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A committee has been appointed to look into any lapses by tri-forces during the unrest at Mirihana on the 31st of March and the nationwide tensions erupted on the 9th of May.
The committee comprises Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda, Marshal of the Air Force Roshan Gunathilake and General R. M. Daya Ratnayake.
Sri Lanka is looking to fast-track talks with the International Monetary Fund and agree on a loan by mid-June so that it can then approach other lenders for urgently needed funds.
The bankrupt nation will slash its budget expenditure to bare bones” and hopes to break even or post a primary surplus of 1% of gross domestic product by 2025, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview at his office in Colombo Wednesday. Even so, that would be smaller than the 2% surplus the IMF has sought, which could be a sticking point.
We need to find the dollars — the IMF will not bring in the entire thing,” Wickremesinghe said. But if we start with the IMF, it will be easier for others to help us.”
Wickremesinghe is seeking a total of about $4 billion this year, from the multilateral lender and creditors including China and Japan, to help pay for food and fuel. Easing the shortages could be the first step to soothe public anger that has stoked inflation to almost 40% and triggered protests seeking the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
It is good news that Sri Lanka is placing a priority on talks with the IMF,” said Guido Chamorro, co-head of emerging-market hard-currency debt at Pictet Asset Management, which holds Sri Lankan bonds. The sooner the better, but I think it is difficult to put an exact date on a resolution. These negotiations typically end up taking a bit longer than initially expected.”
Sri Lankan dollar bonds due in 2030 fell for a fifth straight session on Wednesday to 37.8 cents, lingering deep in distress. The extra yield investors demand to hold the sovereign debt over US Treasuries was more than 39 percentage points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data.
Wickremesinghe — who took on the additional role of finance minister on Wednesday — forecast that the economy will shrink 4% this year. He fears citizens will face hard times until February, including food scarcities due to a lack of fertilizer ahead of planting season.
I can feel their anger,” Wickremesinghe said. Some of them are missing one meal. A lot of people who had reached the middle class feel they’re being moved out. People are without employment. Farmers are without fertilizer for two seasons.”
A Powerful Dynasty Bankrupted Sri Lanka in Just 30 Months
Once an IMF deal is agreed, Wickremesinghe said he would seek debt restructuring from Beijing.
We’re not in a debt trap,” Wickremesinghe said. I think the percentage of loans by Japan and China are the same, except that the Chinese interest rates are higher.”
While the debt talks continue, Wickremesinghe is also trying to contain anger against Rajapaksa. The prime minister has sent to the cabinet a newly drafted, so-called 21st amendment to the country’s constitution, which is expected to trim the wide-ranging powers of the president’s office.
‘Change Our Economic System’
The outcome of the amendments would follow discussions among lawmakers, Wickremesinghe said, adding that he was hoping for the broadest possible support” among parties.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has already raised questions about the extent to which the amendments will scale back the sweeping powers that President Rajapaksa gave to his office shortly after he returned to power in 2019.
The new prime minister replaced the president’s older brother, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who quit on May 9 after violence erupted across the country. Wickremesinghe is leading a so-called multi-party interim government that is hoped would bring political stability to the country.
One day we have to start repaying all the foreign debt we have, and if we don’t start earning we certainly will be getting into debt burden,” the prime minister said. So we have to change our economic system.”
Source: Bloomberg
-Agencies
Fourteen suspects in total are currently under arrest in connection with the killing of MP Amarakeerthi Athukorala and his security officer earlier this month, Sri Lanka Police says.
Two of them, reported to be drug addicts, were taken into custody yesterday (May 25).
One of them is a 28-year-old from Nittambuwa, employed in the construction field. The other is a 27-year-old resident of Warakapola and an employee of a private company.
The parliamentarian and a police sergeant attached to his security detail were killed in a mob attack amidst the nationwide unrest on the 9th of May.
According to police spokesperson SSP Nihal Thalduwa, the two suspects had assaulted the driver of the late parliamentarian, after tying him to a lamp post.
They had later made several purchases to the tune of Rs. 250,000 using an ATM card stolen from the driver.
Some of these purchased goods had been sold by the suspects to find money to buy narcotics, the police spokesperson said further.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris met with Vimlendra Sharan, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative and Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, the Country Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) to Sri Lanka on Wednesday (May 25), at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The focus of the discussion fell on further collaboration between the FAO, WFP and Sri Lanka to address the current challenges faced by Sri Lanka in relation to food security.
The lawmaker conveyed the sincere appreciation of the government of Sri Lanka for the valuable support of the FAO and the WFP, in particular the Country Office in Sri Lanka, for the assistance provided towards the development of agriculture, fisheries and livestock, in the country.
While outlining the multiple challenges currently faced by the country, the foreign minister thanked the FAO and WFP representatives for the crucial role played by them in providing guidance and support to the Government at this difficult juncture.
Both representatives assured the minister that the FAO and the WFP would extend full support for Sri Lanka to overcome the current challenges related to food security and briefed the Minister on their current activities to mitigate any potential food security challenges.
Minister Peiris stated that Sri Lanka and the United Nations enjoy close, longstanding and cordial relations with the UN and that the UN has supported Sri Lanka in times of difficulty.
In this context, the Minister referred to the request made by the Prime Minister to the UN Secretary-General and the Director General of FAO for technical support and assistance to augment food production in the country, enabling Sri Lanka to tide over this critical situation.
IMF staff has concluded their virtual mission to SL & state “IMF staff will engage with the authorities to formulate concrete measures under an IMF-supported program to support a timely resolution of the crisis. We reaffirm our commitment to support Sri Lanka at this difficult time, in line with the IMF’s policies”.
IMF Press Release https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/05/26/pr22171-imf-staff-concludes-virtual-mission-to-sri-lanka“>Click here for Press Release (FULL TEXT given below)
Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Peter Breuer and Mr. Masahiro Nozaki conducted a virtual mission with the Sri Lankan authorities during May 9-24 on an economic program that could be supported by an IMF lending arrangement.
The IMF team met with Honorable Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe at the concluding meeting, following technical discussions with the economic team led by Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and Secretary to the Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana.
The team also met with representatives of the private sector, the financial sector, and development partners.
At the conclusion of the mission, the IMF team issued the following statement:
Sri Lanka is facing difficult economic conditions and severe balance of payments problems. Recent economic indicators suggest that economic activities have been negatively affected by fuel and power shortages.
Rising global food and oil prices have further added to the balance of payments pressures. Inflation has accelerated driven by many factors, including the shortages of goods, fuel price increases, and currency depreciation.
In this context, we are deeply concerned about the impact of the ongoing crisis on the people, particularly the poor and vulnerable groups.
The IMF team held technical discussions on a comprehensive reform package to restore macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability.
The team made good progress in assessing the economic situation and in identifying policy priorities to be taken going forward.
The discussions focused on restoring fiscal sustainability while protecting the vulnerable and poor; ensuring credibility of the monetary policy and exchange rate regimes; preserving financial sector stability; and structural reforms to enhance growth and strengthen governance.
We expect that these discussions will help the authorities formulate their reform program.
The team welcomed the appointment of financial and legal advisors to engage in a collaborative dialogue with their creditors as an important step towards restoring public debt sustainability.
Since Sri Lanka’s public debt is assessed as unsustainable, approval by the Executive Board of an IMF-supported program for Sri Lanka would require adequate assurances that debt sustainability will be restored.
IMF staff will continue to monitor the economic and political situation very closely and engage with the authorities to formulate concrete measures under an IMF-supported program, as well as broader stakeholders to support a timely resolution of the crisis. We reaffirm our commitment to support Sri Lanka at this difficult time, in line with the IMF;s policies.
Staff express their gratitude to the authorities for their constructive engagement and support during the mission. ”
Major General Vikum Liyanage is to be appointed as the new Army Commander of Sri Lanka on June 01 after General Shavendra Silva relinquishes his post, Army media said.
General Shavendra Silva will assume office on 1 June 2022 as new Chief of Defence Staff after relinquishing the office of the Commander of the Army on 31 May. General Shavendra Silva was serving as acting Chief of Defence Staff at the time he was appointed to this new office.
Meanwhile, the incumbent Chief of Staff Major General Vikum Liyanage will be appointed as the new Commander of the Army with effect from 1 June after relinquishment of his office as the Chief of Staff.
ඊයෙත් නැහැ. අදත් නැහැ. හෙටත් නැහැ. අනිද්දා ගැන විශ්වාසයකුත් නැහැ.
අවුරුද්දට කලින් එකදිගට සුමානයක්ම නැහැ.
ලිට්රෝ ගෑස් ගැන මෙහෙම ලිව්වත් ලාෆ් ගෑස්වලට වෙච්ච දෙයක් හොයාගන්නත් නැහැ.
පසුගිය දිනවල මෙරටට ලගාවුනු ගෑස් නැව්වලින් ගෑස් ගොඩබෑම අයහපත් කාළගුණය නිසා ප්රමාදවෙන බව ගෑස් සමාගමේ සභාපති පැවසූ නිසා වහාම ගැස් සමාගමේ ලොක්කන්ව කොප් කමිටුව ඉදිරියට ගෙන එන ලෙස උපදෙස් දුන්නේ රටේ පවත්නා ආර්ථික අර්බුධයෙන් ගොඩ ගැනීම සදහා ජනාධිපතිවරයාගේ එකම තේරීම වූ වත්මන් දියසෙන් කුමාරයා රනිල්.
රනිල්ව අගමැතිකමට පත් කලේ රට ගොඩගන්නද නැත්නම් රාජපක්ෂ පවුල ගොඩගන්නද කියන එක වෙනමම තලයක සාකච්චා කලයුතු බොහොම සංවේදී මාතෘකාවක්.
කලක් දොන් ජුවන් ධර්මපාලට සම කරමින් ඔහුව පතුරු ගැසූ දේශප්රේමී නඩය නියෝජනය කල පාච රණවක ඊයේ පෙරේදා රටේ අනාගත ගැන ඔහු සමග ලිපි හුවමාරුවකුත් සිදු කරලා. ඒ ඇත්තටම රටේ අනාගතය ගැනද? නැත්නම් තමන්ගේ අනාගතය ගැනද කියන එකනම් අපටත් ගැටළුවක්. සමහර විට හෙට අනිද්ද වනවිට අගමැතිගේ දෑත් ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට බඩ පිණුමක් ගහන්නත් බැරි නැහැ.
රැල්ලට බයනම් වැල්ලට එන්නේ නෑ කියාපු හරීන් සහ මලකටුවටත් වඩා පිනුම් ගහන්න ශූරයෙක් වූ මනූෂ ඊයේ පෙරේදා අප්පිරියාව නිසා අහක බලාගෙනම ගහපු පිනුම දැක්කනේ. ඒත් ඉතින් රට ජාතිය වෙනුවෙන් ලු නේ.
කෝප් කමිටුව ඉදිරියට ගෑස් සමාගම් ලොක්කෝ පැමිණියා. කොප් කමිටුවේ සභාපති චරිත් හේරත් ඔවුන්ට උපදෙසක් දුන්නා ගෑස් බෙදාහැරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන්. කෝප් කමිටුවේ අදහසවූයේ බස්නාහිර පළාතේ කොළඹ සහ ගම්පහ යන දිස්ත්රික්කවල විකල්ප බලශක්ති ප්රභේදයන් බෙහෙවින් සීමා සහිත හෙයින් ගෑස් බෙදාහැරීමෙදී සමස්ත බෙදාහැරීමෙන් 60% ක් කොළඹ සහ ගම්පහ දිස්ත්රික්කවලට බෙදාහරින ලෙසයි. ගෑස් සමාගම් ලොක්කෝ ඒ උපදෙස ඒ ආකාරයෙන්ම කෙසේවෙතත් වෙනයම් ආකාරයකින් හෝ පිළිගත් බවක් දැන්නම් පෙනෙන්නට නැහැ.
මන්ද? එදා සිටම කොළඹට ගම්පහට පමණක් නොවෙයි දිවයිනේ කිසිදු ප්රදේශයකට ගෑස් බෙදා හැරීම සිදු කලේ නැහැ. එහෙමත් නැත්නම් බෙදා හැරීම සිදුකලේ ඉතාමත් සීමා සහිතව. ඒ අතර තවත් ගෑස් නැව් කීපයකට මුදල් ගෙවූ බවත් පත්තර වල පළවුනා.
ඒ එක්කම මාධ්ය හරහා ගෑස් සමාගම් ලොක්කෝ රටේ සොක්කන්ට පසුගිය දිනවල දිගින් දිගටම කියන්නේ ගෑස් පොළිම්වල රස්තියාදු වෙන්න එපා කියලා. ගෑස් බෙදන්නේ නෑ කියලා.
එහෙම කියන නිසාම අපිට ලොකු සැකයක් ඇතිවෙනවා.
ඉන්ධන මිළ පසුගියදා ඉහළ දැමීමට පෙර මහින්ද විජේසේකරගේ පුත්රයා වන කාංචන විජේසේකර තරුණ ඇමතිවරයා දිගින් දිගටම කිව්වේ පෙට්රල් පෝලිම්වල රස්තියාදු වෙන්න එපා. ගෙවල්වලට යන්න. පෙට්රල් එන නොඑන බව දැනගන්න සිපෙට්කෝ අළුත් ඇප් එක ඩවුන්ලෝඩ් කරගන්න කියලා තමයි. අපිත් හිතුවේ පසුගියදා පැවැති වැස්සට තෙමිලා මිනිස්සු රෝගීවීම ගැන හිතලා ඇමතිවරයා එහෙම කියන්න ඇති කියලා. මොකද? දැන් පෙනඩෝල් පෙත්තක් හොයාගන්න එක පොලිඩෝල් හොයාගන්නවටත් වඩා බොහොම අමාරු කටයුත්තක් නිසා.
හැබැයි ඇමතිගේ සත්ව කරුණාවේ මහිමය අපිට අවබෝධවුනේ පසුගිය 24 වනදා මහ පාන්දර. ඉන්ධන මිළ වැඩි කරලා. ඇමතිවරයා රටේ වාහන හිමිකරුවන් ගැන කොයිතරම් හිතනවද කියල ඇත්තවම දැනගත්තේ එච්චර මිළ ඉහළ දැමීමක් කරලත් පෙට්රල් වලින් රුපියලක් තවමත් පාඩුලු. පාඩුව රුපියලෙන් රුපියල එකතු කරලා එකතු කරල ඊට අමතරව පොලියකුත් හදලා ඒකත් හෙට අනිද්දම අපෙන්ම අය කරගන්නත් බැරි නැහැ.
ගිනි පෙලෙල්ලෙන් බැට කාපු එකා කනාමැදිරි එළියටත් බයයි කියල කතාවක් තියෙනවනේ. ඒ නිසා තෙල් ඇමතිගේ සත්ව කරුණාව ගැන හිතද්දී, ගෑස් ලොක්කන්ගේ කරුණාව ගැනත් දැන් ඇත්තටම අපිට දැනෙන්නේ බයක්. රටේ මිනිසුන්ගේ දුක දැනෙන ජාතික ප්රතිපත්ති සම්පාදක ඇමතියෙක් අපටත් හිටියනම් කියලා හිතෙන්නේ මෙන්න මේ වෙලාවට තමයි.
දැනුයි ආරංචි වුනේ. මුදල් ,ආර්ථික ස්ථායිතා ජාතික ප්රතිපත්ති අමාත්ය ධුරයෙහි අග්රාමාත්ය රනිල් වික්රමසිංහ උන්නෑහේ දිවුරුම් දීලා.
According to reports, Sri Lanka inflation could surge to 40 per cent.
FILE PHOTO: Police fire teargas and use water cannons to disperse the Sinhala extremist monks from Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) on November 19, 2018 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)
By: Pramod Thomas
THE World Bank said it is not planning to provide any new financing to cash-strapped Sri Lanka until an adequate economic policy framework has been put in place.
In a statement, the multilateral development bank said it was repurposing resources from previously approved projects to help the Sri Lankan government pay for some essential medicines, temporary cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, and other support.
It said recent media reports had inaccurately stated that the World Bank planned to provide Sri Lanka with a new bridge loan or other loan commitments.
Meanwhile, the Island nation’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was on Wednesday (25) given the additional responsibility of running the finance ministry as it grapples with its worst-ever economic crisis.
The South Asian nation has suffered months of dire shortages and anti-government protests, with importers unable to finance vital food, fuel and medicines.
Wickremesinghe, 73, was sworn in as finance minister after two weeks of wrangling among coalition partners for the crucial position ahead of bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund.
His appointment was delayed by a dispute between Wickremesinghe and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party of president Gotabaya Rajapaksa over who would take the post.
Wickremesinghe is expected to soon unveil a revised budget promising relief for poorer Sri Lankans suffering through record inflation and spiralling food prices.
Staff-level talks with the IMF concluded on Tuesday (24), but it is expected to take six more months for the Washington-based lender to agree on a bailout package, central bank officials said.
Sri Lanka has already defaulted on its $51 billion foreign debt and appointed international consultants to help restructure its international sovereign bonds and other bilateral loans.
The government has effectively ended subsidies on fuel by raising prices to a record high on Tuesday, and Wickremesinghe’s administration is expected to hike electricity and water tariffs to raise much-needed revenue.
Sri Lanka seeks additional $500 million loan from India
The government this week announced it was seeking a fresh $500 million loan from India to purchase fuel, in addition to two credit lines worth $700 m already provided by New Delhi.
The census office reported that the country’s overall inflation last month was a staggering 33.8 per cent year on year, with food inflation at an even higher 45.1 per cent.
Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves shrank dramatically from 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit tourism and remittances from Sri Lankans abroad.
The pandemic compounded liquidity problems triggered by huge tax cuts introduced in 2019 soon after President Rajapaksa took office.
Inflation is likely to rise further in May as fuel price hikes of 35 per cent for petrol and 65 per cent for diesel — commonly used in public transport — feed into the wider economy.
Petrol remains in short supply with long queues outside the few pumping stations still distributing the fuel.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has sounded an extremely grim warning of a food crisis in the island beginning in August and stretching to March 2023. It will be aggravated by the fact that it could coincide with an expected global food crisis during this period.Advertisement
But all is not lost. Studies reveal that by re-orienting the country’s agricultural policies and adopting modern technologies, the worst can be averted and a firm foundation laid for lasting food security.
Sri Lanka is facing a food crisis brought about by a fertilizer shortage created by the imposition of a 100% ban on chemical fertilizers in April 2021. The ban was eventually lifted, but grievous damage had already been done by that time. Then came the dollar drought which hampered the import of chemical fertilizers. The dollar shortage continues to strangulate agriculture.
Over 30% percent of Sri Lankans are employed in the agricultural sector. Although the land has potential, issues of productivity and profitability hamper the growth of agriculture in Sri Lanka.
Rice occupies 40% of the total crop production in the island. In 2021, during the ‘Yala’ season, the sown area was 501,467 hectares (out of a total of 708,00 hectares). And the harvested area was 496,741 ha. The average yield was 4309 kg per net hectare. The total yield was 2 million tonnes.
According a report in a local Sunday paper, the yield this year is likely to be 500,0000 mt. But the annual demand for paddy is 3.2 million mt. Ideally, Sri Lanka should produce 4 million tonnes of paddy per year to ensure food security.Advertisement
Given the current shortage, rice is imported from India under an Indian Line of Credit (LOC) which can be paid for in Sri Lankan rupees through the State of Bank of India. The G7 countries will assist Sri Lanka in securing debt relief, which will help. However, the exact nature of the help is not known. And the Indian LOC will get exhausted soon, though further help is on the cards.
Sri Lanka is in dire need of food imports given the shortage and the skyrocketing prices. Sri Lanka ranks 65 out of 135 countries in the 2021 Global Hunger index, which measures undernourishment and stunted children among other factors. According to the World Bank, 500,000 Sri Lankans fell into poverty (with earnings less than US$ 3.20 a day, or Rs 1,151) during the pandemic.
In their 2016 work entitled: Sustaining food self-sufficiency of a nation: The case of Sri Lankan rice production and related water and fertilizer demands,” (National Centre for Biotechnology Information) Kyle Frankel Davis found that improvements in rice production can feed 25.3 million Sri Lankans by 2050.
But to achieve this growth, consumptive water use and nitrogen fertilizer application may need to increase by as much as 69 and 23 %, respectively, he points out. Current rice yields are already approaching the maximum attainable using conventional technologies. Therefore, technological improvements are imperative.
Further intensification of rice production would necessitate the use of greater amounts of nitrogen fertilizer and irrigation water. There could be a 250 % increase in the required volume of irrigation (blue) water and a 23 % increase in the amount of applied nitrogen under current resource use efficiency,” he feels.
Davis however feels that it will be better to close the harvest gap”. This means using the same land for more harvests. Deepak Ray and Jonathan Foley, who studied harvest trends of 177 crops around the world from 1961 to 2011, found that the amount of harvested land rose four times faster than the total amount of cropland from 2000 to 2011, suggesting that the land was being harvested more frequently says Marie Singer in ‘Market Business News’ (Nov 26, 2013).
This would seem to indicate that closing the harvest gap is the preferred method of rice intensification, especially considering that Sri Lankan rice yields will likely plateau in the coming decades,” Davis observes.
Currently, 90 % of the total water withdrawals in Sri Lanka are used for agricultural purposes, and rice comprises one-third of Sri Lankan crop production. But achieving increased use of water for more rice production may have serious consequences for the country’s freshwater resources, he cautions.
Therefore, government extension officials have to educate farmers on the value of improving water and nutrient use efficiencies. Davis points to a study which found that irrigated rice production in Sri Lanka has the potential to reduce its water demand by 50 % through efficiency improvements in irrigation infrastructure. Nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency can also be increased while still improving yields.
Further, alternative methods of cultivation such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) could be tried out, Davis suggests. Although Sri Lankan farmers cited greater labor requirements as compared to conventional rice farming methods, a three-year study reported that SRI helped improve yields by 44 % while markedly reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers.
However, new methods of cultivation should also incorporate carbon and nitrogen footprints, soil loss, and the influence of climate, Davis adds. Climate change is particularly relevant to Sri Lanka because the vast majority of the country’s rice supply is produced in the Dry Zone.
Davis also points out that preventing crop stress during times of relative water scarcity may mean that aquatic ecosystems will receive greater fertilizer pollution. According to UN and International Water Management Institute indicators, several rice-producing areas in the world are expected to experience severe water scarcity in the next 10 years.
With many Asian countries (e.g., India, Pakistan, and Indonesia) expected to see rapid population growth in the coming decades (UN 2012) and with climate change contributing to elevated food prices and increased food price volatility, Sri Lanka could become a regional exporter of rice, Davis says. Increased rice production will ensure that Sri Lanka is not import-reliant and is therefore less vulnerable to spikes in food prices, he adds.
Sri Lanka’s reduced dependence on food imports is also important given recent evidence that the global food system has become more vulnerable to shocks as reliance on food trade has increased and that exporting countries may reduce exports in times of food scarcity,” Davis says arguing for self-sufficiency.
However, given that paddy cultivation employs nearly 2 million Sri Lankan farmers, governments are under political pressure to continue providing a fertilizer subsidy. Though the subsidy has helped increase land productivity and rice yields, it continues to place a heavy burden on the Sri Lankan GDP while encouraging the over-application of fertilizers,” Davis points out.
He calls for a more prudent, scientific and non-political policy on fertilizers.
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.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says there are many job vacancies in countries including Japan, Poland and Romania for skilled workers in various fields and pointed out the need to implement languages and vocational training programmes targeting those available opportunities.
The President made these remarks at a discussion held at the President’s House, Colombo, today (25) to review the progress of the programme to direct the skilled workers to foreign employment markets.
The President pointed out that in the face of the current economic setback, special attention should be paid to generating foreign exchange as well as seizing foreign employment opportunities. By producing skilled workers, more opportunities can be created for the highest paying careers, he said.
He said there is a high demand for nursing in many countries, including Europe. The Bureau of Foreign Employment estimates that there are more than 350,000 job vacancies in elderly-care and catering industry in Japan alone. Knowledge of the Japanese language is mandatory in this regard.
The President said that Japanese language programmes should be implemented immediately with the participation of private and public sectors, including the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority, the Vocational Training Authority and the Foreign Employment Bureau.
Special attention was paid to the removal of barriers faced by any person currently in the public service or an employee recruited under the Multipurpose Scheme when leaving for foreign employment.
Foreign Employment Promotion Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said that the opportunity should be made available when applying for foreign employment in a manner that does not affect seniority.
The Minister pointed out that they could be encouraged to bring foreign remittances by providing vehicle import licenses, housing loans and facilities for school children.
The Minister also said that attention should be paid to securing employment opportunities through the intervention of the embassies.
Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath, Chief of Staff to the President Anura Dissanayake, Secretaries to the Ministries and Heads of Line Institutions were also present.
Today the country is in bane with many crises, as a result of concentrating power around the Executive, says Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Eran Wickramaratne.
He said the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution by the government, which appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, gives the President the power to keep under his purview subjects of his choice and even the power to dissolve Parliament.
We are against the transfer of parliamentary power to the executive, which is independent of the executive and the judiciary,” said MP Wickramaratne.
Addressing a media briefing held at the office of the Leader of the Opposition in Colombo today (25), Mr. Wickremaratne further said,
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka has also expressed concern that the 21st Amendment by the Minister of Justice will not reduce the powers of the President. They had proposed several amendments.
What are the current powers of the Executive President and the significant change in the powers of Executive President after the proposed 21st Amendment?”
When making appointments to senior government posts such as Provincial Governors, Secretaries to Ministries and Ambassadors, the President should consult with the Prime Minister and appoint suitable officials.
Since the Prime Minister operates within the framework of the Cabinet, there is ample scope to appoint suitable and experienced persons to such positions if the PM is made the head of the Cabinet. The various crises facing the country today do not arise if the line of separation of powers under the check and balances are well defined with the concept of good governance.”
He said even if the fuel and gas queues were over the country’s economic and administrative crisis would not be resolved, without an internationally recognized stable government.
The Constituent Assembly, which functioned under the 19th Amendment, was amended by 20A, to increase the number of Parliamentarians and reduce the number of non-Parliamentarians.”
In the future, while reducing the number of MPs from 7 to 5, the number of non-members should be increased from 3 to 5.”
He said that this should be introduced as a program to bring those who are fighting against corruption and fraud in the regime into the governance.
Mr Wickramarane referring to the SJB’s position on the taking over of the governance said that the Samagi Jana Balawewa has a plan to take over the government and solve the problems in the country.
We mentioned this on several occasions, but we did not get that opportunity. If the SJB to participate in government, we told the President that Executive powers of the President should be abolished or reduced. While this discussion was ongoing Ranil Wickremesinghe who came forward without any conditions was made the Prime Minister. We are ready to support and contribute as a team is needed to resolve the crisis facing the country.”
The World Bank on Tuesday said it is not planning to provide any new financing to cash-strapped Sri Lanka until an adequate economic policy framework has been put in place.
In a statement, the multilateral development bank said it was repurposing resources from previously approved projects to help the Sri Lankan government pay for some essential medicines, temporary cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, and other support.
It said recent media reports had inaccurately stated that the World Bank planned to provide Sri Lanka with a new bridge loan or other loan commitments.
Read the full statement below:
Recent media reports have inaccurately stated that the World Bank is planning support for Sri Lanka in the form of a bridge loan or new loan commitments, among other incorrect assertions.
We are concerned for the people of Sri Lanka and are working in coordination with the IMF and other development partners in advising on appropriate policies to restore economic stability and broad-based growth. Until an adequate macroeconomic policy framework is in place, the World Bank does not plan to offer new financing to Sri Lanka.
We are currently repurposing resources from previously approved projects to help the government with some essential medicines, temporary cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, school meals for children of vulnerable families, and support for farmers and small businesses.”
WHY: This is a key area that will clean up the Parliament from corrupt. A criteria to accept nominations, voting system changed to FIRST PAST THE POST system, seat allocation for province revisited & allocated as per population representation. This must include no dual citizen can be PM, or MP or even hold senior public positions even as consultants/advisors.
WHY: 13th amendment was introduced under duress by India via the Indo-Lanka Accord, it was not what people of Sri Lanka asked for or wants. It has been proven a den of corruptions and wastage. The local government authorities can continue to do what is being duplicated by the PC system at a colossal cost to the state. If Presidential system is to be abolished, the 13th amendment should be abolished first in view of it being interlinked via the appointment of the Governor to act on behalf of the President. Executive Presidency cannot be abolished without abolishing 13th amendment as PC councilors will have no reporting line.
WHY: There is public opinion generated that the President has undue powers, though none of the Presidents have used such powers except President Mahinda Rajapakse who declared war against LTTE & ended LTTE in 3 years. However, if the President is having excessive powers, transferring that to a Prime Minister should be equally unacceptable. The 21a proposals aim to transfer Executive President’s powers to the Prime Minister and NOT TO Parliament. Therefore, 21a is only removing the President’s Executive Powers & transferring that to create an Executive Prime Minister. If the first is unacceptable, the PM holding executive powers has to be unacceptable as well.
In this particular instance, a caretaker government & its PM are proposing 21a, to transfer the powers delegated by 69lakh people to the PM who was rejected by the voters and came in through the national list to Parliament. To transfer powers delegated by 69lakh people to a person who could not secure 10,000 votes is undemocratic & unethical and should not be allowed.
WHY: A national list MP is not representative of the People & therefore should not be appointed as PM as the next step is President in the event the President resigns or is removed. This is unethical democracy. Democracy is what the People want not what politicians want.
WHY: Every party releases its national list & depending on the allocation names are selected to Parliament. However, instead of following numerical order of names given, parties have inserted rejected politicians & brought them into Parliament from the backdoor (present PM is an example)
WHY: If we are to maintain the 225 seat Parliament within a new Parliamentary system sans Presidential System, then the 29 National List seats should be allocated to Professionals but they should not be made MPs as they are not representatives of the People. They are not required to sit in Parliamentary sessions but are included into Parliamentary Select Committees to obtain their expert advice. They should be changed annually with their nominations being made via Industry Chambers & State Universities with the PM, Opposition Leader and Speaker deciding their selection.
WHY: Within the shortcomings and loopholes that exist, it is unwise for 21a to go ahead without dealing with the nuances first. If the Executive Presidency is to be abolished, governance will reduce from 3 pillars to 2 (Legislative + Judiciary). Undue powers cannot be vested in the Prime Minister. Therefore, powers must be separated with checks and balances in place.
WHY: We cannot have a hung parliament. Therefore, electoral system must be changed to enable a strong government. Provision that allowed dealmakers and kingmakers that resulted in turning Parliament into an auction house, must stop. Anyone is welcome to leave his party and the person with the next highest votes will enter.
WHY: Every constitutional amendment has conveniently ignored to include procedures, processes and safeguards to protect the national resources & assets of Sri Lanka, resulting in siphoning off these via corrupt practices, overlooking weak procedures or ignoring calling for tenders as well as giving tax holidays and freehand to investors (local or foreign). This is the key area for corruption & Secretaries or Public Officials involved should be investigated by the Ombudsman & charged & jailed.
WHY: A government is only elected for a term of office. A government is only custodian of the State. As custodian a government is bound to protect the interests of the People, the Sovereignty of the State, the National Resources & National Assets. Violating these should result in the People’s ability to file FR against the PM and his Cabinet for any violations to the mandate given to them. If the President was liable to have FR cases filed against him, the PM and Cabinet should be held equally accountable
If, Political parties are concerned about the people, they must address the above.
If so-called civil society & BASL are also concerned about the People, they would not waste our time recommending repeal of Presidential Commissions and expunging of recommendations but would strive to pinpoint where the problem lies & offer solutions for them. As in all cases, a calamity is an opportunity & calamities are often externally induced & opportunities are given by external parties to ensure solutions are not sought!
Let’s be a little wiser and learn from our mistakes.
Shenali D Waduge
A shortage of medicine caused by an economic crisis in Sri Lanka could soon cause deaths, doctors said, as hospitals are forced to postpone life-saving procedures for their patients because they do not have the necessary drugs – Reuters
In a news item titled as above, Reuters have bared what many in Sri Lanka know about and fear. (http://www.adaderana.lk/news/82630/sri-lankan-medicine-shortage-a-death-sentence-for-some-doctors-say)
It is very bad for cancer patients,” said Dr Roshan Amaratunga. Sometimes, in the morning we plan for some surgeries (but) we may not be able to do on that particular day … as (supplies) are not there.” If the situation does not improve quickly, several patients would be facing a virtual death sentence, he said.
A government official working on procuring medical supplies, said about 180 items were running out, including injections for dialysis patients, medicine for patients who have undergone transplants and certain cancer drugs. The official, Saman Rathnayake, told Reuters that India, Japan and multilateral donors were helping to provide supplies, but it could take up to four months for items to arrive.
Sri Lanka imports more than 80% of its medical supplies but with foreign currency reserves running out because of the crisis, essential medications are disappearing from shelves and the healthcare system is close to collapse.
Referring to the ubiquitous queues for petrol and cooking gas, Dr Vasan Ratnasingam, a spokesman for the Government Medical Officers’ Association, said the consequences for people awaiting treatment were so much more dire. If patients are in a queue for drugs, they will lose their lives,”
In this dire situation, the country appoints more cabinet ministers. Political parties like the SJB, JVP, the TNA, SLMC and some other political parties keep jockeying to be ahead in the political race to continue the system that produces them and talk of conditional support for a national unity government. When people are faced with the situation described in the Reuters news item, when they look for firewood to cook their next meal, when they live in the dark for hours every day, these political parties and their priorities are a disgrace to the country. Capable people like Dr Harsha De Silva, Eran Wickramaratne among others, should be in the cabinet to help take Sri Lanka out of the mess it is in, not some failed politicians who have been given posts.
The challenge for every single Sri Lankan is how they are going to live tomorrow, as nothing about it is certain today. The challenge for the politicians is to work together to give some hope for the people about tomorrow.
Sri Lanka probably needs an immediate infusion of say USD 10 Billion to have that better tomorrow, to import drugs, gas, diesel, food and begin living in the light. Export industries have to commence production, the tea industry has to be rejuvenated, small scale traders and industrialists have to recommence their businesses, the hotel industry has to be revived and tourists need to come back, and foreign remittances have to resume.
As the Prime Minister is attempting to do, friendly nations have to be canvassed to participate in a national emergency strategy to infuse the critically needed foreign exchange to do all of above. All political parties must support such a strategy as a priority and not bicker in and outside the Parliament and organize protests.
Negotiations with the IMF for a more longer-term strategy of debt restricting and emergency support must continue but Sri Lankans must know this is not going to happen tomorrow. Restructuring the country’s present debt and potential additional debt that will have to be incurred, (current overseas debt reportedly 56 billion USD, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/DT.DOD.DECT.CD?locations=LK) and this, shown as a per capita figure will be USD 2666 or in rupees at todays exchange rate, Rs 1,013,333. This is saying every Sri Lankan (taken as 21 million people) living in the country today owes Rs 1,013,333 each in foreign debt from the time of their birth. Once debt levels increase, these figures too will increase. The question that should be asked is why a newborn carries a debt of this magnitude and what wrong he or she has done to acquire this sad legacy.
This is the legacy left behind for the country by its political leaders. People should not be fooled by the political parties who are giving false hopes to people and leading them to protest marches and even instigating violence. This is treachery. Neither should the people endorse moves by the government to show that life is normal and they can have as many cabinet ministers as they wish. Life is not normal and what is needed is a small (say 10 member) emergency cabinet to manage the emergency faced by the country.
In regard to the medicine shortages, while several countries, India in particular, and individuals and organizations local and overseas, have helped in raising funds and dispatching supplies, the health department needs to identify a list of items desperately needed, and what might be needed in the next few months. This is easily compiled for the State sector by the health department as they know what is available or not in public hospitals, what is the warehouses, and what is needed. This is yet to happen. Besides this, countries who manufacture drugs in the region like India, Bangladesh, Turkey, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia should be contacted to assisting in supplying the country’s needs for the next 12 months. What is needed is a planned approach and not ad hoc begging arrangements. There needs to be a degree of certainty and not the uncertainty that prevails day in and day out today. If there is such a plan, it will help donors, individuals, and organizations to fit into such a plan.
As regards the private sector, perhaps some funds could be released to procure items from a list of critical items that could be prepared by a committee of experts and /or the arrangements relating to the public sector could be extended to cover such essential items for the private sector.
Neither the President, government ministers or the opposition leader, his parliamentarians nor other opposition political parties seem to have any empathy with the millions of people who are undergoing untold suffering and simply pursuing their own self interests. No wonder people have given up on them and any hope for the future of the country. To the Prime Ministers credit, he seems to be the only politicians showing some genuine interest in finding a solution to the critical situation faced by the country.
Colombo, May 24 (newsin.asia): Three military officers who were Secretaries to ministries in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government have been replaced in the reshuffle carried out by the Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Tuesday.
In the partial de-militarization, Adm.Prof. Jayanath Colombage, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been replaced by Mrs.Aruni Wijewardena; Maj.Gen.Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Secretary Health has been replaced by S.J.S.Chandraguptha and Maj.Jagath Alwis has been replaced by S.Hettiarachchi.
Both Adm.Colombage and Maj.Gen.Jagath Alwis had resigned earlier.ADVERTISEMENT
Two army men, Maj.Gen. Kamal Gunaratne and Gen.Daya Ratnayake retain their ministers which are Defense and Industries respectively.
In the reshuffle, some Secretaries have retained their posts, some have been shifted to other ministries and some have been dropped.
The list of new Secretaries appointed to the Cabinet Ministries is as follows.
01: Mr. R.W.R. Pemasiri – Transport and Highways Ministry
02: Mr. M.M.P.K. Mayadunne – Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry
03: Mr. K.D.S. Ruwanchandra – Ports, Shipping and Aviation Ministry
04: Mr. S.T. Kodikara – Trade, Commerce and Food Security Ministry
05: Ms. Wasantha Perera – Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Ministry
06: Mr. S. Hettiarachchi – Public Security Ministry
07: Mr. M.N. Ranasinghe – Education Ministry
08: Mr. M.P.D.U.K. Mapa Pathirana – Power and Energy Ministry
09: Ms. R.M.I. Ratnayake – Ministry of Fisheries
10: Mr. Monti Ranatunga – Ministry of Water Supply
11: Mr. U.D.C. Jayalal – Ministry of Irrigation
12: Mr. Anuradha Wijekoon – Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry
13: Dr. Anil Jasinghe – Ministry of Environment
14: Mr. Anusha Palpita – Ministry of Mass Media
15: Mr. M.B.R. Pushpakumara – Ministry of Agriculture
16: Mr. Somaratne Vidanapathirana – Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Ministry
17: General (Retired) Daya Ratnayake – Ministry of Industries
18: Ms. Aruni Wijewardena – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
19: Mr. B.L.A.J. Dharmakeerthi – Ministry of Plantation Industries
20: Ms. R.M.C.M. Herath – Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Ministry
21: Mr. S.J.S. Chandragupta – Ministry of Health
22: Mr. P.H.C. Ratnayake – Ministry of Urban Development and Housing
23: Mr. R.P.A. Wimalaweera – Ministry of Labor and Foreign Employment
Two Military Officers dropped
Colombo, May 24 (newsin.asia): Three military officers who were Secretaries in the Mahinda Rajapaksa government have been replaced in the reshuffle of ministerial Secretaries made by the Sri Lankan President on Tuesday.
In the partial de-militarization, Adm.Prof. Jayanath Colombage, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been replaced by Mrs.Arunit Wijewardena; Maj.Gen.Sanjeewa Munasinghe, Secretary Health has been replaced by S.J.S.Chandraguptha and Maj.Jagath Alwis has been replaced by S.Hettiarachchi.
Both Adm.Colombage and Maj.Gen.Jagath Alwis had resigned earlier.
Two army men, Maj.Gen. Kamal Gunaratne and Gen.Daya Ratnayake retain their ministers which are Defense and Industries respectively.
In the reshuffle, some Secretaries have retained their posts, some have been shifted to other ministries and some have been dropped.
From the ethically sourced produce shops of Islington to the chemical-free acres of the Prince of Wales’s Highgrove farm, you could almost hear the cheering three years ago when Sri Lanka’s future president pledged a revolution.
It wouldn’t be on the streets but in the fields — as Gotabaya Rajapaksa vowed in his successful 2019 election campaign to transform the country into the world’s first fully organic farming nation.
Parroting the claims made for years by Prince Charles and fellow advocates of ‘sustainable farming’, the politician cited health and environmental reasons for this drastic move — in particular brandishing unproven claims of a link between chemical fertilisers and Sri Lanka’s high rate of chronic kidney disease.
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Police use tear gas to disperse Higher National Diploma (HND) students demonstration demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Poverty
Rajapaksa’s commitment to producing 100 per cent of Sri Lanka’s food organically within a decade was accompanied by a ban on the use of all chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.
The consequences have been nothing short of catastrophic. Going organic — the bold, modern vision of the UK’s green lobby — has triggered the devastation of Sri Lanka’s economy, plunging much of its 22 million-strong population into desperate straits.
The chaos that has engulfed the country — including growing poverty, long queues for essentials, lethal street battles and attacks on the homes of government leaders — is a direct result of this one decision.
Rajapaksa’s announcement last April that the country’s two million farmers had to go organic overnight — and the disaster that has followed — is a timely lesson for all those who have been swept up by the hype surrounding organic food and its promise not only to improve our health but also to help save the planet.
Ironically, Sri Lanka had one of the strongest performing economies in Asia. In 2019, the World Bank upgraded its status to that of an upper middle-income country — only to reverse its decision just months after Rajapaksa was elected.
Soon after he ordered the organic transition, agronomists from the Sri Lanka Agricultural Economics Association warned he was making a terrible mistake. For all his concerns about water contamination, soil degradation, kidney disease and biodiversity damage, the cons of going organic far outweighed the pros, they said.
Studies show crop yields drop by an alarming 30 per cent under organic farming. Since the 1960s, Sri Lanka has subsidised farmers to use synthetic fertiliser, the main catalyst for the doubling of yields for many crops.
Outside the echo chamber of sustainable farming advocates, chemical fertilisers, along with pesticides and herbicides, are universally accepted as essential tools for modern agriculture.
Sri Lanka is heavily dependent on rice to feed itself and on tea to export. Forcing the producers of both crops to go entirely organic, warned experts, would drastically lower their yields — by 35 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. Rice is a nitrogen-intensive crop and is therefore tricky and expensive to grow without chemical fertilisers.
But Rajapaksa and his government wouldn’t listen to the warnings. When his brother, Mahinda, was president a decade ago, he also encouraged organic farming.
They will no doubt have been motivated by Sri Lanka’s growing reputation as a top destination for eco-tourists, who are drawn to luxury hotels that serve organic food, produced on their own farms.
Shunning conventional food production experts, the Rajapaksas have taken guidance from a cranky ‘civil society movement’ called Viyathmaga, which sums up its values as ‘Spiritual inside, Technocrat outside’.
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Sri Lankan university students holding placards march towards Presidential Secretariat
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Its plans include developing two million organic home gardens and turning over millions of acres of Sri Lankan forests and wetlands to producing bio fertiliser.
The whole project was accelerated by the pandemic, which destroyed the country’s tourism industry.
Sri Lanka’s ruling family saw a perfect chance to reduce its crippling balance of payments deficit and embrace organic farming by phasing out the $500 million a year it usually spends on buying foreign-made chemical fertiliser and subsidising farmers to use it.
Instead, the opposite happened and Sri Lanka’s balance-of-payments deficit soared as crop production tumbled, and the price of vegetables, rice and sugar rocketed. Sri Lanka failed to get hold of much organic fertiliser, leaving many farmers with no fertiliser of any sort.
The government also failed to offer them any guidance on how to farm organically. Many farmers, despairing of ever making a profit, gave up, accelerating the food shortages.
Humiliation
The loss of revenue from tea and other export crops vastly outstripped any savings from no longer importing fertiliser. In a final humiliation, Sri Lanka — a country until recently self-sufficient in rice — had to spend $450 million importing vast amounts of it, which the government then had to subsidise.
By October last year, it was desperately back-pedalling, relaxing the fertiliser ban for crucial export crops including tea, rubber and coconut. That humiliating U-turn didn’t stop President Rajapaksa boasting of his organic credentials a month later at Glasgow’s UN Climate Change Summit.
The climbdown came too late to avert economic meltdown. Annual food price inflation is currently running at 50 per cent, with vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes up to five times more expensive than they were last year.
Sri Lanka, which owes $51 billion to international creditors, last week defaulted on its debts for the first time since it gained independence from Britain in 1948.
The country has been paralysed by strikes and violent clashes between Rajapaksa supporters and opponents in which people have died.
A museum dedicated to the ruling family has been torched: the organic dream has literally gone up in smoke.
Prince Charles was widely mocked by farmers when he transformed his 1,000-acre farm at Highgrove in Gloucestershire to become completely organic in 1985.
He has said: ‘In farming, as in gardening, I happen to believe that if you treat the land with love and respect . . . then it will repay you in kind.’
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A Higher National Diploma (HND) student gestures in front of riot police during a demonstration demanding the resignation of Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa over the country’s crippling economic crisis, in Colombo this month
Deluded
Such thinking may be fine in a domestic garden or hobby farm, but not in international agriculture, according to experts.
Nearly all organic farming, they note, serves only the very richest and the very poorest people in the world. While the latter are forced to do it by necessity, as they cannot afford chemical fertilisers and pesticides, for the former it’s an expensive lifestyle choice.
As the success of Prince Charles’s range of organic produce (Waitrose Duchy Organic) illustrates, there’s no shortage of British customers willing to pay a premium for that all-important organic label.
Sceptics wonder why, citing tests that show organic food neither tastes better nor is more nutritional (though the organic lobby insists it contains higher levels of vitamin C and Omega 3 in milk). Nor, critics add, is there any conclusive evidence of the health effects of pesticides.
And organic farming is not always greener either, principally because the lower crop yields it offers means much more land has to be cultivated — land which could be used to grow trees and reduce carbon emissions. It also relies heavily on tilling fields that can accelerate soil exhaustion.
As Sri Lanka descends into chaos and its leaders run for cover, the smug advocates of sustainable farming must share the blame — for convincing them their deluded dream was even possible.
Former Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed who is presently in Sri Lanka, said former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had not sought a safe haven in the Maldives and he had not met Rajapaksa during his current visit in the country.
Speaking to Daily Mirror, Nasheed said reports stating that Mahinda had asked him for a safe haven for himself and his family members in the Maldoves, considering the present political climate in Sri Lanka, was false and he had not even met the former Sri Lankan Prime Minister.
Nasheed said there were elements within the Maldives who were trying to strain the relations between Sri Lanka and Maldives and such claims of Mahinda Rajapaksa wanting to exit Sri Lanka for the Maldives was fake.
“This is completely untrue. I had no such meeting with the former prime minister. Very sad that there are elements in the Maldives who want to fabricate these stories,” Nasheed said.
Nasheed who was recently appointed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to coordinate the relief efforts for Sri Lanka, globally, said his role in Colombo was to attract assistance for the country during this time of crisis and Sri Lanka’s internal problems was for the Sri Lankan people to settle.
“We need to focus the issues at heart here. And I will continue to be of assistance to the Sri Lankan people,” he said.
When questioned if an exit from Sri Lanka to the Maldives was discussed in the meeting he had with SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa, Nasheed said this matter was not discussed and discussions only focused on how the Maldives could help the Sri Lankan people at this time. (JAMILA HUSAIN)
Motorists waiting to buy fuel from Lanka IOC fuel station in Colombo on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: AFP
Sri Lanka has decided to seek fresh assistance of $500 million from India to augment its fuel imports, as the island reels under a crippling economic crisis manifesting in persisting shortages of essentials.
For weeks now, citizens are spending long hours lining up outside fuel stations — at times all day or night — to pump petrol or diesel, currently in short supply, as crisis-hit Sri Lanka runs out of dollars to pay for imports.
Public transport has been stalled due to the unavailability of fuel, businesses have been hit, and schools were forced to remain closed as students are unable to commute. Over the last few days, Sri Lankan social media saw many accounts of families being unable to access emergency medical care due to the lack of fuel. The government has asked non-essential” staff to work from home, to save on fuel consumption.
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the proposal submitted by the Minister of Electricity and Energy to obtain a series of short-term loan facilities worth another $500 million with the assistance of the export–import bank of the Indian government in order to purchase petroleum products required by the country settling the foreign exchange shortage existing at the moment,” the government said in a statement following the Cabinet meeting on Monday.
Fuel prices saw a record hike on Tuesday as diesel, earlier sold for LKR 289 ($0.80) a litre, now costs LKR 400, reflecting a 38 % jump. Petrol prices rose from 338 to 420 Sri Lankan rupees, threatening to further increase costs of all essential commodities whose prices are already skyrocketing.
For several months now, Sri Lanka has been amidst an unprecedented economic downturn, sparking street protests by citizens across the country. A group of demonstrators are camping outside the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo for 46 days in a row, demanding that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who they hold chiefly responsible, quit office.
Amid a heightening crisis, the government announced last month that it would pre-emptively default on the country’s foreign debt totalling $51 billion as the last resort”, and is currently negotiating a package with the International Monetary Fund. However, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe on Monday noted that it was difficult to give a timeline of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery that, he said, was contingent on the success of the measures taken by the government.
Much of Colombo’s initiatives so far have been about tapping external help from bilateral partners and multilateral lenders. India has already extended credit lines worth $700 million so far for fuel imports —as part of the total $3.5 billion assistance extended so far since January — and delivered over 5 lakh MT of fuel, including the latest shipment of 40,000 tonnes of petrol that reached Colombo on Monday. Meanwhile, the government is also considering various options to expand Sri Lanka’s domestic energy sector, including with foreign investment. Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera on Tuesday announced plans to advertise plots for studies on oil exploration in the Mannar Basin, where Cairn India was earlier involved in exploration.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told the people of Sri Lanka that he will fulfil the promises he had made to them when he assumed office last week after the fall of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
In his first TV address after assuming office, Wickremesinghe listed the grave challenges ahead of him, but assured the people of his determination to meet them successfully. He also suggested the formation of a National Assembly comprising all parties, to arrive at solutions. There may be an example for him. He can overcome the crisis by following Bangladesh’s ‘PM Sheikh Hasina Model’- Advertisement –
Sri Lanka is currently going through an extreme economic crisis. Foreign exchange reserves have fallen so low that some school examinations have been postponed indefinitely due to a lack of imported paper. In addition to cooking gas, there has been a shortage of kerosene and petrol.
The situation is so dire that due to inflation, high unemployment, and shortages of almost all necessities, many Sri Lankans are fleeing their country in the hope of a better life abroad. Countless Sri Lankans are now being forced to do something other than their main occupation as not everyone can afford to leave the country.The country has never been in such a bad situation since Independence in 1947.
To cope with the situation, the Sri Lankan Government has asked for a new loan of $1.5 billion from neighbouring India. When Sri Lanka faced problems, Bangladesh provided $250 million for the first time. This was the first loan from Bangladesh for any country. Sri Lanka again asked for a loan from Bangladesh. Besides, it has been repaying loans of different countries through the exchange of goods.
Sri Lanka had good human resources and was quite capable of internal prosperity. Then why this situation? Sri Lanka has undertaken several mega projects in their country for more than a century. These include seaports, airports, roads, and other projects that are currently considered unnecessary and redundant. Different governments of Sri Lanka have taken loans from different sources at home and abroad. As a result, their foreign exchange reserves gradually ran out. Instead of foreign investment, various governments have focused on borrowing.
The country’s government has issued sovereign bonds since 2007 to raise money. This type of sovereign bond is sold when the expenditure is more than the income of a country. Such bonds are sold in the international capital market to raise money. That is what Sri Lanka has done.
The once-self-sufficient country is also in dire straits due to tax cuts, reduced income from tourism remittances, and unplanned decisions in agriculture. Different countries have to learn from this situation. The world economic situation has begun to change rapidly since the Russia-Ukraine war, at which time any country could fall into a new crisis. Hopefully, Sri Lanka will soon be able to return to normalcy with the help of various countries and organizations around the world.- Advertisement –
On the other hand, Bangladesh is currently a wonder of development. It is Hasina Wazed’s contribution that has made a least developed country such as Bangladesh a developing country now, going by economic indicators. Sheikh Hasina changed Bangladesh from a basket case to a middle-income country. Strong leadership is one of the main reasons behind the ‘Bangladesh model.
The implementation of big projects is now just a matter of time. City facilities have also been ensured in the villages. A Metrorail will be launched in a few days. The long Padma bridge is not a dream now, it is real. The implementation of such a project with the government’s own funding was at one time unimaginable. The country is moving forward with a sound plan.
On various indicators of human development, Bangladesh had shown significant improvement,” she has said, adding, Life expectancy in 2019 was 72.6 years, a gain of over 7 years since 2000, years of schooling were up from 4.1 to 6.2, and the country’s human development index value climbed from 0.478 in 2000 to 0.632 in 2019. As a result, Bangladesh’s index ranking is now 133rd out of a total of 189 countries.”
The High Commissioner pointed out that Bangladesh’s growth stems largely from its success as an exporter of readymade garments, which account for 83 percent of its total exports, and remittances from overseas, which amount to over seven percent of GDP. However, the principal driver of growth is investment, which have risen from 24 percent of GDP in 2000 to 32 percent in 2019. When asked about Bangladesh’s amazing rise and economic growth, she put it down to the Sheikh Hasina factor”.
The High Commissioner emphasised that during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government offered a two-percent incentives bonus for Bangladeshis sending remittances back to the country, creating $2 billion to keep the growth going. In addition, the Bangladesh Government under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina provided an exponential stimulus to the economy to protect the marginal fringes of the workforce. She also highlighted that completion of the Padma Bridge will make a huge contribution to the economy.
Nobody disputes the economic credentials of Sheikh Hasina’s government- the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the latest member of a growing list of international institutions attesting to Bangladesh’s economic success. The ADB ranked Bangladesh as the fastest-growing economy in the Asia-Pacific region, eclipsing China, Vietnam and India. At the same time, our improvements in many socio-economic indicators are another object of envy to our neighbours.
When she returned to power in 2009, Sheikh Hasina knew that the energy shortage first needed to be mitigated to a tolerable extent, before embarking on long-term plans. As a temporary measure, she decided to allow private companies to build small-range power plants, known as quick-rental power plants. The decision received a barrage of criticism from many quarters— from opposition parties and economists to the press and think tanks— intimidating many in the bureaucracy.
But Sheikh Hasina refused to back down from what she thought was the right step forward. She defended her decision forcefully, making necessary amendments to clear any legal ambiguity, and focused on its implementation. Nearly 10 years on, no one doubts that the decision was instrumental in solving the persistent energy crisis.
While in power, Sheikh Hasina has opened up many sectors traditionally reserved for the public sector to the private sector, including health, banking, higher education, TV and even export processing and economic zones. At the same time, her government has substantially widened and expanded welfare programmes to lift the poorest and most neglected section of the population and increased subsidies for other crucial elements of the economy such as agriculture. Her development philosophy is a blend of capitalistic and socialistic virtues.
Propelled by a robust manufacturing sector and an enormous boom in infrastructure, Bangladesh has set a target of becoming a developed nation by 2041 to coincide with the platinum jubilee of its independence. Many commentators have called the goal ambitious, but even the government’s staunchest critics would think twice before questioning its plausibility.
The present government in Bangladesh has shown great prudence and foresight in the progress of Bangladesh. The current Bangladesh regime has ensured political stability in the country, zero-tolerance policy against terrorism and illegal narcotics dealing, empowerment of women, liberalization of the economy, social welfare policy towards the people, capacity building through training, inclusive economic growth policy, timely bold decisions etc. For this reason, there is nothing to be afraid of seeing the situation of any country as a nightmare.
Around 100 economic zones are being formed. Investment is coming from different countries. Foreign exchange reserves are adequate (US$ 45 billion, January 2022), and remittances are satisfactory. It can be said that every economic foundation of Bangladesh is still in a strong position. The economy of Bangladesh was also active during COVID and emphasis has been laid on revenue collection and the agricultural sector of Bangladesh is very strong. Bangladesh is in a positive position in terms of foreign exchange reserves, remittances, and export earnings.
Bangladesh’s foreign exchange reserves now stand at more than $45 billion, despite rising import costs, making it able to meet the import cost of six months. Bangladesh’s growth rate was way above Pakistan, even before the pandemic; in 2018-19 it was 7.8 percent compared to Pakistan’s 5.8 percent. Various international organisations, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Economic Intelligence Unit, have identified Bangladesh’s economic development as a wonderful puzzle”. While the current economy of Bangladesh is $410 billion, the size of Pakistan’s economy is about $260 billion.
Bangladesh has improved its quality of life, economic strength, prosperity, education, and research in every field. Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, Bangladesh’s growth has slowed down. But where the growth of all the developed countries of the world was negative in these years, the achievement of Bangladesh was also noticeable.
Premier Sheikh Hasina has achieved full potential to move from a least developed country to a developing country. It has been possible because of people’s hard-working, strong leadership. Political stability, the flow of FDI, empowerment of women, unique poverty alleviation model, inclusivity of economy, etc. That is the story of a South Asian country: ‘Bangladesh’ is a ‘miracle story’.
COLOMBO (Reuters) -Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday he will present an interim budget within six weeks, slashing infrastructure projects to re-route funds into a two-year relief programme for the crisis-hit island nation.
Wickremesinghe, who took office two weeks ago, warned that inflation would rise as the government gets down to tackling the crisis, and that there could be more protests on the streets.
He said he hoped any unrest would not get out of hand, adding that funds would be made available to help the most vulnerable of the country’s 22 million people.
“Looking at the hard days ahead, there has to be protest. It’s natural when people suffer, they must protest,” Wickremesinghe said in an interview at the colonial-era prime minister’s office in the commercial capital Colombo.
“But we want to ensure that it does not destabilise the political system.
“With the interim budget, it is just about cutting down expenditure, cutting to the bone where possible and transferring it to welfare.”
The country located off India’s southern tip is reeling from its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, as a shortage of foreign currency severely curtailed imports of essentials including fuel and medicine, triggering months of unprecedented protests.
Much of the public ire has been targeted at President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his family, whom protesters blame for mishandling the economy.
The roots of the current crisis also lie in the COVID-19 pandemic, which devastated the country’s lucrative tourism industry and sapped foreign workers’ remittances, and populist tax cuts enacted by the Rajapaksa administration that drained government income.
“We have no rupee revenue, and now we have to print another (one) trillion rupees,” Wickremesinghe said, warning that annual inflation could rocket past 40% in coming months, putting further pressure on Sri Lankan households already grappling with high prices.
For full report
WASHINGTON : The World Bank on Tuesday said it is not planning to provide any new financing to cash-strapped Sri Lanka until an adequate economic policy framework has been put in place.
In a statement, the multilateral development bank said it was repurposing resources from previously approved projects to help the Sri Lankan government pay for some essential medicines, temporary cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, and other support.
It said recent media reports had inaccurately stated that the World Bank planned to provide Sri Lanka with a new bridge loan or other loan commitments.
A natural gas field was reportedly discovered for the first time here in 2011, but the country has not yet capitalised on this treasure trove, which could potentially solve Sri Lanka’s energy requirements, news portal Ada Derana has reported.
he crisis-hit Sri Lankan government is planning to undertake a feasibility study on oil exploration in the Mannar Basin, a shallow bay part of the Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean, which has about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, enough to meet the energy needs of the island nation for the next six decades, a media report has said. A natural gas field was reportedly discovered for the first time here in 2011, but the country has not yet capitalised on this treasure trove, which could potentially solve Sri Lanka’s energy requirements, news portal Ada Derana has reported.
During a media briefing on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting, Sri Lanka’s Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that the government is planning to advertise plots for studies on oil exploration in the Mannar Basin following research conducted in the area last year. According to the findings of the Committee on Public Accounts held in 2016, the Chief Accounting Officer said there were about 5 billion barrels of fuel and about 5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Mannar Basin, which is enough to meet the needs of about 60 years, the report said.Advertisement
The Ada Derana report said that deposits could be used to increase the country’s power supply to 1,130 kilowatts and the natural gas supply could bring approximately USD 200 billion to the country over the next 25 years. Officials stated that difficulty in finding reliable investors and the lack of staff at the Sri Lanka Petroleum Development Authority were the reasons for the delay in chalking out a formal programme to explore this resource-rich area, it said.
So dire has been Sri Lanka’s current situation that the country has been witnessing power cuts for up to 12 hours a day due to lack of adequate supply of fuel. The Sri Lankan Cabinet on Tuesday has approved seeking a USD 500 million loan from the Exim Bank of India for the purchase of petroleum products amid a severe foreign exchange crisis that has crippled the island nation.
The country is grappling with an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948. It is struggling with a shortage of almost all essentials, due to the lack of dollars to pay for the imports.
The economic crisis has also triggered a political crisis in Sri Lanka and a demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The crisis has already forced prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the president, to resign on May 9.
An inflation rate spiralling towards 40 per cent, shortages of food, fuel, medicines and rolling power blackouts have led to nationwide protests and a plunging currency, with the government short of the foreign currency reserves it needed to pay for imports.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will closely work with other donors such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, G7 countries, and other stakeholders to support Sri Lanka during this extraordinarily difficult period, the agency’s administrator Samantha Power has assured Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
During a telephone conversation with PM Wickremesinghe, Samantha Power has discussed how the USAID is responding to the island nation’s political and economic crises.
Administrator Power expressed her sympathy for the Sri Lankans who were killed or injured in the political unrest earlier this month.
Pledging her support to the people of Sri Lanka, she has stated that USAID would help the country weather the crisis.
Administrator Power meanwhile stressed the need to urgently undertake political and economic reforms to gain the trust of the Sri Lankan people.
She has underscored that USAID is pivoting its ongoing programs in Sri Lanka to help address the urgent needs of Sri Lanka’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities as they experience the economic shocks, compounded by rising food, fuel and fertilizer prices due to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.
The World Health Organization (WhO) has assured its fullest support for Sri Lanka to come out of the ongoing medical crisis.
The organization has also agreed to provide USD 2 million to the island nation as a part of the initial phase of this assistance program.
This was conveyed by WHO Representative to Sri Lanka, Dr. Alaka Singh who called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The meeting took place at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo earlier today (May 24).
Dr. Singh has said she is confident that Sri Lanka would be able to resolve the medicine shortage by July or August based on the new health program implemented by the current government.
She further stated that the WHO is committed to improving the nutritional needs of infants and expecting mothers.
The prime minister has appreciated the support extended by the World Health Organization for improving the health standards of Sri Lanka.
Chairperson of the special committee appointed by the Prime Minister to propose measures to alleviate the shortage of medicines Ruwan Wijewardena, Secretary to the Prime Minister Saman Ekanayake and Medical Technical Services Director of the Ministry of Health Dr. Anwar Hamdani have attended the said meeting.
Anything done in haste is wasted and both 19th and 20th amendment as well as 18th amendment were clearly not done with country interest but with personal interest. This is undemocratic and unhealthy for a country & it is reason for so many confusions and contradictions and heated debates. These are all uncalled for and unnecessary. 21stamendment should not fall into this same category. The country is in an economic crisis, it soon led to a political crisis, we do not wish to enter a constitutional crisis as well. Therefore, Parliament & the President must stop being selfish in their tug of war for power and for once put the country first. While 19a is not the perfect amendment as is being made out to be, 20thamendment is not so great either. To understand this, it is important to briefly look at what 19a attempted to do (transfer powers of the President to the PM) while 20a attempted to reverse these changes.
The Parliamentary Elections was won by SLPP in August 2020.
The Presidential election was won by Gotabaya Rajapakse in November 2019.
The President appointed a 5 member committee to draft 20a.
First reading of the Bill was on 22 September 2020 & 39 petitions were filed in SC
5 Judge SC bench – CJ Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice Buvaneka Aluvihare, Justice Sisira de Abrew, Justice Priyantha Jayawardena & Justice Vijith Malalgoda.
Judges ruled that Clauses 3, 5, 14, 22 of the 20a Bill was inconsistent with Article 3 & 4 of the Constitution & required approval of the People at a referendum (as stipulated by Article 83 unless amended)
The rest could be passed with a 2/3 Majority in Parliament without a referendum.
Clauses requiring referendum unless amended were
Clause 3 – duty of President to conduct free & fair election
Clause 14 – Dissolve Parliament within a year
Clause 5 – Presidential Immunity which excluded FR challenges against acts of the President
Clause 22 – Repeal of constitutional duty on public officers to adhere to directive of Election Commission & failure to do so constituting an offense.
20th October 2020 – Supreme Court made its Special Determination after 2 day debate in Parliament.
20a was passed on 22 October 2020 by Parliament – 156 votes in favor and 65 against.
8 from Opposition voted in favor.
20a was to retain 19a changes
2 term limit of a President,
5 year term for both President & Parliament
Right to Information
20a changes to 19a
Cabinet made 3 changes to 20a Bill
Qualifications to Elect President
19a – 35 years
20a – 30 years (what was the rationale for this?)
Dual citizenship
19a – Dual citizens cannot become President or MP
20a – repealed /Dual citizens can contest as President & MP
This was totally uncalled for
Duties of President
19a – Constitution respected & upheld (Article 33(1)
20a – repealed
19a – Promote national reconciliation & integration
20a – repealed
Constitutional Council/Parliamentary Council
19a – Ensure & facilitate Constitutional Council
20a – repealed & replaced with Parliamentary Council (3 eminent persons removed) Parliamentary Council only makes observations to nominations made by President but President is not bound to comply.
President/PM
19a – President cannot remove PM
20a – President can remove PM at any time at President’s discretion (Article 47(2)
19a – President required to act on advice of PM in appointing, removing any Cabinet, Non Cabinet Minister or Deputy Minister
201 – repealed / President may consider consultation if necessary
19a/20a – Actions of President remains subject to FR jurisdiction of the SC
20a – while holding office as President no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him in any court or tribunal in official or private capacity (Article 35(1)
19a – President cannot hold portfolio
20a – President can hold Ministerial portfolios
Dissolution of Parliament
19a – President can dissolve Parliament only after 4 ½ years or with 2/3 majority in Parliament
20a – Repealed /
Urgent Bills
19a – Urgent Bills revoked
20a – Urgent Bills” provision to pass legislation reintroduced. Amended to only to apply to ‘interest of national security or for purpose of disaster management’ & President can refer Bill to SC for determination on Constitutionality giving SC 24hours to determine. Urgent Bill cannot be used for any Bill as amendment, repeal, replacement, alteration or addition to any provision of the Constitution or repeal and replacement of Constitution.
Duration for a Bill made accessible to Public
19a – 14 days (before placing on Order Paper of Parliament)
20a – reduced again to 7 days (why?)
Any amendment proposed to a Bill during Committee Stage, cannot deviate from merits & principles of such a Bill. But an Act of Parliament enacted in violation of process is protected by Article 80(3)
Appointments to Judiciary
19a – Nominations to Courts including SC is by Constitutional Council
20a – President can appoint CJ, other judges of SC, President of Court of Appeal & other judges of Court of Appeal at his discretion.
Judges of SC increased from 11 to 17 judges.
Judges of Court of Appeal increased from 12 to 20
President may appoint any 2 judges to SC as members of the Judicial Service Commission at his discretion subject to their seniority & judicial experience.
The 20a should not have re-introduced dual citizenship, reduced the 14day provision to 7 days for People to make observations on a Bill, reintroduced urgent bills” which SC required amendment, increased the judges of the Courts and reduced the age to contest as President from 35 to 30years.
Shenali D Waduge
21a is re-attempting to transfer the powers of the President to the Prime Minister. Ranil is only a caretaker PM. The newly appointed cocktail cabinet are only care taker Ministers. They are not part of the Government elected in 2020 which still has the numbers though the PM of the Govt was forced to resign. A caretaker cabinet & PM should not be allowed to change the constitution with amendments. The President has to make this clear & stop wasting public funds and time on constitutional amendments. PM Ranil was brought to solve the economic crisis. If he cannot solve that he must be removed. He cannot be allowed to change the constitution. 21a is an attempt to do what could not be done by 19a – transfer Presidential Powers to create an Executive Prime Minister. The people must oppose this.
19a is not as gaga as is being presented & anyone who has read it would see the confusions and contradictions in a hurriedly passed amendment.
20a may have insertions that are unnecessary, but these are not dangerous to the State. In short, we do not need to waste time and public money on constitutional amendments. PM Ranil was not made PM to be changing the constitution.
The President has to come out & clearly make this known to them
However, 21a is re-attempting to transfer powers from a President elected by 69lakh people to a Prime Minister who lost his seat, could not secure 10,000 votes and sheepishly and undemocratically entered through the backdoor from the National List.
How can a person who has been elected by 69lakh people have the powers delegated to him by the People, transferred to a person who has entered to Parliament undemocratically to become the Executive Prime Minister?
This is what Parliament, the Judiciary & the Citizens of Sri Lanka should be asking.
The current cabinet is the 2nd cabinet appointed by the President.
Initial cabinet had 4 ministers & Mahinda was PM
2nd cabinet is currently have 13 Ministers with Ranil Wickremasinghe as PM.
This 2nd cabinet is made up of a coterie of people from SLPP, SLFP, SJB – therefore, they are not from the Government that came to power in 2020 August. More importantly, the majority of the Cabinet Ministers were those that left the Government in April 2022 and chose to sit independently. One particular Minister was even sacked from his portfolio months earlier.
Another poignant and noteworthy issue is that the majority of these Cabinet appointees have never handled or have no knowledge about the portfolio given to them
Nimal Siripala – Ports, Aviation, Naval all critical areas
Tiran Alles – no knowledge of Law & Order/Public Security
Nalin Fernando – a critical ministry of food given without any experience
Harin Fernando – Land
All of the above have never handled such portfolios and raises questions on whose advice these portfolios were given. Their allocations, do reveal a different script, but this is another issue.
The point that needs to be made is that the PM and the Cabinet are not representative of the People in terms of vote or in terms of people’s mandate. Therefore, they have no moral right to be presenting anything as a Bill with the ultimate objective of usurping the powers of the President & transfer it to create an Executive PM.
This was an effort attempted in 2015 with the 19a and that unfulfilled task is again being attempted.
In 2015 the attempt was made by the same PM who was controversially appointed PM without removing the sitting PM after a Presidential Election. Creating a bogus national government” the 19a was passed as an Urgent Bill with people given no time to raise objections and legal counsels not having time to review the plethora of amendments that were being made. What was sent to SC for determination was not what was passed. If the same parties that passed 19a dubiously are in action again to pass the 21a, the people must object and Parliament MPs must also rise against it.
It is not difficult to identify the parties that supported the 19a are the same as those supporting the current 21a.
We must take changes on the merit as well as the principle behind the objective. The aim however, is to transfer Presidential powers (given that it is a tedious process to abolish the Presidency) to the PM. If this exercise was happening in a legal way, we can accept it, however, when a controversial PM is seated and is attempting to do what he could not do via 19a, we have to object. The spirit of the objective is wrong & undemocratic.
People must oppose 21a because a caretaker PM and a caretaker cabinet CANNOT and SHOULD NOT be allowed to make Constitutional Amendments.
Shenali D Waduge
ආරගලිස්ට්ලාට
මාර්ගයේ එක පැත්තකට වී
හෝ
ගෝල්පීසයේ මුහුදු වෙරල මාඉමට වී
සාමකාමිව විරෝධතා පවත්වන්නට
අවසර දුන්නත්,
මහජන පොදු දේපලවලට,
ව්යාපාර ආයතනවලට
අලාභ හානි කරමින්,
බලහත්කාරකමෙන්
ඒවායේ දීර්ඝ කාලීනව රැඳී සිටීම
අවුරුදු දෙකකට නොඅඩු
බරපතල වැඩ සහිත සිර දඬුවමකට
සහ දඩයකට යටත් කල යුතුය.
සෑම ප්රධාන මාර්ගයකම
එක තීරුවක් පමණක්
ආරගලිස්ට්ලා වෙනුවෙන්
වෙන් කලාට වැරැද්දක් නැතත්
ගමනාගමනයේ යෙදි සිටින
වාහන හිටිගමන් නවතා
co2 ඇතුළු තවත් විස වායු
අධික ලෙස පරිසරයට මුදා හරින්නට
හා
සීමිතව ඇති පැට්රල් /ඩිසල්
නිකරුනේ දහනය කරවන්නට
ඉඩ නොදිය යුතුය.
තමන්ගේ පාඩුවේ
ඇවිදින මංතීරු වල
ඇවිදින අයවලුන්ට
බාධා නොකළ යුතුය.
තම දරුවන්
නිරාගමික ලිබ්බන්
වනු දැකීමට අකැමැති
කිසිම දෙමළ හෝ මුස්ලිම් මාපියෙක්
තම දරුවෙක්
මේ කාලයේ
ගෝල්පීසේට නං යවන්නේ නැත.
එනිසා,
ඒ ළමයින්ට
ගෝල්පීස් සුලඟ
නොලැබීම
මානව හිමිකම් කඩවීමකි.
අද හෙටම
එංගලන්තේ
හෝම් සෙකට්රි ප්රීති,
මෙවන්
අලුත් පැට’න්-අරගල තීරු
ප්රධාන නාගරික මාර්ගවල
ඉදි කරන්නට පෙළඹෙනු ඇත
නැත්නං
සලකුණු කර වෙන් කරනු ඇත.
එන්ගලාංතේ අලුත් පැටර්න්
කොපි කරන්නට බලා සිටින
ලංකා-ලොක්කෝ
එතකොට
ඒවා කොපි කරනු ඇත.
එවිට
මේ නොමනා හැසිරීම් ද
නැවතෙනු ඇත.
ප්රීති අපිට
අපි ප්රීතිට…//
ප්රධාන ප්රවාහන ජාලයන්ට
බාධා කරමින්
කරන උද්ඝෝශනද
නීති විරෝධී කර
වහා නතර කල යුතුය.
වාහන ගමනාගමනයට,
ඇවිදින මංතීරු වලට
බාධා පමුණුවන ආරගලිස්ට්,
විශ්ව විද්යාල සිසුවෙකු නම්
ඔහුගේ හෝ ඇයගේ සරසවි ශිෂ්ය භාවය
වහාම ක්රියාත්මක වන පරිදි
අහෝසි කල යුතුය.
ගෙවන ලද ශිෂ්යත්ව මුදල් ද ආපසු
අය කර ගත යුතුය.
ආරගලිස්ට් ආචාර්ය මහාචාර්යවරුන්ද
පට්ටම් ගලවා
ගෙදර යැවිය යුතුය.
නීතියේ ආධිපත්යය
වහා සුරැකිය යුතුය
ක්රියාත්මක කල යුතුය
නීතිය නොපිලිපදින්නන්
තරාතිරම නොබලා
බිරියානි බත් නොව
සිරබත් කන්නට සැලැස්විය යුතුය.
ප්රීති අපිට
අපි ප්රීතිට…//
Colombo, May 23 (Ceylon Today): When Sri Lanka was teetering at the edge of a politico-economic abyss, some wondered if it was on the way to becoming a failed state. But mercifully, a political consensus emerged this week, and the new Ranil Wickremesinghe government is attending to the economic problem which lies at the root of the crisis.
Nation-states fail because they are convulsed by internal violence and can no longer deliver positive political goods to their inhabitants. Their governments lose legitimacy, and the very nature of the particular nation-state itself becomes illegitimate in the eyes and in the hearts of a growing plurality of its citizens,” says Harvard Professor Robert I. Rotberg in his 2016 publication Failed States, Collapsed States, Weak States: Causes and Indicators.ADVERTISEMENT
States vary on the strong-weak scale according to the availability and distribution of public goods which are: political goods, economic goods and social goods, Rotberg says. In a strong state, citizens are able to resolve their disputes with the state and with their fellow inhabitants without recourse to arms or other forms of physical coercion. Modern, stable states provide predictable, recognizable, systematized methods of adjudicating disputes. And a key political good is the assurance that citizens can participate freely, openly, and fully in the political process. This calls for tolerance of dissent and difference; and assurance of human rights. Rotberg lists among political goods”, socio-economic goods like health care, education, good infrastructure, ease of doing commerce and a reliable financial system.
Strong states perform well across these categories. On the other hand, weak states show a mixed profile, fulfilling expectations in some areas and performing poorly in others. The weakest states perform poorly across the range of criteria. Some of these could be categorized as failing and others failed or even collapsed states.
Sri Lanka has been a mixed bag. It was having three decades of violence in the North and East and a few years of insurgency in the South. The state seemed to be weak. But even in the midst of these disturbances, the basic structure was working in most parts of the island. Social welfare and development was apparent in most places even as military operations and terror attacks were on. Therefore, a state could be failing in parts but not comprehensively. Rotberg also distinguishes between states with sporadic violence and those with enduring violence. In Angola, Burundi, and the Sudan, violence was enduring, making them very weak states. In Sri Lanka violence had not been enduring and therefore it was a stronger state comparatively.
Markers of Strong States
Strong states unquestionably control their territories and deliver a full range and a high quality of political goods to their citizens. They perform well according to indicators like GDP per capita, the UNDP Human Development Index, Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, and Freedom House’s Freedom of the World Report. Strong states offer high levels of security from political and criminal violence, ensure political freedom and civil liberties, and create environments conducive to the growth of economic opportunity. The rule of law prevails. Judges are independent. Road networks are well maintained. Telephones work. Snail mail and e-mail both arrive quickly. Schools, universities, and students flourish. Hospitals and clinics serve patients effectively. And so on. Overall, strong states are places of enviable peace and order.”
Markers of Weak States
On other hand, weak states typically harbor ethnic, religious, linguistic, or other intercommunal tensions that have not yet, or not yet thoroughly, become overtly violent. Urban crime rates tend to be higher and increasing. In weak states, the ability to provide adequate measures of other political goods is diminished or diminishing. Physical infrastructural networks have deteriorated. Schools and hospitals show signs of neglect, particularly outside the main cities. GDP per capita and other critical economic indicators have fallen or are falling, sometimes dramatically; levels of venal corruption are embarrassingly high and escalating. Weak states usually honor rule of law precepts in the breach. They harass civil society. Weak states are often ruled by despots, elected or not.”
Criminal gangs take over the streets of the cities. Arms and drug trafficking become more common. Ordinary police forces become paralyzed. Anomic behaviors become the norm. For protection, citizens naturally turn to warlords and other strong figures who express or activate ethnic or clan solidarity, thus offering the possibility of security at a time when all else, and the state itself, is crumbling.”
Failed states exhibit flawed institutions. If legislatures exist at all, they are rubber-stamping machines, he says. Democratic debate is noticeably absent. And the judiciary is a derivative of the executive rather than being independent, and citizens know that they cannot rely on the court system for significant redress or remedy, especially against the state.”
There is a special category of weak state, in which there is peace and order, but these are based on rigid control. These are dictatorships. North Korea and Cambodia under Pol Pot are examples. These strong” states, hide their weaknesses. They are fundamentally weak but appear strong.”
Avarice is also a major contributor to a state’s failure. Cornering of privileges by an elite whether economic, social and tribal, creates antagonisms, disaffection, revolt and inequalities. All these make a state basically weak.
In contrast to strong states, failed states cannot even effectively control their territories. Often, the expression of official power is limited to a capital city and one or more ethnically specific zones,” Afghanistan prior to the Taliban takeover was of this kind.
Failure is Preventable
But failure is preventable and recovery is possible says Rotberg. He cites Lebanon’s recovery from civil war as an example. Once a cease-fire was forged in 1990, Lebanon returned to normal after decades of strife. Cambodia also recovered after Pol Pot’s exit. Sri Lanka, which was teetering at the edge a collapse, is expected to recover, now that a consensus is emerging on the political set up, and violence has ended.
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