The initiative will collect excess food and avoid waste. Many children have stopped going to school because lunch is no longer guaranteed. The funds allocated by the government are not enough.
Colombo (AsiaNews) – Food banks and food exchange centres have been set up at religious facilities to provide food to needy families under the direction of the Ministry of Buddhasasana,[*] Religious and Cultural Affairs.
The plan involves 14,000 village service centres that collect surplus food and deliver it to food banks, which in turn distribute it. Thus, no food will be wasted.
To implement the programme, the government will rely on Buddhist monks and priests who are thought to have a better understanding of the living conditions of ordinary people affected by the economic crisis.
For months, Sri Lanka has been facing an unprecedented crisis that saw it default on its foreign debt in April with many families facing food insecurity.
The decision to create food banks with the assistance of clergy was taken to ensure that distribution to the needy was conducted in a transparent manner, instead of lists submitted by politicians in relevant areas,” said a senior analyst who took part in the meetings to discuss the programme speaking to AsiaNews.
Meanwhile, an education department official said that information from several school principals indicates that large numbers of children from low-income families were skipping school” since parents were unable to feed them and “many students were fainting during the morning assembly.”
According to a recent government report, “One in seven children have dropped out of school due to food shortages.”
According to a senior education ministry official, out of 4.1 million students, only 1.1 million receive midday meals,” this despite government funding (60 rupees, or 16 US cents per meal).
In the districts of Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, most parents are day wage earners employed as bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, or labourers.
Some have not found work for days or even weeks forcing them to pawn the family jewels to buy basic necessities.
The 60 rupees the government has allocated is not enough. An egg costs 50 rupees so it is not possible to provide a full meal. Most of the children are fed thanks to the goodwill of the community,” said the principal of a rural school.
The government set itself the goal of providing lunch for one million children in order to keep them in school.
Several international organisations such as Save The Children and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are working with the Education Ministry while some groups have set up community kitchens” in Wattegama, Maskeliya and Dickoya aimed at school children.
COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s cash-strapped government has vowed to build food security for the nation — a tall order for a country suffering from one of the world’s highest food inflation rates and still cursing the agricultural policy of the previous, unceremoniously ousted Rajapaksa administration.
The World Food Program estimates that more than 6 million Sri Lankans, or nearly 30% of the population, are currently “food insecure” and in need of humanitarian assistance. With the inflation rate for food reaching around 90% on the year in recent months, the WFP has said that as many as 86% of families are buying cheaper, less nutritious food and in some cases cutting back on meals.
At an event in Colombo to mark World Food Day on Oct. 16, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a video message that the country faces a “critical juncture” for feeding itself, while Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena stressed the need to invest in modernizing farming, according to local reports. The “government is fully committed to achieving this gigantic task,” Gunawardena was quoted as saying. “Agriculture and food security remain a national priority.”
As foreign currency reserves dried up earlier this year, Sri Lanka defaulted on its foreign debt for the first time. Amid worsening shortages of energy and other essentials, including chemical fertilizers, massive protests ultimately forced the downfall of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Now the immediate challenge for the bankrupt country is to secure cooperation from creditors, especially China, to restructure its debt and unlock a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
International assistance will also be crucial for securing the future of its farms, not only in the face of the economic crisis but also the threat of climate shocks.
A representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization told the World Food Day event that the United Nations body was working to provide agricultural essentials such as seeds and fertilizer “to boost production and help Sri Lanka move towards becoming a food secure nation,” reports said. In September, USAID announced $40 million in additional funding for Sri Lankan farmers, working with the FAO.
Also last month, Wickremesinghe said his government had “found” $200 million for the provision of fertilizers for the current cultivation season, according to a statement on his office’s website. The president spoke of the bigger picture, too, saying that modernization should be in full swing by the end of 2023 and that Sri Lanka should be looking to “earn foreign exchange from agriculture,” naming Saudi Arabia and Indonesia as potential export destinations.
It remains to be seen what form this modernization will take. But as Colombo attempts to look ahead, Sri Lanka and its farmers are haunted by the recent past.
A key tipping point in the economic crisis is widely considered to be former President Rajapaksa’s abrupt ban on chemical fertilizers and pesticides in April 2021, in favor of organic cultivation. Even proponents of organic farming shake their heads as they look back on the decision, which came when the economy was already on the brink due to COVID-19’s impact on tourism.
“The president’s committee of advisers to implement the new agricultural policy had no knowledge of organic farming,” explained Thilak Kariyawasam, president of the Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement, a professional organization founded in 1994 to promote such farming. A 46-member task force charged with creating a road map had “no understanding of how organic agriculture works,” he argued.
“They couldn’t find adequate organic inputs for the upcoming season, which became a huge problem for farmers,” Kariyawasam said. “Organic farming doesn’t give results overnight. It needs two to three seasons to develop microbes that enhance soil quality. It is during this time that the farmers needed governmental support. But that support was missing.”
While Rajapaksa sold the ban as necessary for health and the environment, many suspect he had a more pressing reason — to save the $400 million the country was spending every year on fertilizer imports.
“As an organic, passionate entrepreneur, I was delighted with the policy to create a national positioning strategy to become organic,” said Prasanna Hettiarachchi, founder of Saaraketha Holdings, Sri Lanka’s largest exporter and retailer of certified organic food products. “But on the other side, I was alarmed that the ban was imposed overnight. It was, in my opinion, a myopic decision influenced by the shortage of foreign currency.”
After the ban, rice production quickly fell to 2.92 million tonnes in the 2021-to-2022 season, from the previous year’s 3.39 million tonnes.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report in 2021 speculated that “the lack of organic fertilizer productive capacity, coupled with the absence of a formalized plan to import organic fertilizers in lieu of chemical fertilizers, raises the potential for an adverse impact on food security.” This is exactly what happened.
“We are a tropical country with favorable weather and sunlight. We had enough to eat, enough to resources to grow our own food. No one was dying of hunger. But the introduction of this policy destroyed that balance, and commercial agriculture was affected,” said Rajith Tennakoon, director general of community affairs in the Presidential Secretariat.
Tennakoon, who has years of experience in organic and conventional farming himself, said the fuel shortage left no diesel for watering fields, and many crops were destroyed by pests. “I had to lay off 30 farmers because I didn’t have any money to pay them.”
While the blanket ban was reversed in November 2021, the damage was done. The scale of production has yet to fully recover, as the sector remains under pressure from the shortage of foreign currency required to buy agrochemicals.
However, Tennakoon, who now works as a go-between for the public and the government, says efforts are underway to remedy to problem and cut red tape. “The only prohibition is now on certain brands of chemicals due to environmental issues, and not due to policy.”
Despite anger over the chemical ban, organic farming does have broad support. A survey by Verite Research, a Colombo-based think tank, in July 2021 found that 64% of farmers agreed with a full transition or organic agriculture, but 78% of those who supported the change said they would need more than a year to adjust.
The government is not giving up on organic farming. The Agriculture Ministry has recommended 70% chemical fertilizer use this season, with organic fertilizer making up the rest. The ministry says a subsidy of 20,000 rupees ($54) will be granted to those who apply for organic fertilizer for their paddies.
Despite the incentives, though, some experts see the previous policy as a “point of no return.”
The “organic brand has gained notoriety in the last one year, bringing negative thoughts in the minds of ordinary citizens who are not even involved in organic farming,” said Hettiarachchi. “We nearly went hungry because of this madness. In my personal opinion, it will be very tough to roll out this kind of program again, and I don’t think any other government would ever even try it, because it is political suicide.”
State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage today reconfirmed that she will leave for US soon to initiate talks on inviting Walt Disney to invest in a theme park in Sri Lanka.
Responding to social media claims that the Disneyland project was false, she said that she was in touch with the Walt Disney group and would soon visit the US to initiate discussions.
She also said that a project of such a scale would benefit Sri Lanka and also boost Sri Lanka’s tourism sector.
She said she was determined to attract projects to Sri Lanka which would strengthen the economy as well as benefit other sectors.
If the discussions are successful, Sri Lanka will be able to construct South Asia’s first Disneyland.
The Rajapaksa regime’s tax policies exacerbated endemic weaknesses in the economy
Sri Lanka’s fiscal situation has been facing turmoil since the global financial crisis of 2008 as well as the 26-year-long civil war that ended in 2009, draining the country of valuable resources over the years. The present economic breakdown is a result of various political missteps, which cascaded into the collapse of the political administration as well.
The political mismanagement ranged from the sweeping tax reforms in 2019 to the abrupt imposition of organic farming in 2021. The problems were compounded by the financial stress from managing the Covid-19 pandemic, the mounting foreign debt, and the skewed soft-power dynamics with China.
Managing the pandemic entailed added costs to the health-care system. Along with this, the spending by the government on social-security programs targeted at poverty eradication and unemployment saw a significant increase.https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=%2F339474670%2C22645818862%2FAsiaTimes%2FAtimes_AMP%2FLeaderboard_3_Desktop&adk=1914978949&sz=728×90&output=html&impl=ifr&ifi=2&msz=728x-1&psz=728x-1&fws=4&scp=slug%3Drole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%26category%3Dopinion%26tag%3Dgotabaya-rajapaksa%2Copinion%2Csri-lanka-crisis%2Csri-lanka-economy%2Ctaxation%26author%3DSoumya%2520Bhowmick%26post_type%3Dpost%26ID%3D720017&adf=637937442&nhd=0&adx=378&ady=1795&oid=2&ptt=13&gdfp_req=1&sfv=1-0-37&u_sd=1&is_amp=3&_v=2210010655000&d_imp=1&c=723000090&ga_cid=amp-g7KJutm2B3ghv_dewAVlRA&ga_hid=90&dt=1666648742109&biw=1920&bih=929&u_aw=1920&u_ah=1032&u_cd=24&u_w=1920&u_h=1080&u_tz=60&u_his=2&vis=1&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&bc=7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com%2F2022%2F10%2Frole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%2F&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fc.newsnow.co.uk%2F&bdt=596&uap=Windows&uapv=14.0.0&uaa=x86&uafv=106.0.5249.119&uab=64&dtd=15&aet=n&__amp_source_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com
While government departments were facing a challenging time managing their budgets due to the fiscal crisis, this was precisely when the presidential challenger for the 2019 general election, Gotabaya Rajapaksa of the Sri Lanka Podujana Party, released his manifesto that promised sweeping tax cuts if elected to power.
The manifesto, titled Ten Principles of Inclusive Government,” proclaimed that the prevailing tax system has contributed to the collapse of the domestic economy by discouraging domestic entrepreneurs. We would, instead, introduce a tax system that would help promote production in the country.”
However, evidently the fallout of the changes in these taxation policies has been detrimental for the Sri Lankan economy.
Tax Category
Amendment
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Reduced from 15% to 8%.
Nation Building Tax (NBT)
The earlier 2% NBT was abolished. The NBT was combined with the Ports and Airport Development Levy with a relevant ratio of 10%.
Economic Service Charge
Eliminated
Debit Tax on Banking and Financial Institutions
Eliminated
Capital Gains Tax on the Share Market
Eliminated
VAT on Sovereign Property
Eliminated
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) Tax
Eliminated
Withholding Tax on Interest Income, other types
Eliminated
Credit Service Tax
Eliminated
Tax on Telecommunication Tariffs
Reduced by 25%.
Taxes abolished in Sri Lanka in 2019-2020. Source: Colombo Page
Going by macroeconomic theory, the goal behind these tax reductions was to induce economic growth in the medium and long terms by promoting the utilization of disposable income and money supply in the economy.
However, in the short term, the pandemic wreaked havoc on the country’s revenue and the tax reliefs added more burden to the national treasury, resulting in tax revenue as a percentage of GDP being reduced from 8.1% in 2020 to 7.7% in 2021.https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=%2F339474670%2C22645818862%2FAsiaTimes%2FAtimes_AMP%2FInArticle_House_1&adk=3087839601&sz=728×90&output=html&impl=ifr&ifi=3&msz=728x-1&psz=728x-1&fws=4&scp=slug%3Drole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%26category%3Dopinion%26tag%3Dgotabaya-rajapaksa%2Copinion%2Csri-lanka-crisis%2Csri-lanka-economy%2Ctaxation%26author%3DSoumya%2520Bhowmick%26post_type%3Dpost%26ID%3D720017&adf=2708650784&nhd=0&adx=378&ady=3288&oid=2&ptt=13&gdfp_req=1&sfv=1-0-37&u_sd=1&is_amp=3&_v=2210010655000&d_imp=1&c=723000090&ga_cid=amp-g7KJutm2B3ghv_dewAVlRA&ga_hid=90&dt=1666648742109&biw=1920&bih=929&u_aw=1920&u_ah=1032&u_cd=24&u_w=1920&u_h=1080&u_tz=60&u_his=2&vis=1&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&bc=7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com%2F2022%2F10%2Frole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%2F&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fc.newsnow.co.uk%2F&bdt=596&uap=Windows&uapv=14.0.0&uaa=x86&uafv=106.0.5249.119&uab=64&dtd=15&aet=n&__amp_source_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com
Because of these changes in taxes, the number of taxpayers dropped by a million between 2020 and 2022. The reduction in taxes could not be handled by an economy where the contribution of direct taxes to the GDP was already only 2%.
Sri Lanka also features among the countries with the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the South Asian subcontinent. Along with the measly tax-collection rates, various tax-evasion methods have also been historically high. For instance, evasion by underreporting the value of imports and mislabeling imports have been rampant.
Government revenues decreased and spending increased, resulting in the widening of the budget deficit. The government relied on external debts to manage this, which caused its debt-to-GDP ratio to balloon from 86.9% in 2019 to 105.6% in 2021.
One must not forget that Sri Lanka is no stranger to large fiscal deficits. The average fiscal deficit over the 2011-20 period was 6.2% of GDP. The usual procedure was the government seeking domestic and foreign finances for managing the deficit. This time, however, foreign sources could not be accessed as its credit rating was downgraded in April 2020.
This shows the structural weakness in the Sri Lankan economy as the country has been reliant on external loans to tide over its deficits. This reliance resulted in the Sri Lankan economy suffering the effects of exogenous shocks in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine-Russia conflict.https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=%2F339474670%2C22645818862%2FAsiaTimes%2FAtimes_AMP%2FInArticle_House_2&adk=3070241128&sz=728×90&output=html&impl=ifr&ifi=4&msz=728x-1&psz=728x-1&fws=4&scp=slug%3Drole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%26category%3Dopinion%26tag%3Dgotabaya-rajapaksa%2Copinion%2Csri-lanka-crisis%2Csri-lanka-economy%2Ctaxation%26author%3DSoumya%2520Bhowmick%26post_type%3Dpost%26ID%3D720017&adf=2518863034&nhd=0&adx=378&ady=4622&oid=2&ptt=13&gdfp_req=1&sfv=1-0-37&u_sd=1&is_amp=3&_v=2210010655000&d_imp=1&c=723000090&ga_cid=amp-g7KJutm2B3ghv_dewAVlRA&ga_hid=90&dt=1666648742109&biw=1920&bih=929&u_aw=1920&u_ah=1032&u_cd=24&u_w=1920&u_h=1080&u_tz=60&u_his=2&vis=1&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&bc=7&url=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com%2F2022%2F10%2Frole-of-tax-cuts-in-sri-lankan-crisis%2F&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fc.newsnow.co.uk%2F&bdt=596&uap=Windows&uapv=14.0.0&uaa=x86&uafv=106.0.5249.119&uab=64&dtd=16&aet=n&__amp_source_origin=https%3A%2F%2Fasiatimes.com
To escape from the current economic crisis, the Sri Lankan government announced a reversal of the taxation reductions. The VAT was initially increased to 12% in May 2022 and the recently passed interim budget increased it to 15%. The budget also mandates other measures such as registration of all persons aged above 18 in the income-tax system.
The recent agreement with the International Monetary Fund involves more tax reforms to strengthen the fiscal position of the country. The Sri Lankan government must address such structural weaknesses of the domestic economy on a priority basis. Depending on loans to cover the revenue shortfalls without addressing such issues will lead to further deepening of the crisis.
The author acknowledges Aravind J Nampoothiry at the National Law School of India University in Bangalore for his research assistance on this article.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has pardoned 08 Tamil prisoners including 03 accused of attempting to assassinate former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga who had consented to their release, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.
According to Article 34 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka, the President Ranil Wickremesinghe has granted amnesty to eight Tamil prisoners who by the powers assigned to the President in connection with granting amnesty to a person convicted by a court of Sri Lanka.
As a result of several discussions between Tamil MPs and the President on several occasions, steps were taken to release these prisoners. Before their release, a preliminary investigation had been carried out on them with the intervention of the Ministry of Defence on the instructions of the President. This decision has been reached after consulting the Minister of Justice and through him the Attorney General about the consent report.
Three of the Tamil prisoners who were pardoned were those accused of attempting to assassinate former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Before proceeding with the process of releasing these prisoners, the President’s Secretary Mr Saman Ekanayake had sought the approval of former President Mrs Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on the advice of the President, the relevant arrangements were made after obtaining her consent.
Accordingly, the four detainees with connections to the LTTE organization who were detained at the Colombo Magazine Prison were released after their sentence was reduced.
Two Tamil LTTE prisoners related to the organization are to be released after the cases filed by them in the Court of Appeal are withdrawn and two more Tamil prisoners are to be released soon under the presidential amnesty.
Three prisoners had been sentenced to 30 years in prison and had served 22 years, one prisoner who had been sentenced to 11 years and had served 14 years, one who has been sentenced to 10 years and had also served 14 years, two prisoners who were sentenced to five years but had served for14 years, were among those who received a presidential pardon. Another person who had been sentenced to 19 years in prison and had served 11 years of his sentence so far was also among those who were pardoned.
We gained nominal independence in 1948. Nominal, because the Queen remained Head of State & UK Privy Council was the Highest Court inspite of being called ‘independent’. Hardly, 10 years into post-independence, a prime minister was assassinated, after the 1st prime minister accidentally fell to his death. But we also produced the world’s first female prime minister. Her reign continues to be regarded as the best, post-independence. She gained acclaim globally and she embarked on a nationalist program of self-sustenance. This was not a good recipe & she met her waterloo with the creation of JVP and the Tamil New Tigers the same day of her Republican Constitution. These were no coincidences. The geopolitical shift came in 1977 a year after Tamil leaders declared quest for a separate Tamil state, where South Asia began to dabble with western economic liberalizations in both goods & thought.
1980s came with bloodshed and the foundation for more bloodshed.
The JVP movement was created drawing Sinhala Buddhist youth to rebel and vanquish their heritage, their traditional customs, their nationalism and embrace an ideology of hate, jealousy, vengeance motivated by the belief that what they deemed true had to be accepted by all.
How far the JVP was packaged together with the Tamil New Tigers in 1972 is important for both came when Sri Lanka adopted the first Republican Constitution ending the Queens reign as head of state, ending UK military bases in Sri Lanka and ending UK Privy Council as our highest court.
While JVP insurgency was quelled, it resulted in killing Sinhala Buddhist youth. Ironically, not many called for human rights investigations for their deaths! It was not fashionable or newsworthy enough. The aim would have been to eliminate these energized Sinhala Buddhist youth.
The Tamil New Tigers created in 1972, became LTTE after the Vaddukoddai Resolution of 1976 which called for a separate Tamil state & resulted in TULF become the country’s Main Opposition in 1977.
Then came 1977 elections & the start of Sri Lanka’s collapse.
The UNP reversed their 1956 set back, winning the elections. UNP leader, J R Jayawardena soon converted premiership to create an executive presidency.
Championing democracy by deceit became the hallmark of rule. Violating democracy in the name of democracy became the norm. Elections were replaced with a referendum. Judges that questioned had their houses stoned. Thugs, goon squads, underworld, armed security became the body-armour of politicians.
Politicians of pre-1977 were people who served the people. They used their own funds to serve their electorates. Post 1977 the scenario changed. JRJ ushered in a luxurious lifestyle for politicians giving them perks, privileges, cars, foreign trips and even state land for tuppence.
If you wondered how ballot box stuffing, ballot box stealing, impersonations, voter intimidation, voter threats started – it was during JR’s time as president & under UNP rule. Of course the credit for stealing NICs goes to the JVP.
In case you wondered how the distinguished and respected Public Service descended to such pitiful heights – look no further, post 1977 sealed the damage there too. Respected civil servants, secretaries were soon to become Yes Men to a bunch of thugs that started entering parliament after voter intimidation and ballot rigging. Public Sector became the den for employing their stooges and voters inflating the public service with a mob of people who were not qualified to do anything and who merely passing time reading newspapers & gossiping sipping tea. Each election meant more people were given political jobs as favors for canvassing.
It was only natural that this would trickle to the Armed Forces & Police as well. This eventually created a politicized police inspite of public sector supposed to be apolitical & required to serve the nation not the government in power but to carry out the orders of the government so long as it is in keeping with their public ethics code.
Erosion of the public sector commenced when they were demanded to do what they were not supposed to do. Erosion of public sector turned into corrupting the public sector. With this erosion a plethora of associated vices took place where resources and assets of the nation became victim and resulted in blatant wastage, theft, siphoning, sale, and its bargaining. The assets and resources came to be the treasures that siphoned off by politicians, their cronies and public sector and with every year and with every govt, it only got worse.
This was the source and root of the corruption. Lest people have forgotten – it was JRJ who introduced all of these vices and dished them out to the politicians to enjoy allowing him to rule as he pleased.
That was however shortlived, in JRJ’s shadow was a man who had other objectives. He was to put an end to dynastic family rule that had been a cornerstone of politics since independence.
1983 saw Govt sponsored mob riots once again choreographed to chastise the Sinhalese.
Then came the period of bloodshed – brute force if ever prevailed by a state was seen at no other period in time, than under UNP rule. The liberals who were the backers of the UNP are today mum when it comes to this period. They all refer to State oppression but flinch to say it was by UNP.
It was also during this period that the puthano’s piyano under advice or otherwise went on a rampage of killing opponents. This was the bheeshana period where all types of cats” roamed the streets and an alogosuwa, a man with a hood had to merely nod his head to decide the fate of people. Kidnapped lawyers, students, clergy, academics had their eyes treated with chillie powder, nails nailed to the ground, the type of horrendous physical abuse may not even come secondary to the waterboarding techniques used by US in their secret prisons.
People were burning on tyres or naked, tied to lampposts courtesy JVP.
Who dared to come forward to count the kidnapped or disappeared leave alone count the dead.
The JVP was used to bump off the cream of Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka both from within & by virtue of their victims. What did people like Premakeerthi di Silva do to deserve to be shot in front of his own children by the JVP? How many more talented artists similarly were killed by JVP?
Thus, we watched JVP being used to destroy Sinhala Buddhists by drawing them to join the JVP and we watched as these brainwashed youth ran berserk resulting in the UNP Government shooting or torturing Sinhala Buddhists to death. In the end this period targeted Sinhala Buddhists & was aimed at terminating talented individuals who would have served their nation and would have posed a challenge to the gameplan being rolled out.
While Sinhala Buddhists were getting eliminated by both JVP and UNP, Sri Lanka was to be recipient of terrorism that came in the form of Tamil militancy trained by India and packed off to rebel against the State. This was to combine with an Indian Army presence that turned sour, creating a fire all killing spree. No one knew who was killing who but in the end scores of people were getting killed.
Where were these heroic” liberals of the present day?
Most of those that eloquently address in the halls of the suddas were very much present during those times, cowering in fear no doubt. That was the time they were in exile or had to hide their pen, not presently. How many of these were actually trouble makers themselves. How many of those that write on Richard de Silva care to mention the name of the UNP leaders who ruled during his disappearance. They are very careful to selectively say state oppression” but never the party or individuals involved. However, when the whole world likes to hate one family of people, they are all united in writing books, in galvanizing groups and proudly displaying I was there” slogans because such stands come with international awards, scholarships and even exile status – what a ticket to live in the West at the expense of the West and then be invited to panels or UNHRC from time to time to play the same broken record!
People who lived during the 1980s & 1990s & even early 2000 will know the life Sri Lankans had to deal with.
Those who were less than 10 years at the time and who are now in their 40s may not know what their parents had to go through to protect them from being kidnapped by the JVP or LTTE or killed by the UNP claiming they were either JVP or LTTE.
This was the period of fear we had to live in, not the glorified lies of fear that are being floated.
JVP joined CBK government. LTTE was eliminated in 2009 and IPKF was packed off in 1990.
JVP remains to ruin the lives of youth and brainwash people while LTTE diaspora wish to only make hay while the sun shines plugging geopolitical objectives to their advantage.
As for Sri Lanka, we are in an economic mess as a result of unplanned open economy and the system of corruptions that was unleashed under the then Executive President and followed by every successive government. It is a system that benefitted all those who today are on anti-corruption drives. Many of those who became rich after 1980s were the recipient of corrupt practices that prevailed then.
Only a handful of uncorrupt people can call both the pot & the kettle, black!
I draw the attention of all patriotic citizens to the following excellent news reported in Ceylon Today as instructions issued by the Presidential Secretariate.
The whole nation welcomes this patriotic decision, if it is true, as a timely action taken by the President at a time like this. In my opinion he should have taken this decision immediately after he was elected as the President. Nevertheless, although it is too late, as the common say goes, late is better than never. I am sure the whole nation will congratulate the President for taking this timely decision.
As person who has been continuously agitating and writing against the Provincial Councils right from 1987 as a useless political appendage that was created and imposed on this country by India to firstly, completely destroy the district administration, the economy and the entire political stability by dividing this small Island in to nine independent political divisions called provinces eternally fighting with each other for land, water and other resources and supremacy over the neighboring provinces and finally disintegrate this Island nation in to apolitical scrambled egg knowing very well that if they don’t do that now not only India but no country in the world ca beat this Island nation emerging as regional economic power , blessed by its bountiful natural resources both on land and in the vast expanses of the Indian ocean spreading for 7 from Bay of Bengal to South pole (N-S) t0 5 ((W-E)thousands of miles from Africa in the west to Australia in the East with its geopolitically and strategic location right at the Indian Ocean as a globally important strategic and economic pivot to Indo-Pacific political and economic hub of the 21st century.
First, I invite all my readers to read the following press release from the Presidential Secretariate and the ask the list of questions given below the press release
Ceylon Today –
October 1, 2022 2:06am
The Government has decided to immediately reduce the allowances and facilities of chairpersons and their personal staff members, of dissolved Provincial Councils (PCs), Ceylon Today reliably learns. Accordingly, Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to the President has issued a special circular No. PS/CSA/11-18(1) on 27 September, with regard to this issue. The President’s Secretary issued this circular based on the decision of the Cabinet chaired by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 22 September.
The circular titled ‘Management of Government Expenditure – Provincial Councils’ was sent to all Governors, Chief Secretaries and the Secretaries to the Governors.
According to this new circular, the circular issued by former Secretary to President Udaya R. Senaviratna on 12.10.2018 has been cancelled.
Also, one vehicle and 150 litres of fuel have been given to a chairman of a dissolved Provincial Council. Earlier they were getting three vehicles and 1,500 litres of fuel earlier.
Similarly, various allowances, including monthly salary, vehicle facilities and fuel allowance, which have been given to chairpersons and their personal staffs for many years, have been reduced, the President’s Secretariat sources said.
Over Rs 250 million was paid by the Government to the chairmen of inactive PCs provincial and their special officers over the last several years.
Ceylon Today exposed this issue on 17 April using the Right to Information Act, under the title ‘Dissolved PCs drain millions from public coffers.’
The RTI request revealed that about six million rupees of public funds is continuously being spent in relation to Chairpersons of inactive PCs who do not discharge any official duties after dissolution.
At the same time, a staggering Rs 200 million is paid in total after the dissolution of PCs as salaries for Chairpersons and their personal staff for many years by the State, the RTI request revealed.
While welcoming this directive from the Presidential Office,I pause the following questions to the President for his immediate attention
1Why don’t you take this decision to be effective from the date of dissolution of these Councils
2 Why dint they close down these offices immediately after their dissolution
3 why did the then governments continued to paya salaries and provide these benefits to chairmen and staff who had ceased to function as Chairmen from the dates of dissolution of the respective Councils.
4 why don’t you stake immediate action at least now stop these payments and also take immediate action to recover the amounts paid to them from the respective dates of dissolution of the respective Councils with interest.
5 Why don’t you call for explanation from the Chairmen for appropriating public funds and enjoying the privileges of office like salaries, fuel allowances and the use of official vehicles etc in respect of non- existent posts as the Councils were closed. And also frame criminal charges against them for misappropriation of public funds.
6 Also take disciplinary action against public officers who have failed to take action to stop these payments and also failed to close down these non- functional offices as soon as the Provincial Councils were dissolved.
For the last few years, the SriLankan airline has been making a loss continuously. It is the consensus of everyone that the airline is overstaffed, particularly top-heavy, with millions of rupees to the senior management staff as salaries. Therefore, the only option would be to privatise the airline. During President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s rulership, one of the international airline multinational conglomerates, with its separate travel company, showed an interest in taking over SriLankan airways. Virgin Conglomerate’s Chairman, Mr Richard Branson, had discussions with President Kumaratunga. He had to return to the UK disappointed, only having placed Sri Lankan ginger beer for virgin flights.
SriLankan Airlines has gone through a metamorphosis of names in 42 years. Formally, it was known as the flag carrier of Ceylon under ‘Air Ceylon’. In 1979 Air Lanka commenced its operations from Bandaranaike Airport. Air Lanka was formerly managed by Singapore Airlines. Singapore airline’s motto to the flying staff was: ‘Smile from the heart.’ Indeed, it encouraged more passengers to use Air Lanka to run profitably.
In 1986 Presidential Commission discovered that the ‘Air Lanka Board was going through many mismanagement techniques.’ It was highlighted in the media that the late President Dingiri Banda Wijetunge appointed a retired General as Chairman cum MD with an Air Vice Marshal and a UNP attorney as Executive Director. None of them had previous experience in running a business airline! In 1979 the airline to was placed in charge by Captain Rakkitha Wickramanayake, and the board of Directors consisted of Industry Officials and Managers. A former Singaporean President was quoted as saying: “How could an airline pilot run an airline?”. Rakkitha Wickramanayake was formerly attached to Singapore airlines.
During Chandrika Kumaratunga’s Presidency, the airline entered into a management contract. with Emirates Airlines. Its name was changed to Sri Lankan Airlines, with an all-white fuselage covered by lines and the tail adorned with the new corporate logo. From 1979 onwards, a unique design consisted of red stripes on a white fuselage. The tail was solid red and sported the corporate logo, and was stylised as ” Flying Peacock”. It tried to imitate King Ravana of the ancient episode of the famous “Ramayana” mythology. The five ‘tail feathers’ represented the “Five Preceptsof Buddhism, and the three ‘crown feathers’ represented the “Triple Gem” of Buddhism. The Red colour reflected the predominant colour in the Sri Lankan national flag.
However, in 2008, Emirates notified the Sri Lankan Government that their management contract would not be renewed, which expired on 31 March 2008. Their refusal to renew the management contract was said that ‘the Sri Lankan government sought greater control over the day-to-day management of the airline.’ It was finalised in 2010, thus ending any affiliations between the two airlines with each other. At the time Sri Lankan Government pulled out of the Emirates management contract, the accumulated profit of Sri Lankan was Rs. 9.288 billion in that financial year. When the government administration took over to run the airline for 14 years, it ran into a total loss of900 billion rupees up to April 2022 as a result of the collapse of the currency. The bulk of these appears to be debts to state banks and the CPC, wholly owned by the Government of Sri Lanka.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime introduced a subsidiary airline called Mihin Lanka operated from Mattala airport in Hambantota. The airline absorbed the operations of sister carrier Mihin Lanka in October 2016 in a bid to create a single stronger national airline for Sri Lanka. Accordingly, SriLankan took over two of Mihin Lanka’s aircraft and absorbed its route network, adding ten new destinations to Sri Lankan’s route network. Ultimately Mihin Lanka, too, had to be disbanded due to its constant losses. SriLankan joined the One world’ alliance on 1 May 2014.
Covid-19 Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, SriLankan performed cargo and operating relief flights only. The airline lost 36.3 billion rupees up to August 2020, and the government approved a voluntary retirement package for 560 employees at 1.46 billion rupees.
With the present fuel crisis in 2022, Sri Lanka faced a massive fuel shortage. Consequently, SriLankan’s long-haul flights had to make stopovers at the airports in India- Trivandrum, Chennai and Kochi to refuel.
Sri Lanka currently has no bankruptcy protection act; the only option for a closedown would be a complete liquidation. If the government shuts down the airline completely, it will be compelled to raise significant concerns about writing off this debt to the state banks and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. This could place the two-state banks by foreign rating agencies and seriously jeopardise the prospects of Sri Lanka’s entire banking sector. The Government as the guarantor would also be called upon for immediate repayment of the international bond worth US$175 million.
The Board has once reported widespread corruption and confirmed the allegations of Nishantha Wickremasinghe’s affairs as Chairman. He is related to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s wife. However, they denied the allegations and accused the report of being biased and invalid, accusing the head of the Committee of Publicly supporting the then government and lacking technical knowledge about the aviation industry.
Fraud was imminent
In October 2015, the Presidential Commission of Inquiry investigated and inquired into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power. State Resources and Privileges (PRECIFAC) attempted to summon Wickremasinghe to inquire about various irregularities in the Airline; however, they could not locate him, and his wife claimed he had not come home for three years and that she was unaware of his whereabouts. Later Wickremesinghe notified the PRECIFAC that he was abroad and could not give a statement.
Catering
SriLankan Catering, incorporated in 1979, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SriLankan Airlines; it provides flight catering services to all airlines serving the Bandaranaike International Airport. It is the only subsidiary of SriLankan airlines which provides a profit by providing 25,000 meals per day. Critics request that a catering service should be allowed as an independent unit. All the gains made by catering services are absorbed into the overall loss of the airline.
Sri Lanka currently has no bankruptcy protection act, and the only option would be for a closedown in a complete liquidation. If the Government is to shut down the airline, it will be compelled to write off this debt to the State banks and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. This could raise significant concerns about the two-state banks’ liquidity by foreign rating agencies. It could seriously jeopardise the prospects of Sri Lanka’s entire banking sector. The Government as the guarantor would also be called upon for immediate repayment of the international bond worth US$175 million.
Despite the old saying, the only sure things in life are death and taxes,” most of those working in Sri Lanka have never paid direct taxes, and those who pay have been enjoying relatively low taxes rates for several decades. We have also been spared a multitude of other taxes, such as inheritance, wealth and capital gains, that citizens of most developed and developing countries need to pay. So, the publication of the Gazette setting out the proposed increase in changes to tax rates and thresholds to be effective from October 01, 2022, seems to have set the cat amongst the pigeons!
A great deal of indignation and fury as to the impact on their disposable income and lifestyle have been expressed by many over the media and social media. In addition, concern has been expressed that the country will lose many skilled professionals who might migrate to countries with higher tax rates and compliance of nearly 100%!
The corporate sector, which is also being impacted, has demanded from the government greater restraint, accountability, and transparency on its spending. Unfortunately, we Lankans, have, in addition to accepting corruption as part of our country’s DNA, turned a blind eye to the civic responsibility of being a tax-compliant citizen for multiple reasons.
It reached a zenith in the year 2020 when Gotabaya Rajapaksa was elected President and proceeded to be the Santa Claus” by substantially reducing tax rates, increasing the tax-free threshold for individuals, doing away with certain taxes, and eliminating the well-established means of collecting taxes at source by abolishing PAYE and WHT.
It was absolute madness and a recipe for economic Armageddon which we are, sadly. in the midst of. The impact of the tax cuts is estimated to be around LKR 700 billion. In my article published in the Sunday Island of January 12, 2020, captioned Sri Lanka’s Tax Conundrum”, I highlighted the inherent risks of the tax cuts and stated, Based on the Household Income and Expenditure Survey of 2016 and the dispersion of the average household income, the recently introduced tax rates and increase in the threshold will only benefit a smaller segment of the population who in all probability do not need this type of assistance from the government.
I say this at the risk of getting a sharp poke in my ribs from some of my former colleagues still in employment. In my case, had I been in employment, the incremental income would most probably be spent on a few additional overseas trips, buying a few expensive imported branded gadgets and a higher-class BMW.Therefore, I am not sure I would have contributed to the increase in aggregate demand for our GDP. As to how a household spends, the incremental income would certainly depend on their income level. However, there is no doubt the greatest beneficiaries would be those who are not currently struggling to make ends meet.”
Not too many expressed such concerns because many were delighted that they would receive a windfall. But, unfortunately, those irresponsible and hare-brained decisions have seen tax revenue as a percentage of GDP declining to 7.3% inclusive of the covid impact when it should be around 15% for a developing country. So, the need to reverse those irresponsible tax cuts and increase our tax revenue is a fact that needs to be understood and appreciated.
Taxation, Purposes and Justification
Taxation is when a taxing authority, usually a government, levies or imposes a financial obligation on its citizens or residents. Since ancient times, paying taxes to governments or officials has been a mainstay of civilization. The government compels taxation through an implicit or explicit threat of force. Taxation is legally different from extortion because the imposing institution is a government, not private actors. The formulation of tax policies is one of the most critical and contentious issues in modern politics.” (Investopedia)
The most basic function of taxation is to fund government expenditures. Varying justifications and explanations for taxes have been offered throughout history. Before, taxes were used to support the ruling classes, raise armies, and build defences.
Later justifications have been offered across utilitarian, economic, or moral considerations. Proponents of progressive levels of taxation on high-income earners argue that taxes encourage a more equitable society. Higher taxes on specific products and services, such as tobacco or gasoline, have been justified as a deterrent to consumption.
Which Country Has the Highest Income Taxes?
As of 2022, the top 10 countries with the highest marginal income taxes (the rate on the top slab) are:
Ivory Coast – 60%, Finland – 56.95%, Japan – 55.97%, Denmark – 55.90%, Austria – 55.00%, Sweden – 52.90%, Aruba – 52.00%, Belgium – 50.00%, Israel – 50.00%, Slovenia – 50.00%
In South Asia, the highest marginal rates are:
India 30%, Pakistan 35%, Bangladesh 30%. In India, there is a 10% income tax surcharge on certain taxpayers, and the single-person tax-free allowance is INR 250,000 for a year.
So the Sri Lankan marginal rate of 36% is not as outlandish as it appears, although it is being imposed at a time when inflation is over 70% which is a challenging proposition.Research indicates those living in Nordic countries with the highest rates of taxes are often deemed the happiest!
Why do we hate to pay taxes?
Because as often as not, tax dollars get spent for things the public neither wants nor needs and would not choose to pay for. I wouldn’t mind taxes so much if all my tax money was spent wisely and in agreement with my perspectives.” (origin of quote unknown)
No nation grew prosperous by taxing its citizens beyond their capacity to pay. We have a duty to ensure that every penny that we raise in taxation is spent wisely and well.” (Margaret Thatcher)
I believe the above quotes capture most taxpayers’ feelings in Sri Lanka and the world. The word spent wisely” is a dilemma for all of us as our politicians are everything but wise!
Public Sector Salaries and Pensions
Currently, nearly 80% of government revenue is spent paying public sector salaries and pensions. Although an efficient and lean public service is a must and should attract some of the country’s best talent, successive governments abused their authority by giving jobs to their supporters when there was no vacancy.
In many developed countries, unemployed people are paid an unemployment benefit for a certain period of time. In Sri Lanka, those who govern have given unemployed people jobs for life, including a pension! The net result is that we have a bloated and inefficient public sector that is a drain on taxpayer money.
Defence Expenditure
The appropriation bill for 2023 submitted to parliament requests that LKR 360 billion be allocated to the forces and a further LKR 116 billion to the police; in contrast, only LKR 184 billion and LKR 267 billion are being allocated to education and health.A justifiable question of whether this allocation falls within the definition of spending wisely” needs to be responded to by the government. Undoubtedly, the bulk of the expenditure is spent on remuneration and not acquiring equipment.
Recently a former cabinet minister, much disliked by the public, raised a question in parliament as to why we need an armed force of 250,000 when there is no ongoing conflict or any such possible threat in the foreseeable future.
This matter was also widely discussed on a TV chat show by several prominent social activists and commentators. The consensus was that the defence budget needed to be reduced and the savings be allocated to education and health.I appreciate that there will be comments that pruning defence spending smacks of ingratitude to soldiers who fought during the civil conflict. However, given that 13 years have passed since the end of the conflict, it is time that the government take steps to demobilize and retrain the excess soldiers.
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD)
The mission statement of the IRD is To collect taxes in terms of relevant tax and other related laws, by encouraging voluntary compliance while deterring tax evasion and tax avoidance, and to enhance public confidence in the tax system administered by the Department of Inland Revenue by administering relevant tax and other related laws in a fair, friendly and expeditious manner and thereby facilitate a beneficial tax culture.”
Despite this mission statement, most will agree that the IRD has not performed. Voluntary compliance has not worked, and neither has constantly changing governmental tax policies assisted. My own experience is that IRD officers tend to go after those who are currently paying taxes for additional taxes rather than identifying those who are evading taxes.
That the department should be assisted with cutting-edge technology is to state the obvious. Whether the RAMIS system has facilitated this is questionable, although most corporates and a few individuals submit their tax returns through the system. A critical KPI for the department should be how many forced registrations were done during the year and how much tax, including back taxes and penalties, was collected from such registrations.
Tax Avoidance and Evasion
The difference is that tax avoidance is an action taken to minimize tax liability, whereas tax evasion is the failure to pay or deliberate underpayment of taxes. Reducing tax liability and deliberate underpayment of taxes can sometimes be a fine line. My interaction with many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is that many don’t pay taxes or that what they do pay is minimal. In addition, many professionals are assumed to be non-compliant.
Many years ago, the GMOA and some professional bodies were lobbying the government to reduce their income tax rate from 24% to 16% after the Supreme Court dismissed their plea. The request was for professionals to be included within the definition of an SME who enjoyed a tax rate of 14%!
There is no doubt that many who should be paying direct taxes are not in the tax net as they should be. It is up to the IRD to ensure that they live up to their mission.
Conclusion
As I write this article, the President has on TV explained the reasons for higher direct taxes and that the IMF program is contingent on these mandated rates. Those conversant with economics and finance will appreciate the need for higher taxes for our country to come out of this self-inflicted economic disaster. But we must grit our teeth, curse the politicians, and pay up.
However, it is vital that the government spend our money transparently and not be profligate. We, the citizens, must be at the forefront of demanding that corruption among politicians cease, expenditures are rationalized, and those responsible are held accountable.
Deceleration in monthly prices stoke hopes on a consumer price pivot from October
Water and electricity tariff hike drives Sept. non-food and overall consumer inflation
UK offers a case for how markets stump governments, which come up with inflationary policies
Sri Lanka’s inflation measured by the National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) showed a relentless increase through September, as the prices continued their ascent over and above 70 percent for the second month in a row but the recent monthly price movements have galvanised expectations for the prices to have turned a corner.
Sri Lanka’s broader consumer price index showed the prices galloped 73.7 percent in September on an annual basis, accelerating from 70.2 percent in August but the monthly prices, which showed some deceleration in the last three months, have made the case to believe that the prices may have peaked last month.
The headline prices in September rose by 2.3 percent between August and September, decelerating from 2.5 percent and 5.6 percent in the previous two months, stoking hopes for cooling prices in the next inflation print. The national prices are a relatively lagging indicator, which is released after 21 days since the end of the month but a more recent indicator of inflation, the Colombo Consumer Price Index, which acts as the officials’ preferred inflation gauge, reported a 69.8 percent rise in annual prices for September.
Authorities expect inflation cannot shoot any higher. The food inflation came in at 85.8 percent in September from a year ago, up slightly from 84.6 percent through August. However, the worst could be over, as the monthly prices rose by 0.7 percent, from 1.7 percent in August, a trend which is seen from July.
In recent weeks, the prices of certain essential commodities were revised down after some cooling in global commodities prices and the improvement in the supply and foreign exchange conditions.
The non-food inflation in Sri Lanka rose by 62.8 percent, accelerating from 57.1 percent in August while the monthly prices also climbed to 4.0 percent, from 3.2 percent. The water and electricity price revisions were the biggest contributors for the non-food inflation in September.
The so-called core prices measured barring food, energy and transport, rose by 64.1 percent on an annual basis from 60.5 percent through August, reflecting that the underlying price pressures in the economy still exist even after leaving out the often-volatile items.
Inflation is a global issue being battled by every country with the exception of China. The United Kingdom (UK) offered a classic case this week how the markets brought an abrupt end to a government, which thought they could stoke growth through borrowings by slashing taxes and splashing subsidies to protect homes and businesses from rising energy bills at a time when inflation and the interest rates were fast rising.
The UK also offers a learning for any government, which may be thinking it could find its way through unfunded fiscal largesse through borrowings from the market, as markets have become ruthless since this year in penalising any kind of fiscal slippage or inflationary policy, a stark difference from a year ago when the governments could fund their budgets at interest costs next to nothing.
Seven persons who were filming the high security area of the Victoria Reservoir in Theldeniya using drone camera were taken into the custody by the Army personnel attached to the security at the Reservoir.
Police said the seven people were taking photographs of the reservoir and the dam while operating a drone without a legal permission.
Although the security officers had instructed them not to take photos or videos of the surrounding area with drones, they had taken videos and photos ignoring the instructions.
Accordingly, the seven suspects were arrested and handed over to the Theldeniya Police along with a drone. A van in which they arrived at the Reservoir was also taken into custody.
It was revealed that the group came for a trip and had taken photos of the surrounding area while visiting the place.
The arrested suspects, aged 31 and 32, are residents of Weligama and Dehiwala areas.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
He said in a message to the Xi Jinping that the election results have re-confirmed the strenght and courage that his leadership holds and the broad public support for a people centric policy towards the accelerated socioeconomic development of China.
It also strenghtens China’s standing in the international arena.
“My administration foresaw the strategic importance of the Belt & Road Initiative back in 2013 which helped Sri Lanka to enrich its national development agenda.
Our government is looking forward to continuing it’s strong cooperation with China, under your leadership, to further strengthen our bilateral relations and I also look forward to working with you and your government to further the development agendas of both our nations,” he said.
State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage will be visiting US next month to initiate talks in constructing South Asia’s first Disneyland in Hambantota.
A statement from Gamage’s media unit said that the State Minister will be visiting Burbank in the United States next month to discuss initial plans for an 18-billion dollar investment in Sri Lanka, following an invitation following an invitation from the Walt Disney Company.
She was invited by Alexia S. Quadrani, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at the Walt Disney Company. The State Minister had earlier written to Walt Disney Company inviting them to set up a Disneyland in Sri Lanka.
“Following your request, we at the Walt Disney Company have agreed to visit Sri Lanka during late November this year to hold a series of exploratory meetings to understand the financial feasibility of setting up a regional Disneyland in Hambantota,” Quadrani said in a letter to the State Minister. A delegation from Disney is expected in November this year.
Quadrani said that, while unable to provide exact details, an investment would be in the range of $16-18 billion. This would provide much needed financial injection to Sri Lanka in order to mitigate the dollar crisis, the statement said.
State Minister Gamage also said that such an investment would be beneficial to use the large infrastructure available in the area including the Mattala Airport.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the delay in the Sri Lankan university system at the commencement of courses would be avoided enabling students to complete their studies within the stipulated duration.
The President made this observation during a meeting held with the prefects of Royal College, Colombo at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (22).
Head Prefect of Royal College Colombo Kaveesha Rathnayake and the prefects of the college participated in this meeting, the President’s Media Division reported.
The matters concerning Royal College as well as matters regarding the country’s education sector were discussed there while the President answered the questions raised by the students on the measures taken by the government for the advancement of the education sector.
The President made queries from the prefects on the university education where the students brought the focus of the President to the vast difference between the duration to complete a degree in a foreign higher education institute and in a local university.
The President agreed with it and assured that remedial action would be taken without delay. He also highlighted the value of education in a local university over foreign education. He also emphasized that the government has taken many steps to expand the educational opportunities for students who have qualified for higher education following the completion of their school education. He added that measures have been taken to commence several new universities in Kurunegala and Batticaloa.
The President also mentioned that the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Colombo would be set up as a separate campus, while the National School of Business Management (NSBM) and the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) would be upgraded as national universities.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe raised the issue of ragging with the students during the meeting and said that it seemed that students who attend the universities from schools such as Royal College, Thurstan College, Ananda College and D. S. Senanayake College turn a blind eye when such ragging incidents happen, although a large number of students from these schools are within these universities.
The President also pointed out that the students of those universities have a responsibility to bring ragging in universities to an end and the head prefects of those schools could perform their roles while in school.
The president further said that university education is interesting but the rate of students suffering from physical and mental stress has increased due to ragging at universities and emphasized that he would take measures to solve the problem.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe also appreciated the role played by the Board of Prefects of the Royal College in the development of the school and its reputation.
Senior Advisor to the President on National Security and Chief of Staff to the President Sagala Rathnayake also participated in the event.
Presidential pardons have been granted to a group of prisoners who had been convicted by courts in relation to LTTE activities.
The special amnesty was granted for eight LTTE inmates in accordance with the powers vested in the President under the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Additional Commissioner of Prisons, Chandana Ekanayake said.
Accordingly, measures were taken for the release of 04 LTTE inmates held in the Magazine Prison on October 21, under the reduction of the sentences to be served.
Two other prisoners are set to be released after their appeals court cases are withdrawn by them, he said.
The Department of Prisons further announced that the other two LTTE inmates have been referred to the Attorney General for directives needed for their release, after the completion of the rehabilitation process.
Ali Sabry, Minister of Foreign Affairs and President’s Counsel says that it will be possible to receive the first loan installment from the International Monetary Fund by the beginning of next year. The minister made these comments while speaking to the media in Colombo yesterday.
‘History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”
Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
‘Make the Economy Scream’ were President Nixon’s instructions to the Central Intelligence Agency, September 1970, as the first Socialist President of Chile, Salvador Allende’s Popular Unity Party swept to power amid Cold War headwinds.[i]
According to then US ambassador, Edward Korry a JFK-style liberal, this meant “to do all within our power to condemn Chile and the Chileans to utmost deprivation and poverty.” There was also a massive destabilization and disinformation campaign Noam Chomsky wrote in Secrets, Lies, and Democracy our government intervened massively to prevent Allende from winning the preceding election, in 1964. In fact, when the Church Committee investigated years later, they discovered that the US spent more money per capita to get the candidate it favored elected in Chile in 1964 than was spent by both candidates (Johnson and Goldwater) in the 1964 election in the US. [ii]
The CIA planted stories in El Mercurio, Chile’s most prominent paper, and fomented labor unrest, protests and strikes. This was the soft line, but there was also a hard line.
Three years later, President Allende, a physician by profession was dead; killed, in a CIA-backed Coup that saw the establishment of one of the most repressive right-wing military regimes in South America. General Augusto Pinochet ruled Chile for 17 years and his rule was characterized by massive human rights violations, disappearances, and Dirty War operations, including Operation Colombo”, of which more later. But economic ‘aid’ immediately began to flow again from Washington.
The assassination of Chile’s democratically elected President Allende changed the course of history in a country described as a long petal of sea, wine and snow’ by poet Laureate, Pablo Neruda. Twelve days after the coup Neruda, a member of the Chilean Communist party and close advisor of Allende also died mysteriously. After an independent investigation and declassification of State Department documents in 2015, the Chilean government said that it was likely that Neruda too was murdered as part of the Coup of September 1973.
In 1976 the CIA backed yet another coup in South America: Chile’s neighbour Argentina saw the overthrow of Isabel Peron, who was replaced by a military junta, which triggered a Dirty War that saw thousands disappeared between 1976-83 as the Argentine economy screamed.
Argentina like Sri Lanka has had numerous Washington Consensus (International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World Bank (WB)), bail outs! Protests against the IMF are ongoing in Buenos Aires at this time again, as Argentina continues to Scream under Washington’s Monroe Doctrine Redux jackboot –negotiating its 21st bailout![iii]
History Repeats as Farce: Another Continent
Today, economy and society are ‘screaming’ in Colombo, Sri Lanka, which knows not of Chile’s infamous ‘Operation Colombo’ for which General Pinochet was stripped of his Presidential impunity and tried in Spain. This despite a recent film Alborada purportedly base on Pablo Neruda’s brief sojourn in Sri Lanka as a young diplomat, and a ‘poem he never wrote’!
As Cold War escalated in the Indian Ocean Region this year, Sri Lanka’s duel US Citizen , Finance Minister, Basil Rajapakse, hastily Staged a Default in April for the first time in its history– enabling the Washington Consensus to make deep inroads into the strategic island’s policy process.
As the cost of living soared in June with real and staged fuel and food shortages, amid Aragalaya ‘protests’ a partial regime change operation was effected with US-backed Ranil Wickramasinghe becoming President after the country defaulted on $26 billion of Dollar denominated debt in April this year.
At this time IMF austerity measures are being rolled out ex-ante an actual ‘bailout’ agreement with US and EU-based private creditors who caused the strategic Indian Ocean Island’s debt trap and Default. New York based, BlackRock, Sri Lanka’s biggest private creditor which got huge Covid-19 bailouts from the US government is prominent among them. An outfit called the Hamilton Reserve Bank a shadowy off-shore tax haven based in St. Kitts and Nevis has sued the Government of Sri Lanka for defaulting on bond payments of $ 250!
Sri Lankans face a grim future of Dollar Debt Colonialism, as the rupee has plummeted against an increasingly weaponized US dollar, while the rising dollar has compounded the local currency cost of servicing foreign debts denominated in USD- the global reserve currency— increasingly of last resorts?
Hence, some analysts have called for de-dollarization/ trading in a basket of currencies, and sourcing oil and gas from Russia whose sanctions-hit Ruble ironically remains the strongest currency against the US dollar. The global-local Debtocracy from Argentina to Sri Lanka and its failed policies seems set to continue if the readouts of the IMF and World Bank meetings last week are true.[iv]
An Islanded (Neo) Liberal Civil Society
Ironically too, while protests are set to continue, few among Colombo’s Human Rights activists and Aragalaya Stars had heard of ‘Operation Colombo’ in Santiago de Chile in 1974, which saw the disappearance of 119 dissidents, or the infamous ‘Condor Operation’ across South America- Precursor to the CIA’s Human Renditions program in the so-called ‘Global War on Terror.’
Amnesia in the USAID and EU funded Culture Industries, academic research and propaganda operations have ‘islanded” civil society in the country with few exceptions. Thus ‘dream films’ like Alborada with pretentions at post/colonial avant guard chic and vibes of the ‘Me Too’ movement seem almost Kafaesque – despite the best efforts of Director, Asoka Handagama.
If Neruda, whose voice would have been powerful in condemning the CIA-backed Coup in Chile had to be silenced, in death, he was subject to character assassination and disinformation campaigns replete with reverse Orientalism that seem to continue to this day (viz. Alborada which suggests that he was a white colonial rapist in Ceylon!).[v]
Clueless about Cold War South American history the apparently ‘leaderless’ Human Rights protestors organized via internet platforms controlled by external actors at Galle Face who capitalized on the genuine economic grievances of the masses had a limited agenda for Economic Rights and Debt Justice! Some groups of the Aragalaya held pro-IMF posters!
It is increasingly clear that the strategic Indian Ocean island has fallen victim to Full Spectrum Dominance (FSD), Digital Colonialism enabled cyber-operations with real and staged protests. as much as, to the ‘lender of last resort’s debt trap neo-colonialism and the International Sovereign Bond (ISB) ‘bailout business’ after the Staged Default. [vi]
However, given that this is Sri Lanka’s sixteenth IMF negotiation, and the fact that key bi-lateral creditors have not replied to the IMF and Paris Club of Euro-American private creditor nations’ (plus Japan), invitation to debt restructuring talks, it would be prudent for the island nation to consider alternatives to the Washington Consensus path.
After all, the IMF promise of an insignificant loan of 2.9 billion over four years with massive shock treatment” of economy and society, to enable the country to borrow from private markets again, is counterproductive to extricating itself from the current debt trap. Indeed, a moratorium and ban on borrowing from private markets which hold almost 50 percent of Sri Lanka’s dollar denominated debt would be logical.
PART 2
Make the Global Economy Scream: Exogenous Economic Shocks as Hybrid War
The IMF wants China and India, Sri Lanka’s biggest bi-lateral donors (aside from Japan which is part of the Colonial Club de Paris), to join its common framework” — for a debt reduction haircut” with creditors on the pretext of “burden sharing”. Whether these Asian Giants would acquiesce and sit with Euro-American private market bond traders convened by Japan on behalf of the OECD’s informal Paris Club is an open question.
India and China are sovereign states parties with their own geopolitical ambitions to match the Euro-American Paris Club and Washington Consensus as an Asian Century dawns again with the Indian Ocean Region a center for global growth.
Hence, should not the Central Bank and Government of Sri Lanka engage directly with the Asian giants China and India on Debt restructuring and a sustainable development path– outside the Paris Club, IMF and Japan led donor meeting and Common framework which has been extensively critiqued by leading economists who recently called for debt cancellation in Zambia with Debt Justice, UK?
The dawn of what has been widely deemed the ‘Asian 21st Century’ (Kishore Mahabubani), again after about 200 years of Euro-American global hegemony and dominance of world history has placed Sri Lanka front and center of Cold War and colonialism 2.0. The Asian Century is the projected 21st century dominance of Asian politics and culture, given demographic and economic patterns in Asia and the Indian Ocean region.[vii]
It is increasingly apparent that the US Empire with its 750 military bases all over the world, and global reserve currency weaponized by sanctions and rising interest rates would not go quietly into the night”. Rather, increasing sanctions and interest rates by the Federal Reserve to curb seemingly self-inflected inflation in the US and EU as economic de-coupling from China gathers pace appear to be a ‘solution’ designed to make the global economy scream”.
Is this an attempt to thwart the Asia Century and ensure that globalization which had benefited the emerging economies is reformatted to serve the imploding Euro-American, NATO, financial and military empire?
Be that as it may, Sri Lanka, located at the center of the Indian Ocean increasingly appears to be the canary in the coalmine of Global South countries facing dollar-debt Colonialism in the aftermath of Covid-19 bio-war lockdowns and Digital Colonialism to promote Euro-American Global Governance and the so-called ‘rules-based order’.
While the IMF and World Bank at their Fall Meetings this month in Washington DC focused on high interest rates and inflation, and War in Ukraine with grim predictions, no one mentioned copious money printing in the Euro Zone or the US government’s mammoth 31 trillion of debt!
Covid-19 Déjà vu: Dire Predictions. Lockdown Culture and Psychological Operations
The IMF and WB were long on dire predictions of low growth and possible global recession and short on solutions for the impoverishment and inequality pandemic sweeping the Global South last week at the Annual Meeting in Washington DC this month. There was no Talk about Economic Rights or Debt Justice.
The same tired IMF recipes are on offer again for the dollar-debt trapped Global South and Sri Lanka, with IMF inspired austerity measures include huge tax increases on the working class which seem designed to shrink the economy– to fit the IMF’s dire predictions for 2023 while promoting brain-drain.
There was however, something déjà vu about the dire predictions, fear, Lockdowns and promises of fuel shortages and Famine to make economy and society scream: We had heard it all before during the past two years of economically-devastating Covid-19 bio-war Lockdowns psychological operations that enabled a pandemic of corruption. Meanwhile Big Pharmaceutical Corporations made massive profits with militarized, mass Covid-19 injection programs.
Fear psychosis blocks critical thinking and reasoned analysis as psychologists have long known. Today Big Oil and energy corporations are making wind-fall profits while global governance institutions and powerful governments wring their hands rather than tax these corporations?!
But ‘reforms’ designed to shrink the Sri Lankan economy to fit the narrative, in addition to taxes, included higher energy, electricity, water prices, and soaring cost of living for hapless citizens caught in a debt trap not of their own making. Meanwhile, State Owed Enterprises are being un-bundeled and sold off to creditors and Vulture funds like BlackRock and their partners like Adani and Ambani as the rupee depreciates against an increasingly weaponized US dollar.
US and EU based private market creditors who made big profits lending at predatory rates in places they deem Frontier Markets”, now seek to profit from an IMF Firesale of Sri Lanka’s Strategic assets and State Owned enterprises. These include, land, energy, transport and telecom infrastructure as Cold War in the Indian Ocean Region ramps up. Rather than be compelled to bear the cost of their speculative investments in so-called frontier markets” these OECD creditors now seek to benefit again–ex-ante the IMF-PC Debt Haircut.
John Perkins’ famous book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, offers direct testimony highlighting how the creditor-debtor relationship built around the US dollar and the international institutions created to administer the ‘rules-based order’ has contributed to the deprivation of sovereignty of many struggling nations, especially those rich in exploitable resources. By design, not only governments but entire populations were meant to fall helplessly into the dollar debt trap and colonialism. The parameters on which the IMF determined that the strategic Indian Ocean’s debt of 26 billion was unsustainable to trigger the Default are not available. Nor is the IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis!
The on-going IMF inspired ‘Firesale’ of Sri Lanka’s strategic assets attests to the fact that the strategic island is now deep in Dollar debt trap colonialism in the wake of 4 years of hybrid economic war induced exogenous shocks –to make the economy scream. This has seen the Washington Consensus to move in to take control of economic, trade and energy policy autonomy and sovereignty, while stymying the possibility of de-dollarizing and buying oil and gas from sanctions-hit Russia at discount rates as Western Oil Companies make wind-fall profits at the expense of consumers while the EU and NATO blames their fuel crisis on their self-inflicted Ukraine war!
Exogenous Economic Shocks as Hybrid Economic War
While the debt crisis in Sri Lanka is primarily the result of poor governance and political corruption, a series of hybrid war style exogenous economic shocks over the past 4 years have also contributed significantly to the Debt trap over the past four years:
A series of Exogenous Economic Shocks including mysterious ISIS claimed attacks on hotels and the tourist dependent economy in 2019, followed by two years of economically devastating Covid-19 lockdowns and other hybrid war operations, such as the Lawfare program against Russia’s Aeroflot Airlines in June this year by external actors enabled the Shock Doctrine and Disaster Capitalism” a la Naomi Klein and contributed to the debt trap and default.
The mysterious 2019 Easter Sunday attacks claimed by the Islamic State (ISIS), on seafront Tourist Hotels and fisheries livelihoods saw the economy into a tailspin with extended security lockdowns. However, inexplicably, the World Bank in July 2019, ‘upgraded’ Sri Lanka to an ‘Upper Middle Income Country” (MIC) trap. MIC Status renders concessionary borrowing difficult and forces countries to borrow from US and EU private capital markets. These now hold the lion’s share, almost 47 percent of the strategic island’s debt.
The 2019 hybrid war attacks were then followed by two years of economically devastating Covid-19 lockdowns recommended by the World Health Organization. These caused knock on institutional debilitation, a corruption pandemic and digital colonialism in 2020 and 2021. Then in 2022 staged fuel shortages triggered by US sanctions on Russia brought the economy to a standstill.
The hacking of production and food supply chains due to fuel shortages and lockdown were accompanied by a psychological operation of fear amid absurd promises of ‘Famine” in a fertile and lush tropical island– as protests mounted.
As the economy screams, it is clear that Cold War headwinds are buffeting the strategic Indian Ocean island located among the busiest energy, trade and undersea data cable routes in the world, and hence perpetually in the cross hairs of big power rivalry as the Euro-American Cold War on China revs up.
But as Nord Stream 1 and 2, gas pipelines connecting Russia to Germany in the North Sea come under attacked as part of hybrid energy wars in Europe, it is clear that Sri Lanka would need to seek alternatives to the IMF path and up its game in the field of Maritime Domain Awareness which may need stretching and recalibration.
The strategic island’s Navy will be certainly called on to protect its ocean floors that contain submarine or Undersea Data Cables (UDC), that keep the internet and global financial system going.
Sri Lanka may need to strengthen its Navy and repurpose its military forces for a new generation of hybrid cyber wars. It would hence be logical for the cash strapped government to develop a plan to TAX the UDCs companies and their GAFAM clients. (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft). But it seems unlikely that the ‘lender of last resorts’ would assist or approve such an innovative income generation project is the debt-trapped strategic island, which may then render it solvent and independent!
Solutions and the good News: Alternatives to the IMF and Paris Club
It is increasingly clear, that in the event that the IMF and Paris Club process fails or drags on, contingency plans would be needed and it is imperative that Sri Lanka engage earnestly to meet unexpected exigencies that could arise, also given Cold War geopolitical rivalries.
The good news is that the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), noted in a press briefing recently that the country can on a monthly basis cover its import bill with its export earnings– if it can get rid of the debt and interest overhang.
In the context, the simplest and most elegant solution to the dollar debt crisis would be outright cancelling of Private Market dollar-denominated debt which amount to almost 50 percent, with a ban on future borrowing from International Bond traders (ISB). Once this is done restructuring the bi-lateral and multilateral debt with creditors who are more flexible would be relatively straight forward — though extending time frames for repayment and further debt cancelation.
There is a new Global South Development architecture emerging with new multilateral banks like the BRICS Bank, the New Development Bank (NDB), and the Asia Infrastructure Bank for development financing. Argentina has already applied for membership of the NDB, and Sri Lanka should do so too access credit.
This path forward is NOT Rocket Science in a world swirling in Odious and illegitimate US dollar-denominate debt with the US the most indebted country on the planet, but because of a huge amount of Disinformation, data manipulation, and exaggeration regarding both the Quantum of Debt, and the causes of the Default, relatively simple and elegant solutions to Sri Lanka’s debt crisis has been obscured and elided.
Debt datafication amid Cyber hacks and pseudo-scientific analysis by Economic hitmen who profit from extended negotiations in Colonial Club de Paris and IMF debt treatments do not help the identification of solutions in the Real Economy, but benefit the likes of Lazard, Clifford and Chance that work the ‘Bailout Business” as the Transnational Institute termed it.
A concomitant lack of transparency on the IMF, Paris Club, Lazard process and the opaque nature of ISBs given that bond holders whose identities are not disclosed has rendered debt restructuring needlessly complex and a rabbit hole of infinite regress. Meanwhile, manipulation of Sri Lanka’s status as an MIC country to fit various Washington Consensus narratives are on-going with Government undecided whether it is a now Middle or Low Income Country or not!
Provincializing Europe and America
While the IMF has judged Sri Lanka’s debt Unsustainable” on unknown parameters, a simple solution to making Sri Lanka solvent and keeping its economy going is securing supply of oil and gas to keep industry and manufacturing going given the dollar debt trap.
In the context, maintaining friendly relations with all counties while not succumbing to Western bullying and negotiating to buy oil at discount from India/Russia would significantly ease the economic situation. Fuel is the largest item for which foreign exchange is needed. This would also pre-empt the IMF inspired Firesale of energy infrastructure which will certainly negatively impact national Energy Security.
A second key aspect to sustainable recovery of the Economy is diversifying export markets, Eastward, as well as, products through transfer of technology and value adding, particularly in the Fisheries and Mineral Sectors which are low hanging fruit so to speak. Right now, Sri Lanka is dependent on export markets in the West that use threats of sanctions and tariffs while weaponizing human rights at the UNHRC. Periodic EU threats of GSP plus and minus removals seem to terrify large parts of the business community that has a colonial dependency complex, which have not spurred the so-called captains of industry to find alternative markets!
Another key point in sustaining economic activity amid IMF austerity measures designed to Shrink the economy is subsidizing and returning kerosene oil which is used by poor folks and fishermen to the previous price to enable Sri Lankans to harvest their protein from their extensive oceans.
Sri Lankans do not need digitalized cash handouts from the IMF or UNDP to sweeten the sale of their collective National Assets. What is needed is enabling folks to earn a living wage– sans hybrid war masked Economic Shocks and disaster capitalism!
In the context it would be important that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CBSL implement the Russian MIR Card payment system in Sri Lanka’s banking system. Now that Russian Airlines is flying again to Colombo, it would be necessary and important to welcome Russian tourists to jump start the tourist economy in the island and enable MIR card transactions, while also buying Russian oil and gas at discount rates, perhaps with India’s help.
Finally, as Asia unites to withstand Divide and Rule agendas in order to claim the 21st century– a transformation predicted for a generation now–when power would shift from an increasingly provincialized Europe and America to Asia and other places—is demonstrably underway. Small countries and civil society, from Chile to Sri Lanka, are now called upon to pull their weight in order to ensure that Colonial and Cold War History does not repeat– as tragedy or farce in the Global South.
[iii] President Theodore Roosevelt officially invoked the Monroe Doctrine to justify sending troops to the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Haiti in the first decades of the 20th century. https://www.fairobserver.com/region/north_america/peter-isackson-aukus-monroe-doctrine-cold-war-us-news-joe-biden-china-usa-australia-uk-deal-43892/
[vi] Transnational Institute, 2017 The Bailout Business: Who profits from Bank Rescues? https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/tni_bail_out_eng_online0317.pdf
[vii] Kishore Mahhubhani 2021 The Asian 21st Century https://mahbubani.net/the-asian-21st-century/
The new Booker Prize winner appears to be a Empire Loyalist or one with multiple loyalties. Like Arundhati Rao, another Booker Prize winner, who is Anti Majoritarian to the core and whose pastime is repeatedly attacking Hinduism and other Sanatana Dharma religions. To the vast majority of Hindus Arundhati Rao is a traitor to the cause of India.
While Sri Lanka and Sri Lankans all over the world would be happy to note that a Sri Lankan born writer had won the Booker Prize, which is a great honour for the country, they would not be so happy to note that the same
Prize winner had no hesitation in calling Sri Lanka a failed State.
He also referred to ‘ race – baiting’ in Sri Lanka. A totally unnecessary remark. This is understandable.
To win laurels from the British Raj and their agents e.g. Booker Prize organizers, a contestant for the Booker Prize has it would seem required to engage in self deprecating statements.
Salmon Rushdie, a Booker Prize winner did the same. He ridiculed the religion that he was born to and its practices. Later he published ‘Satanic Verses’ attacking the Prophet to the applause of the Western media who defended it on the ground of ‘ free speech’.
Winning Prizes from the colonial masters in return for defaming your own country and your own people is a mean thing. It can lead to foreigners and tourists developing a negative view of us which is undeserving.
As a matter of deep seated practice the Booker Prize is never awarded to African and Asian writers with decolonized minds and to those who speak against ‘ White Racism’, and had supported the freedom fighters and the vast anti colonial movements that finally led to the ending of Western colonial rule and illegal occupation of Asia.
Writers have a right to space to write and share their views while being considerate to the sensitivities of the readers. In this instance the writer went beyond expectations in his acceptance speech and shamed himself by unduly condemning the political happenings in his own country of birth. That is not the forum to run down one’s own country. An Englishman can be expected not to stoop so low in the midst of a foreign gathering.
Why is Saudi Arabia suddenly defying the United States, after five decades of a strong alliance? It’s a question I’ve been asked frequently in recent days.
Here’s the answer.
I describe in my books the deal that I helped forge in the early 1970s that created this alliance. Known as the Saudi Arabian Money Laundering Affair (SAMA), it can be summarized as consisting of the following five agreements:
Saudi Arabia will invest most of the petrodollars made from selling oil to the world in US treasury securities;
The US Treasury Department will use the interest from these securities to hire US corporations to modernize (westernize”) Saudi Arabia, building petrochemical plants, ports, highways, and entire cities;
Saudi Arabia will maintain oil prices at levels acceptable to Washington and American oil companies;
Oil will be traded on international markets only in US dollars (the power of the dollar had been jeopardized when President Nixon took it off the gold standard in 1971 because the US was unable to pay foreign debts in gold – this fourth agreement essentially established a new standard for the dollar, the Petro-standard); and
The US will guarantee to defend and protect the royal family of Saudi Arabia and keep it in power as long as the above four agreements are honored.
For 50 years Saudi Arabia honored the first four agreements.
As is well known — the US honored the fifth. It flew members of the Saudi royal family out of the United States after 9/11 when all flights had officially been prohibited. It turned a blind eye to evidence that the royal family had sanctioned the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist and critic of the Saudis. It launched Operation Desert Storm against Iraq when Saddam Hussein threatened Kuwait and, by implication, Saudi Arabia. And it took many other less known, behind-the-scenes actions to maintain the alliance forged by SAMA.
So what happened? Why is Saudi Arabia no longer responding to Washington’s wishes and instead cutting back on petroleum production and thereby helping Russia earn income vital to its war in Ukraine? The answer is more complicated than the obvious one – that Saudi Arabia simply wants to increase the price of oil.
For us in those days (the 1970s), the threat to America’s global dominance was Communism and the Soviet Union. Most of the Middle East (including Saudi Arabia) opposed both. Kings and dictators were not about to accept Marxism. Muslims were against atheism. The Soviet invasion of Islamic Afghanistan further encouraged Middle Eastern Muslim leaders to partner with the US.
Today, US hegemony is seriously threatened by China’s skyrocketing economic and military power, the Communist Soviet Union has been replaced by a monarch-like regime in Russia, and US wars in Islamic Afghanistan and Iraq have angered traditional Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. The US is no longer trusted to keep its previous agreements because many were discarded during the Trump administration. Furthermore, the ability of the US Congress to reach compromise is seen by the Saudis, as well as much of the rest of the world, as proof of America’s inability to perform as a functioning democracy.
Adding insult to injury, the Petro-standard is being threatened for the first time in fifty years. China is already buying oil from Russia with yuen. And, according to the Wall Street Journal:
Saudi Arabia is in active talks with Beijing to price some of its oil sales to China in yuan, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would dent the U.S. dollar’s dominance of the global petroleum market and mark another shift by the world’s top crude exporter toward Asia.
Another important factor: Although the alliance between China and Russia is somewhat fragile, this alliance impacts many other countries. Five nations that are major economic drivers on their continents are united under the very powerful BRICS bank (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). Saudi Arabia is dependent on these five countries and their neighbors through a complex network of oil and other trade agreements. Riyad is not likely to jeopardize these agreements by continuing to bend to Washington’s wishes.
Why is Saudi Arabia defying the US?
A cartoon shows a Saudi prince holding an old-fashioned balancing scale in one hand. Hanging from one arm is the US flag; from the other, China’s flag. China’s clearly outweighs the US’s.
Unfortunately, the Saudi prince could be replaced by leaders in many Asian, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern nations. From Saudi Arabia’s standpoint, its decision to abandon SAMA is pragmatic. It is also a symbol of the shifting sands of global power
USA has continued to invade, bomb and kill in foreign countries, undeterred by the Vietnam defeat in 1975. US methods are now more sophisticated USA now uses smart bombs and drone-guided missiles instead of B-52s and napalm, but US is as brutal and ruthless as ever, said critics.
US says it is waging war for humanitarian” reasons, but US is utterly indifferent to the welfare of the public in the country it has invaded.US shows contempt and arrogance toward the people it is trying to ‘save’ and its wars have much savagery, said critics.
Critics have argued that the US has waged wars in violation of international law. There is no legal justification for US interference in other countries they said. These wars have been made on shaky grounds. They have been launched without the permission or knowledge of the US Congress and the wars lack a clear military objective. They are waging war inside a foreign country and the reason given is ‘self-defense.’
The United States attempts to establish fragile, dependent regimes to serve its global hegemony have crippled regional countries’ efforts to independently explore their development paths and caused a series of disastrous consequences, said critics.
Such acts of toppling the governments of other countries by force, interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and forcible export of the so-called “democracy” not only violated the basic norms of international relations such as prohibiting the use of force and non-interference in internal affairs, but also seriously violated the rights of the people of the relevant countries to choose their own development paths as well as their basic human rights, said critics.
The wars launched by the US in the 21st century were mainly in Middle East. USA’s forced transformation of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya has disrupted political order, and destroyed social and national cohesion in these countries, declared China. These wars have had an adverse effect on the population in those countries. In Iraq US used depleted uranium munitions in large quantities, causing enormous damage to the health of the local population.
USA waged war in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2021. US wanted to crush the Taliban. Instead Taliban won and US withdrew in 2021. The Afghanistan war went on for six months more than the Vietnam War (1955–1975) so it is USA’s longest war. It was also USA’s second spectacular failure.
US took the war into every corner of Afghanistan as well as across the border into Pakistan, said analysts. US army carried out night raids on Afghan villages and these devastated the villages. On Aug. 29, 2021, a drone attack by the U.S. military in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, killed 10 local civilians, including seven children.
US army had also engaged in behavior offensive to Muslims, such as urinating on corpses, taking fingers and other body parts of murdered Afghans as trophies,” and burning the Koran at Bagram Air Base.
Brown University’s Costs of War Project (est. 2011) pointed out that more than 174,000 people died directly in the war in Afghanistan, of whom more than 47,000 were civilians. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2.6 million Afghans have fled abroad and another 3.5 million were displaced.
US invaded Iraqon the bogus charge that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. War lasted from 2003 to 2011. Then in 2014 at the request of Iraq, US sent soldiers to Iraq to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces to fight ISIS. This was followed by an agreement to station 5,200 soldiers in Iraq. But in 2020, the Iraqi Parliament ordered all foreign troops to leave the country. US President Trump objected and threatened Iraq with sanctions.
The Iraq War caused regime change, social unrest and prolonged conflicts in Iraq. Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, was plunged into a state of anarchy, and the Iraq Museum, which is listed by UNESCO as one of the top 11 museums in the world, was plundered of 170,000 artifacts. The Director of the Museum openly blamed the US military.
US-Iraq war had many civilian deaths. In 2007, employees of the American Blackwater Company, which had been under contract to US, carried out a massacre in Nisour Square in Baghdad, killing 14 civilians, including two children, and injuring at least 17 others.
On Aug. 12, 2005, a U.S. armored patrol vehicle shot at people coming out of a mosque in the suburban town of Ramadi, killing 15 Iraqis, including eight children, and injuring 17 others. On Nov. 21 of the same year, the U.S. troops stationed in Iraq opened fire on a civilian vehicle in northern Baghdad, killing a family of five, including three children. Nine of the 13 hospitals In Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city were destroyed.
According to Statista, a global statistical database, from 2003 to 2021, about 209,000 Iraqi civilians died in wars and violent conflicts, and about 9.2 million Iraqis became refugees or were forced to leave Iraq.
US has involved itself in the Syrian Civil war from very beginning in 2011 US supplied aid and intelligence to the rebels fighting President Assad. CIA established an extensive program to train and equip the rebels.
Since 2014, the United States has conducted periodic airstrikes and maintained hundreds of troops in Syria as part of its war against Islamic State (IS), al-Qaeda and Syrian government forces. In 2015, the United States sent a small number of ground troops to train, advice, and assist the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in their fight against IS. Since 2016, US army has also fought Iranian-backed militia groups such as Kait’ib Hezbollah, Kait’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada and Russian mercenaries.
Since 2016, the US has controlled al-Tanfbase, in a remote area of Syria, near where the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq meet. U.S. troops are stationed there. US troops are also in Hassakeh.
In 2017, USA and Syria fought vigorously. There was a missile strike on Shayrat Airbase. In 2017, the U.S. military attacked Raqqa. On March 18, 2019, U.S. drones killed at least 64 civilian women and children in an attack on the town of Baghouz on the Syrian-Iraqi border.
In 2021 there were 900 U.S. soldiers operating in Syria, according to the U.S. Department of Defense. In February 2021 US ordered airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups in eastern Syria in response to attacks against U.S.troops. In February 2022, the U.S. military launched a raid in Syria’s Idlib province, killing at least 13 people, including six children and three women.
The New York Times reported that based on an investigation of classified Pentagon documents, it had found that frequent U.S. airstrikes in Syria caused a large number of civilian casualties. They were due to “mistargeting.” Times noted that the Pentagon covered up these actions and did not punish those responsible.
According to data released by the United Nations, U.S. military intervention has claimed at least 350,000 lives in Syria, displaced more than 12 million people, and left 14 million civilians in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian refugee issue has been called by the United Nations “the biggest refugee crisis of our time.”
US has no plans to retreat from Syria but analysts observed that Islamic State (IS) has now turned to long-term, low-intensity insurgency, and there is now the question whether the US can fight this and indeed, whether it should continue at all.
US has also waged war in another way. The United States is the only “sanctions superpower” in the world, said critics. According to the US Treasury 2021 sanctions review, the United States has had more than 9,400 sanctions in effect by the 2021 fiscal year. In 1996, it issued the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996, forbidding foreign companies from investing in Iran’s and Libya’s energy industry.
The unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States against countries in the Middle East and elsewhere have hurt the ordinary people, and seriously undermined development U.S. government imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran, Syria and other countries, during COVID-19 pandemic, making it difficult for the sanctioned countries to obtain medical supplies needed to fight the pandemic. Iran was unable to import essential medicines and medical equipment, and that has seriously affected the health of millions of Iranians.
From 1980 to 1992, the United States imposed unilateral sanctions on Libya, and from 1992 to 2003, it made US allies also impose unilateral sanctions against Libya. The World Bank said the Libyan economy has lost 18 billion dollars due to sanctions, while an official Libyan estimate put the loss at 33 billion dollars.
Since 1979, the United States has imposed various unilateral sanctions on Iran. US imposed more and more sanctions on Iran as the years went by. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump administration cost Iran at least 200 billion U.S. dollars in economic losses.
United States imposed brutal unilateral sanctions on Iraq with severe consequences. From August 1990 to May 2003, sanctions cost Iraq 150 billion dollars in losses of oil revenues. To date, Iraq’s per capita annual income has fallen short of its 1990 level (7,050 dollars).
In addition, the sanctions have caused a serious humanitarian disaster in Iraq, with the infant mortality rate doubling and the under-five mortality rate increasing sevenfold. Iraq’s education, health and social security systems were destroyed, and its literacy rate fell from 89 percent in 1987 to 57 percent in 1997.
After withdrawing its troops from Afghanistanin 2021, the United States has not only imposed economic sanctions on Afghanistan, but also frozen billions of dollars of foreign exchange reserves of the Afghan central bank, bringing the Afghan economy to the brink of collapse and worsening the life of the people. World Food Program officials pointed out that the U.S. economic sanctions on Afghanistan has exacerbated the local food crisis.
During the course of its various wars, United States has committed crimes that seriously violate international law, announced China. They include war crimes, crimes against humanity, arbitrary detention, and torture of prisoners.
American aggressiveness over the past decade has an absolutely criminal character, agreed other analysts. The US has the worst history of war crimes in the world they said. US has had a horrifying record of human rights abuses added others.
US is guilty of dropping bombs on innocent targets. It excelled in aerial bombardments, said Stearns. US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. US continued to drop bombs thereafter. US has dropped over 3000 tons of depleted uranium through its bombs.
There is a long list of bombing, from Nagasaki, to Guatemala, Korea, Indonesia, Cuba, Congo, Peru, Vietnam, Cambodia, Libya, Nicaragua, Iran, Bosnia, Sudan and Afghanistan, said Shenali Waduge.
In 1971, 800,000 tons of bombs were dropped by the United States on Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.In 1973 US sent B-52s over Hanoi and Haiphong, destroying homes and hospitals, killing unknown numbers of civilians.
From 2001 to 2017, bombs and missiles have rained down on the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya, Syria and Iran, said critics. In 2011, US dropped bombs on at least 100 targets in Libya.America has conducted 108 air strikes in Somalia since 2017, killing some 800 people, said Economist. In 2019, US had an air strike in Iraq against Iranian militia, which killed 25 and injured over 50.
A United Nations report released in September 2019 noted that many of the airstrikes carried out by the U.S.-led coalition in places like Syria “did not take the necessary precautions to distinguish between military targets and civilians.” United States has widely used air strikes to carry out so-called “anti-terrorism” operations, which often killed civilians “by mistake,” injured innocent people, and arbitrarily deprived them of the right to life, said China.
US sold weapons in large quantities, to its proxies in the Middle East and they used them indiscriminately causing large-scale humanitarian disasters. The US army was also guilty of killing civilians.
In Iraq at Mahmudiyah in 2006 two daughters, 14 years oldAbeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi and 6-year-old sister Hadeel Qassim Hamza al-Janabi, mother Fakhriyah Taha Muhasen, father Qassim Hamza Raheem, and were murdered by US soldiers. The two remaining survivors of the family, 9-year-old brother Ahmed and 11-year-old brother Mohammed were at school during the massacre and were orphaned by the event.
In Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2012, Staff Sergeant Robert Bales killed 16 Afghan civilians and wounded six others in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Nine of the victims were children, and eleven of the dead were from the same family.
US army had been found guilty of rape. Wikipedia said that U.S. military personnel raped Okinawan women during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.
In 2006, Congress found that CIA had engaged in widespread torture. There has been torture of inmates in secret US prisons.In 2003, the U.S. military, in serious violation of international human rights law, blatantly abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. A group of soldiers committed a series of human rights violations including physical and sexual abuse against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison.
The abuses came to public attention with the publication of photographs of the abuse by CBS News in April 2004. The incidents caused shock and outrage, receiving widespread condemnation within the United States and internationally.
United States established Guantanamo Bay detention camp (est.2002) to lock up a total of nearly 780 “terrorists” from the Middle East and elsewhere total, many of whom have been held without bringing any criminal charge. More than 30 people, old and frail, remain in the prison, who are deprived of liberty for long periods of time and subjected to endless mental and physical torture. USA admitted before the UN Committee against Torture that they had ‘crossed the line’ at its CIA site at Guantanamo, reported the media.
In Guantanamo, U.S. personnel also harassed its Muslim prisoners, by desecrating the Quran throwing the Quran into toilets, tearing to pieces or burning the Quran under the guise of searching for weapons, and having female guards spy on naked prisoners in bathrooms, which sparked collective protests and even caused mass suicides among the detainees.
In September 2021, the U.S. prison and prisoner abuse practices at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan were exposed by the media. U.S. forces inflicted “torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual abuse” on detainees for a long time, including putting at least 30 prisoners in a cage, leaving tortured prisoners to die in concealed areas, parading naked prisoners with blindfolds, among others.
War crimes charges were made against the USA troops in Afghanistan, reported BBC. The US armed forces and the CIA are alleged to have committed the war crimes of torture and cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity and rape and other forms of sexual violence in Afghanistan.
The ICC Prosecutor alleges that members of the US armed forces and the CIA had used the following torture techniques against detainees – incommunicado detention and prolonged and continuous solitary confinement, sensory deprivation, sensory overstimulation, exposure to extreme heat or cold, exploitation of phobias and cultural, religious and sexual taboos, sexual humiliation or insults, offensive use of items of religious significance, imposition of stress positions designed to induce muscle fatigue, suspension from the ceiling, food deprivation, slamming against a wall, cramped or close confinement by placing detainees in boxes, sexual violence, including by means of rectal rehydration or rectal feeding applied with excessive force; and suffocation by water, or the practice of water boarding, placing of detainees in icy water baths.
In November 2017, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) had requested authorization from the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC to initiate an investigation into allegations of war crimes committed by the USA in Afghanistan since 2003. This was initially rejected.
The Prosecutor filed an appeal against that decision.On 5 March 2020, the Appeals Chamber of the ICC decided unanimously to authorize the investigation against the USA. An investigation of alleged war crimes by the US and others in the Afghan conflict can go ahead, ruled the ICC.
ICC chief prosecutor said that US may have committed war crimes in Afghanistan, as a deliberate policy, She spoke of war crimes of torture and related ill treatment by US military forces in Afghanistan and secret detention facilities operated by the CIA. This ICC war crimes probe against the USA had been in the pipeline for more than two years, observed critics in 2020.
Attempts to investigate these crimes were blocked by the US. US said it was not a signatory to the Rome Statute and could not be investigated without a UN Security Council order or consent of USA.
Though USA is not a member of the ICC and therefore does not come under its jurisdiction, Afghanistan is a member of ICC and any crime conducted on its territory can be brought to the ICC regardless of the nationality of its perpetrator, said ICC. Afghanistan joined the ICC in 2003 and it is on this basis that the ICC has claimed jurisdiction over deeds alleged to have been committed in Afghanistan by US armed forces and the CIA, said the media.
The US establishment has reacted sharply to the initiative of the ICC Prosecutor. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in 2019 that they are determined to protect American and allied military and civilian personnel ‘from living in fear of unjust prosecution’ for actions taken to protect America. If the ICC persists in this course of action, they will impose travel bans on judges and personnel of the ICC and will also take further steps like economic sanctions. President Trump said that any attempt to target American, Israeli or allied personnel for prosecution by the ICC will be met with ‘a swift and vigorous response’.
US armed forces have committed war crimes, as defined in the ICC and Geneva conventions, in the various US wars. But USA has made sure that it cannot be prosecuted. The main agency dealing with war crimes was the International Criminal Court (ICC). The US is not a signatory of the ICC and does not recognize its authority over American citizens.
US went out of its way to protect its military personnel accused of committing war atrocities. USA signed some 100 bilateral immunity agreements with a number of countries, prohibiting the surrender to the ICC of officials, military personnel and US employees US also threatened to veto UN peacekeeping mission unless its troops were granted immunity from prosecution by the ICC. No American has been indicted in ICC, said TIME.
In 2002, USA passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act which was specifically aimed at the International Criminal Court. It prohibits any U.S. citizen or institution from cooperating with the International Criminal Court and prohibits the transfer of U.S. classified national security and law enforcement information to that court. It even bans the provision of U.S. military assistance, (with specified exceptions) to the government of a country that is a party to the court.
The American Service-Members’ Protection Act authorizes the President to bring about the release from captivity of any U.S. military personnel or covered allied persons who are being detained or imprisoned by or on behalf of the ICC and authorizes the US President to use all means necessary to do so. The phrase ‘use all means necessary’ enables the US government to resort to force to obtain the release of a US citizen or an ally who happens to be in the custody of the ICC. It authorizes military force to free military personnel held by ICC, observed critics.
The US Congress has also passed two other laws relating to this matter, the Foreign Operations Act and the Patriot Act. U.S. government, the U.S. judiciary, and American citizens are strictly prohibited from cooperating in any international investigation into the US Armed Forces. American citizens are subject to severe penalties if they directly or indirectly accuse the US Armed Forces. Ambassador John Bolton, who represented the United States at the United Nations, has stated that any officer of the International Criminal Court will be directly imprisoned if he or she investigates the US Armed Forces.
Earlier this week, after a sudden illness, 56-year-old Peetambaram Rajan passed away in the Batticaloa region of Sri Lanka.
But though there appears to be few details about his life recorded online, the reaction of those Rajan left behind suggest his was one teeming with love.
According to the Tamil Mirror, Rajan was known to be an animal lover. Every day, he was reportedly visited by a local gray langur whom he’d offer treats.
However, Rajan evidently did more than just quell her hunger. It seems he touched her heart as well.
On Tuesday, as Rajan’s grieving family gathered to pay their final respects after his passing, they were joined by an unexpected visitor — the monkey he had befriended in life. And she was in mourning, too.
Given the trusting relationship the langur had with Rajan, it should come as no surprise that she would be saddened to learn he’d passed away.
Though, at times, there may appear to be a divide between people and other animals — our feelings of love and loss are much the same.
“There is no doubt that many animals experience rich and deep emotions,” writes animal behaviorist Dr. Mark Bekoff in Psychology Today. “It’s not a matter of if emotions have evolved in animals but why they have evolved as they have. We must never forget that our emotions are the gifts of our ancestors, our animal kin. We have feelings and so do other animals. Among the different emotions that animals display clearly and unambiguously is grief.”
The report regarding the welfare arrangements of the underage children of women under 45 years of age is compulsory when leaving the country for foreign employment, the Sri Lanka Foreign Employment Bureau (SLFEB) said.
Addressing the media, the number of Sri Lankans leaving the country for foreign employment has increased, with the majority of them being women, and a significant number of them being mothers.
Accordingly, the SLBFE has decided not to grant permission for mothers with children under two years of age, as mothers should pay special attention to the care and education of their children, she said.
Moreover, the SLBFE has decided to call for a report on the welfare arrangements of their underage children. A circular will be issued making the practice compulsory. Affidavits are not required in this instance.
The Bureau further said that the decision was taken as a step for the protection of their children and to continue with their successful education.
During the period of the employment overseas, it will help to identify the family members who are responsible for the welfare and protection of those children.
The women who are under 45-years of age should obtain their report on the child welfare program from the respective Divisional Secretariat where they are residing. To obtain the Divisional Secretariat report, those people must first obtain the Grama Niladhari (GN) certificate from where they are residing.
If they are not residing in the registered electorate, they should submit their reports through the GN officer where they were last registered.
The child welfare program report is not necessary for people who plan to leave the country again within nine months from the date of arrival. This opportunity will be granted only to those women who went abroad and returned to the country after registering with the SLFEB.
If the nine months from the date of arrival exceeds, those women must provide the child welfare program report prior to their next departure.
A special committee has been appointed by the Ministry Secretary to rectify the issues that had taken place in the case of residence or any other issue when issuing the report. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)
The newly-gazetted personal income tax will be implemented from November 1, after the approval by the Finance Committee of the Parliament and the signature of the Speaker.
Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said this while speaking at a press conference in Ruwanwella. Earlier, a gazette notification was issued amending the Inland Revenue Act.
Accordingly, any individual with gross monthly earnings of Rs. 100,000 or above, would be liable to pay Income Tax. The top marginal personal income tax rate is gazetted as 36%.
The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has looked into maintaining a special rice reserve of 8,000 metric tons in accordance with the Colombo declaration of the SAARC Organization and the 16th Summit meeting.
The committee also probed the rice reserves of 100,000 metric tons not being maintained in the warehouses owned by the Food Commissioners Department of Sri Lanka all over the island in accordance with the cabinet decision dated 27/8/2008.
The COPA members inquired about the failure to maintain the aforesaid reserves despite the fact that 06 warehouses numbered 1, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 13 in Veyangoda warehouse complex were modified in a scientific and natural manner. 292 million rupees have been spent from 2012 to 2019 to modify these warehouses.
Discussions in this regard took place at the COPA which met on Thursday (Oct. 20) under the chairmanship of MP Kabir Hashim.
The meeting was called for by the Food Commissioners Department of Sri Lanka to examine the audit report on the maintenance of rice reserves and the performance of storage utilization.
The officials mentioned that their department requested for adequate provision from the treasury, but due to non-receipt, it was not possible to maintain the above-mentioned reserves. It was also revealed that on an average, to maintain 100,000 metric tons of rice, about Rs. 22 billion per year is required.
Officials stated that even though a storage complex capable of storing 250,000 metric tons has been scientifically modified, it has not been able to store the number of reserves equal to its maximum capacity so far and that the World Food Programme and rice aid received from other countries have already started to be stored.
The committee also informed the Secretary to the Ministry to conduct proper research on the existing government food warehouse complexes across the country and collect data and submit a report containing specific information about the ownership of the warehouses within a month.
Irregularities in giving the warehouse complexes owned by the Food Commissioner Department to other government or private institutions on rental basis and monthly rent collection issues were discussed at the COPA. The committee informed that with the support of the Attorney General’s Department, the relevant agreements should be prepared as necessary.
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) has requested the Auditor General to conduct a special investigation into the transfer of ownership of lands by the Land Reform Commission (LRC) for the past 20 years.
The request was made by the COPE chairman, Prof. Ranjith Bandara during its meeting which looked into the irregularities in land transfers.
Various reasons contributed to beginning the unsuccessful ARAGALAYA in 2022, which focused on either capturing the government or changing the government policy towards the people suffering from economic difficulties. Capturing a government that was elected by a democratic election could be considered illegal in terms of law and gaining political power in a country using an undemocratic way could not be considered an equitable or ethical way of changing the government. Modern democratic values are working not only in Sri Lanka but also in other countries. Therefore, ARAGALAYA had ethical and moral issues at the beginning that are questionable.
Compare to the previous ARAGALA in Sri Lanka, the major reason for the failure of this ARAGALAYA was leaders failed to present their economic policies and convince the people that their economic policy would have a positive impact on the economy and will gain clear benefits for people. Without knowing the real leaders of ARAGALAYA, people couldn’t trust the way it was going on and people surrounding Colombo gathered at Galle Face ground like buffaloes that came out from sheds that hadn’t reflect the democratic values and acceptable economic policies that would be beneficial to people. The fundamental weakness of ARAGALAYA was it failed to justify policies that they would do and the policies which contained justice.
The country indeed had problems relating to business and the living concerns of people. Such problems would have been solved by the government using the right economic policy that has been planned considering broader factors and would successfully organise related activities by the leaders of ARAGALAYA. These vital activities were not done by the leaders of ARAGALAYA and the failure of leaders was the main contributing factor to its unsuccess. In this situation, there was a higher risk that was not considered by leaders. Generally, people doubted the economic policy of young people who have no experience and never studied past economic downturns. In addition, certain people had different objectives, for example, a family living in Australia had a secret religious agenda that was not disclosed to people. In that background, the struggle was a misleading activity the general public didn’t know whether the struggle was a justifiable matter of the public
The increase in productivity in all sectors of the economy and the aggrandisement of the volume of foreign exchange reserves were vital issues that needed urgent attention and other economic problems related to macroeconomic concerns must have been highlighted by them as in the economic policy. They were major issues of ARAGALAYA and leaders lacked understanding of these factors they must have thought in the way university students are thinking without practical experience.
Many people in the country have no clear understanding of how to solve the problems and the leaders of ARAGALAYA should have explained to people why they were so concerned about the economic problems and that they can solve problems by implementing trusted policies. The ARAGALAYA in 2022 was not described the specific economic policy which will positively impact the economy. People even did not know who were the leaders of the struggle. The vital factor in modern society is that struggles could gain benefits if there are reserved assets and when there are no such preserved assets physical materials would not come to support the struggle.
In 1971, Rehana Wijeweera specifically stated that we will uproot tea plantations and replace them with Tapioca which would be an input-boosting industrial input with factories. Using cassava for industrial input would not be a substitute for the tea economy as it generates billion of foreign exchange and casava cannot do it. People at that time (1971) knew that such policies would not work for the country. Wijeweera whether policies were right or wrong publicly stated but in such a way modern leaders should have expressed economic policies that have not happened during the struggle. How the policies of struggle leaders would practically impact the macroeconomy to solve problems of people did not express and the struggle showed it was a clear attempt to cheat power.
It was not a productive and acceptable policy action to the public and the policies of Wijeweera were questionable to people at that time and the public was reluctant to associate with JVP. The open talks of Wijeweera were more respected by people than the rough leaders of the modern struggle. Many people state that the Aragalaya has not finished and people were invited to participate in several rallies but they did not participate, only a few people participated, who were hardcore Marxists and after tear gas and water cannon treatment all left the ARAGALAYA. It should note that struggles would not succeed in the modern era because the government has the more strong firepower and the other matter was many of the participants of the struggle were amatory criminals who attempted to popularize by ragging innocent students. Rohana Wijeweera 1971 openly rejected erotic criminals in universities and had human values.
People did not know who were the leaders of modern ARAGALAYA and what were their economic policies of them. Could leaders of ARAGALAYA respond to people and able to act in response to modern weapons of arm forces? Schoolkids in Grades 10 and 12 know economics better than leaders of ARAGALAYA and people can trust the economic piece of advice of international financial institutions such as IMF, WB, Asian Development Bank and ADA.
Sri Lanka has complicated political issues with many political parties, which are based on selfish dispositions and religions in the country are working against the teaching of the religious inventors. Political parties should attempt to stop misleading people and create a production economy in all sectors such as agriculture, industry, construction, services and information technology. It is the right thing to do than commanding struggles. If a 10% production increase in all sectors of the economy, current problems could be defeated and people would gain economic benefits at a normal level and then the economy could be expanded by new investments.
Mr Ranil Wickremasinghe is working well, however, the ruins of the Rajapaksa strive to regain power for Namal Rajapaksa and put their hands on Wickremasinghe’s policy further intending to regain power. As James Dusenbery stated aggregate consumption of Sri Lanka is influenced by the demonstration effect and destroyed the foreign exchange reserves. During the Rajapaksa regime spending more money on imports reflected the worse nature of the demonstration effect in Sri Lanka. Many urban people borrow money and purchase luxury goods and services as a result of the demonstration effect. The worse situation is that the government should invest funds in road development and many others. It is difficult to change consumption patterns and the government needs to neglect people in the lower-income category who are below the poverty line.
Sri Lankans shop for vegetables at a market in Colombo in July, amid accelerating food inflation. © Reuters
