Shenali D Waduge

Everyone is parroting system change but everyone is reluctant to point out where to start the change.

The present parliament is already elected. We cannot make changes to the present Parliament. But we can make sure the next Parliament makes the changes we want.

What are the changes that we want.

1. Re-allocating seats proportionately for each province by population (delimitation commission) – some provinces having undue number of seats enabling people with few thousands to enter Parliament.

1. We are all in unison that the current electoral system of preferential representation is a failure. People with a few thousand votes enter Parliament and become kingmakers & deal makers. This has to stop by reintroducing the First Past the Post System 

1. Criteria to become a MP to stand for Parliament should be a basic degree / for other entities it should be Advanced Level.

1. Mandatory to declare assets & liabilities

1. No criminal record or prison sentence – anyone exonerated may apply

1. Anyone to stand for election must be resident of area contesting for minimum 10 years

1. Status of National List – recommended that the 29 seats be given only to professionals who would act as an advisory body divided into key subjects (finance/Health/education etc) – they would not be given status of a MP. This way they will not hold any Ministerial portfolio. As professionals they are not politicians and should be utilized for their expert knowledge for strategy only.

We can add to this criteria but the basic requirement is to make the system change to bring in direct voting system where MPs are accountable to the people who vote for them. This can be done only via the First Past the Post system.

The allocation of seats needs to also be done so as to have equitable representation from a province.

More importantly, all those bellowing to remove 225 are completely silent about how to get about CHANGING THE SYSTEM and where the changes should be made to start off with.

Thus, this should be priority if people are serious about dealing with corruption, ensuring quality people enter Parliament & guaranteeing proper representation proportionate to a province

While the slogans and placards calling for system change are many, very few have presented a new electoral system that is representative of the population, where MPs are directly elected and are accountable to the People and puts to an end the current manner that corrupt deal makers & kingpins enter Parliament.

Shenali D Waduge

Shenali D Waduge

It was clear that 19a was drafted taking into consideration the President in power & the hurriedly appointing Ranil Wickremasinghe who was Opposition Leader as PM without removing the sitting PM (D M Jayaratne) The legality of this remains unanswered. 18 FR petitions were filed in SC. There were amendments to amendments with little time for Counsels to study before making submissions. Though public had a week to study as per Article 121, they did not get access to the latest version. This was a FR violation of the people’s right. Article 122 gives SC 24 to 72hours for Urgent Bills and if Article 121 is applied the Court can take 3 weeks for deliberation & until such time the Bill cannot be taken in Parliament. This was why 19a was rushed through Parliament as an Urgent Bill.

19a is full of confusions & contradictions.

19a was presented as an Urgent Bill and passed giving little time for People to object

19a that was passed differed to what was sent to Supreme Court for determination

• Why did 19a include age limit of 35 years to contest as President?
• Why was Presidential term limited to 2 terms
• Why was dual citizen clause inserted (was it in national interest or to deny anyone contesting – this is an important insertion but it was never properly enacted as even the Election Commission did not include provision to question if anyone was a dual citizen before accepting nominations)

19a clipped President’s Powers to PM & confusions 

• President cannot dissolve Parliament at his discretion & could dissolve only after 4 ½ years (as was done earlier – the disadvantage of this can be seen currently, where with the resignation of PM Mahinda, Parliament should have been dissolved & a new Govt elected instead of a person coming through the backdoor becoming PM)
• President could not remove the PM – only Parliament could
• President had to take advice from PM in appointing or removing Cabinet/non Cabinet/Deputy Ministers
• Contradictions in Clause 9 – Article 43(2), 44(1), 45(1) and 46(3)(a) contradicted with Article 43(1), 44(2) – first says President has to take advice in appointments & removals but second says President may choose to consult on appointments & removals. It also contradicts with Article 43(3) and 44(3) which says President may at any time change subjects/functions of cabinet/non cabinet & composition of Cabinet
• Presidential Immunity removed & subject to FR jurisdiction in SC
• President could not submit to a People’s Referendum any Bill rejected by Parliament
• President could not assign himself any subject/function not assigned to a Cabinet Minister
• 19a says President may not hold a portfolio – yet President is Head of Govt, head of Cabinet & Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces! As Head of the Cabinet he is a Cabinet Member. Voters gave executive powers to a President not for him to be a ceremonial President.
• If President decides on subjects of MPs and their powers & President appoints all MPs what is the point in inserting President ‘may not’ hold a portfolio in 19a?
• As per Article 30 the President is Head of the State, Head of the Executive & Govt, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces & has right to declare war & peace, however Section 51 of 19a says only the current President will hold Ministry of Defense. So in a future government though President is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to declare war he has to get the approval of the Defense Minister while the Defense Minister is appointed on recommendation of the PM. The PM cannot direct the Defense Minister to fight a war because the President can only decide that! 
• Article 154 allowing provision for President to dissolve Provincial Council was attempted to be slyly transferred from President to the PM/Parliament via Article 33a(2) of 19a – this was aligned with the calls for a separate state.
• As per Article 43(2) of 19a President can only appoint Ministers on advice of PM. President is not a MP & cannot hold a Ministry. Yet, Article 30(1) says President is Head of Executive, Head of Cabinet, Head of Government, Commander in Chief of Armed Forces YET Article 42(3) says PM is Head of Cabinet. If PM is Head of Cabinet, how can President attend it?
• Maithripala Sirisena held 3 ministries – Defense, Mahaweli Development & Environment but as per 19a these portfolios were only valid for sitting President & not future Presidents. How can there be a constitutional amendment applicable to only 1 President!

President has to seek opinion of PM to appoint specific Ministers, but

Article 46(1) of 19a allows him to decide on the number of Ministers with restrictions

Article 43(1) of 19a allows him to decide subjects & functions of Ministers

Article 43(3) of 19a allows him to change functions, subjects & composition of the Cabinet without approval of PM – this means the President can keep changing Cabinet Ministers as he likes.

Article 50(a) of 19a allows President to appoint all Secretaries to Ministries

Article 42(3) of 19a President is a member of the Cabinet & Head of the Cabinet. Though he is a member & head of Cabinet, the President cannot hold a Ministry but he has to hold Cabinet meetings!

Article 33(2) of 19a – President makes Policy Statement of the Government in Parliament. What if the President is from a different party to the party holding majority in Government which means the PM should be making the policy statement though President is Head of State. What if the President & PM disagree on the policy – the President has the powers to keep on changing & appointing Secretaries of his choice & Ministers would have to work with these Secretaries.

Where conflict can arise: The PM decides who should be Minister but the subjects & functions of these Ministers are decided by the President as well as the Secretaries assigned to the Ministries.

Powers of the  President is curbed by 19a – he remains answerable to Parliament (Section 6 of 19a) in exercising, performing, discharging his duties including public security.

The Executive President is answerable to Parliament but Parliament is not answerable to anyone & PM is not subject to any sort of review.

19a does not provide any limitation to the PM’s powers.

Other Confusions & Ambiguities in 19a

• Cabinet & Non-Cabinet could not exceed 30 while Deputy Ministers could not exceed 40 however a ‘national government’ allows Cabinet to have 45 and Deputy Ministers 55 but would be applicable only to the 2015-2020 Government.
• The 7 member Constitutional Council which included 3 eminent persons who would decide nominees for Independent Commissions & AG/IGP/Ombudsman/Secretary General of Parliament, CJ and Judges of other courts.
• Constitutional Council required 5 members to be present for quorum but Chairman did not have vote unless for an equal vote, which invariably meant that Chairman would always end up voting.
• While President’s immunity was removed CC which was making decisions/approvals & recommendations was made immune from any legal action & no one could question the decisions of the CC.
• CC was allowed to reject nominee of President even without valid reasons – this meant President could keep sending names & CC could reject them.
• Independent Commissions re-introduced. The bias of the ‘independent commission’ was evident from the behavior of the Election Commission member Hoole, who even went to file FR cases against a MP. Election Commission was not answerable to anyone while other Independent Commissions were answerable to Parliament. Role of Election Commission is not given & not mentioned in standing orders in Parliament.
• Election Commission lack of ‘independence’ was seen in its inaction while PC elections were postponed for 2 years by the Commission. So-called independent commission member Hoole even filed FR against holding elections!
• Right to Access of Information was included in 19a but contents of the Bill was not publicized!

Good aspects of 19a

• Inclusion of dual citizenship denial to be a MP or President
• Removal of Urgent Bills’ used to pass legislation (Bill has to be made available to public & given 14 days before placed on the Order Paper of Parliament – prior to 19a it was only 7 days)

Major fallacies of 19a

• While CC nominated IGP and President appointed him – there was no clause regarding his termination. Following the Easter Sunday, the IGP could only be sent on compulsory leave & a deputy IGP was appointed.
• Impediment to democracy (will of the People) placing restrictions on the dissolution of Parliament – allowing to dissolve Parliament in 4 ½ years of a 5 year term has no logic especially in instances where a Government is not functioning to the people’s wishes & people appeal to the President to take action – he cannot because of this 19a clause preventing him from dissolving Parliament.

19a & Supreme Court

Article 80(3) imposes a ban on Supreme Court from reviewing a law after it has been passed and no court or tribunal can inquire into it.

19a was passed no differently to how 13a was passed. 13a had a 9member bench with CJ Sarvananda. 3 judges upheld 13a, 5 judges claimed it contravened Article 2 of the Constitution, Judge Palinda Ranasinghe impugned certain provisions which AG Shiva Pasupathi made amendments to in the Bill & was hastily passed. 13a remains a problem for this reason, the very reason why 19a is full of ambiguities as well.

Article 2 of 19a attempts to replace Article 4(b) of Constitution providing President executive powers including defense. This has to be read alongside Article 33a of 19a which makes President act on advice of PM or a Minister authorized by PM.

Though 19a as per Article 2(b) says executive powers are with the President, in reality it is negated by Article 33a(2) which gives executive powers to the PM & not the President. This is a violation of the legal maxim ‘delegatus non potest delegare’ which in other words means delegated power cannot be re-delegated (thus the President cannot delegate powers given to him to the PM) – ‘shall’ is used as a mandatory requirement for the President in the 19^th amendment (Articles 33A (2) and (3) reduces the President to a mere puppet in the hands of the PM and questions the duplicity in including a clause that says the President exercises the People’s power.

Party leaders objected to the clause that required President to act on advice of PM & it was removed from gazette presented to parliament but was included in draft sent to Supreme Court.

Shenali D Waduge

සුදත් ගුනසේකර මහනුවර

“මේ රට සින්හල බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍යයකි” යන මූලික සම්මුතිය ඇතුළු පහතසඳහන් ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්ති පිළිගෙන ඒවා ක්‍රියාත්මක කරණ බවට මහනුවර ශ්‍රී දළදා මාලිගාවේදී ත්‍රයිනිකායික නායක හිමිවරුන් ප්‍රමුඛ සන්ඝ සභාවක් ඉදිරියේදී දිවුරා පොරොන්දු නොවන කිසිවෙකුට මේ රටේ කිසිදාක පාලන බලය නොදිය යුතුය”

                                           1 කොටස

එක්සත්, සව්භාග්‍යමත් ප්‍රබල ශ්‍රී ලාන්කික ජාතියක් ගොඩ නැගීම සඳහා මේ රටේ සියළු දෙනාම ඒකමතිකව පිළිගත යුතු ජාතික  සම්මුති මාලාවක් පහත දක්වම

1″මේ රට සින්හල බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍යයකි

2.ශ්‍රි ලන්කාව ඒකචත්‍ර රාජ්‍යයකි

ලෝක ඉතිහාශය ආරම්භවූ දා සිටම ඉන්දීය සාගරයේ පිහිටි සින්හලද්වීපය නම්වූ, වර්ගසැතපුම් 25,332  (65,610 කි.මී)පමණ වු මේ දිවයින, ඒකචත්ත්‍ර රාජ්‍යයකි.

3 රටේ නම සින්හලේ (ලන්කාදීප) විය යුතුය

 ක්‍රි.පූ. 543 සිටම අඛණ්ඩව පැවති පරිදි මේ රටේ නම සින්හලේ/(ශ්‍රී ළන්කාව) විය යුතුය. ඒ හැර ඉලන්කයි, ඊළම්  ආදි වෙනත් වචනවලින් එය හැඳින්වීම රාජද්‍රෝහී අපරාධයක් වශයෙන් සැළකිය යුතුය.දෙමළෙන් ලන්කා යන අරුතින් ඉලන්කෙයි කියාද සින්හලයින්ගේ රට යන අරුතින් ඊළම් කියාද දකුනු ඉන්දියානුවන් අතර භාවිතා වී ඇත. ඉතිහාශය පුරාම නම් 23 කින් පමණ විවිධ ජාතීන් විසින්  (තම්බපන්නී වශයෙන් එක්වරක් හැර ) මේ රට හඳුන්වා ඇත්තේ  සින්හලයින්ගේ රට යන අර්ථයෙන්මය. සිලෝන් (Ceylon) කියා ඉන්ග්‍රීසීන් කීවේද සින්හල්යින්ගේ රට යන අර්ථයෙන්මය.

1815 මාර්තු 2 උඩරට ගීවිසුම අනුව ඉන්ග්‍රීසීන්ට භාරදී ඇත්තේ සින්හලේ නම්වූ රාජධානියයි. එබැවින් ඇත්ත වශයෙන්ම රටේ නිවැරදි නම ලබාගත යුතුව තිබුණේ,1948 දී රටේ පාලනය භාරගත් අමණ සින්හල නායකයින් විසින්මය.

4  මේ රට ලෝකයේ තිබෙන එකම සින්හල බෞද්ධ රාජ්‍යයයි”.

කි පු. 307 සිට 1815 දක්වා නිලවශයෙනුත් එදා සිට අද දක්වාම නිලනොවන ලෙසිනුත් අඛන්ඩව වසර 2329 පැවති පරිදි මේ රට සින්හල බෞද්ධයින්ගේ පරම මාතෲ භූමිය බව මෙරට වාසී සෑමදෙනාම මෙන්ම සමස්ථ ලෝකවාසීන්ම අවිවාදයෙන් පිළිගතයුතුය

තවද කිසිම අවස්ථාවකදි කිසිවෙකුට ඒ තුල වෙනම රාජ්‍යයක් ඉල්ලීමට අයිතියක්ද නැත. එබඳු ප්‍රකාශ කිරීම හෝ ක්‍රියාවන්වල යෙදීම   රාජද්‍රෝහී වරදකි.

මේ අතර ඉතිහාශයේ වරින් වර මෙරටට  පැමිණ දැනට එහි පුරවැසියන් වශයෙන් ජීවත්වන දෙමළ, මුස්ලිම් සහ වෙනත් සුළුජන කොටස්, මේ බිමෙහි වසර 2500 කට වැඩි කාලයක් පුරා ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය බිහිකොට එහි  පරම උරුමකරුවන් වශයෙන් සිටි සින්හලයින් සමඟ සුහදව ජීවත් වී ඇත. ජාතියේ උරුමයට තර්ජනයක් නොවන තුරු ඔවුන්ද සින්හල අපගේම සොහොයුරන් වශයෙන් අපි සැමදා සලකමු. කෙසේ වුවද අපගේ එම පරම උරුමයට ඔවුන් යම් කිසිදිනක වචනයෙන් හෝ ක්‍රියාවෙන් තර්ජනයක් නොවිය යුතුය. එමනිසාම ඔවුන් කිසිවෙකුට මේ රටතුල අයිතිහාසික නිජබිම් හෝ වෙනම රාජ්‍යයන් ඉල්ලිමට කිසිදු අයිතියක්ද නැත. මේ රටේ ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ දැන්වත් ඒ බව ව්‍යව වස්ථා  ගත කළ යුතුය.  එසේම සැමදෙනාම ඒ බව පැහැදිළිව වටහාගත යුතුය.

5 මේ රටේ ජාතිය සින්හල

 ක්‍රි පූ.548 සිට අඛණ්ඩව පැවති පරිදි මේ රටේ ජාතිය සින්හල වියයුතුය. දෙමළ, මුස්ලිම් සහ වෙනත් බෙර්ගර්, මැලේ ආදී ජනකොටස් යනු මේ සින්හලයින්ගේ රටට විටින් විට පැමිණි, සින්හලේ රජවරුන්ගේ සහ පසුව මේ රටේ පාලකයින්ගේ අනුග්‍රහය ඇතිව මෙහි පදින්චි පුරවැසිකම ලබාගත් සන්ක්‍රමනික ජනවර්ග පමණි. ඔවුන් අතීතයේදී කිසිම අවස්ථාවක මේ රට තුල වෙනම ජාතීන් වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශ කොට නැත. එබැවින් වර්ථමානයේද නොකළ යුතුය. එසේම එවැනි ප්‍රකාශ කිරිම හෝ කටයුතුවල යෙදීම රාජද්‍රෝහී අපරාධයක් වශයෙන් නීතිගත කළයුතුය

6 රටේ රාජ්‍ය භාෂාව සින්හල විය යුතුය

1978 විවස්ථාවේ තිබුණු පරිදි රාජ්‍ය භාෂාව නැවතත් සින්හල විය යුතුය. (ඒ අනුව ජේ.ආර් ගේ දේශද්‍රෝහී සහ ජාතිද්‍රෝහී 16 වන ව්‍යවස්ථා සන්ශෝධනයද  අහෝසි කළයුතුය). මේ රටේ මුළු ජනගහනයෙන් 70-2 % ක් සින්හල වන අතර මුළු ජනගහනයෙන් 99 % කටම සින්හල කථා කිරීම හා ලිවීම කළ හැක.ඉන්දියාවේ දෙමළ ජනයා  7 කෝටියක් සිටියත් දෙමල භාෂාව, එහි  රාජ්‍ය භාෂාවක්ද නොවේ. එසේ තිබියදී මේ රටේ දෙමළ මිනිසුන් මෙන්ම ඉන්දියාවද දෙමළ භාඅෂාවත් රාජ්‍ය භාෂාවක් කරණ මෙන් අරගල කරණුයේ කුමණ පදණමක් මත දැයි මට නොතේරේ. ලෝකයේ පෞරාණික ශිෂ්ඨාචාරයන් ඇති සෑම රටකම ජාතිය නම්කර ඇත්තේ එම රටේ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය බිහිකළ ප්‍රජාවගේ මව් භාෂාව නමින්ය.

ඒ අනුව මේ රටේ ශිෂ්ඨාචාරය බිහිකළ සින්හළයින්ගේ භාෂාව වූ සින්හල නමින් මේ රටද නම්කළ යුතුය. එය ඔවුන්ගේ පරම ජන්ම අයිතියයි.

7 මේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය ආගම බුද්ධාගම විය යුතුය.

ක්‍රි.පූ 307 සිට 1815 වනතුරු රටේ රාජ්‍ය ආගම වශයෙනුත් 1815 සිට අද දක්වාම රටේ ජනගහනයෙන් 70.2 % කට වැඩි පිරිසකගේ ආගම වශයෙනුත් පවතින බැවින් නිළ වශයෙන් රජය ඒ බව පිලිගත යුතුය. ඉතිරි 30% න්  මුහුදුබඩ ප්‍රදේශවල 5%  කතෝලික කලේ 1505 න් පසු සුද්දන් විසිනි. දෙමල සහ මුස්ලිම් වරුන් බෞද්ධයින්ට එරෙහිව සන්විධානය කලේද ඔවුන් විසින්මය. මේ රටේ හින්දූන් වර්ථමාණයේ පවතින පරිදි 12.6% (50% කින් වැඩිවූයේද) උඩරට වතුකරයට සුද්දන් විසින් ගෙන ආ  සුද්දන්ගේ දකුණු ඉන්දියාණු දෙමළ වහල් කම්කරුවන් නිසාය.

ක්‍රි. පූ.307. සිටම අඛ්ණ්ව බුද්ධාගම මේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය ආගම විය. එබැවින් වසර 2329 ක් තිස්සේ පැවති පරිදි අදද බුද්ධාගම මේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය ආගම විය යුතුය. එමනිසාම බුද්ධසාශනය සුරක්ස්ෂිතකොට පෝෂනය කිරීම  රජයේ පරම වගකීම වියයුත්තේය.කෙසේ වුවත් ඒ තුළ සියළුම ආගම් ඇදහීමේ පූර්ණ අයිතියද සහතික කළයුතුය.

8 මේ රටේ ජාතික කොඩිය 1815 තිබුණ සින්හලේ කොඩියයි.

1815 තිබුණ සින්හලේ කොඩිය නැවත මේ රටේ ජාතික කොඩිය වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශකළ යුතුය.1952 දෙමළ සහ මුස්ලිම් ජනයා නියෝජනයට කියා පටි දෙකක් ඇතුලත් කළද  ඔවුන් කිසිදිනක මේ රටේ නීත්‍යානුකුල ජාතියේ කොටස්කරුවන් වශයෙන් පෙනී සිටියේ නැත. නිතරම ඔවුන් දෙගොල්ලගේම අරමුණ වන්නේ රටේ උරුමකරුවන්වන සින්හලයින් යටත් කරගෙන හෝ,එලවා දමා හෝ සමූල ඝාතනයකොට දමා හෝ  මේ රට අයිතිකර ගැනීමය. එමනිසා ඒ පටි දැමීමෙන් ඔවුන්ගේ ජාතිවාදය වැඩි උනා මිස සින්හලයින් සමඟ සහයෝගයෙන් ජීවත් වීමේ අදහස වර්ධනය වූ බවක් නොපෙනේ. එබැවින් ඒ පටි දෙක මේ රටේ කොඩියේ තිබීමෙන් කිසිදු පලක් නැත.

(මේ හැම එකක්ම ඉතිහාසයේ ආරම්භයේ සිටම  1815 දක්වා මේ රටේ තිබුණු, එතැන් සිට ඉන්ග්‍රීසි අධිරාජ්‍යවාදීන් විසින් විනාශකළ සින්හලයාගේ පරම ජාතික උරුමයන් මේ රටේ පරම උරුමකරුවන් වන සින්හලයින්ට නැවත ආපසු ලබාදීම මිස අලුතින් නිර්මාණය කරණ දෙයක් නොවේ )

9 ජාතික ගීය

ජාතික ගීය දිවයින පුරාම ගායනා කළ යුත්තේ රටේ රාජ්‍ය භාෂාව වන සින්හලෙන් පමණි. එයවත් කිරීමට අසතුටු පුද්ගලයින් හැකිපමණ ඉක්මනින් තම තමන්ගේ මව් රට්වලට යා යුතුය.

10. මුලු රටටම බලපාන පරිදි එක නීතියක් –සින්හල රටේ සින්හල නීතියක්

එක රටක් හා රාජ්‍යයක් වෂයෙන්  රටේ සියළු දෙනාටම එක නීතියක් තිබිය යුතුය.එසේ නොකොට සුළුජන කොටස් වලට වෙනම නීති තීමෙන් රටේ උරුමකරුවන්ට බලවත් අයුක්තියක් හා අසාධාරණයක් සිදුවී ඇත.

මේ රටේ සියළු දෙනාටම එක නීතියක් තිබිය යුතුය. ඒ අනුව දැනට රට තුල ක්‍රියාත්මක වන සියළුම අන්දමේ මුස්ලිම් නීතිද එසේම තේසවලමෙයි නීතියද අවලන්ගු කළයුතුය.මන්ද එක රටක නීති කීපයක් තිබිය නොහැකි බැවිණි. ඒ අතරම මේ රටේ වසර 2500 කට වැඩි දීර්ගකාලීනව පැවති දේශීය නීතිය අනුව අපටම අනන්‍ය නීති පද්ධතියක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට පාලකයින් දැන්වත් කටයුතු  කළ යුතුය..  ඔවුන්ගේ මව් රටවල නීති අනුව තම කටයුතු කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය මිනිසුන්ද ඔවුන්ගේ මවුරටවල් බලා යා යුතුය

11.මේ රටේ නිදහස් දිනය මැයි 22 වශයෙන් දැන්වත්   ප්‍රකාශ කළයුතුය.

1948 දී නිදහස ළැබුණායයි කිවද, මේ රට ජනරජයක් බවට ප්‍රකාශ කරමින් සැබෑ නිදහස උදා කළේ 1972 මැයි 22 දින බන්ඩාරනායක මැතිනිය විසිනි. එබැවින් ඒ වීර ලක් දියණියට කරණ ගෞරවයක් වශයෙන් හෝ මැයි 22 ජාතික නිදහස්  දිනය වශයෙන්  නැවතත් ප්‍රකාශ කළයුතුය.

1972 සිට 1977 දක්වා මැතිනියගේ රජයෙන් මැයි 22 නිදහස් දිනය අභිමානයෙන් සැමරින. නමුත් 1977 බලයට ආ ජේ. ආර්ගේ. අධිරාජ්‍යගැති  එ.ජා.ප රජය ජෙනින්ගේ බිරිඳගේ උපන් දිනය වූ පෙබ් 4 මේ රටේ නිදස්දිනය වෂයෙන්  නැවතත් ප්‍රකාශකලේය. 1994 එ.ජ. ප රජය පැරදුනද බණ්ඩාරනායක යුවලගේ දුව චන්ද්‍රිකාද සෝබෝන් ක්‍රමයට යමින්   පෙබ් 4 ම මේ හෙළුවැලි නිදහස් දිනය පැවත්හ්විය. ඊටත් වඩා පුදුමය කියන්නේ මැතිනිය නිසාම තම දේශපාලන අනාගතය උදාකරගත් මහින්දද ඉන් පසු ශ්‍රී ලන්කා පක්ෂයේම මයිත්‍රීපාල සිරිසේනද සුද්දාගේ දිනයේම නිදහස  සැ(මැරීය.) බන්ඩාරනායක පහණෙන් තම දේශපාලානයේ කිරුළු පලන් රාජපක්ෂලාද (ගෝඨාභය සහ මහින්ද) නැවතත් 2020, 21 සහ 22  කෝටි ගණන් මහජන මුදල් නාස්ති කරමින්  පෙබ් 4 ම මේ කවදාවත්ම නූපන් නිදහස් දරුවාගේ උපන්දිනය මැරීය. රටට හා ජාතියට  අබමල් රේණුවක ආදරයක් නැති රට ගැන හෝ ජාතිය ගැන අබැටක් පමණ හෝ ජාතික අභිමානයක්  නැති මෙවැනි අඳබාල පරගැති දේශ පාලුවන් අභිමානවත් සහ සෞභාග්‍යමත් දේශයක් ගොඩනගන්නේ කෙසේද?කවදාද?

1948 දි අපට පුර්ණ නිදසක් නොළැබුණු නිසා පෙබරවාරි 4  නිදහස් දිනය වශයෙන් සැමරීම ජාතික විහිලුවකි. එසේම එය තවමත් අධිරාජ්‍ය  ගැතිබව පිළිගැනීමේ නිවට කම ජාතියක් වශයෙන් ප්‍රසිද්ධියේ ප්‍රදර්ශනය කිරීමකි

12 මේ රටේ,ජනාධිපති, අගමැති, අග්‍රවිනිස්චයකාරතැන,ත්‍රි විධ හමුදාපතිවරුන්, පොලිස්පති සහ නීතිපති    හැමවිටම සින්හල බෞද්ධයින්ම වියයුතුය.

එඟලන්තය ඇතුලු හැම රටකම මේ තත්වය තිබේනම් වසර  2500 කට වැඩි කලක් ආරක්ෂාකරගත් සින්හල බෞද්ධ අපට ඒ තත්වය රැකගත නොහැක්කේ ඇයි?

13 මේ රටේ තිබිය යුත්තේ ජාතික දේශපාලන පක්ශ දෙකක් හෝ උපරිම 3 ක් pපමණි.

සියළුම ජන වර්ගවල චන්ද දායකයින් ඒ පක්ශ දෙකට අනුගත විය යුතුය

රටතුල භාෂා, ආගම් සහ වාර්ගිකත්වය අනුව දේශපාලන වෂයෙන් ජාතිය බෙදීමට හේතුවී ඇති බැවින් ජනවර්ග,ආගම්,ආදිය මුල්කරගෙන පිහිටුවා ඇති සියළුම දේශපාලන පක්ශ වහාම තහනම්කළ යුතුය. ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති අනුව වෙනස්කම් අනුව ජාතික දේශපාලන පක්ෂ දෙකක් හෝ තුනක්   තිබිමට ව්‍යවස්ථාවෙන් අව්සර දිය හැක.

14 මේ රටේ මඩ්‍යම  කඳුකරය, ශ්‍රී ලන්කාවේ හදවත මෙන් රැකගත යුතුය.

මන්ද, හදවතේ ගැස්ම නතරවූ දාට ජීවියා මිය යන්නාසේ මධ්‍යම කඳුකරයේ භෞතික ස්ථාවරත්වය නැතිවූ දාට  මේ දිවයිනේ  සියලුම ගන්ගා ගැලීම නතරවීම නිසා සමස්ථ දිවයිනේම           සකළ ජීවී පද්ධතියම අතුරුදන් වී මේ රටේ ශිස්ඨාචාරයද අවසන් වන බැවිනි. ඒ නිසා මේ රට තව වසර 25 කින් බීමට ජල බිඳක් නැති, කිසිදු ජීවයක් නැති මරුකතරක් වීම වැලැක්වීම සඳහා යෝජිත  වැඩපිලිවෙලක් පහතින් දක්වමි.

1. මධ්‍යම  කඳුකරයේ මු. ම. අඩි 5000 ඉහල සෑම ප්‍රදේශයක්ම. අධිරක්ශි ප්‍රදේශ වශයෙන් ප්‍රකාශකිරීම. කිසිම වගාවක් හෝ ජනාවාශයක් මේ තුල  සපුරා තහනම් කළ යුතුය.

11. අඩි 3500-5000 අතර විශාල තේ වතු තිබුණද ඒ තුළද සෑම වර්ගයේම ජනාවාශ තහනම් කළයුතුය. 

111.කඳුකරයේ සියළුම ජනාවාශ අඩි 3500 යේ සීමාවෙන් පහල ප්‍රදේශ වලට සීමා කළයුතුය.

1ව්.කඳුකරයේ   1000-3500 අතර ප්‍රදේශ ගම්මිරිස්,කරාඹු,කෝපි,එනසල්, පලතුරු වැනි මිශ්‍ර භෝග සහ, ගෘහස්ථ සත්ව පාලනය සහිත කුඩා ගොවිපල ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා වෙන්කළ යුතුය.මෙසේ කිරීමෙන් උඩරට ප්‍රදේශයේ ඉඩම් නැති ජනතාවගේ මෙන්ම ඉහල වතුකරයෙන් ඉවත් කෙරෙන වතු ශ්‍රී ලන්කා පුර වැසියන්වන දෙමල වැසියන්ගේ ඉඩම් ප්‍රස්නයද විසඳෙන අතර ඔවුන්ගේ ආර්ථිකයද දියුණු වණු ඇත.

15 ජාතික ආර්ථිකයේ මුල්තැන ගොවිතැනට දිය යුතුය.ඉනුත් වී වගාවට ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දිය යුතුය. ඒ සඳහා අවශ්ය ජලය,පොහොර, කෘෂිරසායනික, ව්‍යාප්ත සේවා  අලෙවි පහසුකම් සහ නිස්චිත මිල ක්‍රමයක් ආදි සියළු සේවා සහ පහසුකම් ලබා දිය යුතුය.

මේ රටේ ජාතික ආර්ථිකයේ මුල්තැන ගොවිතැනට දිය යුතුය.

16 රටේ ආර්ථිකය, සන්වර්ධනය, සන්ස්කෘතිය සහ අධ්‍යාපනය ආදිය පිලිබඳ ආණ්ඩු මාරුවීමත් සමඟ වෙනස් නොවෙ‍න ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් තිබිය යුතුය.

17 රටේ රාජ්ය පාලනයේ සියළු කටයුතු රටේ සින්හල ජාතිය ප්‍රමුඛ සියළුම ජනවර්ග, ආගම් නායකයින් නියෝජනයවන, සහ රාජ්‍ය තන්ත්‍රයේ ප්‍රධානීන්ගෙන් සමන්විත උත්තරීතර ජාතික උපදේශක සභාවක  උපදෙස් අනුව සිදුවිය යුතුයි.

ඒ මණ්ඩළය මෙසේ විය යුතුයයි මම යෝජනා කරමි

1ත්‍රයිනිකායික මහනාහිමිවරුන්  හතර දෙනා                                      4

2කෝට්ටේ, දඹුල්ල, රුහුණු සහ වනවාසී නායක හිමිවරුන්             4

3.මහානායක හිමිවරුන් විසින් වසර 5 කට නම්කරණු ලබන පඬි හිමිවරුන් දෙදෙනෙක් (විද්යෝදයෙන් හා විද්‍යාලන්කාර පිරිවෙන් දෙකින්)                                                                                                 2

 4.ශ්‍රීලන්කා කතෝලික සභාවේ නියෝජිතයෙක්                                1

5 හින්දු පූජක වරයෙක්                                                                         1

4මුස්ලිම් පූජකවරයෙක්                                                                        1

5.අග්‍රවින්ස්චයකාරතැන                                                                       1

6.නීතිපති.                                                                                             1

7 විගණනාධිපති                                                                                   1

8 පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ කථානායක සහ                                                    1

9 රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ ප්‍රධානියා (භාණ්ඩාගාරයේ ලේකම්)                        1

     සභාවේ මුළුගණන                                                                        18                                     

18 මේ රට පාලනය කළයුත්තේ 100 නොවැඩි පාර්ලිමේන්තුවක් , 17 කට නොවැඩි අමාත්‍ය මණ්ඩලයක්  සහ විධායක බලතල රහිත ජනාධිපතිවරයකු සහිත රජයක් මගිනි,

19. රට පාලනය කළයුත්තේ  රජයන් මාරුවීමත් සමඟ වෙනස් නොවන ජාතික ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් අනුවය.

20. රාජ්‍ය ප්‍රතිපත්හ්ති සහ සැළැසුම් ජනතා හිතවාදීව ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරිම සඳහා දේශ පාලනයෙන් තොර ස්වාධීන අධිකරණයක්  හා රාජ්‍ය සේවයක් ස්ථාපිත කළයුතුය

                                        11 කොටස 

කුමන රජයක් බලයට පැමිණියද ශ්‍රී ලන්කා ජන රජය විසින් අනිවාර්‍යයෙන්ම කළයුතු කාර්යයන්

1.1815 වේ සිට මේ රටේ සින්හල ජාතියට අහිමිවූ සියළු උරුමයන් නැවත ලබාදීම (සියළු සුළු ජන කොටස්වල වාර්ගික හා ආගමික අයිතීන් ආරක්ශා කරමින්)

2.1948 ලබාගත්තායයි කියන ඊනියා නිදහස 1972 ජනරජයක් වූ දින සිට පූර්ණ නිදස් රාජ්‍යයක් බවට පත් කිරීම

3.මේ රටේ ඉතිහාශයේ පළමු වතාවට, යුද්ධයකදි පරාජය වීමකින් හෝ රටේ ජනතාවගේ කැමැත්තකින් තොරව  එක් පුද්ගලයකුගේ තීරණයක් අනුව  ජනතා විරෝධය මද්ධ්‍යයේ හදිසි නීතිය ප්‍රකාශකොට මහජන නියෝජිතයින්ගෙන්  දින නොමැති අස්වීමේ ලිපි අත්සන්කොට ගෙන  ඔවුන් ප්‍රාණ ඇපකරුවන් වශයෙන් රඳවාගෙන චන්දය ගන්නා වෙලාවට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට දක්කාගෙනවිත් විධායකයේ බලපෑමට යටත් කොට අත්සන්ගෙන  හදිසි නීතිය ප්‍රකාශකොට  නීති විරෝධීව අත්සන් ලබාගෙන ව්‍යවස්ථා විරෝධීව ජේ. ආර්. විසින් මේ රට ඉන්දියාවට පාවාදුන් 1987 ජූලි 29 රජිව්-ජේ.ආර්. ඉන්දු-ලන්කා ගිවිසුම සහ ඉන් උපන් මේ රටට සාපයක්වූ ඉන්දියාව විසින් බලහත්කාරයෙන් අප හිස මත පැටවූ 13 වන ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සන්සෝධනය  සහ එහි අවජාත දරුවාවූ පලාත් සභා හූනියමද අහෝසි කිරීම 

4. දේශපාලකයින් විසින්මේ රටේ දිසා පාලනය ආයතන සහ රාජ්‍යසේවකයින්, විශාල වශයෙන් වැඩිකොට, රාජ්‍ය පාලනය විමධ්‍යගතකිරීමටයයි කියා, තවත් මඩ්‍යගතකොට, මහජන සේවයේ කාර්‍යක්ශමතාව බින්දුවටම බස්වා , රාජ්‍ය වියදම,    නාස්තිය සහ දුෂනය අසීමිත ලෙස වැඩිකරමින් රාජ්‍ය සේවයේ කාර්යක්ශමතාව නැත්තටම නැතිකොට දිස්ත්‍රික් පාලනය සේවාව අවුලෙන් අවුලට පත්කොට  සමස්ථ දිස්ත්‍රික් සේවයම විනාශකොට ඇති පලාත් සභා ක්‍රමය වහාම අහෝසිකොට, 

රාජ්‍යසේවය ගැන මළපොතේ අකුරක් නොදන්නා දේශපාලන අනාතයින් සහ කොලඹ ලොක්කන්ගේ ගැත්තන් වන පින්පඩි කාරයින් රැළක් වන ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් වහාම ආපසු කැඳවා දිස්ත්‍රික් පාලනයේ වගකීම වුර්තීය රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් වන  දිසාපති වරුන්, ප්‍රාදේශීය උප දිසාපතිවරුන් සහ ග්‍රාම සේවා නිලධාරින්ට භාරදී දැන්වත් දිස්ත්‍රික් පාලනය වැටී ඇති අඝාධයෙන් ගොඩගත යුතුව ඇත.

මෙසේ කිරීමෙන් රට ආර්ථික වශයෙන් ඉතා දුස්කර කාලයකට පත්ව ඇති මෙම අවස්ථාවේ  වසරකට රුපියල් බිලියන ගානක්  ඉතිරිකරගත හැක.

5.දැනට මේ රටේ පවතින බටහිරින් ආනයනය කරණළද අප සන්ස්කෘතියට ආගන්තුක පක්ෂ දේශපාලන ක්‍රමයේ පවතින බෙදීම් සහ ආත්මාර්ථය වෙනුවට බුදු දහමෙන් අපට උරුමවූ, රටේත්, ජනතාවගේත්  මෙන්ම සියලු සත්වයන්ගේත් සුභසෙත මූලික පදනම වශයෙන් සලකන බෞද්ධ දේශපාලන ක්‍රමවේධයක් නිර්මානය කරගැනීම,

6.මේ රටේ දේශීය සන්ස්කෘතිය, චිරාගත සම්ප්‍රදායන් සහ සිරිත් විරිත් පදනම් කරගත් දේශයට ගැලපෙන නව ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාවක් වසරක් තුල ජනමත විචාරණයට ඉදිරීපත් කිරීම, යන කරුණු සියල්ල ඉටුකිරීමට දිවුරා සපථ කිරීම.

තවදුරටත්,

7 බෙදා පාලනය කිරීමට සුද්දා විසින් අපට උරුමකොට දී ගිය  මැතිවරණ ක්‍රමයටත් වඩා චන්දදායකයින් සිරස් සහ තිරස් අතට බෙදන  එසේම ජනතා කැමැත්ත කිසිසේත්ම ප්‍රකාශ නොවන පවතින මැතිවරණ ක්‍රමය වෙනස් කොට,ආසනයක මිනිසුන්ට පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ නියෝජිතයෙක් සිටින පරිදි, පැරැණි ආසන ක්‍රමය යළි හඳුන්වා දිය යුතුය. අනුපාත, මනාප සහ බහු ආසන  ක්‍රමය ඉවත්  කිරීම, අපේක්ශකයන් තේරීම අදාල ආසනවල චන්දදායකයින්ට දීම සහ අපෙක්ශකයකු වීමට අදාල චන්ද කොට්ඨාශයේ වසර 5 ක් හෝ ඉස්ථිර පදින්චිය හෝ ඉපදී තිබීම අනිවාර්ය කිරීම

8 තවද මේ යටතේ රාජ්‍ය  සභාවේ දැනට ඇති ආසන 225 හ 95 දක්වා අඩුකොට දියවන්නාවේ පාර්ලිමේතුව නැවතත් ගාලුමුවදොර පාර්ලිමේන්තු ගොඩනැගිල්ලට ගෙන ආයුතුය. විධායක ජනාධිපති ක්‍රමය අහෝසිවූ විට එම ගොනැගිල්ලද හිස්වන බැවින් එහි ගැටලුවක්ද ඇති නොවනු ඇත.

9 ජාතික ලැයිස්තුව අහෝසිකිරීම. ඒ වෙනුවට රටට විශිෂ්ඨ සේවයක් කර ඇති යම් යම් ශේෂ්ත්‍ර පිලිබඳ විසේසඥ දැණුමක් ඇති කීපදෙනකු පත්කල මන්ත්‍රීන් වශයෙන් ගැනීමට ව්‍යවස්ථාවේ ප්‍රතිපාධන සැලසීම.

10        දරුණු අපාරධ වලට මරණ දඬුවම දීම දීම

11 දේශීය සහ විදේශීය රාජ්‍ය සේවය වුර්තිකයින්ට පමණක් සීමා කිරීම සහ ශ්‍රී ලන්කා විදේශ සේවයට යන සෑම නිලධාරියෙකුට්ම රටේ ඉතිහාශය, සන්ස්කෘතිය, ආර්ථිකය  ජනතාවගේ අවශ්‍යතා යනාදිය පිළිබඳ යටත් පිරිසෙයින් වසර 3 ක හෝ න්‍යාය සහ ප්‍රායෝගික දැණුමක් ලබා දී පරීක්ෂනයකින් සමත් වීම අනිවාර්ය කළ යුතුය.

12 වෙනස්නොවන නොබැඳි විදේශ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක්

13 සෑම පුරවැසියෙකුටම රටේ ඔනෑම තැනක පදින්චියට, දේපල මිලදි ගැනීමට සහ රැකියා කිරීමට අව්ස්ථාව            සැළසීම

14        මේ රට පෙඩරල් රාජ්‍යයක් කොට දෙමල බලය නන්ග්වා සින්හල බලය බිඳ දමා සින්හල ජාතිය විනාශ කිරිමට            ඉන්දියාව විසින් බලහත්කාරයෙන් අප හිසමත පැටවූ 1987 ජූලි 29  ඉන්දු-ලන්කා ගිවිසුම සහ ඒ තුළින් උපන් 13 වන ව්‍යවස්ථා සන්සෝධනය අහෝසිකොට මේ රටට හා ජාතියට  හූනිමක් වි ඇති පලාත්සභා වහාම අහෝසි කිරීම.

15 මේ රටේ ආර්ථිකය බිඳවැටීමට ප්‍රධාන හේතුවක් වන  දැනට පවතින අධික රජයේ නිවාඩු දින ගණන ජාත්‍යන්ත්‍ර සාමන්‍ය ගණන වන 12 හෝ ඊට ආසන්න සන්ක්‍යාවකට  අඩුකොට  වසරකට අපතේ යන මිනිස් දින ගණන රටේ සන්වර්ධනයට යොදාගතයුතුය.එය පහත සඳහන් පරිදි විය යුතුයයි යෝජනා කරමි

. නම                                   මාසය                    දින ගණන

1 සින්හල අලුත් අවුරුද්ද  අප්‍රේල්  13 &14               2

2 වෙසක්                             මැයි    වෙසක්  පෝය    2

3 ජනරජ දිනය                          මැයි  22                   1

4  ජාතික ගොවි කම්කරු දිනය    මැයි 1                   1

5  සින්හලේ ජාතික දිනය (පොසොන් පෝය)            1                                                

රජය විසින් තීරණය කලයුතු නිවාඩු දින 

6    ජාතික වීර දිනය                                                 1

7   පරිසර දිනය                                                         1

8 ජාතික ළමා  දිනය                                                 1

9 ජාතික මව්වරුන්ගේ දිනය                                    1

10 ජාතික වැඩිහිටි දිනය                                           1

මුළු ගණන                                                              12                                                             

මීට අමතරව සෑම පෝය දිනයක්ම රජයේ නිවාඩු දිනයක් කිරීමෙන් තවත් නිවාඩු දින 49 ක් රජයේ සේවකයින්ට එක්වෙයි, ඒ අනුව පාසල් සතියද සකස්කරගත හැක. මේ අනුව රටේ සින්හල බෞද්ධ අනන්‍යයතාවද  ආරක්ශා වනු ඇත.

අනෙකුත් ආගමික නිවාඩු දින අදාල ආගම අදහන අයට පමණක් සීමා කලයුතුය

16 සියල්ළුම වුර්තීය සන්ගම් ක්‍රියාවන් අදාල වුර්තිය අවිතිවාසිකම් වලට පමණක් සීමා කළයුතුය

17 සියළුම මට්ටම්වල මැතිවරණ අපේක්ශකයින් සඳහා අවම වයසක්,අධ්‍යාපන, වත්කම්, චරිත සුදුසුකම් නියම කලයුතුය.

18 ජනතා නියෝජිතයින්ගේ සියළුම අමතර වරප්‍රසාද අහෝසි කිරිම උදා= විශ්‍රාම වැටුප්, තීරුබදු රහිත වාහන , නිලරථ,නිල නිවාශ ඇතුළු සාමාන්‍ය පුරවැසියෙකුට නැති සියළුම වරප්‍රසාද අහෝසිකළ යුතුය.

19 සෑම දේශපාලකයෙකු සහ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයෙකුගේම කාර්ය සාධනය පිළිබඳ නිරන්තරයෙන් කෙරෙන ප්‍රගති සමාලෝචනයක් තිබිය යුතුය. එය මාසිකව,6 මාසිකව හෝ වාර්ශිකව කලහැක.  ඉලක්ක නොසපුරන පුද්ගලයින් රැකියාවලින් ඉවත්කිරීමේ වැඩපිළිවෙලක් සකස්කළයුතුය.

20 රාජ්‍යසේවයේ. අතිරික්ත ආයතන මෙන්ම සේවකයින්ද ඉවත් කොට ඔවුන්ට විකල්ප ස්වයන් රැකියා වැඩපිලිවෙලක් සකස්කල යුතුය.

21 රාජ්‍ය ආයතනවකට සේවකයින් බඳවා ගැනීම භාණ්ඩාගරයේ සේවක සහ සන්ක්‍යා දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නියමයන් නොක්මවිය යුතුය. එම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව විසින් සෑම රාජ්‍ය අයතනක්යකටම සහ සන්ස්ථාවකටම අවශ්‍යය අවම සේවක සන්ක්‍යා සකස් කළ යුතුය.

22 රටේ ඉන්ධන අවස්‍යතා අනුව අමතර තෙල් තොග ගබඩාකර තබාගැනීමට ත්‍රිකුණාමලයේ තෙල් ටැන්කි යොදාගැනීට වැඩ පිලිවෙලක් සකස්කල යුතුය

23 මැති ඇමති, පලාත් සභා ආණ්ඩුකරවරුන්ගේ අරක්ශාව වහාම ඉවත්කළ යුතුය

24 දේශපාලකයින්ට තමන්ම හෝ වෙනත් අය හරහා රජයේ  කොන්ත්‍රාක් කිරීම සපුරා තනම් කළයුතුය.

25 දේශපාලකයින් හා රජයේඉ නිළධාරින්ගේ රාජකාරිය නිස්චිතව පැහැදිළි කල යුතුය එමෙන්ම රාජ්‍ය සේවයට දේශපාලන ඇන්ගිලිගැසීම් සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම නතර කළ යුතුය නිලධාරින්ගේ කටයුතු පාලනය කළයුත්තේ පරිපාලන සහ මුදල් රෙගුලශි මගින් මිස දේශපාලකයින් විසින් නොවේ. එසේ වූ විට රාජ්‍යසේවය කාර්යක්ස්ෂම වනු ඇත.

26 රජයේ කාර්යාලයකට එවන ලිපියකට දින 3 ක් ඇතුලත පිළිතුරු එවන සුද්දන්ගේ කාලයේ තිබුණ සම්ප්‍රදාය වහාම නැවතත් ඇතිකළ යුතුය.

27 රාජ්‍ය සේවය දේවකාර්යක් මෙන් ඉටුකළයුතු බව දේශපාලකයින්ට මෙන්ම රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින්ටද අවභෝධ කළයුතුය.ජනතා සේවය ඒ අන්දමින් ඉටුකරන බවට සියළුම දේශපාලකයින් සහ රජයේ සේවකයින්ගෙන්ද පත්වීම් දෙන අව්ස්ථාවේම ලිඛිත පොරොන්දුවක් ගත යුතුය.

28දැනට මේ රටේ පවතින දේශපාලකයින් විසින් ,දේශපාලකයින් සඳහා පවත්වාගෙනයනු ලබන දේශපාලකයින්ගේ දේශපාලන සන්ස්කෘතිය සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම උඩු යටිකුරුකොට, ජනතාව විසින්,ජනතාව සඳහා සිදුකෙරෙන ජනතාවගේම දේශපාලන ක්‍රමයක් මේ රටේ නිර්මාණය කළ යුතුය

29 එසේම දැනට ලන්කාණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්තාවේ xx11 පරිච්චේදයේ සඳහන්වන පරිදි ජනාධිපති, කථානායක, ඇමතිවරු සහ නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමතිවරුන්, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රීවරුන් සහ පාර්ලිමේන්තුවෙ මහ ලේකම් අධිකරණ සේවා කොමිසමේ සහ රාජ්‍ය සේවා කොමිසමේ සාමාජිකයින් සහ මීට අමතරව අධිකරණ යේ සියළුම විනිස්චය කාරවරුන් වැනි අය රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් නොවේ යන ප්‍රතිපාදනයද වහාම අහෝසිකොට ඒ වෙනුවට රජයෙන් වැටුප් ගන්නා සෑමකෙනෙක්ම රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින් වශයෙන් නම්කල යුතුය.

30.ඒ සමඟම ඒ සියළුම මට්ටම්වල දේශපාලනඥයින්ට සහ රාජ්‍ය සේවකයින්ටම දැඩි  ආචාර්ය ධර්ම මාලාවක් සහ දැඩි විනය මාලාවක්ද සකස්කොට ක්‍රියාත්මක කල යුතුය

මන්ද,

මෙවා මෙසේ තිබියදී සියළු දෙනාම නීතිය ඉදිරියේ සමානය සහ ශ්‍රී ලන්කා ජනරජයේ පරමාධිපත්‍ය ජනතාව කෙරෙහි පිහිටා ඇත්තේය ආදි වශයෙන් ව්‍යවස්තාවේ 3 යටතේ දක්වා තිබීම අර්ථ සූන්‍යය. එසේම හාස්‍ය දනවනසුළුය.

                                          111  කොටස

මේ සියල්ල කිරීමට පෙර රනිල් අගමැතිවරයා විසින් දැන්  වහාම කළ යුතුව ඇත්තේ

මේ කිසිවක් කිරීමට පෙර රනිල් අගමැතිවරයා විසින් දැන්  වහාම කළ යුතුව ඇත්තේ උද්ගතව ඇති අලුත්ම තත්වය යටතේ වියරු වැටුන රටේ ජනතාව පාර්ලිමේතුව, රජගෙදර සහ අරලියගහ මැදුරටද ගිනි තැබීමට පෙර වහාම නව දේශපාලන සන්ස්කෘතියකින් වැඩ ආරම්භ කොට  ඒ සියළු ව්‍යසනයන්ගෙන් රට බේරාගැනීම යයි  මම යෝජනා කරමි.

ඒ සඳහා ඔහු විසින් වහාම ගතයුතු පියවර කීපයක් පහතින් දක්වමි.

22.5.2022.

1 කිසිම හේතුවක් නිසා ඇමති මණ්ඩලය 17 කට වඩා  වැඩි නොකරනු

මන්ද, මුලින් කී 15 දැන් 20 වි ඇත. තව ටික දිනකින් එය 25  සහ අවසානයේ 30 ම වනු ඇත. ඒ සමඟම ඊනියා රාජ්‍ය ඇමතිවරුද 30 ක්-40 පත්කිරීමට සූදානම් බව පැවසේ. ඒ බහුතරය රැකගනීමටය.මේ යන්නේ කොහේටද. මුලින් සිටි තැනටම නේද. ඇමති 70 ට. පළමු ප්‍රස්නය මොවුන්ට පඩිනඩි දෙන්නේ කොහෙන්ද.  මේ විගඩම රටේ ජනතාව ඉවසයිද?මෙයින් සිදුවන්නේ තවත් රට ගිනිතියන එකනේද?

එමනිසා 17 නොඉක්මවනු . එසේම එකම රාජ්‍ය ඇමති, නියෝජ්‍ය ඇමති වරයකු මේ අවස්ථාවේදී පත් නොකරන්න. එවිට ජනතාව ඔබ සමඟය.එසේ නොවුනහොත් ඔවුන් තවදුරටත් අරගල කරුවන් සමඟය

2 ඇමතිවරුන් පත්කිරීමේදී දැන්වත් හොරුන්, තක්කඩීන් බේබද්දන්, පගාමරුවන්, කොමිස් රජවරුන්, බේබද්දන්   සහ පාලිමේන්තුවේ නිදාගන්නා උන් නැතිව, රට ගැන හා ජනතාව ගැන සිතන අය පමණක් ඇමතිවරුන් වශයෙන් පත්කර ගැනීම

3 නිමල් සිරිපාල, කෙහෙලිය.වැනි මිනිසුන් ඇමතිවරුන් වශයෙන් පත් කිරීමට විරුද්ධවීම. ඒ වෙනුවට මේ වෙලාවේදි රට ගොඩගත හැකි විද්වතුන් පත්කරනමෙන් ඉල්ලීම.

ඒ වෙනුවට 16.5.2022 දින ලන්කාවෙබ් හි පලකෙරුණු මගේ ලිපියෙන් යෝජනා කල පරිදි ජාතික ලැයිස්තුවෙන් විද්වතුන් කීප දෙනකු හෝ ඇමතිවරුන් වශයෙන් පත්කරන මෙන් ජනාධිපති වරයාගෙන් ඉල්ලීම.

4 රාජ්‍ය ඇමතිවරුන් කියන නාඩගම වහාම නතහර කිරීම  සහ නියෝජ්‍ය හෝ උප ඇමතිවරුන්ද මේ දුශ්කර අවස්ථාවේදී පත් නොකිරීම. මෙසේ කිරීමෙන් අති විශාල මුදලක් ඉතිරිකරගත හැක.

5 ඇමතිතනතුරු නැතිව පාර්ලිමේන්තුවේ ඉන්ට බැරි මන්ත්‍රී වරුන්ට ගෙදර යන මෙන් කීම

6 අපරාධයන් කළ බවට බන්ධනාගාර ගතව සිටින මන්ත්‍රීවරුන්  පාර්ලිමේන්තුවට ගෙන  ඒම වහාම නතරකිරීම.

7 පලාත් සභා වහාම අහෝසි කිරීම සහ ඒවා අකර්මන්‍යවී අවුරුදු පහක් පමණ ගතව තිබියදීත් රටේ පරිපාලනය ගැන මෙලෝ දෙයක් නොදන්නා ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ හෙන්චයියන් පිරිසක් පින්පඩි ගෙවමින් ආණ්ඩුකාරයින් වශයෙන් තබාගෙන සිටීම මහා ජාතික අපරාධයක්  නිසා වහාම ඔවුන්ද එම පදවි වලින් ඉවත් කරන මෙන් ජනාධිපති වරයාට දැන්විම. ඒ සමඟම ඒවා කල්දැමූ දින සිට ආණ්ඩුකාරයින්ට ගෙවූ වැටුප් සහ දීමනා ආපසු අයකර ගැනීමට පියවර ගැනීම

මෙය වහාම නොකලොත් වැඩි දිනක් යාමට පෙර,ගොටා ගෝ ගමේ සහ නෝ ඩීල් ගමේ අරගල කරුවන්, ආණ්ඩුකාරවරුන්ද ඔවුන්ගේ කාර්යාල වලින් ඇද දමන දිනය උදාවනු නොඅනුමානය.

6 ඒ සමඟම රටේ පාලනය කඩාවැටීමක් නොවීම සඳහා දිස්ත්‍රික් පාලනයද  ශක්තිමත් කළ යුතුය,

 ඒ යටතේ  රටේ ප්‍රාන්ත පලනය දිසාපති,ප්‍රාදේශීය උප දිසාපති සහ ග්‍රාම සේවා නිලධාරීන්ට භාර දීම සහ ඔවුන් පලාත් සභා ග්‍රහනයෙන් මුදාගැනීම

8තවද ඉන්ධන .ගෘහස්ථ ගෑස්, විදුලිය අඛණ්ඩව සැපයීම

9රෝහල්වලට ඖෂදලබා දීම මෙන්ම

10. අත්‍යාවස්ය අහාර ද්‍රව්‍ය සැපයීම සහ ඒවායේ මිල පාලනය කිරිම ආදී හදිසි සැපයීම් කෙරෙහිද ඔබගේ දැඩි අවධානය යුඔමුකළ යුතුව ඇත.

11රටේ පවතින අරාජික තත්වය පාලනය කිරීම සඳහා

අන්තරය,ජේ, වි,පිය සහ  පෙරටුගාමී පක්ශ තනම් කිරීම අන්තරේ මෙහෙයවන එහි සභාපති චතුර සේනාරත්න, හිටපු සභාපති ලාල් කාන්ත  සහ කුමාර් ගුනරත්නම් මෙන්ම ජේ.වී.පි යේ මැයි 9 වන දින දීපව්‍යාප්ත තම දිසා නායකයින් ලවා ගිනි තැබීම් කරවූ,(සමුදිතට කී පරිදී ලාල් කාන්ත. දේශපාලන වුර්තීය සන්ගම් මෙහෙයවන ජොසොප් ස්ටාලින්. මහින්ද ජයසින්හ සහ  ගොවි පෙරමුනේ කැඳවුම්කරු ආදි සියළුම ජේ.වී.පී.නායකයින් අත් අඩන්ගුවට ගෙන ඔවුන්ට විරුද්ධව නීතිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කල යුතුය. ඔවුන් සියළු දෙනාම අද මෙ කරන්නේද 1971 සහ 1989 රට පුරා සිදුකළ විනාශයේ තුන්වන අදියර යයි මම සිතමි.

ජාතියක් නැති, ආගමක් නැති, මේරටේ පය තබාගෙන නැති,මනසින් රුසියාවේ ජීවත්වන  මේ රට  එහි ඉතිහාශය හෝ සන්ස්කෘතිය  හා සමාජ හරයන් ගැන නොදන්නා මොවුන්ගෙන් විනාශකාරී අරගලය හැර අන් කුමක් බලාපොරුත්තු වන්නද.

12.මෙහිදි කිවයුතු තවත් වැදගත් කරුණක් ඇත. එනම් දිවයිනේ කිසිම ඉන්ධන හලකින් හෝ වෙනත් තැනකින්  බුලිවලට ඉන්ධන නිකුත් නොකලයුතු බවට නීතියක් පැණවීමයි. මන්ද මොවුන් පසුගිය මැයි 9 දා මෙන් යලිත් මෙසේ ලබාගන්නා ඉන්ධන වලින් මුළු රටම ගිනි තියනු ඇති නිසාය.

මේ අවස්ථාවේදි ගොඨාභයට ඔබ ඔහුගේ ගැලවුම් කාරයාය. ඔබ නැතිව ඔහුට පැවැත්මක්ද නැත, එමනිසා අනිවාර්යෙන්ම ඔහුට, ඔබට සවන් දීමට සිදුවනු ඇත, එමනිසා එම අවස්ථාවෙන් උපරිම ප්‍රයෝජන ගෙන ඔබගේ මුලු දේශපාලන ජීවිතයේම රට වෙනුවෙන්  කිරීමට නොහැකිවු විශාල වැඩ කොටසක් ඔබට මේ අවස්ථාවෙඩ්දී කළ හැකියයි මම සිතමි.

අගමැති තුමනි, දේශප්‍රේමියකු වශයෙන් මම ඔබට මෙන්ම රටට හා ජාතියට ශුභපතමි!

Shenali D Waduge

This is the question everyone should be asking. To answer this we need to return to the regime change & coup that led to the January 2015 Presidential election of Maithripala Sirisena as President & the swearing in of Ranil as PM without removing the sitting PM D M Jayaratne. With this technicality unsolved, a bogus national government” was created with the 19a that controversially attempted to transfer the powers of the executive president to a controversially seated prime minister. Parliamentary Elections were eventually held in August 2015 only after Parliament was hurriedly dissolved before COPE could make some startling revelations. While numerous objections were filed against the 19a, poignant is the determination by Chief Justice Sri Pawan that a referendum was required in order to transfer powers from a President (who was directly elected by the People), to a Prime Minister who was only selected by 224 member Parliament. So this judgement plays a significant role in 21a or any other attempt being made to usurp the powers of the President & transfer to Prime Minister/Parliament.

We therefore, cannot put aside the regime change attempt to make constitutional changes between 2015-2020 and many other attempts to dilute the sovereignty of Sri Lanka, providing open doors for nations to interfere in Sri Lanka.

President Sirisena eventually understood the dangers & decided to put a stop as even land was being compromised through electronic systems and the MCC. In an address to the Nation, President Sirisena clearly disclosed why he was removing Ranil as PM. This speech is extremely relevant as to why PM Ranil was removed & Mahinda appointed as PM. He ruled for only 52 days, leading to the return of Ranil as PM with full backing of US-EU and alliances. PM Mahinda was ousted in May 2022 to again return Ranil as PM.

Not surprisingly, the same players that supported the regime change, plotted to bring Ranil to power & introduced the 19a are once again in action to push for 21a that seeks to fulfil the unaccomplished task of abolishing or transferring Presidential powers to PM. Are we watching Yahapalana 2?

Sirisena ceded Presidential powers in 2015 simply to sit as President, Gotabaya Rajapakse it appears is knowingly or ignorantly ceding powers or being forced to cede Presidential powers! Sirisena woke up & prevented any major changes & it is now time for Gotabaya to do the same. Unlike Sirisena, much was expected from Gotabaya & 69lakh people deem it his duty not to break their trust & faith in him.

Ranil became PM controversially in 2015 and controversially again in 2022. The situation in 2022 is bizarre because not only did Ranil lose the General Election, his party could not win a single seat and thanks to the proportional representation system, one national list seat was allocated to the UNP. After months of tug-of-war with national list nominees demanding that single slot, rejected Ranil broke democratic principles to enter Parliament.

Fast forward to May 2022, PM Mahinda knowingly or unknowingly ends up getting an unexpected ‘farewell’ by having to give up his premiership, after a coup within his own camp forced him to resign as PM. It would be good for PM Mahinda to find out who betrayed him from within.

Be that as it may, Mahinda resigns as PM and then suddenly Ranil returns as PM again. How did a man rejected by his own vote base, enter Parliament immorally through the backdoor as a national list MP being the only representative in Parliament, hooted from his own former UNPers now seated in SJB, become the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the 6^th time?

These are democratic case studies!

If this is yahapalana 2, it was no surprise that the stage was set to return Ranil, initially with the creation of the GoHomeGota gama, by a bevy of Colombians, Bar Association, JVP, FSLP, Sisters & Fathers of the Church, LTTE Diaspora, NGOs, Muslim groups – the same coterie that has always backed Ranil (though shy to openly say so).

On the face of it the aragalaya” was used as a platform to further the hora” hora” campaign kicked off in 2014, resulting in regime change which created an illegal FCID and eventually that led to a Presidential Commission in 2020 on victimization during 2015-2020 – isn’t it strange that the Bar Association proposals on the economic crisis is recommending the annulment of this commission together with its recommendations! Ask yourself what does this have to do with an economic crisis!

The aragala” project will soon close shop, as another set of players are tasked to take over.

While fanfare began about corruptions” – the slogans are suddenly only about 21a. Was this the ultimate goal? Why is there little emphasis on ‘anti-corruption’ ‘tender process procedure’ ‘moratorium on siphoning resources & assets’, parliamentary ratification process, procurement criteria? If people of the ‘aragalaya’ are so concerned about the Nation, why are they not demanding a stop to the sale of assets & resources? Why are they not highlighting that a government is only temporary custodian for a term of 5 years? Why are they not highlighting the importance of national security?

Part of the overall project appears to be to degrade the police & armed forces & demoralize them. The manner selected groups have been tasked to ridicule the uniform, showcases how well the campaign has been orchestrated to corner every individual/group that puts the Nation first and attempts to protect the interest of the Nation. Everyone who looks at issues from the prism of what benefits or what is disadvantages to the nation is being targeted.

Ranil took over as PM claiming to solve the economic crisis. The constitution has nothing to do with the economy & should not be touched until there is stability in the country. People’s minds are diverted to home problems, is this why these constitutional changes are being hurriedly passed as part of the unfulfilled plans started out in 2015?

As citizens, we must take a Pro-Sri Lanka stand. Petty political alliances should be set aside. In a national crisis, the interest of the Nation must come first.

It is important for people to realize the dangers of passing Presidential powers to a Prime Minister. President is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, passing this role to Parliament means in a crisis, a decision cannot be taken unless majority in Parliament agree. With the 13a in force & demands for police & land powers, every President has withheld giving these powers knowing its ultimate outcome.

The sitting Prime Minister, no one should forget signed a controversial cease fire agreement in 2002, this document remains secret & out of public domain & handed territory to terrorists confining the armed forces to barracks. This same PM, allowed the co-sponsorship of UNHRC resolution with the state accepting war crimes by our armed forces. This same PM was always reluctant to end the war & has never backed the armed forces.

Inspite of people’s attention being diverted, the judgement by CJ on presidential powers requireming referendum needs to be revisited.

We are having a situation where a person elected as President by votes of 69lakhs of people are subtly being transferred to a prime minister who has been rejected by his party. In such a scenario why should the President have to take advice of such a PM?

Article 154(b)(2) where the President rules through the governor will also result in this unmandated PM deciding on crucial matters of national security importance.

With an unsolved economic crisis, Sri Lanka cannot walk into another political and constitutional crisis as a result of personal political goals aligned to external lobbying by geopolitically interested parties. Protestors are all demanding a solution to the economic crisis. No one is asking for constitutional amendments, therefore MPs must raise this concern in Parliament. Naturally, the MPs have been subtly neutralized by attacks on their homes as a tactic to make them not object to the constitutional googly’s being plotted.

19a was drafted to specifically fit 2 persons brought to power. This is why attempts were made to transfer powers from President to Prime Minister introducing clauses relevant for the Presidential rule of only Sirisena. How can such draft insertions hold national interest?

Personal aspirations cannot be a flag carrier for constitutional changes. This is why until the country is stable economically, no changes should be hurriedly passed.

Shenali D Waduge

Pathik Hasan, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

 The Cambodian media has published excellent article praising Bangladesh’s economic model. Cambodian media has  lavished praise on Bangladesh and its economic success. 

At age 51, Bangladesh is going to be a South Asian economic miracle. Although Bangladesh is also a South Asian country , an immediate neighbour of Sri Lanka, it has surpassed Colombo in almost all socio-cultural and economic indicators. Being South Asian countries, the story of Bangladesh is totally different from Sri Lanka. Cambodia sees Sri Lanka as a friendly state. So, Cambodia wants a economic solvent Sri Lanka. Thus, Cambodia suggests Sri Lanka to overcome its economic recession by following its neighbor Bangladesh. That is the attraction Bangladesh now holds in Cambodia. Rare praise from Cambodia is the highest recognition for Bangladesh.  

Cambodia says that Dhaka is on the right track to achieving a middle-income status nation and integrating economic growth with social betterment. 

Cambodia’s newspaper has had an excellent article appreciating Bangladesh’s success story. One focused on how Bangladesh has improved its quality of life, economic strength and improved education and research. Today, even countries in Africa are being urged to look towards Bangladesh.  

The article in the Cambodian media spoke about how Bangladesh inherited a shattered economy and a completely broken infrastructure when it became a free nation in 1971. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger had called it a basket case” in 1974. Today, the world is both surprised and delighted to see a phoenix rising from the ashes. 

The article  noted how Bangladesh has now given assistance to Sri Lanka and Sudan from its foreign exchange reserves. It argued that South Asia can learn a lot from Bangladesh. 

The prestigious newspaper in Cambodia, had an article by India based researcher John Rozario. He wrote: The Bangladesh story is an attractive one. How can a country so vulnerable to natural calamities outperform its much larger, better-endowed neighbours — India and Pakistan — in most socio-economic indicators?” 

He felt that Bangladesh may miss being a middle-income country by 2024 but mega infrastructure projects like Padma Bridge, Karnafuli Tunnel and Metro Rail could help it become a developed country by 2041. But this will require an uninterrupted development environment and strong leadership.  

The article comparing the Bangladesh model of economic growth with Sri Lanka’s. It spoke highly about Bangladesh becoming the next South Asian economic superstar.  

While the Cambodian media is now asking Sri Lanka government to follow the Bangladesh model, it remains an important point that Bangladesh is also a South Asian country, an immediate neighbour of Sri Lanka.

An article in the Cambodian newspaper has suggested that Sri Lanka, which is in the throes of an economic crisis, follow the model of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in resolving the crisis. The article, published in the Cambodian Khmer Times, was written by John Rozario of India.

Sri Lanka, a South Asian tourism-dependent island nation, is going through a severe economic crisis, according to the article. The country can follow the model of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in resolving the crisis. Strong leadership has been one of the main reasons behind the success of Bangladesh model. Sri Lanka can follow this model tested to overcome the current crisis.

Cambodia’s Khmer Times article advises Sri Lanka to follow Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s model

An article in the Cambodian newspaper has suggested that Sri Lanka, which is in the throes of an economic crisis, follow the model of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in resolving the crisis. The article, published in the Cambodian media, was written by John Rozario of India.

Sri Lanka, a South Asian tourism-dependent island nation, is going through a severe economic crisis, according to the article. The country can follow the model of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in resolving the crisis. Strong leadership has been one of the main reasons behind the success of Bangladesh model. Sri Lanka can follow this model tested to overcome the current crisis.

Bangladesh is a role model of development during the Corona period. This development is remarkably wonderful. Bangladesh has gone from a least developed country to a developing country. The main contributor behind this is Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Through his tireless efforts, Bangladesh has become a middle-income country from a bottomless basket.

Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen at an alarming rate. Many important things are not going to be imported due to lack of money. Paper imports have been shut down. As a result, many educational institutions are not able to take exams. The country is facing a severe gas, fuel oil and cooking gas crisis.

උපුටා ගැන්ම  Colombo Today

බුදුන්ගේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ නාමයට හා බුදු දහමට අපකීර්තියක් සිදුවන ආකාරයේ පොතක් මුද්‍රණය කිරීම හා බෙදා හැරීම සිදු කළැයි කියන සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටි කන්දේ කපුගේ ශ්‍රීනාත් චතුරංග හා උපුල් ශාන්ත සන්නස්ගල යන අයට එක් අයකුට රුපියල් 50,000 බැගින් වූ ශරීර ඇපයක් මත මුදා හැරීමට කොළඹ ප්‍රධාන මහේස්ත්‍රාත් නන්දන අමරසිංහ මහතා ඊයේ (මැයි 20) නියෝග කළේ ය.

මෙම සිද්ධියට අදාළව තවදුරට ත් විමර්ශන පවත්වා නීතිපති උපදෙස් ලබා ගැනීමෙන් අනතුරුව ඉදිරි දින අධිකරණයට වාර්තාවක් ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලෙසට ද මෙහිදී මහේස්ත්‍රාත්වරයා අපරාධ බුද්ධි විශ්ලේෂණ හා නිවාරණ කොට්ඨාසය වෙත නියෝග කළේ ය.

මෙම සිද්ධිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් අධිකරණයේ පෙනී සිටින ලෙසට ඉකුත් අප්‍රේල් මස 29 වන දින නිකුත් කරන ලද නොතීසියකට අනුව සැකකරුවන් දෙදෙනා ඊයේ දින අධිකරණය හමුවේ පෙනී සිටි අවස්ථාවේදී මෙම නියෝගය නිකුත් කෙරිණි.

කරුණු සැලකිල්ලට ගත් මහේස්ත්‍රාත්වරයා මෙම නඩුව ලබන සැප්තැම්බර් මස 9 වන දින දක්‌වා කල් තැබීමට නියම කළේ ය.

‘බුදුන්ගේ රස්තියාදුව’ නම් ග්‍රන්ථය රචනා කර මුද්‍රණය කර බෙදා හැරීමේ කටයුතු කළැයි මෙම දෙදෙනා නඩුවේ සැකකරුවන් ලෙසට නම් කරන ලෙසට නීතිපතිවරයා උපදෙස් ලබා දී ඇති බව ත් ඒ අනුව මෙම සැකකරුවන් දෙදෙනා අධිකරණය හමුවට ඉදිරිපත් වීමට නොතීසි නිකුත් කරන ලෙසත් ඉල්ලමින් අපරාධ බුද්ධි විශ්ලේෂණ හා නිවාරණ කොට්ඨාසය ඉකුත් අප්‍රේල් මස 29 වන දා අධිකරණයට කරුණු වාර්තා කර තිබිණි.

මෙම පොත මුද්‍රණය කර බෙදා හැරීම මගින් බුදු දහමට අපකීර්තියක් හා බුදුන්ගේ ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨ නාමයට අපකීර්තියක් සිදුවී ඇති බව ත් එහි අන්තර්ගතය තුළ ඉතා පහත් සහ නිහීන ලෙස බුදුන් වහන්සේට නින්දා හා අපහාස කර ඇති බව ත් සඳහන් කරමින් 2018 අගෝස්තු මස 20 වන දින එවකට සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය විජයදාස රාජපක්ෂ මහතා විසින් කරනු ලැබූ පැමිණිල්ලකට අනුව මෙම විමර්ශන ආරම්භ කළ බව අපරාධ බුද්ධි විශ්ලේෂණ හා නිවාරණ කොට්ඨාසය පසුගිය දින අධිකරණය හමුවේ වාර්තා කර තිබිණි.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, May 21 (Xinhua):  Pettah Market is one of Sri Lanka’s most important and busiest commodity hubs in Colombo,  where one can find a wide variety of goods. Due to the economic crisis, business in Pettah Market is not as prosperous as before, but the wholesale food market, which is closely related to the lives of locals, is still very busy.

Here are some scenes from Pettah as captured by Xinhua photographer Tang Lu:

Courtesy The TelegraphOnLine

21st Amendment to the Constitution to be referred to the cabinet for approval on Monday.

Sri Lanka’s minister of justice has said that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution will be referred to the cabinet for approval on Monday, a media report said on Sunday, paving the way to curb the unfettered powers of embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The 21st Amendment is expected to annul 20A, which gave unfettered powers to President Gotabaya after abolishing the 19th Amendment that had made Parliament powerful over the President.Advertisement

The amendment would make it impossible for those with dual citizenship to hold a seat in Parliament, the News First portal quoted minister of justice Dr Wijayadasa Rajapaksa as saying.

Gotabaya, who is facing growing demand for his resignation for mismanaging the country’s economy, had relinquished his US citizenship in April 2019 before contesting the presidential elections.

In addition to the existing Independent Commissions, the National Audit Commission and the Procurement Commission will be amended as Independent Commissions, the report said.

The Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after their massive victory in the general elections in August 2020, which allowed them to amend the Constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key positions.

How two powerful brothers fell out and took their country down with them

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The mob was bashing on the gates of the Sri Lankan prime minister’s official residence, its size and fury swelling dangerously.

For weeks, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the 76-year-old prime minister, had been under pressure to resign as the economy imploded and protests erupted. The brother of the president, Gotabaya, and a patriarch of his own political dynasty, Mahinda was once hailed as appachchi, the beloved father of the people. Now he was huddled in his second-floor bedroom, accompanied by relatives who frantically called army officers, pleading to be rescued.Are you on Telegram? Subscribe to our channel for the latest updates on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Outside the gates, anti-government protesters who had been attacked earlier by Mahinda’s supporters were taking their revenge — rioting, burning buses and torching hundreds of homes owned by allies of the Rajapaksas. A lawmaker from their party was beaten to death, his body dragged through the streets.Advertisement

That day, May 9, was one of the most violent andchaotic in recent Sri Lankan history. But it was precipitated by years of turmoil inside the house of Rajapaksa.

The Rajapaksa brothers have dominated politics here for most of the last 20 years. After helping Mahinda win the presidency in 2005, his brothers Chamal, Gotabaya and Basil took over ministries that controlled three-quarters of the national budget and built popular support despite allegations of human rights abuses and corruption. But by 2019, when Gotabaya became president, the family was marred by infighting and dysfunction that would drive South Asia’s most developed nation into ruin.

In interviews, current and former ministers, foreign diplomats and Rajapaksa confidants, some of whom spoke for the first time as they saw the family splinter, said Gotabaya and Mahinda, and their respective factions, clashed over ministerial appointments and agricultural policies, investment deals and political favors. As the economy went into free fall this year, Mahinda, backed by several Rajapaksa scions, resisted Gotabaya’s wish that he step aside.Advertisement

Distrust deepened to the point that members of Mahinda’s inner circle, besieged in his compound May 9, felt that the president had abandoned them. Udayanga Weeratunga, a cousin who was with the prime minister, and another family aide who was present, told The Washington Post that they suspect Gotabaya’s supporters in the army purposefully delayed coming to their aid for six hours.

Gotabaya is clinging to power after replacing his brother with a new prime minister, who revealed this week that Sri Lanka has less than $1 million in foreign reserves, dwindling medical supplies and almost no fuel.

Sri Lanka faces total destruction,” former president Maithripala Sirisena said. The country has learned a lesson about dynastic politics.”

The family business

When Mahinda, the son of a wealthy rice and coconut farmer who was active in politics, ran for parliament in 1970, he was following in the tradition of the few elite families that dominate Sri Lanka, a lush teardrop-shape island off the coast of India.Advertisement

You cannot win [in politics] if you’re not from an established family,” said Razeen Sally, a professor at the National University of Singapore. So the system is left to established insiders who can pillage the state.”

The second of nine children, Mahinda was charismatic, loved crowds and stuck close to his younger brother, Basil, who is considered the family’s political strategist. Their middle brother, Gotabaya, was always different: aloof, politically inexperienced, a teetotaler and vegetarian who spent 21 years in the military. He would visit the ancestral home only during New Year,” recalled Weeratunga, their cousin who is close to Mahinda.

The Rajapaksas ran the country like a family business during Mahinda’s 10-year presidency, starting in 2005. He named Gotabaya defense secretary while Basil and their oldest brother, Chamal, were placed in charge of irrigation and economic development. Sri Lanka enjoyed years of growth, fueled by a mountain of foreign debt.Advertisement

Mahinda enjoyed the adulation of voters, who approved of his bloody but decisive victory in a 26-year civil war against Tamil rebels and his frequent appeals to Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism.

But allegations of corruption, including questionable deals with Chinese state companies and officials, swirled around Mahinda. Gotabaya was also implicated, though to a lesser extent, and faced scrutiny over the 2006 purchase of MiG fighters from Ukraine.

Sankhitha Gunaratne, deputy executive director of Transparency International Sri Lanka, said Mahinda and Basil have faced numerous accusations, including diverting tsunami relief aid and using public funds to buy land, but many cases have stalled or been withdrawn. The alleged Rajapaksa corruption is like a large tree that provides shade to many people,” she said.Advertisement

In 2021, a leaked trove of financial documents known as the Pandora Papers revealed that a niece of the Rajapaksa brothers had millions of dollars hidden in offshore accounts.

Amid growing anger over the Rajapaksas’ alleged cronyism and corruption, Mahinda lost a bid for a third term in 2015. Almost immediately, an eclectic coalition of pro-Western business executives, military hard-liners and Buddhist monks identified a new candidate: Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The middle brother

It quickly became apparent that Gotabaya, backed by new political sponsors, would clash with Mahinda. The men rarely confronted each other directly, yet they disagreed on everything, including high-stakes political gamesmanship and petty corruption, family confidants said.

Dilith Jayaweera, a media magnate who is widely credited with launching Gotabaya’s candidacy, remembers an incident from 2018 when he was called by Mahinda to Gotabaya’s home. Mahinda had put Gotabaya’s name on the title to an illegally built resort so that a powerful monk, a political ally, could get free electricity. The scandal was about to leak and, as was often the case, Mahinda was reluctant to tell his brother, so he nudged Jayaweera to break the news to him.Advertisement

Gotabaya was livid,” Jayaweera said, and stormed off to a Buddhist temple, refusing to share a car with his brother.

In October 2018, a constitutional crisis erupted when Sirisena, then president, fired his prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and replaced him with Mahinda,who he had defeated at the polls just three years earlier. The capital was tense as both men made claims on the country’s No. 2 job and rumors swirled that Wickremesinghe might be removed by force. Fearing Mahinda and Basil were trying to outflank him and engineer their own return to power, Gotabaya secretly met Wickremesinghe to pledge his support.

Soon after, the Supreme Court ruled against Mahinda’s claim, and he backed down. The family had no option but to support Gotabaya.

In the run-up to elections, terrorist attacks by Muslim extremists rocked Sri Lanka, galvanizing Sinhalese Buddhist support around the former military man. On the campaign trail, Gotabaya spoke of security, good governance and development, pitching himself as a technocrat, and Colombo, with its emerging skyline of Indian- and Chinese-funded skyscrapers, as the next Singapore. He won in a landslide.Advertisement

On the day of his swearing-in on Nov. 19, 2019, Gotabaya signaled a break from his family. He refused to wear a red sataka,” the Rajapaksa clan’s signature scarf, favoring a short-sleeved shirt. Unlike Mahinda, who printed his own image on 1,000-rupee notes while he was president, Gotabaya prohibited government offices from hanging his official portrait.

But the next day was the beginning of the downfall,” said Nalaka Godahewa, a former financial executive who was later Gotabaya’s minister of mass media.

Gotabaya’s pro-Western business-sector backers had recommended a list of appointments, but when the president unveiled his first Cabinet, it was led by Mahinda as prime minister and stocked with Basil and Mahinda loyalists. They enacted steep tax cuts and argued against seeking aid from the International Monetary Fund despite mounting debt. Gotabaya personally pushed through a ban on chemical fertilizers that hurt crop yields, just as global food prices soared.Advertisement

Mahinda’s supporters said they had shaped the Cabinet only to be undermined by Gotabaya’s appointments. In several instances, the government issued trade policies that were retracted within 24 hours. You had ministers fighting secretaries,” Weeratunga said. Fighting permeated the administration.”

The Rajapaksas were united on one issue: A constitutional amendment passed in 2020 that weakened commissions investigating corruption and granted the president far-reaching powers over the courts.

The fall

By early 2022, the economy was in free fall. Foodstuffs like rice doubled in price from a year prior. Gasoline and electricity were in short supply. Foreign currency reserves were running out.

In April, nightly demonstrations took root in the capital demanding that the Rajapaksas leave politics, and some turned violent. Gotabaya’s entire Cabinet — which included Basil, the finance minister; the elder brother, Chamal; and Mahinda’s son — resigned, giving Gotabaya a chance to form a new government. Sri Lanka needed a stable image to present to foreign lenders and negotiate an urgent bailout.

But Mahinda, the prime minister, resisted calls from the opposition and even signals from the president to quit.

Gotabaya didn’t force the issue. G.R. would say, ‘He knows what I want,’ ” said Godahewa, who joined the Cabinet after several Rajapaksas departed. He felt he needed the support of Basil and Mahinda.”

With pressure mounting on Mahinda, his supporters organized a May 9 rally at Temple Trees, the prime minister’s compound. The patriarch, feeling deflated and mulling resigning, suddenly seemed energized, according to two family insiders and videos of the event.

As a leader who has always listened to the people, I now ask you: What needs to be done?” Mahinda said to thousands of supporters sitting cross-legged in a chandelier-lit hall. You must stay!” the crowd roared. Does that mean I shouldn’t resign?” he asked again, soaking in calls to fight on.

When the rally ended, supporters streamed out of Temple Trees with steel rods and wooden sticks, beating anti-government protesters and sparking a bloody backlash that shocked the nation.

Holed up in Temple Trees with his sons, who had urged him to stay, Mahinda told his speechwriter at 4 p.m. that he was resigning. The speechwriter spread the news to the media, but that didn’t stop the violence, said two people inside the compound. Despite the family’s pleas, the army didn’t send reinforcements until 11 p.m., after protesters had already breached a gate. At 4 a.m., Mahinda was evacuated by soldiers to a military base.

Mahinda understood this stalling was deliberate,” said Weeratunga, who accused Gotabaya of trying to intimidate his brothers. But two ministers who were by the president’s side that day said he furiously called military officers to no avail.

He could neither control the army nor police,” Godahewa said.

Godahewa and foreign diplomats said army commander Shavendra Silva — who has been in frequent touch with Western officials — was reluctant to deploy his forces for fear of being seen as ordering a military crackdown.

The absence of the military that day widened the fissures among the brothers. In a speech to parliament this week, Chamal chastised Mahinda for not leaving politics in 2015. And at a recent meeting of the Rajapaksas’ party members, family allies angrily askedwhy they were not protected on May 9 in a rare display of discord. How Gotabaya treats the party now will decide the direction of the people’s wrath,” Weeratunga said.

On May 12, an embattled and isolated Gotabaya named a new prime minister: Ranil Wickremesinghe, the man he secretly met with in 2018 when he first jockeyed for the position against his brother.

Four years later, Sri Lanka’s most powerful family was crumbling — maybe for good, said Jayaweera, the media magnate.

The Rajapaksas, and Sri Lanka, ended in tragedy,” he said. It ended because of their own doing.”

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

An Indian ship carrying urgent relief supplies including rice, life-saving medicines and milk powder arrived in Colombo on Sunday and the consignment was handed over to the government, the Indian High Commission said.

High Commissioner Gopal Baglay handed over a large consignment of humanitarian assistance worth more than SLR 2 billion from the people of India to Foreign Minister Prof. G.L Peiris.

The consignment consists of 9,000 MT of rice, 50 MT of milk powder and more than 25 MT of drugs and other medical supplies. 

The consignment was flagged off from Chennai port by Thiru M.K Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on 18 May 2022. This is also the first consignment under a larger USD 16 million commitment of 40,000 MT of rice, 500 MT of milk powder and medicines by Government of Tamil Nadu.

The Indian High Commission said that handed over materials shall be distributed among vulnerable and needy sections in various parts of Sri Lanka including Northern, Eastern, Central and Western Provinces by Government of Sri Lanka in the coming days. 

Courtesy Adaderana

The residence of an owner of a filling station in the Ipalogama area in Anuradhapura has been set ablaze by a certain group of individuals.

The incident had occurred at around 9.40 p.m. last night (21) at the residence located in the Bogaha Akkare area in Ipalogama.

The home owner’s wife and two children had also been at home at the time of the incident, however none of them had sustained any injuries.

However, the house in question has almost completely been destroyed by the fire. 

It is reported that the filling station owner’s eldest child is preparing to sit for the Advanced Level examination and that all his books and study material have been destroyed by the fire. 

The exact reason behind the torching of the house is yet to be uncovered while Ipalogama Police are conducting further investigations. 

Courtesy Adaderana

Governments need to subsidise the cost of food and energy for the poorest members of society and without the correct support, the protests seen in Sri Lanka could be repeated in other countries.” 

This is the observation of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva.

Kristalina Georgieva, while speaking to the BBC, said that such similar unrest before the Covid-19 pandemic, from France to Chile, was caused by a sense of inequality growing” and decisions being made without the support of the people. 

If we are to learn any lessons from 2019 it is to be much more humble about policy decisions and engage in multiple ways with people because policies must be for people, not the paper we write them on,”

Kristalina Georgieva said that the support needs to be provided in a very targeted manner, preferably by providing subsidies directly to people”.

On The Cost Of Living Crisis

There are two priorities, one the very poor people, segments of society that are now struggling with high food and energy prices. The second, she added, is to support those businesses that have been most damaged by the war in Ukraine,” Georgieva told the BBC.

Advise To Governments

Georgieva is also concerned about the impact those higher borrowing costs will have on governments who have to repay huge debts they took on to get through the pandemic. With that in mind, she said governments needed to be very careful” about how much money they spent and what they spent it on.

Source: BBC

–Agencies

By Raj Gonsalkorale

Sri Lanka has defaulted on a foreign loan interest component for the first time in its history. It is a day of shame for a country that boasts of such a rich and ancient cultural heritage, and which has produced so many people of eminence in so many fields of expertise over the years. It is regrettable that the people of Sri Lanka had been remiss in their responsibilities and acumen not to have had accountability, credibility, and honesty as priorities in selecting their political leaders to govern the country on their behalf. It is shameful that the political leaders and their flock who were trusted by the people have been utterly irresponsible in allowing the country to sink to this depth of despair and hopelessness. A country that has no fuel, no cooking gas, no medicines and now, increasingly, no food, power cuts, water cuts, with all this contributing to the anger and anguish of millions of people.

Whether the President of the country thinks or not, or like it or not, he has to take full responsibility for this shame as he had all the powers he needed under the 20^th amendment to take early preventive action to avoid a catastrophe of this degree. The buck has to stop with him, and although none of his predecessors ever did that, he should have set an example. His immediate predecessor Sirisena did not even apologize to the nation for the Easter bomb fiasco that happened under his watch. The first Executive President Jayewardene did not either in the aftermath of the 1983 pogrom against the Tamil community in Sri Lanka. This is the quality of leaders voted in by the public.

Despite being a nation of beggars now, undergoing such ignominy as looking for firewood to cook the next meal, standing in queues for hours for some fuel, foregoing some medicines as they are not available, facing possible food shortages and being unable to buy these even if available due to the astronomical price hikes, power cuts, now water cuts, political leaders and their flock are still placing their quest for power over the welfare of the country. They should have all thrown their party labels to the Diyawanna Oya and entered the Parliament without party affiliations to work together to save it from further ignominy.

The ongoing IUSF protests and any other protest, while understood and empathized, are ill timed and unreasonable. These and the Galle Face Confab has brought about a significant change in governance, personnel associated with it and the style of governance. The civil society has been awakened and it is unlikely that they will allow a return to the past.  This is a very positive and an invigorating development and one hopes that the civil society will never ever go back to sleep, conjured by politicians steeped in avarice, dishonesty, and vulgar behavior. No doubt there is more to be done to institutionalize the changes and to bring about cultural changes amongst the public in order to ensure a governance model that has no place for the type of politicians who have brought the country to the state it is in today. There is no future for Sri Lanka if it is to be governed by the kind of politicians who are in Parliament today, of course with a few exceptions.

The crisis faced by the country today is such that if the immediate issues are not addressed, there will not be a sovereign country left to govern even for good men and women of the soil. The country will not disappear, but its sovereignty will as it could be taken over for all intents and purposes by a power that has the money and the strength to do so. In desperation, the country has turned to Ranil Wickremasinghe to save it from ignominy and a likely foreclosure by such a power or powers.

Wickremasinghe has placed the true situation of the country’s economy before the people. He has stated in no uncertain terms that it is bankrupt, it will have to face more hardships in the next few months, and it will face food shortages. All those leaders and political representatives who have brought the country to this state are an absolute disgrace and they do not deserve to be called Sri Lankans as they are still bickering about technicalities when they should have offered to work together unconditionally to avert the looming disaster.

The immediate, desperate urgency is to stay together and work together to avert the unthinkable, the loss of the country’s sovereignty. This message is primarily for the protestors and the public as they will be the biggest losers should the country lose its sovereignty. It is also not a time for Presidential and Prime Ministerial aspirants to place their ambitions ahead of the interest of the country. Whatever Wickremasinghe’s past failures when he held the wheels in his hands, on five occasions, this occasion is like no other past occasion, as neither he nor the country has faced a situation as dire as this in the past. He has stuck his head out and placed it on the block, a very brave thing to do given the perilous situation the country is in. If he succeeds in taking the country out of its desperate and hopeless situation, he deserves all the plaudits and a special place in history like no other. If he fails, he knows his head is on the block.

Wickremasinghe nor any other mortal holding the wheel will be able to steer the country out of trouble by himself or herself. He needs a small, competent, dedicated team of professionals to assist him as cabinet ministers and senior officials, and the Parliamentarians to take a break and stay home. The ongoing pretense of two tongued politicians that they can carry on, pretending things are normal and its business as usual, will have to stop if the country is to be saved from its ultimate disgrace. What Sri Lanka needs is an emergency government, with an emergency cabinet and an emergency task force of officials to manage a situation that is far worse than an emergency.

All non-essential cabinet positions, all State minister positions should be temporarily suspended. The emergency government should be given unfettered powers to get the country out of its dire predicament while the parliamentarians are kept out of such a government and directed, by the people, to get the 21^st amendment passed and implemented. Prime Minister Wickremasinghe has indicated that this will be done within a few weeks.  The Executive Presidency has failed Sri Lanka and it needs to be replaced with a cabinet system of government and a Prime Minister responsible to the Parliament.

Besides this, the 21^st Amendment must include accountability measures for all politicians and public officials, particularly those in senior positions. Submission of annual assets and liabilities of politicians and senior officials has to be made compulsory with members of the public given free and unfettered access to such statements. Failure to do so and failing to account for their assets and how they acquired them, must be made punishable with harsh punishments including confiscation of such unexplained assets, fines and jail sentences. Besides passing the 21^st Amendment as a priority, a new Constitution must be finalized in the next 12-18 months with input from the people, and a general election held within 2 years under the new constitution.

The shame must end and those who caused it held to account for not taking early action to avert it.

Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, May 21 (Newswire) – Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara says that the government has decided to supply fuel for electricity generation as a priority, to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply in the country.

He said that with the Norachcholai power plant expected to be back in full operation by tomorrow after the repair work and along with the hydro power generation, government is contemplating to provide uninterrupted power supply to the entire country by early next week.

Initial plan was to give uninterrupted electricity by 1st of June but now we are looking into whether we can start it from early next week” Minister said.

The minister said that with this decision, he is expecting people to not hoard fuel for private power generators. Therefore, more fuel should be available for general public for transportation needs.

Kanchana Wijesekara went on to say that the government expects to put an end to the power crisis on priority but the fuel crisis does not have a short term solution.

He also said the government is planning to resume operations of the Sapugaskanda oil refinery as well. The minister expressed these views while addressing the media at a press briefing held at the ministry premised today (21).

Anne-Marie Gulde  Courtesy IMF

Bulgaria’s latest stabilization program, which included the introduction of a currency board, marked the end of a period of economic turmoil and near-hyperinflation. What accounts for its success?

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After several failed stabilization attempts, Bulgaria introduced a currency board on July 1, 1997. Controversial and difficult to implement because of Bulgaria’s serious structural problems, the currency board has been a crucial factor in the success of the country’s latest stabilization program. Combining a traditional, rule-based exchange arrange-ment with legal and structural measures that addressed pressing banking sector and fiscal issues, it was well designed for the task at hand—credible but flexible enough to allow Bulgaria to tackle a systemic banking crisis.

Initial conditions

In late 1996, Bulgaria was in the midst of a banking crisis and entering a period of hyperinflation. Support for the government was declining and popular protest calling for new elections was widespread. In view of the failure of the country’s earlier stabilization programs, a perception was developing that, to be credible, a renewed stabilization attempt would require a visible, rule-based system, such as a currency board. Nevertheless, the economic and financial problems confronting Bulgaria seemed insurmountable at first.

Macroeconomic and structural setting. The depth of the macroeconomic crisis was daunting. On an annual basis, inflation had soared to almost 500 percent in January 1997 and surpassed 2,000 percent in March. The causes of the rapid acceleration of inflation included liquidity injections to support the country’s weakening banking system, continued central bank financing of the budget deficit, and—increasingly important—faltering confidence in the Bulgarian lev, which reduced domestic money demand. In an effort to soften the currency’s depreciation—from lev 487 to lev 1,588 per US$1 in the first quarter of 1997—the central bank depleted its international reserves; remaining reserves covered less than two months of imports. At the same time, falling output and growing tax evasion caused tax revenues to plummet, from almost 40 percent of GDP (annualized) to 14.7 percent of GDP in February 1997. To finance the fiscal deficit, the government issued treasury bills with successively shorter maturities and higher interest rates. Real output, which had grown in 1994 and 1995, contracted by more than 10 percent during 1996.

Full Report

https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1999/09/gulde.htm

IMF

A currency board combines three elements: a fixed exchange rate between a country’s currency and an “anchor currency,” automatic convertibility, and a long-term commitment to the system, often made explicit in the central bank law.

The main reason for countries to consider a currency board is to demonstrate that they are pursuing an anti-inflationary policy.A currency board is credible only if a country’s central bank holds sufficient official foreign exchange reserves to cover at least its entire monetary liabilities, thereby assuring financial markets and the public at large that every domestic-currency bill is backed by an equivalent amount of foreign currency in the official coffers.

Demand is higher for a “currency-board currency” than for currencies without guarantees because holders know that, rain or shine, their liquid money can easily be converted into a major foreign currency. Were it to come to such a testing of the system, its architects contend, automatic stabilizers would prevent any major outflows of foreign currency.

The mechanism works through changes in the money supply, which lead to interest rate changes, which, in turn, encourage funds to move between the domestic and the anchor currency. This is essentially the same mechanism that operates under a fixed exchange rate, but the exchange rate guarantee implied in the currency board rules ensures that the necessary interest rate changes and the attendant costs for the economy will be comparatively lower.

The obvious advantages of a currency board are economic credibility, low inflation, and low interest rates. But currency boards can prove limiting, especially for countries that have weak banking systems or are prone to economic shocks. With a currency board in place, the central bank can no longer serve as a lender of last resort for banks in trouble.

At most, it is limited to acting as an emergency fund that is either set aside at the time the currency board is introduced or funded, over time, out of central bank profits. Another disadvantage is that, with a currency board arrangement, it is not possible to use financial policies—that is, adjustments of domestic interest or exchange rates—to stimulate the economy. Instead, economic adjustment can be achieved only through wage and price adjustments, which can be both slower and more painful.

By Dilini Madushanki Courtesy Ceylon Today

Courtesy Adaderana

The World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have jointly decided to support Sri Lanka’s response to the ongoing economic crisis.

The three institutions announced their decision in a statement issued after the first joint coordinated meeting held on the 19th of May.

All three institutions are adopting a coordinated approach to sustain basic services and livelihoods and to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis on the people of Sri Lanka.”

This includes access to essential items such as medicines, cash assistance, gas and fertilizer through the reallocation of resources from existing projects, the statement read further.

Courtesy Adaderana

China says it stands ready to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions and to continue to play a positive role in easing Sri Lanka’s debt burden.

China fully relates to the difficulties and challenges facing Sri Lanka and stands ready to play a constructive role in its steady economic and social development,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Mr. Wang Wenbin said at a media briefing yesterday (May 20).

He also stated that China is prepared to work with relevant counties and international financial institutions and to continue to play a positive role in easing Sri Lanka’s debt burden and helping the island nation to achieve sustainable development.

In the meantime, we hope and believe that Sri Lanka will work in the same direction and make independent efforts to uphold the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investment and financing partners and maintain stability and credibility of its investment and financing environment, Mr. Wenbin said further in response to a question raised during the media briefing.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lanka Police has decided to begin island-wide raids from tomorrow (May 22) in search of people hoarding diesel or petrol for resale.

Police spokesperson said such persons will be taken into custody.

Courtesy RT

West could be forced to ask Russia for grain in exchange for lifting sanctions

© Getty Images / Thomas Barwick

Wheat prices have surged to record highs over the past two months as major producers like Russia, Kazakhstan and India scrapped exports to protect their domestic markets. This has sparked fears of food insecurity and hunger around the world.

According to experts who spoke to Russia’s Izvestia newspaper, since the beginning of the year the cost of wheat has risen in price by more than 60%. They say the surge was caused by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which provide nearly a third of the globe’s wheat exports.

In the 2021-2022 season that began in July last year, Russian suppliers accounted for 16% of global wheat exports, and Ukrainian producers accounted for 10%. But due to the conflict both countries banned wheat exports. In February Russia restricted the export of all grains (wheat, rye, barley and corn) outside the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) until June 30. Meanwhile, Ukraine has shut its only remaining port in Odessa.

Anti-Russia sanctions forced international companies to sever long-standing business ties and leave Russia, which caused supply disruptions. In one example, the EU recently banned cooperation with the Black Sea Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, through which more than half of the exported grain is shipped.READ MORE: Global wheat prices hit record high

Moreover, following Moscow’s decision to ban exports, Kazakhstan followed suit with its own restrictions, while, earlier this month, India also scrapped the export of wheat, stating that food security of India, neighboring and other vulnerable countries is at risk.”

Following the news from New Delhi, wheat futures in Chicago jumped by 6% to $12.47 per bushel, its highest value in two months. And the price of wheat in Europe reached an historic high of about $461 per ton.

The grain crisis is being felt across the globe, but most acutely in Africa, which relies on exports from the Black Sea region for 90% of its needs. Last month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that a fifth of humanity was at risk of poverty and hunger due to the current situation in the wheat market.

Western states have accused Russia of unleashing a wheat war,” putting the blame for the current crisis on Moscow, but experts state that Russia is not the only one responsible for the worsening crisis, or if it is, it is not voluntary. Russia has not banned exports but introduced temporary duties and quotas to protect the domestic market. As for Ukraine, its grain is being actively removed from storage under the cover of EU help. The bloc’s top diplomat Josep Borrell recently stated that Ukraine should be helped to continue producing and exporting grain and wheat,” and since Ukrainian storage facilities are now full, they need to be emptied to make room for a new crop.”READ MORE: Britons brace for gloomy future as cost of living soars

Citing experts, Izvestia notes that Russia and Ukraine are not the only key global exporters of wheat. Other producers could save the world market from the crisis, for instance the US and Canada, which export 26 and 25 million tons of wheat, respectively, or around 25% of global exports. Other major Western producers are France (19 million tons) and Germany (9.2 million tons). However, according to analysts, these countries are unlikely to share their grain with those in need, prioritizing their own food security.

Producing countries will have their own difficulties, primarily related to energy prices, production costs and inflation, so it is likely that they simply will be too occupied to care for those countries that will be forced to starve,” Nikolai Vavilov, strategic research specialist at Total Research. is cited as saying.

Another expert, the head of the analytics department at the research company NTech Daria Akimova, says these countries would want to keep their raw materials to shield their economies from further inflation spikes.

READ MORE: The imminent global food crisis is being blamed on Russia, but the truth is rather more complex

In order to protect themselves within the country from hunger and reduce their own inflation, producing countries are trying to keep raw materials. Since in the event of currency instability, and indeed any instability, it is always more profitable to have raw materials than cash: it does not depreciate as quickly as currency,” the newspaper reported citing Akimova.

Experts largely fail to predict how the wheat market situation will develop further. On one hand, according to Viktor Tunev, Chief Analyst of Ingosstrakh Investments, the problems with the supply of such a widely produced commodity as wheat will most likely be solved by the new harvest, as well as the restoration of supplies from Ukraine and Russia once the conflict is resolved.

On the other hand, it is unclear how long it will take to resolve the conflict. Some experts claim that Western states would at some point be forced to ask Russia to share supplies in exchange for the removal of sanctions.

Shenali D Waduge

The current reality is: Sri Lanka has a financial problem

• Our expenses are higher than our revenues
• Living off loans & paying back with interest is not the solution
• Mismanagement, Waste & Corruption
• Public assets/resources not utilized to the benefit of the People
• The people too have got used to living beyond their means & drawn to lead a lifestyle that they cannot sustain

Government is given only Temporary Public Trusteeship of the State

The sovereignty of a Nation lies with the People & the People delegate their power to those they elect as their representatives.

Thus, a government is only a temporary guardian/custodian of the People’s assets & resources. This means a government cannot barter the People’s resources/assets willy-nilly without asking the People or presenting a valid reason for doing so. The rationale behind this is that a government is responsible for only the duration of their elected term & if that is so, then they cannot take decisions for anything beyond the term they take responsibility for.

The current situation arises from the loss of trust & faith in what the People expected from their elected governments. Politicians have failed in their duty or have been drawn to fleece the county and to this cycle of corruption businesses & even public officials have joined.

The scale of corruptions & mismanagement ends up a burden on the People. People end up paying taxes which cannot meet the wastage/corruptions. We all agree that the corruptions/wastage must stop or be curbed to a bare minimum.

A country’s wealth or power comes essentially from the economic power it yields from the consolidated powers deriving from food security/energy security/monetary security/internal security/external security etc. The economy is key & priority.

Now we come to the question of how do we address Sri Lanka’s financial crisis.

There are 2 schools of thought offering solutions

1. To privatize state assets & forsake all burdens under government
2. To make state assets profitable via a local mechanism/model

Privatization is a very easy and short-sighted answer. Though it may provide an immediate solution, it affords long term problems that are often irreversible & detrimental.

• Government loses a key source to tax people – eventually resulting in a government not having anything to tax. A government without fiscal independence is of no use & becomes powerless
• Privatization badly negotiated & minus safety clauses including exit clauses and protective clauses is likely to land a nation in trouble – there are increasing examples of companies taking governments to court & winning massive compensations which ultimately ends up charged to the taxpayer
• Privatization may also become a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation – when foreign multinational companies acquire coastal belts, resources, assets, minerals etc they will directly dictate to the people (a task entrusted to a government)
• National ownership gets transferred from an initial local party used as a front to a foreign party who runs the show from behind the scenes. This poses many legal /sovereignty challenges to a nation as well.
• Simply siphoning off state assets/resources is prone to indirect/direct foreignization of Sri Lanka & impoverishing a nation. The people are brought down to the level of slave hood to the foreign entities that own & control them.

Foreign parties keen to invest overseas do so, not out of any love for us. They are only looking at what they can gain & what is beneficial to them. Unfortunately, they have found it easy to win their wish-lists via commissions to both politicians and officials, invariably denying the necessary non-negotiable clauses to protect the nation’s assets and resources.

If privatization had clauses where no foreign sale of land or resources and limited term for lease & reviewal of agreements – these projects are unlikely to even commence. Beggars can’t be choosers but a beggar may not even have a tree as a shade if everything and anything is agreed, simply to proceed with privatization. This logic is unacceptable.

Many should now seriously look at the impact of privatization instead of parroting privatization because once the sale of state assets/resources/minerals/coasts/air etc commences – Sri Lanka’s government will have no power to take it back & people’s sovereignty would have been usurped from them. These scenarios have occurred to other countries like Haiti & Sri Lankans should not think such an eventuality will not happen to them.

The 2^nd option is workable and can easily be rolled out if the right people are given the reigns to turn Sri Lanka around – it will not take even 5 years to reap the benefits.

We are all in agreement that the current manner State entities are run with political interference/political incompetent appointees must stop. Now is the time to pressure the Govt to agree to proposals beneficial to the country.

If sovereignty is inalienable & with the People. The people have a duty to protect the States resources and assets to pass down to the next generation. Siphoning them to privatization violates this trusteeship principle. People means not just this generation but future generations as well. This generation has no moral right to give up resources/assets that belong to future generations too.

We are all in agreement that we need a dynamic mechanism with people who are committed and determined to resurrect Sri Lanka from its current unfortunate condition. It is possible & our people can.

To take on this magnanimous task we need an Economic Resource Management Commission (ERMC) – a 100% profit making planning body

• This Commission must be included into the list of Independent Commissions in the Constitution
• All state entities will come under this Commission
• The mandate of this Commission is to not privatize but to turn SOEs (assets/resources) into profit centres.
• The Economic Resource Management Commission will comprise a 10 member Board appointed by the President of Sri Lanka
  • 2 senior entrepreneurs with proven enterprise management capabilities (nominated by registered Chambers of Sri Lanka)
  • 2 nominees from Professional Organizations/Recognized institutes
  • 2 senior professors with integrity nominated by state universities
  • 1 Treasury Secretary or his nominee
  • 1 from Attorney General’s dept (senior)
  • 1 Nominee by President (Senior Secretary level)
  • 1 Nominee by Parliament (Senior Secretary level)
• The Commission will have no political interference in carrying out their task of turning Sri Lanka into a profit centre.
• The duration of this board is for 3 years though annually they will be reviewed for their performance & changed if required.
• The Economic Resource Management Commission decide on the Boards for every state institute & their performance is also evaluated by them. Annual profit & loss of every state entity will be judged & Management will be removed if performance is not up to mark.
• They are prone to public scrutiny & must be transparent in their decision making
• They must sign oath to protect the State/the Assets & Resources belonging to the State (land/minerals/resources/assets etc) /the sovereignty & territorial integrity of Sri Lanka & the safety & security of its People. None of their decisions can violate these conditions. Therefore, they must work within these conditions to turn state assets/resources into profitable ones sans privatization.
• Given the current economic conditions of Sri Lanka’s populace, the state is required to intervene to provide subsidy but these subsidies will be allocated by the Treasury & not by the state corporation & will be based on a formula to be decided (ex: school bus fares/train fares/medicines/ etc)

This simple formula and method suffices to turn Sri Lanka around. We have the capability. We have talented people. We only need to get the best out of them & provide them incentives for doing so. A handful of people cannot be allowed to drain the wealth of the State & tax the people. Pressure Parliament to proceed with this mechanism.

The mandate of this Commission is to turn all state entities into profit making ones within the conditions that protect the sovereignty & territorial integrity of Sri Lanka!

We can prosper within 5 years!

Shenali D Waduge

Courtesy Scroll

The island nation shut down schools and asked public authorities not to commute to work in an attempt to mitigate the fuel crisis.

Sri Lanka’s newly elected Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday said that the crisis-hit island nation is likely to face a potential food shortage from August, NewsWire reported.

The development came as Sri Lanka defaulted on its debts for the first time in its history as the government struggles to halt its worst-ever economic crisis. An inflation rate spiralling towards 40% along with shortages of medicines, milk powder, cooking gas, kerosene and other essential items has sparked nationwide protests.ADVERTISEMENTAD

On Friday, Wickremesinghe warned of a food crisis due to a shortage of fertilisers for the upcoming rice cultivation season.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had banned all chemical fertilisers last year in April, a decision that was revoked after it led to drastically low yields, reported Reuters. However, no substantial imports have yet taken place after the government reversed the ban.

From August there is the possibility of a food crisis in Sri Lanka,” Wickremesinghe said, according to NewsWire. That is about the same time that a global food crisis will also unfold. We have to see how we will survive till about March next year.”

Earlier in the day, authorities also shut down schools and asked public officials not to commute to work in an attempt to mitigate their crippling fuel shortage, the Associated Press reported. Thousands of residents have been queuing up in long lines to obtain fuel.ADVERTISEMENTAD

On May 16, Wickremesinghe had warned that the nation has run out of petrol and warned that the residents could face more hardships in the coming months. He had warned that residents could suffer power outages for as long as 15 hours a day.

The economic crisis forced the president to appoint Wickremesinghe as the island nation’s prime minister on May 12 after a week of violent clashes between government supporters and protestors killed nine and wounded more than 300. The president’s elder brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, quit as the prime minister on May 9 as the violence escalated.

Rajapaksa swore in nine Cabinet ministers on Friday in an attempt to stabilise the government after successive resignations, AP reported. The new ministers include four independent lawmakers, three from the ruling party and two from the Opposition.

Courtesy Gulf Today

A boy stands next to empty cylinders as he waits in a queue to buy domestic gas at a distribution centre in Colombo on Friday. ReutersSri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned of a food shortage as the island nation battles a devastating economic crisis and vowed the government will buy enough fertiliser for the next planting season to boost productivity.

A decision in April last year by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ban all chemical fertilisers drastically cut yields and although the government has reversed the ban, no substantial imports have yet taken place.

“While there may not be time to obtain fertiliser for this Yala (May-August) season, steps are being taken to ensure adequate stocks for the Maha (September-March) season,” Ranil Wickremesinghe said in a message on Twitter. “I sincerely urge everyone to accept the gravity of the … situation.”

Sri Lanka is facing a dire shortage of foreign exchange, fuel and medicines, and economic activity has slowed to a crawl.

“There is no point in talking about how hard life is,” said A.P.D. Sumanavathi, a 60-year-old woman selling fruit and vegetables in the Pettah market in Colombo, the commercial capital, on Friday.

 A couple carries a filled domestic cooking gas cylinder after its distribution, amid the country’s economic crisis, in Colombo. Reuters

“I can’t predict how things will be in two months, at this rate we might not even be here. Nearby, a long queue had formed in front of a shop selling cooking gas cylinders, the prices of which have soared.

“Only about 200 cylinders were delivered, even though there were about 500 people,” said Mohammad Shazly, a part-time chauffeur who said he was standing in the line for the third day to be able to cook food for family of five.

“Without gas, without kerosene oil, we can’t do anything,” he said. “Last option what? Without food we are going to die. That will happen hundred percent.”

Sri Lanka closes schools, limits work amid fuel shortage

Sri Lankan authorities on Friday closed schools and asked public officials not to come to work in a desperate move to prepare for an acute fuel shortage that is expected to last days amid the nation’s worst economic crisis in decades.

The Public Administration Ministry asked the public officials — except for those who maintain essential services — not to come to work on Friday “in a view of current fuel shortage and issues in transport facilities” across the country.

State- and government-approved private schools also closed on Friday amid the worsening fuel shortage, with thousands of people waiting in queues at fuel stations across the country for days at a time.

Sri Lanka is now almost without gasoline and faces an acute shortage of other fuels as well.

The government has been struggling to find money to pay for the importation of fuel, gas and other essentials in recent months as the Indian Ocean island nation is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Its economic woes have brought on a political crisis, with the government facing widespread protests.

New cabinet sworn in

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa swore in nine cabinet ministers Friday, raising the total number to thirteen as he attempts to stabilize the government after a string of resignations.

The new ministers include four independent lawmakers, three from the ruling and two from the main opposition. Four ruling party lawmakers were appointed as cabinet ministers last week.

Rajapaksa sought a unity government in early April but the largest opposition political party, the United People’s Force, had rejected the proposal.

By P. K. Balachandran Courtesy Urasia Review

After nearly two months of uncertainty and turmoil, Sri Lankan parliamentarians have now reached a consensus on the political management of the country, with Ranil Wickremesinghe taking over as Prime Minister and attempting to form a multi-party government.Advertisement

On Friday, nine new cabinet ministers from different parties were sworn in before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The new ministers are:  Nimal Siripala de Silva (Ports, Shipping and Aviation Services); Dr. Susil Premajayantha (Education); Dr. Keheliya Rambukwella (Health); Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe (Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms); Harin Fernando (Tourism and Lands); Dr. Ramesh Pathirana (f Plantation Industries); Manusha Nanayakkara (Labor and Foreign Employment); Nalin Fernando (Trade, Commerce and Food Security); Tiran Alles (Public Security). 

But what Sri Lanka’s 21 million people are likely to face in the near future is far more grave – an unprecedented food shortage and growing lawlessness or anarchy fomented by radical groups exploiting the people’s grievances over shortages of fuel, food and high prices of essentials.

There are reports from various parts of Colombo about gangs, led by local thugs and suspected members radical outfits, stopping buses and preventing people from going to work. With the government still undecided on how to tackle public protests, the police stand idly by as unruly elements impose their will on hapless citizens wanting to go to work to eke out a living under trying circumstances. Although there is a State of Emergency which allows the government to call in the army to aid civil power, the issue is considered to be too sensitive in the current politically charged atmosphere.

Meanwhile the Government Medical Officers Association has threatened to go on strike if a salary cut is ordered. This will only add to the misery of patients who are already facing a shortage of essential drugs in the hospitals and the market. The government doctors had threatened to strikes over salary cuts even as the Prime Minister told parliament that his cabinet will forgo salaries and other perks.

The last one-day all-Island strike cost Sri Lanka US$ 22 million in exports and the burning of buses by agitators on May 9 had caused a loss of SLR 400 million (US$ 1.1 million). Sri Lanka imports buses from India but the usable foreign exchange in the country amounts to only US$ 50 million, according to the former Finance Minister Ali Sabry.   

Food Crisis

On Thursday, in a speech in parliament, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe warned people to face food shortages in the coming months and said the Cabinet has discussed a program to commence food cultivation to cover all areas of the country. He said food scarcity is already affecting people, particularly in the Colombo District, and that prompt action must be taken to provide them with relief. All unused State land will be allocated for the purpose, he added.

The Prime Minister recalled that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had said that Sri Lanka has been identified along with Afghanistan as a country that will need food assistance. The International Food Initiative’s (IFI) Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity” developed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and several other multilateral and United Nations agencies, envisages the spending of  billions of dollars on supporting farmers, he said.

However, while Sri Lanka receives international assistance, the country will have to prepare to ensure food security for all, Wickremesinghe said and added that steps have been taken to provide adequate fertilizer to farmers for the next Maha” harvesting season.

According to the International Trade Administration, the agriculture sector contributes about 7.4 % of Sri Lanka’s GDP, out of which, the fisheries sector contributes around 1.3% and the livestock sector accounts for 0.9%. Over 30% of Sri Lankans are employed in the agricultural sector.

Although Sri Lanka is a fertile tropical land with the potential for the cultivation and processing of a variety of crops, issues such as productivity and profitability hamper the growth of the sector.  There is a lack of private investment in agriculture due to uncertain policies,” ITA said.

Sri Lanka depends substantially on food imports. The importation of food and beverages accounted for 9.7% of total imports in 2020 with total agriculture, food, and beverage imports reaching $1.6 billion, ITA added.

The overnight ban on chemical fertilizers in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, hit Sri Lankan farmers below the belt. It severely curtailed production. According to Nikkei Asia, this year’s Maha season which ended in March, was to see 30% less production less than the normal yield of 3.2 million tons.

A kilogram of tomatoes that sold for 149 Sri Lankan rupees (80 cents) in December 2020 was going for 463 rupees a year later. Similar spikes are mirrored in the prices for green chilies, garlic, onions and coconuts — essentials for spicy dishes that accompany increasingly expensive Sri Lankan short-grain rice,” Nikkei Asia noted. Food inflation rose to 21%.

Nikkei Asia quoted the World Bank has said that at $3.20 per day as the poverty threshold for Sri Lanka. By this yardstick 500,000 more people had fallen into poverty, with the majority in rural areas, where 92% of the poor live. The current estimate of the number of poor in Sri Lanka is 2.56 million out of 21 million.

New York-based ratings agency Fitch has downgraded debt-ridden Sri Lanka’s sovereign rating to restricted default” after the country defaulted on making international sovereign bond payments at the end of the 30-day grace period. The downgrade comes at a time when the Central Bank Governor P Nandalal Weerasinghe conceded on Thursday that Sri Lanka won’t be able to pay back its debts until it restructures them.

Meanwhile, the government has told its non-essential staff to stay at home due to the petrol and diesel shortage.  MPs  have asked the parliament Speaker to give them accommodation in hotels as they cannot reach parliament from their homes in the absence of transport fuel.

P. K. Balachandran

P. K. Balachandran is a senior Indian journalist working in Sri Lanka for local and international media and has been writing on South Asian issues for the past 21 years.

By Shyam Nuwan Ganewatta Courtesy The Island

Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe yesterday (19) said there was some political and social stability in the country and it would help the CBSL achieve some success in its endeavours.

Dr. Weerasinghe said so responding to a question posed by a journalist about the Governor’s earlier claim that he would resign from his post if political stability could not be restored within two weeks.

Now, we have a Prime Minister. We have a cabinet. The Parliament is in session. We expect that a Finance Minister will be appointed soon. There is no violence now. Peaceful protests and demonstrations do not affect political and social stability. I think the country is on the right track. Most MPs have expressed a desire to work together. I think things will become more stable soon,” he said.

Inflation in Sri Lanka would decrease in the coming months due to the corrective policy measures of the Central Bank and the expected improvements in both domestic and global supply conditions, the Central Bank has said in a press release (19).

Inflation is projected to escalate in the near term on account of domestic supply shortages, increased global commodity prices, the effects of the large depreciation of the Sri Lanka rupee against the US dollar thus far during the year, along with the impact of aggregate demand pressures.

However, this will change in the coming months and the bank expects that the recent tightening of monetary conditions and the strengthening of monetary policy communication will help anchor inflation expectations of the public in the period ahead.

The Central Bank expects to minimize excessive volatility in the domestic foreign exchange market through tightening of the monetary policy stance, restrictions on imports on open account terms, and the reduction in the proportion of mandatory foreign exchange sales by the banks to the Central Bank.

The Central Bank expects an increase in workers’ remittances due to the notable reduction in the gap between the official exchange rate and the rate offered by the grey market and the continued increase in migration of workers.

The near term outlook of the tourism sector is likely to remain unfavourable due to both global and domestic factors.

Meanwhile, gross official reserves as of end April 2022 were provisionally estimated at US dollars 1.8 billion, including the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China equivalent to around US dollars 1.5 billion, which is subject to conditionalities on usability.”

The Central Bank and the government have commenced technical level discussions with the International Monetary Fund aimed at working towards a programme to address the macroeconomic challenges faced by the economy while expeditious arrangements are being made to commence the external debt restructuring process.

Negotiations have already begun with bilateral and multilateral partners to obtain bridging finance in order to secure foreign exchange required to finance imports of essential goods and strengthen the social safety net programmes.

Economic activity is expected to be affected considerably by the ongoing supply shortages, energy related issues and social tensions, as reflected by several leading indicators. Demand management policies of the Central Bank and anticipated fiscal consolidation measures are also expected to keep aggregate demand subdued during the year.

Global economic growth is also expected to moderate in response to the tightening of monetary policy by the central banks globally to counter inflationary pressures along with the spillover effects of the geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe.

After carefully considering the current and expected macroeconomic developments both globally and domestically, the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, at its meeting held on 18 May 2022, decided to maintain the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank at the current levels of 13.50 per cent and 14.50 per cent, respectively.

The Board was of the view that the policy measures that have already been implemented by the Central Bank would continue to be further transmitted to the financial markets, while some signs of tighter monetary policy are already being observed in real economic activity. The Central Bank would continue to monitor domestic and global macroeconomic and financial market developments and stand ready to take appropriate measures proactively to help reinforce greater macroeconomic stability in the economy in the period ahead.”

In order to prevent further deterioration of economic conditions and complement the efforts of the Central Bank implemented thus far, urgent measures are required to restore greater political stability through consensus governance and social harmony.

In addition, swift policy actions are required to strengthen the fiscal performance that would help avoid excessive reliance on monetary financing and maintain fiscal sustainability over the medium term. Furthermore, expeditious and transparent revision of tariffs in the energy sector remains a priority in order to strengthen the financial position of energy-related state owned business enterprises, while improving the efficiency of social welfare programmes to support the vulnerable groups of the society impacted by the unprecedented economic circumstances.”

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

• o bring down the threshold to US$ 10, 000 from US$ 15, 000
• Says move will enhance dollar liquidity in domestic forex market
• Says evidence suggests people hoarding large amount of forex in note form in their homes and offices
• As of now any individual can hold up to US$ 15,000 of foreign currency up to three months
• Says violation of proposed law could result in confiscation of all the foreign currency one holds 

The Central Bank will soon issue legislation declaring holding any type of foreign currency notes equivalent to the value of more than US$ 10,000, illegal. 
While the law is still being hashed out, it will bring down the threshold from the current US$ 15,000 one can hold in a bid to end hoarding of foreign exchange in currency form and thereby draw them into the banking system, which will enhance dollar liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market. 

There is ample evidence that people are hoarding large amounts of foreign currency at homes and institutions without bringing them to the banking system, expecting to profit from further weakening in the currency against the dollar and other currencies, according to Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe.  Dr. Weerasinghe, a fortnight ago said crackdown on informal channels of foreign exchange alone could solve the current foreign currency shortage to a greater degree as at least 37 percent of the total foreign currency dealings take place outside the banking system.

As of now, any individual can hold up to US$ 15,000 of foreign currency up to three months, after which they are required, under the country’s foreign exchange laws, to either deposit the moneys in a foreign currency account or convert into rupees. Under the new law, which could come into effect any time, the Central Bank might amend the maximum amount one can keep in foreign currency and will offer a maximum of two weeks to either deposit in a bank or convert to rupees.   Even those who hold foreign currency in currency form up to the stipulated maximum limit will also be required to declare how they have earned such incomes. Any violation of the impending law will impose hefty fines, which could effectively confiscate the entire amount of foreign currency one has been keeping.  When queried whether the law could backfire as people may resort to hide the foreign currency they are holding, Dr. Weerasinghe said the Central Bank has the authority to enforce such laws and also to make raids on tip-offs to confiscate such foreign currency.  Dr.Weerasinghe said the whole purpose of this exercise is to ensure that the entire population has access to essential imports such as fuel, cooking gas, medicine and electricity around the clock, and thereby end the daily sufferings of the people, because dollars brought to the banking system in that manner would restore the much needed dollar liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market so that such dollars could be used for imports.  WindForce was scheduled to commission its 10 MW solar plant, Solar Universe, located in Vavunativu this month. The company’s total installed capacity is expected to reach 245MW with the commissioning of both wind and solar power plants.  Meanwhile, WindForce remains optimistic on obtaining a favourable tariff rate for the proposed 30 MW solar power plant with 7.5 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) in Senegal. Although the project was scheduled to begin the third quarter of last year with Rs.1.38 billion allocation from IPO proceeds, it was delayed due to significant cost escalations in the solar industry and the project conditions becoming unattractive. Recent discussions with the Senegal utility are showing progress as both parties are negotiating terms to set a beneficial tariff rate to reflect the escalation in the investment,” WindForce said. In addition, the company has also been carrying out feasibility studies for more renewable energy projects in Uganda, Malawi and Pakistan. (NF)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that some organized groups are preventing fuel trucks to pass certain areas demanding they be unloaded at different fuel stations and threatening to set fire to them.

The Minister said that If the organized groups continue to do so, they will have to suspend deliveries for the safety of the transport work force.

Courtesy Adaderana

Nine more Members of Parliament were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers this morning, the President’s Media Division says.

They took oaths before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo this morning.

The newly-appointed ministers are as follows:

1. Nimal Siripala de Silva – Minister of Ports, Shipping and Aviation

2. Susil Premajayanth – Minister of Education

3. Keheliya Rambukwella – Minister of Health

4. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe – Minister of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms

5. Harin Fernando – Minister of Tourism and Lands

6. Ramesh Pathirana – Minister of Plantation Industry

7. Manusha Nanayakkara – Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment

8. Nalin Fernando – Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Security

9. Tiran Alles – Minister of Public Security

Four other parliamentarians were appointed to Cabinet ministerial portfolios on the 14th of May. They are;

• Prof. G.L. Peiris – Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Dinesh Gunawardena – Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government

• Prasanna Ranatunga – Minister of Urban Development and Housing

• Kanchana Wijesekara – Minister of Power and Energy

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who addressed the parliament yesterday, said a decision was taken that the new ministers would not be drawing their ministerial salaries once appointed.

Courtesy Adaderana

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday welcomed the G7 announcement that they will assist the country in securing debt relief as it is grappling with its worst economic crisis.

Sri Lanka is going through its worst financial crisis since it won independence in 1948. The country faces an acute shortage of foreign exchange that has led to an increase in prices and a shortage of vehicular fuel, cooking gas, food, and thermal fuel for electricity production.

In this challenging time, the Group of Seven (G7) nations have announced that they will assist Sri Lanka in securing debt relief.

The G7 comprises the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

I welcome the G7 announcement that they will assist Sri Lanka in securing debt relief. The continued engagement by the international community with Sri Lanka is key to overcoming the economic crisis,” Wickremesinghe tweeted on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Government of Japan on Friday announced USD 1.5 million funding to help Sri Lanka respond to the ongoing economic crisis. The funds will be used by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to provide food assistance to children and families in need of support.

On Wednesday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the country had missed a payment to the Asian Development Bank, blocking fresh funds amid warnings that the currency crisis-hit country could be locked out of multilateral funding in a new blow.

Sri Lanka has already suspended repayments for international sovereign bonds, commercial bank loans, Exim bank loans, and bilateral loans. However, multilateral lenders and senior creditors were excluded.

Sri Lanka is now negotiating a loan with the IMF. The country had to pay USD 106.34 million this year but only managed to pay USD 12.4 million by April.

The Prime Minister then said the debt-ridden country could not even pay a million dollars.

Source: PTI

–Agencies