasuriya: It’s always good to be back in Delhi. Last time I was here was for the Raisina dialogue. The relationship between Sri Lanka and India is at an all time high. And we have our bilateral ties are very good. We are collaborating in different spheres. And I think what we need to do, is to make sure that some of the things which we have discussed will materialize in the future very soon. So, I will say that the relationship between Sri Lanka and India is at an all time high.

Sidhant Sibal: If you can talk about the current economic situation and the Indian support for your country.

Tharaka Balasuriya: I wouldn’t say we’re out of the woods, we still have a long way to go. We our debt restructuring has pretty much finished bilateral and also we have made the agreements with the bondholders, but we need in terms of generating new revenue streams, we need to be looking at new avenues to generate new revenue streams, and  the India’s role in helping Sri Lanka was fundamental in Sri Lanka making a quick recovery whereas the multinational institutions should have stepped in, in such a scenario, it took a little bit of time for the multilateral institutions to step in.”

So it was India who stepped in with the $4.5 billion loan. At that time, we had queues which were two or three miles long, we did not have cash, we were short of  medicine. It was very gloomy in Sri Lanka, but now I think you know, if you have visited Sri Lanka, you will see that most things are back to normal. And tourism is thriving. Tourists are back in numbers,” he said.

The economy’s doing quite well. In this year,  the growth rate was 5.3% in the first quarter. So I think we are on the right track. And of course, in order to achieve that we also had to take very difficult measures, such as raising the taxes , such as not extending the public service and also such as making sure that reducing subsidies and making sure that the pricing was cost based. So we had to go through a tough period but I am optimistic to say that most of it is now behind us,” Balasuriya said.

And from my overseas travels, maybe one year back when you meet foreign dignitaries, the first thing they ask is how’s the situation in Sri Lanka, is there food to eat? most of the foreign dignitaries would ask those questions, but I think that you know now when you visit other countries, most of the foreign dignitaries are asking how are you how  able to make such a quick recovery. And also the interest in Sri Lanka from all over is growing due to its location. So I’m very optimistic for the medium term and the long term prospects of Sri Lanka,” Balasuriya added.

Sidhant Sibal: India has also stepped up its support to Sri Lanka in terms of infrastructure development, whether it’s the oil fields we have been talking about or whether it is providing training to your civil servants.

Tharaka Balasuriya:  So yes, indeed. I think one of the new revenue streams which we are looking at is pertaining to energy. Both my President and Prime Minister Modi are interested in making Trincomalee an energy hub. We are also looking at grid connectivity with India. So we are looking at connectivity with India in different spheres, people to people connectivity is very important. They are looking at the sea connectivity, maybe restarting the ferry service, maybe on a roll on- roll off basis, ferries, then we are looking at the air connectivity. Now there are flights flying to Chennai, flying to Jaffna but we are also in discussions with India to increase the length of the tarmac, So, large planes can come to Jaffna. Then we are looking at grid connectivity. So, we are looking at connectivity with India in a large way. 

Sidhant Sibal: Are you also looking with India Sri Lanka and a third country for example, India, Japan and Sri Lanka when it comes to ports are India, Russia and Sri Lanka when it comes to the airports

Tharaka Balasuriya: Will you know depends on the industry I think, now if you look at the Mattala International Airport, it’s India, Sri Lanka and Russia and from the perspective of Sri Lankans, the highest number of tourists come to Sri Lanka from India. Second place number is from Russia. So it makes all the sense to have a tri party agreement and to make sure that more tourists visit Sri Lanka. So I think you know, we should not just be looking at India, but also through India, we should be looking at it as a gateway to the rest of South Asia and also to Southeast Asia.

Sidhant Sibal:  So, you mentioned connectivity. Now, one connectivity which has been discussed is the land connectivity between India and Sri Lanka. This was one of the key outcomes from the earlier visit of the Sri Lankan President. How’s it going about and what’s the view in Sri Lanka regarding it

Tharaka Balasuriya: It’s proceeding well at the highest level. I think the terms of reference has been done and then also an RFP has been given to Sri Lanka. Now we need to select a consultant in that regard. The bridge itself will, I think, take about four years to build. So that will be a game changer. The BIMSTEC foreign ministers had a time with the Prime Minister Modi ji, and one thing I again emphasized was the bridge. And one point which the Prime Minister made was that if you look at the EU, and if you look at South Asia or Southeast Asia, for that matter, what he pointed out was that the reason that the EU succeeded is simply because of connectivity. So be you know, India and Sri Lanka or be it you know, the road network between India and Myanmar and Thailand, we need to improve connectivity in all its forms. So there’ll be more business transactions taking place if there’s better connectivity.

Sidhant Sibal: So you mentioned bridges in four or five years any year you’re looking at.

Tharaka Balasuriya: I hope construction on the bridge will start as soon as possible. I mean, just think in terms of tourist numbers. I believe that you know if you look at the internal tourists, local tourists, Tamil Nadu gets the most number of tourists, they get about 140 million tourists .Rameshwaram alone gets 10 million tourists. So whether Sri Lanka stands this. Sri Lanka at the moment, we have got about 1.1 million tourists this year. And we are looking to get 2.4 million tourists at the end of the year. I think you know if we have a bridge that 2.4 million or 5 million tourists coming from India can take place within months. We’ve been building walls for too long. So we need to build the bridges now.

Sidhant Sibal: Sri Lanka plans to expand its seabed. India also plans to expand its seabed, it has put up a proposal as well. What’s the update? Like? Is this an issue that is a thorny one between India and Sri Lanka.

Tharaka Balasuriya:  No, certainly, not. I think we know each country has a right to claim beyond 200 nautical miles. So if there are areas of contention, those areas can be discussed and resolved bilaterally and we plan on having discussions with India and resolving this matter amicably.

Sidhant Sibal: Have you raised it with the Indian side so far?

Tharaka Balasuriya: No, this was the BIMSTEC meeting. So it wasn’t a bilateral meeting. I did have a meeting with Dr. Ashok. But we didn’t discuss this issue. There was other bilateral matters which we discussed in

Sidhant Sibal: In the past, has this been discussed because it looks like an old proposal?

Tharaka Balasuriya: I don’t think that it is a major issue, pertaining to this. We had a similar issue with the Maldivians and then we decided we will discuss with the Maldivian government bilaterally and can be sorted out amicably. So I don’t think these are these areas of contention. 

Sidhant Sibal: Coming back to connectivity, I believe there’s so much to talk about connectivity. Financial connectivity, we saw the UPI being agreed on between India and Sri Lanka that will help a lot of Indian tourists go into your country. What are the other proposals? We are looking at the usage of the Indian rupee? Is this also on the anvil?

Tharaka Balasuriya: Yes, I think, from the Sri Lanka side we become less dollar dependent. If more Indian tourists come to Sri Lanka, you can pay for the Indian goods in Indian rupees, then you only save a lot of money in terms of the commissions and converting all money to dollars and paying your receipts in dollars. So it makes more sense to pay for those goods locally in the local currency. So I think it’s a very good proposal, and it will also be very easy for the Indian tourists to come and they come to Sri Lanka and pay in Indian Rupees.

Sidhant Sibal: So is there work happening on trading in the national currencies between India and Sri Lanka? 

Tharaka Balasuriya: Yes, the work is proceeding well and I think by next year we will have identified a certain number of locations where these machines/ATMs can be used in order to trade.

Sidhant Sibal: There is another issue that maybe Sri Lanka and India might not see eye to eye. One is the visit of the Chinese research vessels. How have you assured New Delhi?

Tharaka Balasuriya: There’s a moratorium which is in place and will be until the end of the year, and at the end of the year, we will renew our position. But we are also very interested in developing our own capacity. So I think once we develop our own capacity as a sovereign country, then we can do the research ourselves. So this in terms of Sri Lanka’s issues is not a major priority. Of course time and again we have stated that we are very interested in India’s security interest. We want to make sure that no country uses Sri Lanka in order to threaten India’s security and we have given that assurance and we will work towards that. But we will also want to trade with other countries.  Certainly, India does far more trade with China than you know Sri Lanka does with China. I think India’s trade with China is about $140 billion, whereas Sri Lanka’s trade with China is a fraction of that. So, perhaps, maybe even Sri Lanka can be an opportunity for these two countries to, to trade.

Sidhant Sibal: Any conversation on Katchatheevu island?

Tharaka Balasuriya: That’s an internal matter and it has not been raised by the Indian partners and it has been addressed in the 1970s. So I don’t think that’s a matter which we need to raise up. I think certain Indian politicians raised that matter from a historical perspective, to show that , from India’s perspective, perhaps it was a mistake. But Indians have not raised the matter of Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka and three or four occasions when the matter has been raised by the Indians, once when Sri Lanka was still dominion of the United Kingdom, the Royal Air Force used for bombing purposes, India raised concerns. Then regarding the fishing rights, and then later on there were discussions on the islands being used by the smugglers. But I think historically, the sovereignty of the island has not been questioned. And I think it’s a matter which is done and dusted.

Sidhant Sibal: Last few questions this time on the multilateral aspect. You’re here for the BIMSTEC foreign ministers meeting. Where do you see this grouping going forward?

Tharaka Balasuriya: I feel that you know, there’s more political will. And I feel that you know, there’s 2 billion people which have been represented in the BIMSTEC. And certainly that we need to have closer integration within the BIMSTEC. We have been talking about an FTA within the BIMSTEC. And certainly, certainly, I think A FTA should come into place hopefully, and there’s more political will. Now just imagine BIMSTEC alone represents 2 billion people and in Thailand and Myanmar, are also represented in ASEAN. And then ASEAN represents a further 2 billion people. So you’re talking about 4 billion people. So I would think that within the next few years, there will be a closer dialogue with the BIMSTEC members and it’s only seven members so we can have close dialogue. One proposal which was agreed was at the United Nations, in September every year for the BIMSTEC foreign ministers also to meet and have discussions. So this was a foreign minister’s retreat. These discussions were very open and frank. It was very informal where our ideas and suggestions were taken into consideration. So we will be looking at the verticals in terms of energy security, in terms of food security, and in terms of the people’s security. And in all these the other subclasses can be put into the three areas.

Sidhant Sibal: What are your hopes from the upcoming summit in Thailand?

Tharaka Balasuriya:  We want the summit to be successful and we want the things to materialize in terms of BIMSTEC itself, it is 27 years old. So the charter was passed during our presidency. But we want something concrete to come out of the group. . Now, if you say that you are a member of the EU, then you feel like you’re a member of the EU, you know you can travel freely within each country. So I think you know in order for the BIMSTEC to be successful, people in these countries, ordinary people in these countries need to feel that there’s an organization called BIMSTEC, and because of this organization, there are certain benefits that the people are gaining. And we are also hopeful that you know, FTA will come through in the BIMSTEC, there are other areas such as medical visas, e Visas to India are allowed. So, there was an array of areas which we discussed.

Source: WION
–Agencies

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized his commitment to building a robust economic framework that ensures long-term stability for future generations, steering away from short-term solutions that could risk economic collapse. He made these remarks today (13) during the inauguration of the state-of-the-art swimming pool at the Anuradhapura Central College.

Reflecting on past economic and political crises, President Wickremesinghe highlighted the necessity of a national-level political apparatus capable of strategic governance beyond the five year electoral cycles. He underscored the need for governance focused not merely on short-term power dynamics but on sustainable national development.

During the ceremony, President Wickremesinghe inaugurated the state-of-the-art swimming pool and engaged with students participating in various activities. He also formally handed over the swimming pool premises to the Anuradhapura Central College and congratulated students who excelled in the 2023 GCE Advanced Level Examination, personally acknowledging their achievements.

Principal Mr. Percy Mahanama presented a donation of Rs. 10,000 to the President’s Fund, contributed by the students of the Anuradhapura Central College, as a token of appreciation.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe further commented;

The Government, along with support from the Alumni Association, has contributed to the construction of this swimming pool, providing your school with a valuable addition. This school, where the educational reforms initiated by Mr. C. W. W. Kannangara began in the North Central Province, holds the distinction of being its first Madhya Maha Vidyalaya.

Since then, the school has made significant strides. The principal has requested a three-storied building, and I will personally notify the Ministry of Education to facilitate its construction.

As we approach the 77th anniversary of the college and celebrate the completion of the swimming pool, I am pleased to announce that the President’s office is actively working towards establishing a fully-equipped fitness center for the college.

During a student’s speech on behalf of the school, the aspiration for a better future was prominently expressed. This aspiration is both reasonable and timely, especially considering recent years. It is imperative that we strategize on how to build this envisioned future.

By averting bankruptcy, we have achieved our first milestone. However, continuing with the current economic trajectory risks accumulating unsustainable levels of debt, jeopardizing the future these students aspire to. In the next 15 years, we could potentially face a severe economic crisis unless we chart a sustainable course forward.

As a nation, we must decide whether to advance or risk economic collapse once more. Considering that you will reside here for at least another 50 years, our focus as a government should extend beyond 2050 and aim towards securing prosperity by 2075.

Therefore, we are planning to transition our country’s economy from one reliant on imports to one driven by exports. This necessitates a fundamental overhaul of our existing economic structures, for which we have introduced the Economic Transformation Act.

Central to this transformation is the agricultural modernization program, crucial for revitalizing our economy. Thanks to the dedication of our farmers, who received essential fertilizer support, we achieved successful harvests in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In recognition of their contributions, we launched the inheritance tax exemption program, benefiting farmers across the North Central Province.

Looking ahead, the global population is projected to increase by an additional 2 billion by 2050, necessitating a focus on utilizing modern technology to maximize agricultural output and ensure food security worldwide. From these arid regions, we aim to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, which will drive economic prosperity in Anuradhapura, Dambulla, and Vavuniya.

Furthermore, these provinces possess significant potential for solar energy projects and tourism development. Embracing innovation, we are embarking on ambitious initiatives such as the Trincomalee port development project in collaboration with India, which will also benefit Anuradhapura.

In line with our forward-thinking approach, plans are underway to establish three new technological universities, supported by foreign institutions offering technical expertise. Embracing advancements in artificial intelligence, we are poised to chart a new course towards a prosperous future.

As we navigate this transformative journey, it is imperative to continuously reassess and innovate for sustained growth and development.

Some politicians focus solely on gaining power for a five-year term or on ousting their rivals from office. This narrow approach to politics has historically led to economic and political crises in our country.

Through collaboration across political divides, I successfully revitalized the national economy. This effort marked the establishment of a national-level thinking group for the first time in our history. Such a system is crucial for our future, transcending partisan interests to prioritize the nation’s well-being.

Regardless of political affiliation, it is essential that every representative prioritizes the nation’s interests. Our collective success as a nation hinges on the decisions we make in the coming years. Therefore, I urge everyone to focus on the future and work towards our shared prosperity.

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe;

Today marks a significant milestone as the swimming pool of this school, which holds a special place in Anuradhapura, is handed over to the students. The completion of this project faced challenges amidst recent turbulent conditions in the country. However, following successful economic stabilization efforts led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, funding was secured to finalize its construction. Under the President’s strategic initiatives, comprehensive measures were implemented to advance the nation’s economic recovery while restoring stability.

Through effective decision-making and a partnership with the International Monetary Fund, the government swiftly restored both the economy and livelihoods. President Wickremesinghe continues to spearhead reforms aimed at safeguarding the economy from future collapses, with new legislation and programs already underway. Concurrently, transformative initiatives are enhancing infrastructure across education, healthcare, and the broader economy, fostering a brighter outlook for the nation’s future.

The ceremony was attended by North Central Province Governor Mahipala Herath, Members of Parliament S.M. Chandrasena, Duminda Dissanayake, Rohana Bandara, former Minister P. Harrison, former Chief Minister S.M. Ranjith, Anuradhapura Central College Principal Mr. Percy Mahanama, members of the staff, parents, alumni, and students.

Courtesy Adaderana

The European Union (EU) is backing Sri Lanka’s initiative of the newly established Department of Cinnamon Development through the Export Agriculture in Sri Lanka project, the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka and Maldives said in a statement.
 
The statement highlighted that the EU will bring in the expertise of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to promote Ceylon cinnamon exports to higher-value markets by focusing on quality improvement efforts.
 
The project supports the implementation and enforcement of quality, builds the capacity of field officers and farmer organisations and provides technology, it added.
 
President Ranil Wickremesinghe recently inaugurated the newly established Department of Cinnamon Development, dedicated to the cultivation and enhancement of cinnamon production. This department aims to boost cinnamon output, leveraging advanced techniques and support systems to elevate the industry.
 
During the ceremony, selected cinnamon entrepreneurs were awarded the Geographical Indications (GI) certificates. These distinctions recognize the highest standards in cinnamon cultivation and production, setting a benchmark for quality and excellence in the industry, the EU delegation’s statement added.

Courtesy Adaderana

A three-member panel of judges has been named to take up for consideration the Fundamental Rights (FR) petition filed seeking an order to prevent holding of the Presidential Election as the 19th Amendment to the Constitution has not been properly passed in Parliament.

Accordingly, the petition filed by Attorney-at-Law Aruna Laksiri, is slated to be taken up for consideration before a bench comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justices Arjuna Obeysekara and Priyantha Fernando.

The relevant petition has been fixed for consideration before the aforementioned judge panel on Monday (15), Ada Derana reporter said.

The petition argues that the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was not properly passed in Parliament and therefore calls for a referendum to ensure its proper passage.

The Election Commission and its members, the General Secretary of Parliament and the Attorney General have been named as respondents.

The petitioner claims that through the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, Article 70 of the Constitution has been amended to deprive the President of the power to dissolve an elected Parliament after one year has passed.

The petitioner asserts that the amendment has not been approved by a referendum, even though a Supreme Court bench ruled that the amendment should be referred to a referendum.

The petitioner points out that the amendment cannot be considered as a law because it has not been approved by a referendum and signed by the President.

Therefore, the petitioner argues that it is wrong to continue to accept the 19th Amendment as a law.

On Monday (08), the Supreme Court dismissed a fundamental rights (FR) petition seeking an order preventing the calling of a Presidential Election until the Supreme Court delivers its interpretation on the date of the presidential poll.

The petition, which was filed by an entrepreneur named C.D. Lenawa last Wednesday (03), had requested that an interim order be issued to prevent the holding of the presidential election within the currently scheduled period until the court delivers its interpretation on the date of the next presidential election.

BY  SHENALI WADUGE

 · 12TH JULY 2024

The soon to depart US envoy continues to interfere in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs with impunity primarily because the Minister in charge does not wish to question her on breaking diplomatic protocols & violating the Geneva Conventions. As a result the envoy has come to believe she can summon public officials to her office, question them & even give orders to them. Such was the fate that befell the head of the Office of Missing Persons. What is the pressing need for her to summon a public official, it is nothing but a gravesite in Kokkuthuduwai for which the govt has spent Rs.5.7m so far of public tax payers money. The said gravesite however dates back to 1996 & is of dead LTTE. Unable to name the alleged dead since 2009 or locate the skeletons, it is natural to want to unearth any grave and try to pin a number to prove their lies. We can understand the frenzy as the clock is ticking & with each year it is becoming more & more evident that the 40,000 dead” was a figment of imagination in the minds of many for political gain. But the more important issue here is the need to stop envoys from interfering in internal affairs of sovereign nations.

On top of interfering envoys, there are numerous other entities in the form of USAID-NED-NRI-IRI operating at grassroot levels under numerous camouflaged programs indoctrinating school children-youth-adults, elders & even public servants. None of these programs are being vetted by the State purely because of funds that silence the Minister & Secretaries approving these programs. Taken together, these programs eventually resulted in what took place in 2022 where it did not take rocket science to put together how the initiatives that were funded since 2021 became the outcome of 2022. It is not difficult to piece together what their other programs entail too.

An elected Government is tasked to not only preserve the sovereignty of the nation but to protect the people & ensure even the Public Sector serves the state not foreign entities who think they are above the law while promoting rule of law.

Too many envoys are going beyond diplomatic protocols and these violations are too many. There will soon come a time where public officials may be listening to the diplomats & not the elected government!

Shenali D Waduge

Charles Abugre and Fellow Eminent Economists Courtesy Networkideas.org

• June 25, 2024

There should be a change of orientation in dealings with the IMF and Sri Lanka’s creditors. The aim must be to protect the living standards of the people and to promote the growth of the economy in ways that expand incomes, create good-quality jobs, and improve the trade balance. This means that the debt restructuring process has to be based on ensuring that the debt stock does not increase with interest payments; on a haircut on commercial debt that is far more than 30%; on multilateral and bilateral agencies also accepting a reduction of their contribution to the debt stock”

We* were invited to Sri Lanka between 9-11 June 2024, where we participated in consultations in Colombo with academics, researchers, activists and political parties.

We do not believe that the current economic policy program defined in the 17th Agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) provides a sustainable path of recovery for Sri Lanka or a credible means of resolving its external debt crisis. This is based on our analysis of the factors leading to the economic collapse, our assessment of the agreement and the policy package that accompanies it, and our estimation of the economic, social, and political burdens of fiscal consolidation under the current program. As political parties prepare for the upcoming Presidential and parliamentary elections, it is in the best interests of the Sri Lankan people that all actors commit to renegotiating the terms and conditions of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the IMF. The need for such renegotiation arises from the following.

• The program does not emphasise the urgency and relevance of countercyclical measures to stimulate employment and livelihoods while ensuring the basic needs of the people including education, health, and social protection.
• The economic growth targets in the program are excessively optimistic, and do not recognise the adverse impact that the fiscal measures embedded in the program would have on economic activity.
• This is turn means that the targets for a primary budget surplus, external debt servicing, gross financing needs and the public debt to GDP ratio are overly optimistic and unlikely to be met despite the very severe squeeze on the living standards of ordinary people.
• The benchmarks and the quantitative goals take no account of structural conditions leading to Sri Lanka’s crisis or the global instability that will inevitably also affect Sri Lanka.
• There is lack of sense in the methodology of the IMF’s debt sustainability analysis (DSA). The estimates of needed external debt reduction are extremely low. This is sought to be concealed by a diversionary inclusion of domestic debt in the restructuring process, and an emphasis on gross” financing rather than external financing needs. While domestic debt restructuring will not yield any foreign exchange to address the external debt crisis, it imposes burdens on the working people, by imposing haircuts on sovereign debt held by pension funds that are the repositories of the savings of workers. This should be reversed. In addition, the crucial problem of repaying foreign debt is underplayed, resulting in low haircuts from foreign creditors who lent at high interest rates that included a risk premium, which are unlikely to deliver the relief that is essential. Indeed there is likely to be little change in the total external debt. So, debt restructuring must focus on foreign exchange-denominated debt.
• The benchmarks for economic reform and the austerity conditionalities in the IMF program impose a large burden of adjustment on the poor and vulnerable sections of society, which have already been severely hit by the crisis. The increase in indirect taxation is regressive, as the poor pay a disproportionately higher share of incomes than the rich. The increase in energy tariffs on electricity, cooking gas, and kerosene has increased the burden on working households in both urban and rural areas. Austerity policies have already led to electricity disconnection of one million households; falling school attendance; unemployment and under-employment. The devastating impact of such measures is largely borne by women and children in these households.
• The legislative drive to take policy measures from a flawed agreement and convert them into binding laws through the Economic Transformation Bill, is detrimental and dangerous. It is an attack on democratic norms and the system, intended to tie to the hands of the incoming Government, irrespective of the mandate it receives from the people. The Parliamentary approval of the program should have been sought before the deal between the Sri Lanka’s Government and the IMF Staff was approved by the IMF Executive Board, not afterwards. On the verge of an election, the untimely approval of a Program already in place should not be seen as proof that the IMF Exceptional Access Criterion #4, Ownership”, is met.
• Such legislation is also oblivious to future developments both external and internal that could require a change of policy. If such legislation is passed now, future governments seeking to change it could face investor-state-dispute-settlement cases brought under different Bilateral Investment Treaties that Sri Lanka is a signatory to.

Overall, there should be a change of orientation in dealings with the IMF and Sri Lanka’s creditors. The aim must be to protect the living standards of the people and to promote the growth of the economy in ways that expand incomes, create good-quality jobs, and improve the trade balance. This means that the debt restructuring process has to be based on ensuring that the debt stock does not increase with interest payments; on a haircut on commercial debt that is far more than 30%; on multilateral and bilateral agencies also accepting a reduction of their contribution to the debt stock.

The next Government should undertake that all future borrowing in foreign currency and under foreign law, or from the IMF, has to be scrutinised and approved by Parliament. Any prospective loan agreement should be disclosed to the public with adequate time for discussion. In renegotiating its current agreement with the IMF, a starting point is for Sri Lanka to embark on its own debt sustainability analysis, based on an open and consultative process. A minimum condition for any progressive and humane way out of this crisis is that the democratic space for citizens must be defended and extended.

* Martin Guzman is a Professor, Columbia University, New York, USA and former Minister of the Economy, Republic of Argentina;
Charles Abugre, Executive Director, International Development Economics Associates, (IDEAs);
Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA and former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India; and
C.P. Chandrasekhar, Director of Research, International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs) and former Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

https://www.networkideas.org/news-analysis/2024/06/sri-lanka-must-renegotiate-imf-agreement-for-sustainable-recovery-from-crisis/