Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya

It is not a secret that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has never made any profits. 

The public must always chip in by paying more taxes to cover their expenses by pumping money from the government coffers.

Another generator at the Norochchole plant has been shut down, and social media is rife with news that a 10-hour power cut is on the cards.

If that is true, the CEB income will be further reduced by more than 40%, and how do the authorities plan to bridge the gap?

Naturally, increasing taxes and tariffs is the only way they know, and we have no say or control over the matter.

How about reducing the salaries of the CEB, including the minister who is responsible, by at least 30% to bridge the shortfall?

If for some reason, when a household income drops, either the household will use their reserves to supplement the shortfall or take measure to reduce their expenditure accordingly to meet the situation.

In the case of CEB, as I said from the beginning, they have no reserves whatsoever, and therefore the only option now available to them is to make necessary cutbacks on their expenditures.

Such a measure would only affect some families (around 300,000 heads), but it would be negligible compared to raising taxes on the entire population. 

Until they find a way to at least cover their expenditure, the shortfall amount should be adjusted by imposing prorated reductions in their employees’ salaries and not imposing more taxes on the entire population.

The same methodology should be applicable to all government-run entities with always have negative balances. 

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

Courtesy CNA

MANILA/TOKYO: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is ready to provide further financial support to Sri Lanka, a top official of the regional lender said on Tuesday (Sep 27), as the Indian Ocean nation battles its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades.

The remarks came after an ADB pact this month for an emergency loan of U$200 million to ensure access to food and protect livelihoods after months of shortages of key essential items which sparked protests that forced out the president.

“As a key long-term partner, the ADB stands ready to provide further support,” the bank’s president, Masatsugu Asakawa, told reporters at its annual gathering.

Sri Lanka’s economy has contracted and it is suffering from very high inflation severely affecting living standards, Asakawa said. The annual figure exceeded 70 per cent in August.

“So we are working closely with the government in supporting the country in this challenging time,” he added.

Asakawa said he was confident Colombo was working to finalise a staff-level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan of about US$2.9 billion, by seeking financing assurances from creditors, among other steps.

“After the IMF program is completed, we will consider to join another, by providing additional financial resources to join other rescue packages for Sri Lanka,” said Asakawa, a former Japanese vice finance minister for international affairs.

Asakawa pointed to the risks of abrupt capital outflows from Asia and the prospect of very sharp currency depreciation continuing for some time, as the US central bank tightens monetary policy aggressively.

However, Asia has become more resilient against financial turmoil, with an improved current account balance and sufficient accumulation of foreign reserves, than it was during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, he added.

Yet portfolio capital movement is very fast and volatile, Asakawa said.

“It’s always a good thing to be very vigilant on this broader capital movement,” he added.

“I’m also trying to enhance our regional financial co-operation efforts, including that of ASEAN+3,” he said, referring to a grouping of China, Japan and South Korea with Southeast Asian nations.

By Feizal Samath Courtesy TTG Asia

Sri Lanka is planning to offer a 49 per cent ownership and management stake in its loss-making national carrier to cut losses and transform the airline to a profitable venture.

The move would signal a return to foreign management and partnership after a 10-year contract with Emirates ended in March 2008 without any extension. The Dubai carrier had a 43 per cent stake (at an investment of US$70 million) and full management control of the airline.

SriLankan Airlines does not own any aircraft – its entire fleet of 23 planes are on lease.

Civil aviation minister Nimal Siripala De Silva said the airline has suffered huge losses so far and could be in deeper trouble unless an outsider takes over soon.

The airline’s accumulated loss in the 2020-2021 financial year was 49.7 billion rupees (US$138 million). During Emirates management from March 2007 to March 2008, it was profitable leading up to the last year with a profit of five billion rupees.

From March 2008 to March 2009, while under Sri Lankan government control, a loss of 10 billion rupees was reported.

From 2016 to 2019, a similar effort to secure a foreign investor to the airline was also unsuccessful

Steve Forbes Forbes Staff Courtesy Forbes

For decades, the International Monetary Fund has been the scourge of countries that get into economic trouble, yet its authority has never been seriously challenged. Today, this is especially dangerous. The deadly combination of inflation and food shortages is putting numerous nations on the brink of disaster. A few, most notably Sri Lanka, are already in chaos.

All too many countries are particularly vulnerable because they loaded themselves with debt during the easy-money years following the 2008-09 financial crisis, when interest rates were virtually nonexistent. Now, with the cost of money rising and open-ended central bank ATMs closing, scores of these governments will be hard-pressed to service their debts. For a number of poorer nations this means not only will the paltry incomes of people already living in real poverty shrink, but there will also be outright hunger, if not famine—a dire situation made worse by the deadly food games Vladimir Putin is playing with Ukraine’s critical grain exports.

What’s disturbing is that the amount of money these countries owe is unknown. China has lent prodigious amounts to a number of nations, but transparency here is hardly robust.

The IMF is supposed to be the economic doctor to which countries turn when they get into trouble. IMF teams fly into stricken nations and negotiate” (in the Tony Soprano sense of the word) the terms for governments to receive bailout money. The problem is that the IMF is guilty of economic quackery on a global scale. The IMF’s foremost demand is that a country devalue its currency, yet making a currency less valuable is the very definition of inflation. It’s like telling someone who has pneumonia to go sit in the snow.

The IMF thinks the cure for inflation is to make people poorer; therefore, it forces countries to raise taxes. The agency also orders the removal of politically popular subsidies—usually for certain foods and fuel. In principle, this is fine, but the IMF’s timing is dreadful. People living mostly on the margins see their life supports disappearing, and riots result.

The IMF should, instead, be prescribing what economist Nathan Lewis dubs The Magic Formula”: low tax rates and stable money. This combination always works. Instead of devaluations, countries should adopt currency boards, whereby their money is fixed to a reliable currency such as the Swiss franc. Currency boards unfailingly stop inflation in its tracks.

Yet the IMF’s record of cockeyed, counterproductive remedies has yet to provoke a serious challenge from its major donors, primarily the United States.

With so many countries in desperate straits, this chronic malfeasance will provoke destructive turmoil and lead to unnecessary death. True, the countries to which the IMF ministers are usually guilty of reckless spending and too much government control of their economies. But that doesn’t warrant administering patently harmful medicines to them.

Take perennially mismanaged Pakistan, which just negotiated an IMF rescue package. True to form, the IMF imposed higher taxes and the elimination of fuel subsidies, and riots rocked the country.

Courtesy Adaderana

Expression of opinions on social media by public officers without following the Establishment Code shall constitute an offence leading to disciplinary action, the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration says.

This was conveyed in a circular titled Expression of opinions on social media by public officers” published today (Sep. 27).

In the communique, Mr. M.P.K. Mayadunne also noted that carrying out an activity that should not be carried out by an officer who is not entitled to the exercise of political rights as per Section 1, Chapter XXXII, Volume I of the Establishment Code through social media by an officer not entitled to the exercise of political rights shall also constitute an offence that leads to taking disciplinary action.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe held discussions with Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi this morning in Tokyo.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister Hayashi welcomed Sri Lanka’s progress with the IMF and expressed his country’s willingness to take a leading role in Sri Lanka’s creditor talks, the PMD reported.

President Wickremesinghe expressed regret over the breakdown of relations between Japan and Sri Lanka following the cancellation of several investment projects by the former Government. The President stressed that he was keen to restart those projects, the statement said.

The President also indicated that the Government was interested in Japan investing in Sri Lanka’s renewable energy projects.

Japan Foreign Minister Hayashi explained that Japan had increased its commitment to renewable energy and would be willing to explore future investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Minister also explained that Japan would begin the skilled worker examinations in January 2023 for Sri Lankan migrant workers.

The President appreciated the support extended by Japan on the international stage and expressed the Government’s willingness to support both Japan’s and India’s campaign to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. 

The Foreign Minister welcomed the news, stressing that Asia required greater representation on the world stage, the release added.

-PMD

Courtesy orinoco tribune

The IMF released a report today on the Bolivian economy in which it recommends adopting drastic neoliberal measures, including; reducing workers’ salaries, cutting public investments, and ending currency controls. These policies have turned Bolivia from one of the poorest countries in the region into it’s fastest-growing economy.

The report takes aim at the government’s spending on development, saying, The government must restrict spending, including eliminating the end of year wage bonus for workers, they must restrict the growth of wages for public sector workers, and limit the growth of public investment and subsidies.”

The ‘end-of-year wage bonus’ for workers (in both the public and private sector) refers to a policy introduced under Evo Morales that requires employers to pay their workers a bonus equal to double their monthly wage, but only if annual GDP growth is over 4.5%.

Bolivia Has the Lowest Inflation in Latin America

https://orinocotribune.com/bolivia-has-the-lowest-inflation-in-latin-america/embed/#?secret=QqSgqm3NJo#?secret=WSEhgoWTNm

The bulk of public investment is destined for infrastructure, while the majority of subsidies are for ensuring the price of fuel doesn’t rise. Bolivia is the only country in the region to see no rise in fuel prices, a policy that has kept inflation at less than 2%, unlike the rest of South America.

The report even states that fuel prices must rise, and the inflation that would inevitably cause could be offset by cash-transfer programs for the poorest sectors, says the IMF:

The successful implementation of an increase in domestic fuel prices will require recycling a part of the budget savings in cash transfer programs aimed at the poorest deciles of the population.”

Bolivia’s Economy Minister, Marcelo Montenegro, emphatically rejected the report, stating today; They prescribe the old recipes from many decades ago where they call for reducing subsidies, lowering public spending, gradually eliminating the end of year bonus for workers. We are not going to accept these recommendations because we are a sovereign country, and we have a sovereign economic policy.”

Bolivia’s Arce Rejects IMF Loan Negotiated Irregularly by Former De Facto Ruler Jeanine Áñez

https://orinocotribune.com/bolivias-arce-rejects-imf-loan-negotiated-irregularly-by-former-de-facto-ruler-jeanine-anez/embed/#?secret=XYqTJEc2CO#?secret=vQmPMCLCaF

The policies criticized by the IMF have helped Bolivia reduce poverty by over 50% since Evo Morales took office in 2006. It has also helped keep inflation at the lowest rate in Latin America. Meanwhile, when IMF policies were implemented in the early 2000s, over 60% of the country lived below the poverty line.

In a recent speech in Brazil, Bolivia’s President Luis Arce stated that the country’s impressive growth is due to rejecting IMF recommendations; We are in better conditions because, since 2006, Bolivia doesn’t have a single agreement with the IMF. In 2020 with the de facto government, they tried to enter into a loan program with the IMF, which we stopped as soon as we entered government, we reversed that IMF loan because believe the best way to make economic policy is to have a sovereign monetary and economic policy without being submitted to any international organism.”

https://orinocotribune.com/imf-tells-bolivia-to-drop-its-successful-economic-model/

*Biznomics Market Update 26.09.2022*

1) Ghana has begun debt-restructuring talks for local bonds. The nation is preparing its debt-sustainability plan for the IMF, under its 17th program. *Ghana’s currency has lost 39% this year, the world’s second-worst with Sri Lanka leading the list*. Sri Lanka too has now approached the IMF for the 17th time since 1965 and has intimated that it might have to consider the same fate for its local LKR debt (Bills and Bonds) following in the footsteps of Ghana.

2) The Central Bank of Sri Lanka budget 2023 to include further *fiscal tightening, an increase in*; *a)Corporate income tax* *b)Personal income tax* *c)Telecommunication levy* *d)Value added Tax and removing tax exemptions (CIT and VAT), and improving tax compliance through strengthening the collection*.  Sri Lanka’s projected growth rate to be below its potential until 2027, growth is expected to reach 3% by 2027. The primary surplus is to reach 2,.3% of GDP while the current account deficit remains at 1.2% of GDP until 2027.

3) *Sri Lanka’s bilateral creditors account for USD 14 billion*. Paris Club members USD 4.7 billion, non-Paris club members 9.3 billion of which China amounts to USD 7.3 billion and India USD 1.6 billion. The top 10 bilateral creditors 1) China (52%); 2) Japan (19%) ; 3) India (12%) ; 4) France (2.9%) ; 5) Korea (2.4%) ; 6) Austria (2.2) ; 7) Germany (1.4%) ; 8 ) UK (1.4%) ; 9) Saudi Arab (1.0%) ; 10) USA (0.9%)

4) *China’s trade surplus is set to top a record $1 trillion this year*, but its not enough to stop the yuan from sliding against the surging dollar as business confidence wanes, according Macquarie Group Ltd. While China’s goods surplus is on track to reach the highest ever in world history, exporters have been reluctant to convert their foreign exchange back into yuan given the plunge in business sentiment this year.

5) *Giorgia Meloni looks set to become Italy’s first far-right leader since World War 2*. The election follows the collapse of Mario Draghi’s broad-based coalition government in the summer.

6)  *H&M’s COS debuts at New York Fashion Week with see-now-buy-now show*. The brand, which launched in 2007, has grown to over 30 markets worldwide. They have become known for their higher-end quality compared to their parent company H&M’s approach to fast fashion.

*Biznomics Research*

Shenali Waduge

Dilrook Kannangara

Many nations including Sri Lanka face a hunger problem. Instead of looking for easy ways out, blaming this and that and finding faults with everything suggested, nothing much happens in Sri Lanka.

Various types of beans grow in all parts of the island. Beans can be grown in a small garden. Almost all households in rural areas can grow beans and other legumes. They are easy to cook, high in protein, carbohydrates and vitamins and currently have few pests. Unlike readily edible crops, beans do not attract thieves. Legumes extract nitrogen from the air which enriches the soil.

Instead of trying to promote everything, the government should launch a low-cost campaign to promote the growing of various types of beans and legumes around the island as a solution to hunger. What’s more interesting is that garden produce are not affected by inflation which is set to rise to unprecedented levels when higher VAT and other taxes kick in soon.

Manusha Media

විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින් සදහා වන විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය ආරම්භ කළේ විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින්ට අපගේ ප්‍රතිඋපකාරය පළ කිරීමටයි – අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මනුසවි විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය අරඹමින් කියයි

මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ නාමයෙන්, දශක ගණනාවක විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන්ගේ අපේක්ෂාව යථාර්ථයක් කරමින්,  ‘මනුසවි‘ සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ දායක  විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය ආරම්භ කිරීමට හැකි වූ බවත්, ඉදිරියේ දී මෙරට සෑම කම්කරුවකු ම සුරක්ෂිත කරන සාමාජ ආරක්ෂණ ජාලයක් නිර්මාණය කරන බවත්, කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාර මහතා පැවැසීය.
 
ඒ කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍ය මනුෂ නානායක්කාරගේ සංකල්පයකට අනුව විදේශ රැකියාවේ නිරතවූවන්ගේ විශ්‍රාමික දිවිය සවිමත් කිරීම සඳහා හඳුන්වා දෙන මනුසවි” සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ දායක විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය, අද (26) ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යංශ  ශ්‍රවණාගාරයේ දී ජනගත කරමිනි.

විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින් සදහා වන විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් ක්‍රමය අනුව විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයා ලබාදෙන දායකත්ව මුදල සහ කාලය අනුව ලබාගන්නා විශ්‍රාම වැටුප තීරණය වේ. ඒ අනුව වයස අවුරුදු හැට සම්පූර්ණ වූ පසුව විශ්‍රාම වැටුප ලබාගැනීමට හැකිය.

 මනුසවි” සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ දායක විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය ජනගත කළ අමාත්‍යවරයා,

අපට වුවමණා වුණේ රටට සලකන විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් මනුස්සත්වයේ නාමයෙන් ප්‍රතිඋපකාර දැක්වීමට පමණයි. අද මේ අපි වෙනුවෙන්, රට වෙනුවෙන් කැප වුණු ඒ මිනිස්සු වෙනුවෙන්, රටට අවශ්‍ය තෙල් ටික, බෙහෙත් ටික, ගෑස් ටික ගන්න උපකාර කරන, ඒත් මෙච්චර කාලයක් නොසලකා හැරි ඒ පිරිස වෙනුවෙන් උපරිමය කරන්න පමණයි.
 
අද අපිට පුළුවන් වුණා මනුසත්කමේ නාමයෙන් විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් ‘මනුසවි‘ සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ දායක  විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් යෝජනා ක්‍රමය ආරම්භ කරන්න. සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ මණ්ඩලය, සමාජ සවිබල ගැන්වීමේ අමාත්‍යංශය, විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යංශය මෙහි සුවිශේෂී වැඩ කොටසක් කළා. මනුසවි විශ්‍රාම වැටුප යථාර්ථයක් කර ගැනීමට සහයෝගය දීපු ඒ සියලු දෙනාට ම මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ නාමයෙන් ස්තුතිවන්ත වෙනවා.

විදෙස්ගත වන අවස්ථාවේ දී ම මෙම විශ්‍රාම වැටුප් ක්‍රමය ආරම්භ කළ හැකියි.  ස්වකීය අභිමතය පරිදි මාසික ව ඩොලර් එකොළහක මුදලක් වසර හතරක් තිස්සේ මෙයට යොමු කළොත් පනස් පහෙන් පසු රුපියල් විසිදහසක ආරම්භක තලයේ මාසික විශ්‍රාම වැටුපක් හිමි වෙනවා.ඒක ආරම්භක තලය. එහෙත් තමන්ට කැමැති සැලසුමක් තමන්ගේ කැමැත්ත අනුව තෝරා ගන්න අවස්ථාව තියෙනවා. තමන්ගේ වැටුප සහ කැමැත්ත අනුව අනාගත විශ්‍රාම දිවිය සැලසුම් කර ගන්න නිදහස තියෙනවා. ඉදිරියේ දී මෙය තවත් වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට, මෙහි ප්‍රතිලාභ තව දුරටත් පුළුල් කිරීමට කටයුතු කරනවා. සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යංශය, සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ මණ්ඩලයට එහි ප්‍රමුඛ වගකීමක් හිමි වෙනවා.

අපිට අවශ්‍ය රටේ මිනිස්සු හොද සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ වැඩපිළිවලක් තුළ ස්ථාවර කිරීමට. සමාජයේ සෑම පුද්ගලයෙක් ම ආරක්ෂා කළ හැකි සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ දැලක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට. මේ සුරක්ෂිතභාවය නොමැති නිසා ම දැඩි පීඩණයකට ලක් වුණු රටක් තමයි අපි. මිනිහෙක් වැටෙන වෙලාවට සුරක්ෂිතව අල්ලා ගන්න, රැකබලා ගන්න ආරක්ෂිත දැලක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට කම්කරු අමාත්‍යංශය විදියට වැඩපිළිවලක් සකස් කරගෙන යනවා. ඒ මේ රටේ කම්කරුවා වෙනුවෙන්. රැකියාව අහිමි වීමක දී, වන්දියක් ලබාගත යුතු අවස්ථාවක දී, අර්ධ හෝ පූර්ණ දුබලතාවක දී,  සෞඛ්‍ය පහසුකම් මෙන් ම හදිසි අභාවයක දී කොහොමද අපේ කම්කරුවන් රැක ගන්නේ, එය විශ්‍රාම වැටුපක් දක්වා වර්ධනය කරන්නේ කෙසේ ද යනාදී වශයෙන් පුළුල් සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ ක්‍රමවේදයක් සම්බන්ධයෙන් කම්කරු දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විදියට අපි සලකා බලමින් ඉන්නවා, යනුවෙන් ද පැවැසීය.

එහි දී පැමිණ සිටි පිරිස ඇමැතූ අමාත්‍යවරයා වැඩිදුරටත් මෙසේ ද පවසා සිටියේ ය.

‘රටේ ක්‍රමානුකූල ව ගොඩනැගුනු ආර්ථික ප්‍රශ්නයට අනුරූපීව දේශපාලන අර්බුදයක් නිර්මාණය වුණා. ඩොලර් හිගය, ආහාර හිගය, කළුකඩ මුදලාලිලා මිල දෙගුණ තෙගුණ කිරීම, වෙළෙද ඒකාධිකාරයන් නිර්මාණය කරගෙන අධික ලාබ ලබමින් මිනිස්සු බරපතල පීඩාවකට ලක් කිරීම නිසා රටත් සමාජයත් බරපතල තත්ත්වයකට පත් වෙලා තියෙන්නේ. සිංහල අවුරුද්දට කෝදුරු කැවුමක් එල්ලලා බෙදාහදා ගන්නා සම්ප්‍රදායක හිටිය අපේ සමාජය විෂම වෙන්නේ වෙනස්  මේ තත්ත්වයන් එක්ක. පාරේ යන වාහන නවත්තලා තෙල් ටික බලෙන් අදලා ගන්න තරමට ම මේක බරපතල වුණා.

ව්‍යාපාරිකයන්ගේ වගේ ම මිනිස්සුත් මනුස්සකම පැත්තකට දැමීම, යහපත් ගුණාංග නැති කර ගැනීම තුළ රටේ මිනිස්සු ම නොවිදිනා දුන් විදිද්දී, මනුස්සත්වයේ නාමයේ තීන්දුවක් ගන්න වුණා. බලය ගැන විතරක් හිතුවා නම් රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ හෝ අපි මේ දේශපාලන තීන්දුව ගන්නේ නෑ. රටේ මිනිස්සු තෙල් පෝලිම්, බෙහෙත් පෝලිම් අස්සේ මැරිලා වැටෙද්දී, පැය දහය දොළහ විදුලිය විසන්ධි වෙද්දී  ඒවට සංඛ්‍යාලේඛන නෑ. ඒ නිසා අපිට දේශපාලනය වෙනුවට මනුෂ්‍යත්වය ගැන විතරක්  හිතන්න වුණා. ඒ නිසා අපි එදා මනුස්සත්වයේ නාමයෙන් මේ තීන්දුව ගත්තා. අපේ පෞද්ගලික වාසි, දේශපාලන අනාගතය පැත්තකින් තියෙලා මේ තීන්දුව ගත්තේ ඒ මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ නාමයෙනුයි.

ඒක දේශපාලනික වශයෙන් ඉතා අමාරු තීරණයක්. ඒ නිසයි අපි මිනිස්සුන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලීමක් කළේ මනුස්සත්වයේ නාමයෙන් එකතු වෙලා මේ තත්ත්වයෙන් ගොඩ එමු කියලා. මිනිස්සුන්ගේ දුක තේරෙන, හදවතට දැනෙන පිරිස අපිත් එක්ක එකතු වුණා. ඒත් අපේ විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන්ට සමහර අය කිව්වේ තමන්ගේ ආණ්ඩුවක් එනතුරු, බලයට එනතුරු සල්ලි එවන්න එපා කියලා. තමන් ආවාම මාසෙකට ඩොලර් බිලියනයක් ගේනවා ඒත් දැන් එවන්න එපා කියලයි කිව්වේ. හැත්තෑ දෙකේ ඉදන් කියන ඒ දවස උදා වෙනකල් අපේ මිනිස්සු තව කොච්චර කාලයක් දුක් විදින්න ඕනේ ද? නොකියා කියන්නේ උඹලා ඩොලර් එවන්න එපා, එතකල් මේ රටේ මිනිස්සු දුක් විදපුවාවේ, පාරේ මැරිලා වැටුණාවේ කියන එක නේද?

හැබැයි මනුස්සකම තියෙන විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයෝ මනුස්සකමේ නාමයෙන් රටට ඩොලර් එව්වා.  ඩොලර් මිලියන දෙසිස විස්සට වැටිලා තිබුණු විදෙස් ප්‍රේශන අගෝස්තු වෙද්දී තුන්සිය විස්ස වුණා. ඒ මනුෂ්‍යත්වය නිසා. නීත්‍යනුකූල ව රටට මුදල් එව්වේ මනුෂ්‍යත්වය නිසා. ඒ නිසා තමයි මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ නාමයෙන් අපිත් එයාලට සලකන්නේ.

කුඩම්මාගේ සැලකිල්ල ලැබුණු විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන්ට ගුවන් තොටුපල බලාපොරොත්තුවේ දොරටුවක් නිර්මාණය කළා. ඉතිහාසයේ වැඩි ම තීරුබදු සහනය දුන්නා. රටේ කිසිවකුට වාහනයක් ගෙන්විය නොහැකි වකවානුවක එවන මුදලට වටිනාකමක් දෙන්න වාහන බලපත්‍රයක් දුන්නා.  විදෙස්ගතවීම් වලට බාධා කළ නීති රීති සංශෝධනය කළා. ඒ ඔවුන් රටට ඉටුකරන යුතුකම වෙනුවෙන් අපිත් ඔවුන්ට මනුෂ්‍යත්වයේ දෑත දිගු කළ යුතු නිසයි.

ඉතා කෙටි කාලයක් තුළ මේ සියල්ල කරද්දී කාලයක් තිස්සේ කළ නොහැකි වූ  තවත් දෙයක් තිබුණා. 2012 ඉදන් මේ ගැන කතා කළා. 2015 ආණ්ඩුවේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති ප්‍රකාශයෙත් කියනවා විගමනික ශ්‍රමිකයන් වෙනුවෙන් විශ්‍රාම වැටුපක් හ දුන්වා දෙනවා කියලා. ඒත් මේ මොහොත වන තුරුත් ඒක ක්‍රියාත්මක කරගන්න බැරි වුණා

ඒත් අපි ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ මණ්ඩලය සමග එක්ව විදේශ ගත ශ්‍රමිකයින් සදහා වන විශ්‍රාම වැටුප අපිට ආරම්භ කිරීමට හැකියාව ලැබුණා. යනුවෙන් ද පවසා සිටියේ ය.

කම්කරු හා විදේශ රැකියා රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ජගත් පුෂ්පකුමාර, සමාජ සවිබලගැන්වීම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය අනුප පැස්කුවල්, යන මහත්වරු මෙහිදී අදහස් දැක්වූහ.

කම්කරු සහ විදේශ රැකියා අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම්  ආර්.පී. ඒ. විමලවීර, විදේශ සේවා නියුක්ති කාර්යංශයේ සභාපති මහේන්ද්‍ර කුමාරසිංහ , සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරී ප්‍රියන්ත සේනානායක, ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජ ආරක්ෂණ මණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති සමන් හදරාගම, සාමාන්‍යාධිකාරී ප්‍රසන්න කළුආරච්චි  ඇතුළු නිලධාරීහු රැසක් ද සහභාගී වී සිටියහ.

—

Chandre Dharmawardana

I have gone thorough the following U-tube video and I am sad to see this kind of unsubstantiated claims misleading the public. This is just one of many.

[ටවුම මැද්දේ වගා කරන, ගල් පොළොවේ කුඹුරු කරන, ගොවි රජාගේ විශ්වකර්ම වැඩ

I urge the Sri Lankan scientific community to not to ignore this sort of thing says “this stuff is rubbish and so we don’t need to comment on the obvious“, or that there are too many of these and we don’t have time for it.

Countering the growth of weeds is necessary not only in a farm, but also in society

 It is the failure to counter this sort of nonsense that led to a group of local “scientists”, aided and abetted by Western funded local NGOs who are linked to Elite upper-class social groups in the West that led to the Fertilizer fisco in Sri Lanka.

ටවුම මැද්දේ වගා කරන, ගල් පොළොවේ කුඹුරු කරන, ගොවි රජාගේ විශ්වකර්ම වැඩ MAHA PURASAARAMAK.

• People should look at this video and should note that anyone can plant anywhere if they have seeds. BUT WHAT IS THE HARVEST, given the effort and labour? Negligible.
• People should note that anything planted close to a roadway where there are cars, diesel trucks, buses etc., going and belching out exhaust smoke (and toxins) will end up with seeds, tubers, vegetables that are polluted. The amount of pollution that fall on the soil at any given moment is small, but the plants, as they grow collect toxins (as they don’t have kidneys to  detoxify). This concentration effect is known as phyto-accumulation.
• So, if you want clean food, use clean soil, away from roadways and urban pollution.
•  Use of fertilizers containing even 10 times the toxins (like Cd, As) above the threshold prescribed by SL standards will NOT increase the soil concentration of these toxins by even few parts per billion, as can be simply demonstrated.

You see that the paddy plants he is showing have not grown properly, yellowish instead of lush green due to lack of nitrogen etc. Signs of stunted growth are all over on the plants he is showing.

If people can think that they can get get harvests from “Nikam Gal polowen” (sheer stone ground), as is claimed by this person, they are fooling themselves.

Whether it is a human baby, or a tiny plant, or a grown up adult , we know the amount of nutrient needed each day. If not there will be poor growth.

You don’t get something from nothing.

Adding a little goma (cow dung) and leaves collected around the garden cannot supply the needed nutrients.

In ancient times when  people did not have fertilizers, they began with a newly burnt Chena (“Nava-daeli hena”) in  a new, unused part of the forest.

That soil is fertile from having been a part of the forest, and the ash from the burning of the forest. But after three or four years  it has to be abandoned, and left for “puran” for some time until it grows a “Mukalaana” and recovers, ready to be burnt once again.

Such non-fertilizer cultivation may give you about 1.8-2 metric tonnes/hectare of paddy.  If fertilizer were used, it will give  5-8 metric tonnes per hectare.

But if you are not doing the burning and puran cycle, then you cannot get even the 1.8-2 metric tonnes/hectare of harvest,  if you start with a rocky infertile soil.

Even if this man’s urban plot on rocky soil may produce a very meager harvest, it will reduce to nothing very soon, after a few planting kanna. He does not say anywhere in his U-tube what yield he expects from the area of land he is cultivating.

Today, anyone can make a U-tube, and create an exaggerated “PURA-SAARASNG” talk that misleads the public and even the politicians.  It is their moment of glory – being a hero! Govi Rajaa !

It is this sort of nonsense, readily believed by many who have heard the claim that in ancient times we had plenty of food, who fell into the trap that the ex-President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa fell into.

He banned fertilizers, taking these myths on trust, instead of asking the likes of Ven. Ratana, Dr. Jayasumana, Asoka Abeygunawardana, Sanath Goonatileke of Californa,  and others of their ilk to demonstrate that their ideas work, by declaring, say, one of two villages to become “fully organic”, or “fully hela govithaena”, and seeing  what the harvests they get, if it is enough, and how it dwindles to nothing in just a couple of planting seasons.

The facts are well known to agricultural scientists.

The fact is that this “Govi Rajaa” is claiming to be able to do miracles (Visva-karma!).

 He does not use water to grow paddy. Goda-kumbura methods is a well known technique, and then weeds have to be removed regularly manually, and the plot watered adequately, with regular supply of fertilizer. If it is organic fertilizer, then tonnes of fertilizer, and not “just a bit of o-dung and leaves, stra”, that are needed.

The Mada-Kumbura method is used to take advantage of monsoon rains and use the water to prevent weeds growing. Rice is a grass that grows in water, unlike many weeds that grow on a Goda-Kumbura. Here too, adequate supply of nutrient is needed, since use of water leads to soil leaching and erosion

But if President Gotabhaya wanted to implement this kind of thing against the advise  of the scientific community (falsely claimed to be part of the fertilizer mafia), he should have first tried it on a small scale and satisfied for himself that it is actually so.

There are people who think that going fully organic is the right policy but that it should have been done more slowly, over a 10 year period. Even if it is streatched over a 50 year period.

That is also false.

IT CANNOT BE DONE due to simple reasons of land and water availability, soil chemistry and plant physiology, unless the world population can be halved, and unless that remaining half becomes vegetarian, and assuming that there is global warming is controlled.

[If you can post my message at the bottom of the U-tube for the benefit of others, I think it would be helpful to make people critical of it].

Chandre Dharmawardana

Courtesy Hiru News

Today, 8 state-of-the-art CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) Screening Vehicles (mobile labs) worth LKR 660 million donated by China entered commissioning in 8 CKDu affected areas, i.e. Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Ampara, Kurunagala, Matale, Badulla.

SriLankan people especially in the rural area are suffering in relation to CKD, known as the “silent killer”;, as patients live with the disease for years before showing symptoms. Early screening and detection will spare the patients with limited healthcare access from pain says the Chinese Embassy.

The 8 Screening Vehicles is part of joint effort to change the CKDs status quo, following the China Sri Lanka Friendship National Nephrology Hospital in Polonnaruwa for treatment, and Joint Research & Demonstration Center for Water Technology in Kandy to find the cause.

Personnel training and equipment examining have been an important part of the donation, before the 8 mobile labs enter commissioning the embasy said in a tweet.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe says that discussion on restructuring Sri Lanka’s bilateral debt has already commenced with India and China at a lower level and that he is visiting Japan to discuss their role it the process.

He stated that talks with China would go to a higher level probably after the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. 

The President stated this during an exclusive interview with StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale.

Responding to a question regarding the progress made thus far with regard to resolving the economic crisis, he said:

We’ve had discussion with the IMF. We have come to a staff level agreement. But now we have to deal with our creditors. We didn’t have to do that earlier, we didn’t have this serious crisis. But now we have to deal with our creditors. We are unable to service our debts. Once we have a final… come to a conclusion with the creditors then we will go back to the IMF board. 

So, if you are looking at what is the phase we are in, okay we are implementing the prior actions that are required under the staff-level agreement and we have started the discussions with the bilateral creditors. Once that’s over I think we have to do with the private creditors. 

I’m going to Japan to discuss with the Japanese government their role. We already started some talks with India, but at a lower level. We are just starting the talks with China. We’ll have to go to a higher level, but we have to now see whether we do it before the party conference or after. 

Since we are just starting the talks it may have to be just after the conference. But we will first talk with Japan then we will have the discussion with India.” 

The Sri Lankan President also admits that allowing a Chinese research vessel to dock at Hambantota last month was a difficult decision. 

He said the decision to allow the ship was taken while Gotabaya Rajapaksa was President and that his government found no grounds to reverse that decision.

India had expressed its strong objection over Sri Lanka’s move to allow the ship, after which the Lankan government delayed its arrival, drawing displeasure from China. 

Wickremesinghe also defended his comment that Hambantota Port was being used as a punching bag”.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Sri Lanka is to purchase crude oil from Iran on a government to government deal, a Minister said today.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told Daily Mirror over the phone that he had a cordial discussion with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The Minister said crude oil purchase is one of the key areas discussed,” he said.

We discussed a range of bilateral issues aimed at strengthening the cordial bilateral relationship,” he said.

The Iranian Minister has promised to instruct his country’s ambassador in Colombo to follow up with the Sri Lankan line ministry to finalize the arrangements for crude oil imports.

It is better to purchase fuel from Iran on a government to government deal. Then, we can transact without intermediaries,” Mr. Sabry added.

Trading with Iran is hampered because of US sanctions. (Kelum Bandara)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• Sri Lankan officials promote ad-hoc bilateral creditor platforms to expedite process 
• Bilateral assurances expected around mid-November 
• Private creditor assurance could come by way of ‘good faith’ engagement by officials 
• ISB holders form two groups representing international and local bondholders to assess restructuring  

Any fund disbursements from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to crisis-hit Sri Lanka could be at least 3-4 months away from now as financing assurances from the country’s bilateral creditors remain a key sticking point for the IMF executive board to green light its bail-out programme, a presentation made to creditors by the Sri Lankan officials on last Friday showed. 

Sri Lankan officials on Friday met its creditors virtually to update them of the breadth and depth of the multifaceted crisis faced by Sri Lanka, the reform path since undertaken towards the staff-level agreement with the IMF and particularly the need to restore debt sustainability as an important precondition to unlock any fund flows back to the country. 

Sri Lankan people are undergoing an endless misery everyday as they are squeezed to the bone amid soaring prices of everyday goods and services as both monetary and fiscal policies were tightened after the rupee collapsed by 80 percent.  

Representing the Sri Lankan side the Governor of the Central Bank and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance who together addressed the creditors expressed hopes to obtain financing assurance from both the public and private creditors by mid November before the IMF Board is expected to approve the programme in mid-December-January 2023. 

While agreements are expected to be reached in principle with all creditors within this time frame, the negotiations would continue through the second quarter of next year before the renegotiated debt agreements are legally implemented.

The financing assurances could take two forms based on the profile of the creditor groups – official and private. 
The financing assurances from official creditors would mean commitment to grant Sri Lanka debt treatment compatible with the macro-economic framework and debt sustainability constraints in the IMF programme.

To expedite this process, the officials promote the formation of an ad-hoc bilateral creditor coordination platform which allows, the official bilateral creditors to give their financing assurances to the IMF collectively after having debated among themselves, with the IMF and the Government of Sri Lanka on the general contours of the debt treatment required to support the restoration of debt sustainability,” the presentation said.

Sri Lanka’s bilateral creditors include the Paris Club members and non-Paris Club members led by China and India accounting for 52.0 percent and 12.0 percent respectively out of a total of US$ 13.8 billion worth of bilateral debt which includes government guaranteed State-owned enterprise debt.
President Ranil Wicremesinghe on Thursday met the ambassadors representing Sri Lanka’s bilateral creditors seeking expedited financing assurances. 

According to the data presented on the outstanding public debt, Sri Lanka had US$ 46.6 billion worth of foreign currency debt, US$ 34.0 billion of US$ equivalence of local currency debt, making up for US$ 80.5 billion of total public debt by the June end, working out to 122 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  
The private foreign currency debt amounted to US$ 18.8 billion, out of which bonded ones including the international sovereign bonds (ISBs) and Sri Lanka Development Bonds made up of US$ 14.5 billion by the end of June. 

Meanwhile, the financing assurances from private creditors would mean Sri Lanka making a ‘good faith’ effort to reach collaborative agreement with them which includes engaging in early dialogue and sharing relevant information on a timely basis. 

These private bondholders of Sri Lanka’s ISBs have organised themselves into two main creditor committees—one consisting of 100 members of international investors and another consisting of eight local private banks holding slightly in excess of a billion dollars worth of ISBs. 
The former group represents more than 55 percent of ISBs non-domestic holdings, led by a steering committee of 10 members advised by Rothschild and White & Case while the latter is advised by Baker & Mackenzie.

Sasanka De Silva Pannipitiya.

It is obvious that there is some behind-the-scenes work involved in the recent coal tender revocation.

Calling for a new tender allows opportunists to gain an unfair advantage and deceptive gains once more.

How to avoid such an incident occurring in the future is as paramount as securing the next consignment before the country falls again into total darkness.

Failing to fulfil the contractual obligations is a good reason not to release the deposited tender fee by the party who got it awarded.

The other steps are to

1. ban and blacklist the company in question for life for participating in future tenders.
2. blacklist the chairman and other company directors.

The purpose of the second measure is to avoid the same entity resurfacing under another name with the same bunch of crooks posing as directors etc.

Furthermore, those who have been blacklisted for a certain period will automatically lose their credibility and will not find any more directorships in other companies.

If no such blacklist exists currently, one similar to CRIB should be created immediately.

Sasanka De Silva

Pannipitiya.

සුදත් ගුණසේකර මහනුවර 25.9.2022.

මේ සඳහා මැතිවරණ කොමිසම  ප්‍රකාශය  කරණුයේ නොවැ  11 දාට පසුව බවද  දැනට පවතින ආසන සන්ක්‍යාව අඩුකිරීමට  පාර්ලිමේන්තු කාරක සභාවේ නිර්දෙශ සහ සන්සෝධන මෙතෙක්ලැබි නොමැති බැවින් මේ වරද පසුගිගිය, එනම් 2018 පැවැති මැතිවරණයේ දී තොරාගත් නොයෝජිතයින්  සන්ක්‍යාවම තෝරාගන්නා බවද මැතිවරණ  කොමිසන් සභාවේ සභාපති පවසා ඇතැයි  නො 25 ඉරිදා අරුණ පුවත් පතේ සඳහන් වෙයි.
අද රටේ පවතින ආර්ථික තත්වය යටතේ  මෙම ආසන සන්ක්‍යාව අඩුකරණ මෙන් යෝජනා ඉදිරිපතව ඇති බැවින් එම නව සන්ක්‍යාව වහාම මැතිවරණ කොමිසම වෙත දන්වනමෙන් අපි ඉල්ලා සිටිමු

A Guide for Practitioners Courtesy Worldbank Group

5.1 Introductory Remarks
Efforts toward asset confiscation are of little value if, at the end of the day, no asset is available for confiscation. Stolen assets may be hidden or moved out of reach in a short period, while investigation and confiscation proceedings may take years, often giving the target ample time to move or dissipate assets. Therefore, it is critical that measures be taken to secure the assets that may become subject to a confiscation judgment. These measures, referred to as provisional measures,” include the seizure and restraint of assets and should be taken as close to the beginning of the case as possible to secure the
assets, where feasible, and until the conclusion of the confiscation proceedings.1
Under the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), article 54 (2),states parties are required to take the necessary measures to permit the freezing or seizing of assets based upon either a court’s (or other competent authority’s) order or arequest that provides a reasonable basis for the requested state party to believe thatthere are sufficient grounds for taking such actions and that the property wouldeventually be subject to an order of confiscation.” States are also required to consider
measures to preserve property for confiscation based on a lower threshold, such as onthe basis of a foreign arrest or criminal charge related to the acquisition of such property.In most jurisdictions, the laws governing provisional measures involve the balancing of two opposing principles: On one hand, the public interest requires that suspected proceeds and instrumentalities of crime be preserved and maintained until the end of the confiscation case (as discussed in box 5.3, on Switzerland’s constitutional power to freeze assets to protect its national interests).2 On the other hand, individuals’ right to
enjoy the own

5.2 Terminology: Seizure and Restraint
In both common and civil law jurisdictions, two distinct mechanisms have been developed to control and preserve assets that may be subject to confiscation: seizure and restraint.

Seizure means taking physical possession of the targeted asset. Although a prior court order or authorization from prosecutors or investigative judges might generally be required, some jurisdictions grant law enforcement officers the right to seize assets. For example, bulk cash or other assets reasonably suspected or believed” to be the proceeds or instrumentalities of a crime may be seized, in exigent circumstances, without a prior court order. Such powers are particularly useful for seizing suspicious cash that is transported across international boundaries in contravention of cash import or export reporting laws.
A restraint order is a form of mandatory injunction issued by a judge or a court that restrains any person from dealing with or disposing of the assets mentioned in the order, pending the determination of confiscation proceedings. Unlike seizure orders,restraint orders do not result in the physical possession of the asset. Judicial authorization is usually required, although some jurisdictions permit restraint to be ordered by prosecutors or other authorities.

The terminology for seizure and restraint of assets may vary among jurisdictions. For example, one jurisdiction may seize” bank accounts, whereas another may restrain” them. Other jurisdictions have introduced other terms, such as freezing” or blocking.”Practitioners should be aware of the distinction between the terms when sending or receiving an order involving another jurisdiction and should ensure that requests use terminology that can be understood. Hence, it may be a good idea to describe the purpose of the order instead of simply using the name of the order to be requested, because the terminology may confuse the recipient authorities. (For additional information on drafting requests for mutual legal assistance [MLA], see chapter 9, section 9.2.)

5.3 Provisional Order Requirements
In most jurisdictions, provisional measures typically require a judicial authorization by a judge or investigating magistrate. Many jurisdictions also allow for emergency or short-term provisional measures to be implemented administratively, through either the financial intelligence unit (FIU), law enforcement agency, or other authority under law. (For a discussion of emergency provisional measures, see chapter 8, section 8.5.4 and chapter 9, section 9.2.6.) Jurisdictions may also have varying evidentiary and procedural requirements for obtaining provisional orders.

5.3.1 Evidentiary Requirements
The requirements for obtaining a seizure or restraint order usually involve the following (for seizure orders, see also chapter 3, section 3.4.8):
• Either (a) a target is suspected of having committed an offense from which a benefit has been derived (value-based confiscation), or (b) the assets being sought are linked to criminal activities (property-based confiscation). (See chapter 7 for adiscussion of property-based and value-based confiscation.)
• Proceedings have been instituted or are about to be instituted.
In some jurisdictions, criminal proceedings will allow the seizure of substitute assets that can be
seized or frozen if the proceeds of the crime were previously spent. In nonconviction based (NCB) confiscation proceedings, however, there is often a requirement that the assets be directly traced back to the crime.
In common law jurisdictions, these requirements are generally established on a reasonable grounds to believe” or probable cause” standard of proof.
Similarly, in civil law jurisdictions, the decision will rest with the prosecutor’s or judge’s belief in
that the freezing order is necessary to avoid diversion or loss of assets during the investigation. Additional requirements may include grounds to believe that there is a risk of dissipation or that the assets are subject to confiscation and an undertaking as to damages.

In the United Kingdom, an interim freezing order (IFO) may be made if the court has issued an unexplained wealth order (UWO) regarding the property in question (as further discussed in chapter 3, box 3.11). The freezing of the property identified in a UWO prevents the property from being dissipated while it is subject to the order (Home Office 2017, 16). Box 5.1 describes the efforts to freeze assets
belonging to a former Nigerian minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.

For a freezing order to be enforceable against the assets belonging to politically exposed persons (PEPs) in foreign countries, legislation in Switzerland (box 5.3) and Canada requires the fulfillment of a number of conditions, including the following:
• Loss of power by the foreign government
• Notoriously high corruption levels in the country
• Assets likely to have been acquired by corruption, criminal mismanagement, or
other felonies
• Collapse of the judicial system
• Country’s inability to satisfy MLA requirements
• Safeguarding of national interests (in the case of Switzerland)9
• Internal turmoil and uncertain political situation in the foreign state, as well as
international relations interests (in the case of Canada).10

5.3.2 Procedural Requirements
Applicable rules of procedure for a seizure or restraint order may be outlined in confiscation laws or may incorporate criminal or civil procedural laws by reference. Common law jurisdictions, for example, require the application to be in writing, while the application or motion usually consists of two documents: (a) the seizure warrant or restraint order, and (b) the supporting affidavit. Box 5.2 describes affidavits and the
important evidence to include.
In contrast, civil law jurisdictions may simply require a recitation of the facts demonstrated by relevant documents or evidence contained in the case file before the judicial authority. In certain civil law jurisdictions, however, prosecutors or investigative judges may seize or restrain assets based only on a demonstrated need to preserve evidence or avoid dissipation of assets subject to confiscation.

Provisional measures can be contested or appealed by targets and their families or associates,11 particularly when substantial property interests are subject to restraint orseizure. The result is that the application process for provisional measures may be converted into a mini trial in which allegations supporting the application are challenged.
In some countries that are often key to asset recovery procedures, given the size of their financial systems (including the United States), practitioners must keep in mind that the process can hit procedural obstacles. Mindful that provisional measures simply require a reasonable belief of certain facts, prosecutors should urge the court to avoid deliberating upon the ultimate merits of the case, which will be determined at trial. This determination is most appropriately left to the court dealing with the related prosecution and confiscation.
Many jurisdictions permit the prosecutor to make applications for provisional measures ex parte, or without notice to the asset holders, on the notion that notice would tip them off and create an opportunity to move or hide assets. In some jurisdictions, prosecutors or investigative magistrates have an absolute right to proceed ex parte if they choose; others may permit such applications only if certain conditions are satisfied, such as showing a risk of dissipation.
If there is any risk that notice of an application for a restraint order will result in the dissipation of the assets or if the assets subject to the restraint are inherently moveable (such as funds in a bank account, jewelry, cash, or vehicles), good practice dictates that the application proceed on an ex parte basis.
An ex parte order may be effective for a limited time, during which the applicant must either (a) provide notice to the asset holder and an opportunity for a hearing, or (b) apply to the court for an extension of time in which to do so. Some jurisdictions require that the asset holder be provided with details of the proceedings, such as a transcript.

5.3.3 Provisional Restraint or Seizure of Assets in Foreign Jurisdictions
There are various avenues to achieve seizure or restraint of assets located in foreign jurisdictions. On receipt of a jurisdiction’s request, the authorities in the foreign jurisdiction may enforce the restraint or seizure order that is in place in the requesting jurisdiction. Alternatively, the authorities in the requested jurisdiction may apply for a domestic restraint or seizure order based upon the facts provided by the

For full report read

https://star.worldbank.org/publications/asset-recovery-handbook-guide-practitioners-second-edition

By Dr Tilak S. Fernando

Recently, Chanaka Senanayake (we are only one nation-one country, one law and one nationality & one language organisation) interviewed the Sri Lankan media. He said Sri Lanka owes International Monitory Organisations a sum of US $55 billion in loans. However, out of that US$55, a sum of US$30 billion had been defrauded out of the country. He is on record by saying that ‘he is not bothered by whom did the fleecing took place, but there is a process to get that money back to the Sri Lanka treasury.’ It is known as STAR (The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative). Chanaka Senanayake clarified that any country could seek STAR’s assistance by writing to its Secretariat Coordinator, the Chief UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Representative Or directly to the World Bank Country Director.

STAR

The Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative was formed in partnership with the World Bank and the United Nations on Drugs and Crime (in 2007 under a special Geneva Convention against State corruption). It helps particularly developing countries and aims to detect the laundering of funds illegally to facilitate in a systematic and timely manner to return such embezzled money to appropriate countries after thorough inquiries

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) receives contributions for its support to STAR from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The main aim of STAR would be to help developing countries to set up the legal framework required to claim the ‘squeezed-out’ money through corruption and deposit them back into their treasuries. It will require specific skills to pursue such assets. STAR has competent staff to deal with such arduous tasks, and they provide ‘hands-on’ training in asset tracing in international operations on matters relating to illegal procedures. STAR has helped 259 countries so far (at the time Senanayake had the interview with the Sri Lankan media), through the jurisdiction to support asset recovery cases.

The basic principle behind STAR would be to generate knowledge on the legal and technical tools used to recover any corrupted money and to promote the World’s best practices in advocating the effective implementation of Chapter 5 of the UNCAC. Therefore, Star identifies and recovers the proceeds of illegal money back to the relevant countries.

Recovery Initiative uses up-to-date international standards to ‘detect, discourage and recover’ corrupted illegal money’ in safe havens. In their operation, STAR uses ‘the Conference States Parties and their Asset recovery working group – the Financial Action Task Force with other multinational groups.

STAR helps governments, regulatory authorities, donor agencies, financial institutions, civil society organisations and developing countries. It encourages collective responsibility and action to deter, detect, and recover stolen assets. ‘Recovery Initiative’ generates knowledge on the legal and technical tools used to recover the proceeds of corruption and promotes sharing of the World’s best practices.

Addressing the media

Chanaka Senanayake addressed the Sri Lanka media, which is also on YouTube and appears to be going viral. He related an interesting story about the previous President of Guatemala, who plundered billions of United States dollars, using his brother’s names and his friends (importers). He had been up to this game since General Ferdinand E. Marcos Philippines was in power. The President of Guatemala made a large amount of money by importing food items (especially sugar) and while it was in the Guatemala harbour, the President reduced taxes on sugar so that his brothers and his friends benefitted. Although the opposition made a hue and cry, he ignored them and said all such allegations were all fabrications. However, a young female suggested conducting a protest around the President of Guatemala’s official residence and invited her friends to gather. She was amazed over one thousand people assembled, and protesters shouted that the ‘President was a fraud.’ Finally, he sacked the deputy president and various Ministers in the Cabinet to escape the protests.

Meanwhile, the United Nations intervened and proved that the President of Guatemala was a fraud. The Sri Lankan ‘Aragalaya’ on the 9th of May 2022 was akin to the Guatemala protest. However, the missing link was the absence of the United Nations in Sri Lanka! The UN intervention in Guatemala helped the country to recover the plundered money and oust the corrupted President.

In Sri Lanka, heads of Government have borrowed loans masquerading as various projects. Therefore, Chanaka Senanayake requested the Sri Lankan media to question the 225 MPs and the vociferous members of the opposition as to why they were all silent until he (Senanayake) did all the spade work to recover the fleeced dollars. He says Sri Lanka does not have to pay a single dollar to recover the swindled money and every citizen, even those born in the future will be responsible for paying back such huge loans.

Already Contacted.

Chanaka Senanayake has already contacted the World Bank and the UN Dock (where meeting records, summaries of conferences, UN reports, treaties, maps, and yearbooks are maintained). He has already documented and spoken personally with the Director of STAR and completed all the paperwork relating to the fraud of billions of Dollars with a promise of getting one million signatures to back up his petition. He displayed a report from Global Financial Integrity (GFI) to the journalists present. It was issued from a Washington-based think tank focused on illicit financial flows and corruption that revealed about US$19 billion stolen between 2005-2014 from Sri Lanka. Chanaka Senanayake believes that there would be peace and tranquillity in Sri Lanka on the completion of the STAR investigations, as people live in Hell without food and medicine and with under-nourished children.

STAR Publications.

There are several publications by STAR dealing with politically exposed persons on the preventative measures for Banking section authored by Theodore S. Greenberg, Larissa Gray, Delphine Schantz, Carolin Gardner and Michael Latham. These books are invaluable for those in the banking sector.

The books mentioned above deal particularly with politically exposed persons. These books explain in detail how the banks’ policies and good practices make it harder for corrupt politicians to deal with wire transfers, account opening with various bank accounts and beneficial ownership forms.

 ‘A guide for recovering stolen assets’ draws on the experience of a wide range of countries and legal jargon in multiple languages.

A book on ‘Barriers to Asset Recovery’ deals with eight strategic actions and other recommendations for policymakers, legislators and practitioners.

A text on ‘Towards a Global Architecture for Asset Recovery identifies some measures that national authorities and international bodies could undertake to accelerate the pace of asset return back.

Chanaka Senanayake says let any guilt-ridden person may hide in the remotest corner in any part of the World. However, STAR will be able to detect that person and recover the stolen money.

tilakfernado@gmail.com

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, September 25 (newsin.asia): Foreign Minister Ali Sabry enunciated Sri Lanka’s vision in his address to the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 24.

Pitching strongly for multilateralism, Sabry said that now is indeed a watershed moment for the international community: a moment of great challenge and opportunity. And then he went on to say that the complex and interconnected crises that we face cannot be resolved by nations acting on their own. It is an opportunity to demonstrate global solidarity, diplomacy and collective efforts, leveraging the ideas and talents of all of our people and all segments of our society to find transformative solutions which leave no one behind.”

Multilateralism is a tool for diplomacy that rises above such challenges. Conflicts, disasters and crises will not stop at passport control. Multilateralism is not without its shortcomings, but undoubtedly it provides a solid framework for resolving contemporary challenges.”

This, I would say, is the mission of this August assembly, and perhaps the singular reason for which it was established 77 years ago. And that perhaps is the reason, why Sri Lanka and many others applied to be members, to participate, to be visible, to be heard, to embellish this organization with our own flavors, perspectives, history, and knowledge to this fine amalgam and grow from the common work discussions and disputes that we join issue with.”

He then quoted a former Sri Lankan Prime Minister who committed Sri Lanka to the way of a socialist democracy, to non-alignment and to an independent foreign policy, based on friendship with all countries, irrespective of differing ideological and social systems. The Prime Minister Sabry alluded to had said: We have to build up a new society for ourselves; one as I have said, which best suits the genius of our country. We should like to get some ideas and principles from this side, and some from the other, until a coherent form of society is made up that suits our people, in the context of a changing world today. That is why we do not range ourselves on the side of this power bloc or that.”

Changes in Sri Lanka

Significant changes have taken place in Sri Lanka since the last UNGA. The external and internal challenges we face provide an opportunity for implementing political, social and economic reforms that will lead to recovery and prosperity for our people. Sri Lanka believes that this is the moment to realise our collective vision for the future; an opportunity to build a more just, sustainable and prosperous future for all Sri Lankans, ‘to build back better’. We look forward to the cooperation and support of the international community including the United Nations, as we embark on this journey.”

Following prolonged social unrest and protests in the country, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his maiden speech in Parliament last month stated, I quote, ‘I will implement social and political reforms requested by the nation.’ These measures include a review of the present procedures, the strengthening of the institutional framework of democratic governance and adoption of urgent measures to restore long-term economic stability. We have understood that this will only be possible if we engage in a strict adherence to fiscal discipline and far-reaching economic and institutional reforms. We are committed to that process.”

It is envisaged that through the proposed legislative and constitutional amendments, democratic governance will be reinforced with independent oversight institutions as well as with enhanced public scrutiny. Legal and administrative frameworks are being strengthened to ensure transparency, integrity, accountability and inclusivity in providing access to justice. A greater participation of women and youth will be ensured in this process.”

We remain cognizant of and acutely sensitive to the events that have taken place in the recent past. The Government is extremely sensitive to the socio-economic hardships faced by our people. We are pleased to have reached a staff level understanding with the IMF. We have put in place measures to protect the vulnerable segments of society and will endeavor to ensure that these economic reforms will have a minimum impact on their lives. Our institutions and society have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of very difficult circumstances.”

We unconditionally recognize the fact that one has a fundamental right to the freedom of expression, which we all treat as being sacrosanct. However, it must also be appreciated that, this freedom must be within the constitutional order, and must be exercised having regard to one’s fundamental duty to express oneself within the confines of the law.

I am pleased to inform this August assembly that Sri Lanka’s nationwide strategy in containing the human health impact of COVID-19 has been largely successful as a result of proactive and nondiscriminatory measures by the government, and the effective delivery capabilities of our strong health care infrastructure. Our vaccination drive exceeded WHO targets.”

However, as a developing country we were highly vulnerable to the economic fallout of the pandemic. The virus has opened a window to the future which we must exploit, highlighting the importance of multilateral cooperation through global health networks.”

Climate Change

As a climate-vulnerable country, climate change has had the potential to adversely impact Sri Lanka’s socio-economic progress as well as food security and livelihoods. Sri Lanka has pledged to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement and our updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) submitted to the UNFCCC last year with the aim of reducing emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We firmly believe that these commitments should not adversely impact the green economic development objectives. We also appreciate that meeting the NDC targets and executing the corresponding energy transition towards renewable and sustainable energy and energy efficiency measures will require significant climate financing.”

We cannot do this alone. We believe that in tandem with our own efforts, the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases must fulfill their commitments and assist developing nations in adaptation and mitigation measures under a common but differentiated framework. We need to work towards a just, sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery from the adverse impacts of climate change, and the energy transition.”

Turning to the ocean, as an island nation, we are acutely concerned about and sensitive to the impact of pollution and climate change on oceans. With rapid pressure on land resources, the world is turning towards the oceans for sustenance – not only for food security but also as a source of raw materials for industries and energy. We are committed to the sustainable use of the oceans and its resources in consonance with SDG 14.”

At the UNGA, in May this year, we were pleased to have led a small but significant Nature-based Solution to mitigate the impact of climate change, that led to the UN declaring 1st March as World Seagrass Day. Seagrasses are an important carbon sink and absorb significantly more carbon than tropical rain forests. There is a likelihood that the world will not reach the scheduled milestones to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. It is predicted that food and nutrition security will be at great risk. Sri Lanka is paying serious heed to these warning signs. Sri Lanka supports sustainable transformation of agriculture to a modernized sector and encourages enhanced food production to ensure food security.”

Sri Lanka has initiated the national food security programme with the dual objectives of ensuring that no citizen should suffer for the want of food and no child should be a victim of malnutrition. Adequate nutrition is a sine qua non and vital to ensure that ch ildren of all socio-economic backgrounds can enjoy good health.”

Education and Health

The provision of quality education and health care for all, is at the core of Sri Lanka’s social protection policies and provided the foundation upon which Sri Lanka was able to mitigate the effects of the ‘global learning crisis’ during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rapid conversions to digital systems of delivery of education threatened universal access, participation and survival in the education system especially in children of low-income households. Sri Lanka aims to bridge the digital divide, and ensure that no child will be left behind.”

Despite severe challenges, we will endeavor to maintain the significant progress we have made towards achieving the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Our efforts have placed us in a leading position in the Asia- Pacific region for SDG data availability, thus enhancing Sri Lanka’s capacity for evidence informed policy making for SDGs in future. We recognize that investment in human capital is an indispensable essential for the future of our country. It is no surprise,  that Sri Lanka is ranked in the high Human Development category, occupying rank 73 out of 191 countries globally, and is the highest in the region.”

Challenges to SDG

Having said that, we are nonetheless concerned that current challenges have disrupted progress. The UN Secretary-General has in a serious warning made reference to rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals”. This warning is followed by an observation by the UNDP, that for the first time in 32 years, the Human Development Index has declined globally for two years consecutively.”

Geopolitical Tensions  

Geopolitical tensions among nations have heightened creating insecurity and polarization among States. Agreed frameworks for arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament have become fragile. At the 10th Review Conference of the NPT concluded recently, which remains the centerpiece of the global nuclear disarmament and on proliferation regime, we were regrettably unable to arrive once again at a consensus outcome.”

While we address contemporary challenges, we must not forget the lingering issue of Palestine. While restating Sri Lanka’s consistent and principled position that the Palestinian people have a legitimate and inalienable right to the natural resources in their territory and to statehood, we further recognize the legitimate security concerns of both the Palestinian and Israeli people and an urgent resolution of the matter on the basis of the UN Resolution on the attainment of the two-state solution.”

Cyberspace

The absence of a regulatory supervisory regime concerning the use of new technologies in cyberspace and in Artificial Intelligence needs to be addressed urgently. Their ability to cause large-scale disruption, disinformation and undermine scientifically established findings is of real concern; a danger we all face. Sri Lanka, which is implementing the nation’s first Information and Cyber Security Strategy, has identified the importance of establishing a partnership-based approach to protect cyber space in order to confront multinational cyber threats.

Terrorism

Sri Lanka was a victim of terrorism for several decades. Terrorists’ choice of targets, methods of financing and radicalization as well as the use of new technologies as weapons has been constantly evolving. Legislative measures and law enforcement mechanisms must be put in place to counter radical ideologies leading to violent extremism and to curb the terrorists’ use and abuse of the internet and social media platforms. At the same time it is necessary to develop the critical thinking capacity of youth, strengthen community bonds, foster a sense of civic responsibility, and build community resilience to mitigate the effects and influences of violent extremist ideology leading to terrorism.”

As our contribution to maintaining international peace and security, Sri Lanka looks forward to enhancing our participation in UN Peacekeeping Operations with professional men and women to serve as UN Peacekeepers. I take this opportunity to honor the thousands of men and women who, for decades, have helped countries navigate the difficult path from conflict to peace under the Blue Helmet. We have taken many measures to ensure that Sri Lankan Peacekeepers with a wealth of experience in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations, are trained and equipped with theoretical and practical knowledge of all necessary functions of peacekeeping, including the promotion and protection of human rights.”

The 193 nations represented here jointly share the responsibility to establish justice, to maintain peace and ensure progress in a world that is in trouble as never before. We have a Charter and a formidable body of international law inclusive of our supreme law of the Constitution of the Republic and other local statutes. We are acutely conscious of the fact that notwithstanding all these sophistications, multipronged challenges remain.”

The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to overcoming these challenges. It is to that commitment that Sri Lanka pledges today, in the sincere hope that we will exploit the crisis that is at hand, build back better, leaving no one behind and rise to new horizons of freedom and progress.”

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United States of America

On September 23, 2022 local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Wang Yi expressed, China and Sri Lanka are each other’s strategic cooperative partner. The two countries have always shared weal and woe and sincerely helped each other. This year, which marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sri Lanka and the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Rubber-Rice Pact, is of great significance for inheriting the past and ushering in the future. China is ready to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward the traditional friendship, consolidate strategic mutual trust and deepen and expand pragmatic cooperation. Congratulations to Sri Lanka on its initial results in stabilizing the situation and easing difficulties. China has provided medicines, rice, fuel and other emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka, and will continue to offer assistance within our capacity to help Sri Lanka overcome temporary difficulties.

Sabry said that the Sri Lanka-China friendship has a solid foundation. China has provided strong support for Sri Lanka’s economic and social development for a long time. In particular, China has offered timely help to Sri Lanka when it encountered difficulties. Sri Lanka will never forget that. China is an important development partner of Sri Lanka, and Chinese enterprises have made positive contributions to Sri Lanka’s efforts to accelerate development. The so-called “China’s debt trap” claim is an entirely groundless rumor. Sri Lanka welcomes investment from all countries, including China, and will strive to ensure the safety and reasonable returns of foreign investment. He thanked China for assisting Sri Lankan students in returning to China to resume studies.

Wang Yi said, the cooperation between China and Sri Lanka is part of South-South cooperation based on equality and mutual benefit. Certain countries created and spread the narrative of “debt trap”. But by so doing, they bring developing countries an “underdevelopment trap” in essence. China and Sri Lanka will continue the  understanding of and support to each other, and stand firmly together on the issues of sovereignty, independence and national dignity.

The two sides agreed to jointly advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and give play to the effects of flagship projects such as the Hambantota Port and the Colombo Port City, so as to boost Sri Lanka’s economic recovery.

The two sides will speed up negotiations on a free trade agreement and strive to reach a deal at an early date, so as to inject strong confidence and stable expectations into economic and trade cooperation.

Courtesy Adaderana

China and Sri Lanka have agreed to speed up the negotiation process and strive for an early conclusion of a free trade agreement, thereby boosting the confidence in and stabilizing the expectations for their economic and trade cooperation, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Ali Sabry on Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

As strategic cooperative partners, Wang said, China and Sri Lanka have always shared weal and woe and sincerely helped each other.

This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Sri Lanka and the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Rubber-Rice Pact, which is an opportunity to build on their past achievements and take them forward, Wang said.

China stands ready to work with Sri Lanka to strengthen their traditional friendship, consolidate strategic mutual trust, and deepen and expand practical cooperation, he added.

Wang congratulated Sri Lanka on its progress in stabilizing the situation and alleviating the difficulties in the country. China has provided medicine, rice, fuel and other emergency humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka and will continue to help the country overcome its temporary difficulties within its capacity, he said.

For his part, Sabry highlighted the solid foundation of the friendship between Sri Lanka and China.

Sri Lanka will never forget China’s strong support over the years to its economic and social development, especially when the South Asian country encountered difficulties, he noted.

China is an important development partner of Sri Lanka, and Chinese enterprises have made contributions to Sri Lanka’s growth, he said, underlining that the so-called Chinese debt trap” is an utterly groundless rumor.

Sri Lanka welcomes investments from all countries including China, and will ensure the security and reasonable returns of the investments, Sabry noted. He also thanked China for helping Sri Lankan students resume study in China.

China-Sri Lanka cooperation is South-South cooperation based on equality and mutual benefit, Wang said. The narrative of debt trap” created and spread by certain countries is essentially a trap of underdevelopment for developing countries, he added.

China and Sri Lanka will continue to render mutual understanding and support, and will stand firmly together on issues of sovereignty, independence and national dignity, Wang said.

Both sides agreed to jointly promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and help boost Sri Lanka’s economic recovery by leveraging the Hambantota Port, Colombo Port City and other flagship projects.

The two sides will speed up the negotiation process and strive for an early conclusion of a free trade agreement, thereby boosting the confidence in and stabilizing the expectations for their economic and trade cooperation.

Source: Xinhua

–Agencies

Courtesy Hiru News

A new consignment of medicine worth 12.5 million RMB (650 million LKR) donated by China under its 500 million RMB emergency humanitarian assistance has departed Chengdu, China and is scheduled to arrive at Colombo Bandaranaike International Airport on Friday (23rd) evening via a charter flight of Sichuan Airlines.

With a total volume of 60.04 cubic meters and weight of 14.62 metric tons, the consignment consists of:
1) 100,800 PF.Syrs of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Alpha Injection 4000IU<br />2) 270,000 doses of Rabies Vaccine for Human Use (Vero Cell) Freeze-dried
3) 4,500 bottles of Fat Emulsion Injection (C14-24)
4) 2,400 vials of Pemetrexed Disodium for Injection-100mg
5) 1,520 vials of Pemetrexed Disodium for Injection-500mg

In the coming months, more medicines and medical supplies with a total value of 5 billion rupees will be handed over to Sri Lanka and delivered to hospitals and patients across the island. The Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka will continue working closely with the Sri Lankan authorities to provide more assistance to the Sri Lankan people who are affected by the ongoing difficulties.

Courtesy Hiru News

Sri Lanka expects the International Monetary Fund board to approve a $2.9 billion loan by year-end, officials from the country’s central bank told investors during a virtual presentation on Friday, sources participating in the event said.

Courtesy Adaderana

The police have arrested at least 84 individuals today following the protest organized by the Socialist Youth Union this evening Sep. 24).

According to the police, two Buddhist monks and four females are also among the arrestees.

The national organizer of the union, Eranga Gunasekara has also been arrested by the police.

Earlier this evening, the police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse the protesters at Dean’s Road in Maradana.

The protest march commenced at the Lipton Roundabout and proceeded towards the Maradana area through Dean’s Road to reach the Colombo Fort railway station.

Meanwhile, seven protesters have been admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo for treatment. However, they are not in critical condition, the police added.

 Lanka Lead News

අරගලයට නව ජවයක් – තරුණ බලය යළි කොළඹට” යන තේමාව යටතේ සමාජවාදී තරුණ සංගමය අද (24) කොළඹදී සංවිධානය කර තිබූ විරෝධතාව අතරතුර කලහකාරී ලෙස හැසිරුණු විරෝධතාකරුවන් 84 දෙනෙක් පොලිස් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන තිබේ.

කොළඹ පුරහල අසලින් ගමන් ආරම්භ කළ පාගමන කොළඹ කොටුව දක්වා ගමන් කිරීමට සැලසුම් කර තිබූවද විරෝධතාකරුවන් ඩීන්ස් පාර ඔස්සේ මරදාන දෙසට ගමන් කිරීමට උත්සාහ කිරීමේදී පොලීසිය විසින් සෞඛ්‍ය අමාත්‍යංශය ඉදිරිපිටදී කදුළු ගෑස් සහ අධි පීඩන ජල ප්‍රහිර එල්ල කරමින් පාගමන විසුරුවා හැරීමට පියවර ගත්තේය.

විරෝධතාවය අතරවාරයේ තුවාල ලැබූ විරෝධතාකරුවන් 7 දෙනෙකු ප්‍රතිකාර සඳහා කොළඹ ජාතික රෝහලට ඇතුළත් කර ඇති අතර අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පුද්ගලයින් අතර ස්වාමීන් වහන්සේ දෙනමක්, පිරිමි පුද්ගලයින් 78 දෙනෙකු සහ කාන්තාවන් සිව්දෙනෙකු සිටින බව පොලීසිය සඳහන් කරයි.

සමාජවාදී තරුණ සංගමයේ ජාතික සංවිධායක එරංග ගුණසේකර ද අත්අඩංගුවට ගත් පිරිස අතර වන බව වාර්තා වේ.

By Shahid Mehmood Courtesy The Island

HE resumption of the IMF package, that was badly needed to avert an external payments crisis, has reignited passions. As most countrymen wrestle with the question of whether or not the Fund is a tool of neocolonialism to keep countries like Pakistan sedated and subservient, what is lost in the debate is why we always wind up at its door. Let’s take a peek.

Energy is the relevant sector to get this conversation going as it constitutes the largest portion of our import bill. Economic growth and economic mobility depend on energy, whose demand rises as economies expand (along with other factors like population growth). A large portion of Pakistan’s entire energy edifice is dependent on imported fuels, given our meagre internal energy sources.

Aside from raw material, the machines and equipment underpinning our power production are also imported — from turbines at hydel power plants to equipment at LNG, coal and furnace oil plants. So, not only are we importing raw materials, we are also importing services to sustain them over the long term. All these have to be paid for in dollars.

Read: Wanted — a non-partisan economic plan

Here, let me address a misconception, that ‘indigenous’ sources of power will take care of the matter. Think again. These can’t be utilised without outside help. Decades after the construction of the Mangla and Tarbela dams, we still need foreign experts to solve critical issues related to them. Consider the Neelum-Jhelum run-of-the-river hydel power project, which has extracted gazillions from Pakistanis under the label of ‘surcharge’. Meant to utilise an ‘indigenous’ source of energy, hardly a year later it is down due to a ‘fault’ that required the services of foreign experts because our own ‘experts’ could not identify it. (It meant inflicting losses in the billions on consumers due to power production from expensive, imported fuel).

We are importing not only raw materials, but also the services to sustain them over the long term.The case of other indigenous sources is somewhat similar: we cannot build nuclear power plants without foreign help; we had to hire foreign experts to determine whether our coal plants could use Thar’s indigenous coal, etc.

This is not a revelation: there has been recognition for long that Pakistan creates problems for itself that, in turn, generate a demand for dollars, which we are usually short of. The Economic Survey of 1980-81, for example, recognised that long-gestation projects under the public investment garb was the main reason for saddling Pakistan with an external debt of $9bn. Yet, PSDPs refuse to budge! It’s still about grand projects like roads that incentivise an increase in vehicular traffic, in turn creating more demand for dollar imports, as the main components of the products of our highly protected car manufacturers are imported.

Let’s move to the role of public regulations. A few of endless examples will suffice. We have this infinite fascination with horizontal sprawls, complemented by ‘housing societies’ in the public and private sector. Aside from cities becoming administratively difficult to govern, a result of these endless sprawls is the need for more vehicles, leading to greater demand for energy products such as oil and diesel. There has, arguably, never been an estimate of the increase in energy imports that accrued to the country due to this endless expansion. But if ever such an exercise is carried out, the results will make other import-related issues — like IPPs — look puny.

These endless sprawls have resulted in millions of acres of fertile agricultural land being gobbled up over time. Given that more than 100 agricultural ‘research’ institutes are producing little or nothing in terms of higher land and crop productivity, complemented by a rapidly expanding population, there is little choice but to import food staples to meet our food requirements — so much for being an ‘agricultural country’.

Another good example: the illogical fascination with uniform pricing. In terms of the ultimately imported energy products, it leads to waste. Pakistan’s fast-depleting natural gas reserves are an apt illustration of this phenomenon. First, it was Balochistan, and now it is Sindh whose natural gas reserves are dwindling fast. There has, historically speaking, always been an incentive to consume it inefficiently because they have been under-priced, primarily due to uniform prices that are way below the market prices. Had the pricing been market-based from the start, there might not have arisen the need for importing expensive LNG or coal, which severely taxes our dollar earnings.

Moving away from big-ticket items, even the micro level does not inspire much confidence. Consider the common office chair. Some time back, they were in short supply, carrying a premium. That’s because they are merely ‘assembled’ here from imported parts. Most other products fare little better.

To summarise, Pakistan’s economic edifice is built in a manner that, unless we import, our economic activity will come to a standstill. And as GDP inches up, we end up importing more — to the extent that our dollar earnings will never be enough to pay for our imports. So whether it’s the IMF or anyone else, Pakistan will sooner or later knock at their door for dollars.

How to change all this? Before someone presents ‘import substitution’ as the Holy Grail, God save us from that predicament. Our earlier experiments only ended up producing rent-seeking seths and the likes of the car industry that sells low-quality tin for millions — the promised ‘localisation’ never happened. For a start, enough of brick-and-mortar ‘plans’ that create more liabilities than assets, besides raising pampered generations of subsidy-sucking businessmen under the banner of ‘infant industry’ and ‘qaumi mufaad’ (national interest). Neither do we need NOCs or hundreds of regulatory agencies to scare away foreign and domestic investors.

The way out of our dollar cash-flow troubles lies in greater global integration and trade, promoting competition and developing our human capital base. For a change, take the government out of business and let Schumpeterian creative destruction prevail on a level playing field. (The Dawn/ANN)

The writer is an economist and research fellow at PIDE.

By Shamindra Ferdinando Courtesy The Island

Sugar tax scam: National Audit Office estimates Rs 16.7 bn revenue loss

State Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has asked for a report from the Inland revenue Department on the income tax returns of sugar importers who have allegedly benefited from an unprecedented reduction of duty on a kilo of sugar on 13 Oct., 2020.

The gazette pertaining to the duty reduction (Special Commodity Levy) from Rs 50 per kilo to 25 cents was issued by the Finance Ministry during the tenure of the then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, who also served as the Finance Minister. S. R. Attygalle served as the Finance Secretary at the time.

State Minister Siyambalapitiya revealed his decision to call for a report during a visit to the Inland Revenue head office on Thursday (22).The Ministry spokesperson quoted Minister Siyambalapitiya as having told Inland Revenue Department officials that losses caused by the duty reduction couldn’t be recovered by re-imposing the duty even if a fraud had been perpetrated in the process. The State Minister was further quoted as having said that it wouldn’t be an easy task to punish those responsible for

the duty reduction. Those responsible could claim that their intention was to bring down the price of sugar, the SLFPer has said.The State Minister has intervened in the sugar tax scam in the wake of the National Audit Office recommending the recovery of revenue losses from those sugar importers. The National Audit Office has conducted a special audit to examine whether consumers benefited at all as a result of the sharp reduction of sugar tax.

The special audit revealed that within four months of reducing the tax (14th October 2020 to 8th February 2021) the cash-strapped government was deprived of tax revenue of a whopping Rs. 16.763 Billion.The audit investigation named one of the main sugar importers recorded a massive profit of some 1,222%.

The report underscored that the tax reduction did not provide relief to the people, but greatly benefited the importers and traders.The former Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance SLPP MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa declared that consumers didn’t benefit from the duty reduction.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry on the sidelines of the general debate of the UNGA 77 in New York on September 23. 

Wang Yi said that China and Sri Lanka established the relations of strategic partnership of cooperation, and the two countries have always shared weal and woe and treated each other with all sincerity. This year marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations and the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Rubber-Rice Pact, which is of great significance to inherit the past and usher in the future. 

China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to carry forward traditional friendship, consolidate strategic mutual trust, and deepen and expand practical cooperation. China has provided Sri Lanka with emergency humanitarian assistance such as medicines, rice and fuel, and will continue to provide Sri Lanka with assistance within its capacity to overcome temporary difficulties. 

Sabry said that Sri Lanka-China friendship has a solid foundation. China has provided strong support to Sri Lanka’s economic and social development for a long time, especially when Sri Lanka encountered difficulties, which Sri Lanka will bear in mind. China is an important development partner of Sri Lanka, and Chinese enterprises have made positive contributions to the accelerated development of Sri Lanka. The so-called “Chinese debt trap” argument is a completely untenable rumor. 

Sri Lanka welcomes and will make efforts to ensure investment safety and reasonable returns from countries including China. Sabry thanks to China for providing assistance to Sri Lankan students returning to China for study. 

Courtesy Adaderana

Aeroflot, Russia’s state-owned airline, has decided to resume flights from Moscow to Sri Lanka with effect from October 09, 2022. 

Starting from October, Aeroflot will resume regular flights to Colombo, Bangkok, and Goa. Flights will be operated on Airbus A330 aircraft,” the airlines said in a statement.

From October 09, the airline will resume Colombo flights, which will initially operate twice a week.

From October 30, Aeroflot will re-launch seven weekly flights to Bangkok, and from November 02, the airline will operate up to three weekly services to Goa. 

The sale of tickets for flights to Colombo and Bangkok is open, and the sale for tickets for flights to Goa will be launched shortly,” the airline said further.

The up-to-date schedule is available on Aeroflot’s website.