May 5 (Reuters) – Sri Lanka plans to replace its current unrealistic” budget and is in talks with the World Bank to extend its support by $300 million to $700 million, the country’s finance minister said on Wednesday.
The island nation, hit hard by COVID-19 and short of revenue after steep tax cuts by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, is critically short of foreign exchange and has sought an emergency bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Rampant inflation and shortages of imported food, fuel and medicines have led to weeks of protests that have occasionally turned violent.ADVERTISEMENT
The existing budget is unrealistic, given our challenges,” finance minister Ali Sabry told a parliament session.
We will bring in a new budget that will seek to address core issues of low public revenue.”
Sabry said he wanted to increase tax revenue as a share of gross domestic product to 14% within the next two years, from 8.7% now.
Sri Lanka will appoint within the next two weeks financial and legal advisers for a proposed restructure of its sovereign debt, Sabry said, adding that the government was keen to work with the IMF on structural reforms.
This is the only way to put the economy on a sustainable footing,” he said.
Colombo, May 4 (newsin.asia): Representative of trade unions in a number of essential services have said that they will not support the strike which is expected to be launched on the 6th of May. The strike will cause inconvenience to the general public and will only help achieve narrow political gains, they said. They would take all necessary steps to provide their services uninterrupted, the unions added.
The Trade Union representatives expressed these views during a meeting held with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo Fort on Tuesday. They told the President that the scheduled strike was not for workers’ rights but for the benefit of some political parties.
The strike is aimed at exacerbating the current economic crisis and oppressing the people. It is the duty and responsibility of all employees to understand the situation and to ensure that the lives of the people are not inconvenienced.
The President pointed out the need to adopt new methods and move away from political divisions to overcome the economic crisis. The political motive behind the strikes is to intensify the economic crisis, he said. It is vital not to allow institutions to collapse.
The President thanked the workers who performed their duties despite the strike on the 28th April and requested all trade unions to understand the situation and provide necessary assistance to the people to lead a normal life.
FERTILIZER BAN: Asia Siyaka Commodities blamed the drop on the agrochemical ban, a government push to transform the country’s farms into 100 percent organic
Sri Lanka’s tea exports have dropped to their lowest level in 23 years, official figures showed yesterday, hit by a fertilizer ban and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Tea is the country’s biggest export commodity, bringing in about US$1.3 billion annually before the current economic downturn, the worst since independence in 1948.
However, a ban on fertilizer imports last year — introduced in a doomed effort to save foreign currency and avoid a debt default — hit growers hard, with production falling 18 percent year-on-year for the period from November last year to February.
Protesters take part in an anti-government demonstration near the president’s office in Colombo on Monday, demanding President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation over the country’s crippling economic crisis.
Customs data showed that first-quarter exports this year correspondingly plunged to 63.7 million kilograms, down from 69.8 million kilograms in the first quarter of last year.
The tally was the lowest since the first quarter of 1999, when the country shipped out 60.3 million kilograms of tea.
Export earnings for the first quarter also declined, to US$287 million from US$338 million.
Tea brokering firm Asia Siyaka Commodities PLC blamed the drop on the agrochemical ban, which was portrayed by the government as a push to turn Sri Lankan farming 100 percent organic.
The ban was lifted by October last year following a backlash from the industry, but farmers were left unable to access imported fertilizer as the country simultaneously ran out of US dollars.
Industry officials added that about 10 percent of Sri Lanka’s tea exports had also been affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries are top buyers of the country’s aromatic black tea.
The country of 22 million lacks enough foreign currency to finance even the most essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines. Dire shortages and galloping inflation have led to widespread protests calling for Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down.
Sri Lanka plans to replace its unrealistic” budget and is in talks with the World Bank to extend its support by US$300 million, Sri Lankan Minister of Finance Ali Sabry said yesterday.
The country, hit hard by COVID-19 and short of revenue after steep tax cuts by Rajapaksa’s government, has sought an emergency bailout from the IMF.
The existing budget is unrealistic, given our challenges,” Sabry told parliament. We will bring in a new budget that will seek to address core issues of low public revenue.”
Sabry said he wanted to increase tax revenue from 8.7 percent of GDP to 14 percent within the next two years.
Sri Lanka is within the next two weeks to appoint financial and legal advisers for a proposed restructure of its sovereign debt, Sabry said, adding that the government is eager to work with the IMF on structural reforms.
This is the only way to put the economy on a sustainable footing,” Sabry added.
Buddhist monks protest outside the president’s office in Colombo on Wednesday
Sri Lanka will have to endure its unprecedented economic hardships for at least two more years, the country’s finance minister said Wednesday while warning of an imminent cash crunch.
Months of blackouts and acute shortages of food, fuel and pharmaceuticals have brought widespread suffering across the South Asian island nation.
Public anger has sparked sustained protests demanding the government resign over its mismanagement of the economic crisis, Sri Lanka’s worst since independence in 1948.
“People should know the truth. I don’t know if people realise the gravity of the situation,” Finance Minister Ali Sabry told parliament.
“We won’t be able to resolve this crisis in two years, but the actions we take today will determine how much longer this problem will drag.”
Sabry said the country now has less than $50 million in usable foreign exchange reserves, needed to finance essential goods to keep Sri Lanka’s import-dependent economy ticking over.
Official data shows $1.7 billion in reserves, but most of that figure includes a Chinese currency swap which cannot be used to pay for imports from other countries.
Sabry said the government had erred by delaying an approach to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.
Negotiations with the IMF are ongoing but Sri Lanka’s central bank chief has said any assistance from the lender is months away.
The government will unveil a new budget soon and raise taxes to replenish state revenue.
“It was a historic mistake to sharply reduce taxes in 2019,” Sabry said, adding that the previous central bank chief had also blundered by exhausting foreign reserves to defend Sri Lanka’s overvalued currency.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis took hold after the coronavirus pandemic hammered income from tourism and remittances.
Unable to pay for fuel imports, utilities have imposed daily blackouts to ration electricity, while long lines of people snake around service stations for petrol and kerosene.
Hospitals are short of vital medicines and the government has appealed to citizens abroad for donations.
Last month Sri Lanka announced it was defaulting on its $51 billion foreign debt.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has said he is willing to form a unity government to manage the country through the crisis.
But the opposition has refused to join an administration with the president or any other members of the powerful Rajapaksa family still in power.
Protesters have been camped outside the president’s seafront office for nearly a month to pressure him into stepping down.
Trade unions, which staged a strike last week, have said they will stop work again on Friday to pressure the entire government to resign.
You can’t believe everything you read on the internet – especially these days, with so many false claims and misleading stories. Some governments have even taken to blocking social media to prevent ‘rumours’ spreading. In fact, no less than 32 countries in Asia restrict social media platforms in some way.
China, Iran, North Korea, and Turkmenistan go one step further and enforce full bans across popular social media platforms. China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea also have full bans on Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which allow users to get round geographical restrictions. A further 11 impose restrictions on VPNs – but fortunately they are still widely available in Sri Lanka for those with dollars, which are not quite so available these days.
Nearly 60 per cent of the world’s population, some 4.66 billion people, use the internet. It’s our source of instant information, entertainment, news, and social interactions.
According to a new British study, more than a third of internet users are unaware that online content might be false or biased.
Every minute sees 500 hours of content uploaded to YouTube, 5,000 videos viewed on TikTok and 695,000 stories shared on Instagram. Given the sheer volume of information at the touch of our smartphones, having the right critical skills and understanding to decipher fact from fiction has never been more important.
But new research by the British Telecom regulator, Ofcom, reveals that 30% of UK adults who go online (14.5 million) are unsure about, or don’t even consider, the truthfulness of online information. A further 6% – around one in every twenty internet users – believe everything they see online.
Misinformation can spread quickly on social media platforms. More than four in ten adults say they have seen a story on social media that looked deliberately untrue or misleading in the last year.
To interrogate this trend, participants were shown social media posts and profiles to determine whether they could verify their authenticity. This reveals that users’ confidence in their ability to spot fake content belies their true critical capabilities.
Although seven in 10 adults (69%) said they were confident in identifying misinformation, only two in 10 (22%) were able to correctly identify the tell-tale signs of a genuine post, without making mistakes. There was a similar pattern among older children aged 12-17 (74% confident but only 11% able).
Similarly, around a quarter of adults (24%) and children (27%) who claimed to be confident in spotting misinformation were unable to identify a fake social media profile in practice.
A further six per cent, or about one in every 20 internet users, believe everything they see online.
Four in five adult internet users (81%) want to see tech firms take responsibility for monitoring content on their sites and apps. Two thirds (65%) also want protection against inappropriate or offensive content.
In a volatile and unpredictable world, it’s essential that everyone has the tools and confidence to separate fact and fiction online – whether it’s about money, health, world events or other people.
But many adults and children are struggling to spot what might be fake. Ofcom now wants tech firms to prioritise rooting out harmful misinformation, before the regulator is forced to take action against them.
In the meantime, Ofcom is offering tips on what to consider when you’re browsing or scrolling the web.
1) Check the source. This isn’t necessarily who shared the information with you, but where it originated from.
2) Question the source. Are they established and trustworthy, or might they have a reason to mislead?
3) Take a step back. Before you take something at face value, think about your own motives for wanting to believe it.
The study also found that 33% of parents of five to seven-year-olds and 60% of parents of eight to 11-year- olds reported their children having a social media profile, despite them being under the minimum age requirement of 13 for most sites.
TikTok, in particular, is growing in popularity, even among the youngest age groups.
Amazingly, 16% of three to four-year-olds and 29% of five to seven-year-olds are using the platform, even though the app is supposed to be for people aged 13 and over.
Ofcom warned that many children could be ‘tactically’ using other accounts or ‘finstas’ – fake Instagrams – to conceal aspects of their online lives from parents. However, not a problem in place where the platform is blocked.
It was the private sector that demanded a tax cut soon after the present government came into power, Former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today.
“No politicaian in the government wanted a tax cut, as it was the private sector that wanted it,” he said.
The former Premier also found fault with the govenment officials and requested the minister of finance to work on his own and make his own statements in the House. “I also propose that all financial advisory committees as it is the Parliament which has power over finances,” he said.
Also Mr. Wickremesinghe requested that Srilankan airlines should be told to halt leasing of 21 new aircraft till the House gives its approval for it.
He also praised the Minister of Finance Ali Sabry saying he has been brave enough to undertake a daunting task of reviving the country’s economy.
Minister of Finance Ali Sabry, delivering a special statement in parliament today (May 05), revealed that Sri Lanka’s foreign liquidity reserves, which amounted to USD 7.6 billion by the end of 2019, have dropped to a critically low level below USD 50 million.
Speaking further, the lawmaker said the reserves declined to USD 5.7 billion by the end of 2020, as a result of gross inflows of USD 5.8 billion and outflows of USD 7.8 billion, including foreign currency debt service payments of USD 6.0 billion.
The reserves declined further to USD 3.1 billion by the end of 2021 consequent to the gross inflows of USD 7.9 billion and outflows of USD 10.4 billion, including foreign currency debt service payments of USD 6.8 billion and provision of foreign exchange of USD 1.2 billion to finance essential imports, the finance minister added.
Accordingly, as of now, the usable liquid reserves are at negligible levels,” he pointed out, noting that this is severely impacting the importation of essential items, including fuel, LP gas and pharmaceuticals. The government is struggling to find enough foreign exchange to finance these essential imports, he added.
Delivering his statement, Minister Sabry said Sri Lanka is battling an unprecedented socio-economic and political challenge at present, and the root causes of these challenges go back to several decades of economic history although more recent developments have aggravated the situation into an acute crisis.
Speaking of the substantial tax cuts introduced by the government in late 2019, the finance minister said the intended results of this measure were not realized with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, which aggravated the situation in Sri Lanka.
Further, the revenue foregone due to the tax cuts introduced in late 2019, which was estimated to be more than Rs. 500 billion, has resulted in sovereign rating agencies downgrading Sri Lanka to near default levels, he added.
The finance minister is of the view that these tax cuts should have been gradually reversed in the new environment created by the COVID-19 pandemic. What transpired instead was that the revenue loss led the Central Bank to print money and help the government to finance the deficit.”
With the government’s tax revenues depleted to 8.7% at present, Minister Sabry says the parliament must give priority to implement tax reforms to increase government revenue and rationalize expenditure whilst ensuring public investment in critical areas such as education, healthcare, and social protection.
The finance minister stressed that the time has come to follow a professional approach in resolving these issues rather than being swayed by ideological inclinations. I accept the fact that the aggravation of the issues was due to the delay in restoring fiscal and debt sustainability and failing to preemptively address the decline in foreign reserves. Sri Lanka should have focused on regaining capital market access by establishing a credible path of macroeconomic stabilization, supported by institutions such as the IMF.”
With regard to the decision to seek the assistance of IMF, the finance minister said it is important in this context. An IMF programme will be a catalyst to undertake the much-needed reforms and will provide a signal to the rest of the world that Sri Lanka is serious in addressing its economic difficulties.
But we must realise that the economic reform programme we embark upon must be a programme with Sri Lankan ownership. We must put forward a professional and analytically robust economic plan, where the IMF will also provide technical assistance and then endorse. Without that Sri Lankan ownership, and without broad consensus of the legislature, we would not succeed in providing permanent solutions for our longstanding economic issues.”
Speaking further, the minister said the fundamental macroeconomic weaknesses in the economy have been decades in the making. The recent shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict have exposed the underlying weaknesses such as fiscal instability, accumulated debt overhang, low productivity and persistent current account deficits. However, we should also be humble enough to admit that this situation has occurred due to some of the misaligned and imprudent policies implemented in the recent past as well.”
It is time for Sri Lanka to establish a broad political consensus on the economic path forward for the country, Minister Sabry said further, explaining that every time there has been an attempt to establish long term solutions, these are reversed in the next election cycle with a promise of short-term benefits and relief.
The adverse outcome of these stop-go policies are experienced today, he added. Noting that we should understand the root cause of the issue such as the unsustainable fiscal policies adopted by many successive governments, the finance minister stated that We, as a country, have lived beyond our means.”
Without proper checks and balances, all governments have spent much more than what they earned, of course with the approval of the parliament, under which the responsibility for public finances falls, he continued.
Minister Sabry also revealed that the government intends to present a new budget proposal in the parliament soon, through which the income taxes are expected to be increased.
The Fort Magistrate’s Court has issued a court order for the removal of all the structures, vehicle and belonging of protesters near Temple Trees in Kollupitiya, that cause obstructions to the pedestrians using the pavement and inconveniences the public.
However, the court order further says that it does not impede the protests carried out in a peaceful manner, Ada Derana reporter said.
Fort Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake had issued the directive today after considering a request made by the police seeking an order to remove the protesters as they inconvenience the general public who use the pavements.
Meanwhile it is reported that police officers have informed the protesters near Temple Trees of the court order and have given them a couple of hours to move the said obstructions, based on the court order.
Delivering the order, the magistrate emphasized that this order is not be an impediment to peaceful protests carried out in a manner that does not cause inconvenience to the public using the pavement and the public using the road.
Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, addressing the rumours circulated on the resignation of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the reports are baseless.
He made these remarks speaking to the media following the meeting of the parliamentary group of the ruling party today (May 04).
When asked about the rumours stating that the prime minister is expected to step down from his position after delivering a special statement in the parliament, Minister Gunawardena said no such decision has been taken.
The parliamentarian, however, stated that the prime minister intends to deliver a statement tomorrow or the day after, on the ongoing issues in the country.
UPDATE: The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has announced the official exchange rates of the US Dollar.
Accordingly, the selling rate of the USD is listed as Rs. 350.05 and the buying rate is Rs. 362.99, according to the central bank.
Several licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka today (May 04) announced their selling rate as Rs. 370 per US Dollar.
The selling rate of US dollar per Sri Lankan Rupee according to the daily exchange rates of several licensed commercial banks is as follows:
BOC – Rs. 366 People’s Bank – Rs. 359 Sampath Bank – Rs. 370 Commercial Bank – Rs. 370 NDB – Rs. 370 Amana Bank – Rs. 360
In the wake of the Central Bank’s decision to float the currency, the buying and selling rates of the USD have been fluctuating daily.
On March 07, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka announced that greater flexibility has been allowed in the exchange rate with immediate effect. However, the Central Bank had said it is of the view that the rate will not exceed Rs. 230 per USD.
In one of the video reports, the person by the name of Nimal Perera does not want to answer the interviewer’s question about the mysterious British-Virgin Islands-domiciled company called Sabre Vision Holdings and walks away giving the impression to the viewer that there is something fishy going on. However, in 2016, this same person (when the UNP was in power and determined to jail the Rajapakse’s) confessed to collecting money for Namal Rajapaksa and his confession led to Namal Rajapaksa bieng arrestd (see page 7). However this allegation was not proved in a court of law and Namal Rajapakse was finally aquitted. The million dollar question is Why does Nimal Perera walk away now when the Austarlian journalist asks akward questions whereas in 2016 the same person came forward to get Namal Rajapaksa arrested? Isn’t this typical “Manufacturing Consent” ? see also:
United Nations held its first Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) in 1956.The second Conference (UNCLOS II) was held in 1960. The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) was convened in 1973 and went on till. 1982. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) prepared in 1982, came into force in 1994.
This Convention let to the creation of three institutions dealing with the Law of the Sea. First,
The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, to consider the limits declared by a State and make recommendations thereon Second the International Sea-bed Authority, to see to management of the mineral resources of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction. Third, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea consisting of 21 judges empowered to resolve any dispute concerning the Convention
UNCLOS III is important because it greatly increased the sea area which came under the control of sovereign states. A state was now in control of the sea around it, up to 200 nautical miles. This sovereignty extended to the air space over the territorial sea as well as to its sea bed and subsoil. This right was however, subject to the conditions in the UNCLOS Convention and the rules of international law.
A coastal state now had control over four extents of sea, measured from a carefully defined baseline. The four extents of sea were Internal waters, Territorial waters, Contiguous Zone and Exclusive Economic Zone.
Internal waters meant all water and waterways on the landward side of the baseline. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters.
.Territorial waters extended to 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the baseline. The state could regulate use of this area and could use any resources in it. However, vessels belonging to other state had the right of innocent passage through territorial waters.
Contiguous zone consists of a further 12 nautical miles beyond the Territorial waters. . A state can enforce laws in four specific areas in this zone. The areas were customs, taxation, immigration, and pollution.
Exclusive Economic Zone extended for200 nautical miles from the baseline. Within this area, the coastal nation has sole exploitation rights over all natural resources. Foreign nations could travel on this sea and could fly in its airspace, but subject to regulation from the coastal state concerned. Foreign states could lay submarine pipes and cables in this Zone.
On becoming a Party to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Sri Lanka, as an island State, was required to establish its maritime boundaries in accordance with the rules prescribed by that Convention.
During the negotiations Sri Lanka established its boundaries for the different areas. the territorial limit of 12 miles had been declared in Sri Lanka’s Maritime Zones Proclamation of January 1977. This was confirmed in the 1982 Convention. The 12 miles was drawn from the baseline and is the low water mark of ordinary spring tides along the coast. The other three areas were also no problem.
What remained to be established was the extent of Sri Lanka’s Continental Shelf. The Convention sets limits to the extent of the ‘Continental Shelf’ that a State may legally claim, together with its natural resources, e.g. an outer limit of 350 miles from the baseline.
Because of the peculiar configuration of Sri Lanka’s Continental Shelf, application of the Convention’s ordinary depth and distance limits to the Continental Shelf would have deprived Sri Lanka of submarine areas and their natural resources in comparison with the extent permitted to other coastal States under the Convention.
The actual extent of sea that a state can claim was based on Article 76 of the Convention,, which said The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance. A baseline is defined as the low water line of the maritime country that is normally used for surveying purposes.
A maritime state can demarcate its outer edge of the continental margin using one of two formulae provided in paragraph 4(a) of the Article 76.
The first formula is known as the sediment formula or Irish formula and it allows a maritime state to claim the adjacent sea area up to a boundary where the thickness of oceanic sediments is 1% of the distance measured from the foot of the slope. This boundary should not exceed 350 nautical miles from the baseline mentioned above.
The second formula which is known as the Hedberg formula states that a maritime country can claim the adjacent sea area up to a distance not more than 60 nautical miles from the foot of the continental slope. This boundary should not exceed 100 nautical miles. In both these formulae, the foot of the continental slope means the point at which the maximum change in slope occurred.
The Sri Lanka team found that Article 76 of the Convention would, if applied to Sri Lanka, result in the loss of more than half of its continental shelf. They informed the Conference. The Conference then prepared a separate document to be attached to the Convention and binding on all countries.
That document, negotiated by Sri Lanka with the interested states, was adopted by all the States at the Conference, and now forms Annex II to the Final Act of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, and bears the title ‘Statement of Understanding’ (SOU). Sri Lanka is entitled to claim for an extended area of seabed where the thickness of the sediment layer exceeds one Km.
A special method of establishing maritime boundaries for countries south of the Bay of Bengal was agreed on. This allowed Sri Lanka a special calculation applicable to its adjacent submarine areas and resources, that would not be governed by the Convention’s ordinary limits and conditions, but only by the limits and conditions contained in that document.
Conditions in that document were, at India’s request, extended to India as a ‘neighboring State’, where the configuration of its Continental Shelf resembled that of Sri Lanka. The Conference agreed that the SOU should extend to India as a ‘neighboring State’ in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal.
Government of Sri Lanka then set up a special project under the purview of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to carry out scientific surveys related to the demarcation of maritime boundaries of Sri Lanka. An inter-departmental Committee titled the National Ocean Affairs Committee (NOAC) consisting of scientific and legal experts was set up.
This committee used experts from the United States, Russia, Norway, New Zealand) as well as Sri Lankan experts. With the help of a group of dedicated geologists, geophysicists and hydrographers, some of whom were working on a voluntary basis, initial planning of the seismic survey was carried out.
This involved determining the approximate boundary of the outer edge of the continental margins using results of single channel seismic work carried out over the region by geophysical institutes in the USA, Germany and Russia.
NOAC also used data from UK’s DEOCOM project (Delimitation of the Outer Edge of the Continental Margin of Sri Lanka) of 2007 and the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) of the USA. To this was added the interpretation of satellite gravity anomalies carried out by local geophysicists. According to the results of these studies Sri Lanka can claim an oceanic area almost equal to twenty-five times of its land area.
Sri Lanka’s written submission to CLCS on the extent of its Continental Shelf was prepared by a group of local scientists and legal experts with the assistance of several foreign experts who had been involved in the preparation of similar claims for their own countries.
The deadline imposed by the UN Commission for maritime countries to make their submissions was 13th May 2009. Sri Lanka managed to make its submission on 8th May 2009. Sri Lanka‘s submission, consisting of considerable volume of documents and maps, was deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on 8 May 2009 within the prescribed time schedule, observed Pathfinder Foundation.
However, over forty two maritime countries had submitted their claims before Sri Lanka and the date on which Sri Lanka’s claim will be considered by the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) will be delayed as a result of this. It is estimated that Sri Lanka’s claim will not be taken up for consideration before 2025.
We should have a group of competent Sri Lankan scientists and legal experts ready by then to defend our claim said D.A. Tantrigoda. Sri Lanka can satisfy the criteria given in Annex-II. For this it is necessary to determine the boundary at which thickness of sediments lying in the Indian Ocean region around Sri Lanka is one kilometer. Multi-channel seismology was considered the most suitable method for this purpose. The gravity and seismic data collected around Sri Lanka during the survey carried out by the DEOCOM can be used for this.
Sri Lanka must take urgent steps to train and equip a new generation of negotiators, who would successfully argue Sri Lanka’s case before the CLCS, when Sri Lanka is invited to present its case, said Pathfinder Foundation.
MCM Pinto, said that the Sri Lanka team handing this matter in the UN should be recognized. It was their tireless efforts that secured for Sri Lanka and India the specific method of establishing the outer edge of their continental shelves. He named first of all, Ambassador H.S. Amerasinghe, the first President of the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea.
Dr. Hiran Jayewardene, recognized the inequity that would be caused by application to Sri Lanka of the continental shelf limits provided for in Article 76, and convinced the Conference that the solution lay in adoption of the Statement of Understanding” and its incorporation in the 1982Convention through Article 3 of Annex II to the Convention which established the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, said Pinto.
Dr. Jayewardene continued his pioneering role by establishing the National Aquatic Resources Agency (NARA) of Sri Lanka, and also functioned as Secretary-General of the Indian Ocean Marine Affairs Co-operation organization. Three other members of Sri Lanka’s delegation to the Conference should also be remembered ,said Pinto, Ambassadors Susantha de Alwis, Karan Breckenridge and Rodney Vandergert.. ( Continued)
The ocean resources of Sri Lanka are in the process of expanding due to the relatively new UN Law of the Sea, announced the media. The Territorial and Continuous areas will add a sea area 8 times our land area. Sri Lanka will thereafter acquire 200 nautical miles as an Exclusive Economic Zone, (EEZ) when its claim is considered. This would extend to about 350 kilometers or more from the shore. This would increase our sea area to more than 27 times the landmass we have. The total area will resemble a fan around the island.
Sri Lanka will have the exclusive right to enjoy and manage the resources in this Zone. This ocean area will be the most valuable economic asset of the country, said experts. The future prosperity of this country lies in the sea which surrounds it.
This EEZ has minerals and hydrocarbons, oil and gas of great economic value, as well seaweed farming, extended fisheries said analysts. In addition, Sri Lanka can promote oceanic recreational opportunities such as surfing, whale and dolphin watching, deep sea diving, sea entertainment and sea sports.
This area has a thick sediment cover having a high potential of hydrocarbon accumulation. Therefore this sea area should have tremendous potential for oil and gas. It is considered highly probably that there is oil and gas on the west and east coasts. Minerals such as titanium, zirconium, thorium, potassium, cobalt, nickel, copper manganese have been discovered.
Over 600 coastal and nearly 100 pelagic fish have been reported. Some 60 species of sharks, over 20 species of demersal fish and shell fish have been reported. However at present we lack the fishing vessels to get at these. Also sea weed has great economic potential. Promising spies of Garcilaira, Ulva and Sargassum have been found in these coastal waters.
A best part of this EEZ will go to Eelam, if we are not careful, warned critics. Eelam start at Puttalam, goes up to Jaffna, down past Trincomalee and Batticaloa to Ampara. The oil and gas reserves of the west and east will become part of Eelam.. (Continued)
India, Sri Lanka and Maldives are located in the same area of the Indian Ocean. Therefore it was necessary to decide on the territorial boundaries of the sea between these three countries. Maritime boundary agreements between India and Sri Lanka were signed in 1974 and 1976 . This was necessary to avoid conflict, in the waters particularly in Palk Strait.
The first agreement was regarding the maritime boundary in waters between Adam’s Bridge and the Palk Strait, and came into force on July 8, 1974. This demarcated the waters from Adam’s Bridge to Palk Strait. The boundaries were drawn by connecting by straight lines two terminal points and four turning points which have been plotted by the system of drawing arcs of great circles from points on the baselines of the two countries and taking the point of intersection as the required point. The baselines followed the low water mark of the seaward edge of the islands off the coastline.
The 1974 Agreement stated that each country shall have sovereignty and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the waters, the islands, the continental shelf and the subsoil which falls on its side of the boundary. Vessels of India and Sri Lanka will enjoy in each others’ waters as they have traditionally done.
The 1974 Agreement also said that if there is any single geological or natural gas structure or field straddling across the boundary, the two countries should seek to reach an agreement on the manner in which the structure or field should be most effectively exploited and the manner in which the proceeds deriving there from shall be apportioned.
The second agreement, which entered into force on May 10, 1976, defined the maritime boundaries in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal.. This was followed by a third agreement in 1976, between India and Sri Lanka to extend the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mannar. A fourth agreement was signed in 1976. This was an agreement for the Determination of the tri-junction point between India, Sri Lanka and Maldives in the Gulf of Mannar
In 1977, Issues connected with boundaries with India and the Maldives, as well as with the politically sensitive matter of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty over the island of Kachchativu, were settled by agreement.
Sri Lanka ‘s Maritime Zones Law No.22 of 1976 provided for the historic waters of Sri Lanka. The Law stated that Sri Lanka exercises sovereignty, exclusive jurisdiction and control in and over the historic waters, as well as the islands and the continental shelf, and the seabed and subsoil thereof within such historic waters.
Sri Lanka declared that the areas of sea in the Palk Strait, Palk Bay, and the Gulf of Mannar up to Kalpitiya on the Western coast, and Point Pedro on the Northern coast were the historic waters of Sri Lanka . Palk Bay had been claimed as historic waters on the basis of Sri Lanka’s use of the pearl and chank fisheries there..
The Maritime Zones Proclamation of 1977, declared that the historic waters in the Palk Bay and Palk Strait shall form part of the internal waters of Sri Lanka and that the historic waters in the Gulf of Manner shall form part of the territorial sea of Sri Lanka. The Palk Strait which provides the entrance to Palk Bay was declared internal waters. Analysts noted that The UN Convection did not apply to historic bays.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea makes provision for delimitation of the sea when states have overlapping or adjacent coasts. This is to be decided under the provisions of Article 83 of the Convention.
There are overlapping claims in the Bay of Bengal between Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Maldives. In 2016, Bangladesh had objected to United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) regarding Sri Lanka’s claim of the continental shelf.Bangladesh objects to Sri Lanka rights where it overlaps with Bangladesh. The Bengal fan is believed to have rich hydrocarbon and mineral resources. One solution is to have joint ownership , the other is to draw boundaries, said NOAC
Pathfinder Foundation said that as there are other countries ahead of Sri Lanka in the ‘queue’ awaiting invitations to present their submissions to CLCS it is urgently necessary that Sri Lanka have consultations with India as joint beneficiary under the SOU, that would safeguard our (and India’s) interests. After consultation with India, Sri Lanka should also discuss with Bangladesh and Myanmar on their claims, if any, to be entitled to the dispensation provided to Sri Lanka (and India) by the SOU..
Pathfinder recommended that Sri Lanka take urgent action to discuss the situation first with India and thereafter with other countries aspiring to take advantage of the SOU.Sri Lanka must alsotake urgent steps to train and equip a new generation of negotiators, who would successfully argue Sri Lanka’s case before the CLCS, when Sri Lanka is invited to present its case. (Continued)
Colombo, March 28 (Sunday Observer): The pulse of a nation beats through its traditional knowledge. This holds true for ancient civilisations such as Sri Lanka. For nations such as ours to wipe out that which is indigenous and create a socio-economic path for its people on totally alien lines can only spell disaster.
This is the post-colonial economic reality that we are witnessing today. A frog does not feel it when it is in a pan of water atop a fire rising in temperature that is slowly bringing the pan to boiling point.
The ignorant frog will adjust itself to the temperature until it is too late for it to jump out. By the time it tries to get out, it is dead. This is what has happened to us. We have been ignorant frogs cooked atop the fire of over technologised, over modernised, over concretised, over immunised and over industrialised global economy upon which we have been scorching for 73 years without dying and without having the common sense to jump out.ADVERTISEMENT
Saving ourselves would mean creating a far-thinking economic model that suits us and makes us master the global economy and not the other way around. To do that a nation should have the guts not to blindly imitate the neighbours, however near or far or rich or opulent they may seem to be. To thus stand strong and steady a nation needs to mould its policies around its own resources and blend the past with the present. But if a nation is clueless about its national and value-based resources or its past and only focuses on the present, then it is sure to sink.
Sri Lanka’s pre-colonial past is linked to its traditional knowledge. This encompasses a vast realm of facets and cuts across the material and the immaterial, both of which are inter-connected. These realms fall under Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) and its economic importance is not realised because it seemingly appear to be out of the boundaries of finance.
Yet such knowledge can be a goldmine for the economic stability of a nation. Young nations such as those in the West that we term as prosperous had no inherited national knowledge.
With their commitment to developing Western science, on the lands they occupied of indigenous people and thus created modern ‘Western’ countries, they had to a large extent borrowed the gamut of non-Western expertise they gathered from other cultures during the pre-renaissance time period.
It is a fact that Western nations are today putting to use age-old sciences of traditional societies to modern use and even having international university courses on it; for example astrology/universal/ nature energybased agriculture techniques that ancient Lanka had mastered (but learnt to scoff at after imbibing the Western science addiction.
But this universal energy based agriculture is taught in Western lands under the tag line ‘biodynamic agriculture.’ The irony is that Sri Lankans are paying dollars to study such courses from foreign lands while scoffing at this knowledge and refusing to put it to practice in their own country.
Just think, we could have created our own indigenous universities for global audiences using all the knowledge that we have learnt to laugh at, considering it non scientific, if we had not squandered the consciousness of our ancient forefathers.
This is not to say we should not have used modern science. We should definitely have mastered Western science and used it to promote and prove the validity of our own ancient knowledge and not the reverse. Not to validate our knowledge in a condescending way to ourselves but to place what is ours on a global platform where Westerners whose understanding is limited, would enhance their comprehension.
For example, we could have dissected (through modern knowledge) how in ancient Lanka controlling elephants were done through the manthra shasthraya which was common everyday knowledge to the then citizens. We could have done the same to uphold our Sinhala Wedakam (Deshiya Chikitsa) Wisawedakama relating especially to snake bites which are also heavily dependent on so-called non-Western scientific’ methods including the manthra shasthraya, all of which had worked accurately in ancient times.
All this could have been used in creating university programs related to indigenous knowledge in wildlife management and woven it around the theme of sustainability. But no. Even for concepts such as sustainability which is practically virtually webbed into our DNA through our ancient practices, we are today looking to the Western world for solutions.
These solutions and so-called expertise is not free. It costs money. Dollars to be precise. And there are traps in every grant or loan or whatever a hand out is labelled. Today with the human-elephant conflict at its worst, just a handful of persons would knowhow certain words and tone (as in a manthra) accompanied by basic gestures could tame an elephant as done through the ‘Ali mantras’ that we had.
Electric fences
Having dumped these kinds of knowledge in modernity’s waste paper basket and considering it rubbish we are spending millions of rupees on electric fences as solutions for the human elephant conflict and once even had shooting at elephants as a last resort.
Today with former Western colonies such as Sri Lanka becoming more and more ‘non-local’ and forever looking for Western or non-Lankan ‘expertise,’ from anything from water resource management, wildlife conservation, food preserving technology, soil nutrition, medical science and even national unity – to name a few vital areas for a stable survival, there is absolutely no introspection or even basic common sense based comprehension on the need to revive the concept of traditional knowledge and heritage in practical terms for mainstreaming this into the economic wellbeing of the nation.
Every aspect mentioned above has economic consequences. We are paying billions for the global chemical industry that has by now made our soil dependent on synthetic solutions the same way the pharmaceutical industry has done with our bodies.
Basic productivity is ‘maintained’ with arduous and artificial effort. The Covid pandemic is being controlled in the West through vaccines alone although it is known that human body, like the soil, has a limit in responding to synthetic solutions.
Sri Lanka which had a host of traditional physicians/ traditional medicine researchers who had treated thousands of Covid patients and cured them in less than three days Sri Lanka, did nothing to tell the world of its expertise.
Why? Because Sri Lanka considered their own traditional methods ‘unscientific’ and overwhelmed by the fancy term Covid given to what traditional physicians termed in the following manner; an immunity destroying semprathishyawa that could be cured easily, with limited effort if the body does not have health complications.
Yet the word of the traditional physician was not taken seriously and we considered expensive Western solutions as the ‘legitimate’ (and exorbitant) answer, without realising that the West itself was helpless with this one and only health solution for pandemics which also have its limitations.
It has taken us a few centuries of colonisation and seventy three years of post colonisation to take us to the dependency dug pit we are in now. It may seem as if we are at the end of a tunnel with no light. Yet, there is.
We have to admit that we have forgotten or been brainwashed to act as if we have forgotten or been lethargic or indifferent and wasted in the drain of corrupt party politics all of that which the ancestors of this nation held sacred.
We have been duped or coerced or happily donated our minds to be wiped clean of the relevance of all our inherited national expertise. Until we realise this no one political party can bring a solution to this economic malaise.
Even in this pitiable condition that Sri Lanka is in now, it is lamentable that there is no national discourse on the connection between national indigenous knowledge and national economic wellbeing.
It is also surprising that those who are busy wasting scarce fuel by bringing hordes of buses to Colombo are totally oblivious to how the economic significance of traditional national knowledge is the missing piece in the puzzle of why our economy has been devoid of progress.
Lankan students queue in hordes to get education in foreign lands which has cost the nation billions of rupees. Yet these young people remain clueless on how and why this nation was referred to as a highly respected, progressive and self-sufficient civilisation.
Although schoolchildren may learn about our ancient kings (even this is doubtful amongst the craze for international school education) they would not learn about the ancient policies that these monarchs had in place to ensure the sustainability and self-respect of the land and people.
Human survival
The preservation and fostering of that vita resource from mother earth, water, to ensure the flourishing of national agriculture and the health of forests (any nations’ heartbeat is its natural heritage) to safeguard the richness of the soil are some of the basic needs for human survival.
If our water is depleted we have to buy water or get into further debt dependency by asking for grants for purchasing water. Sri Lanka would not have thought of this reality when we bypassed the advice of veteran ecologist Dr. Ranil Senanayake in the 1960s and allowed foreign ‘experts’ to moot the cultivation of water depleting pine trees on our mountain tops for ‘reforestation.’
When Senanayake suggested growing indigenous plant varieties on mountains so that the villages below could also benefit from them he was asked to show where such a ‘global model’ existed.
So today as a result of that decision we have hundreds and thousands of pine trees and pine nettle carpeted soil (where nothing else can grow) and vast areas of water depleted lands. The villages below the mountains have not benefited from this dubious reforestation and hundreds of our indigenous plants and herbs and yams have gradually become extinct.
Then comes our current battle with trying to reverse the chemical agriculture menace which certainly cannot be done overnight. Here again, we had cowed down to Western ‘expertise’ in the 1960s when the so-called green (poisonous) revolution was heralded by international organisations.
Organic fertiliser
We have perfected the art of being foreigners in our own land. In pre-colonial Sri Lanka it would have been blasphemy to think that we would come to a position where we would be clueless how to enrich our soil and have to pay other nations vast sums for ‘organic fertiliser.’
Although we like to think that we received what is elaborately called ‘independence’ from the British, this has not been reflected in either our education system or our general policies. We have failed to recognise that the global education system that we have is tilted to think that only one set of people hold a particular set of ‘superior’ knowledge.
Africa would be a fantastic country to learn so many things from, but yet Africa, realistically the wealthiest place on earth with gold and gems and many other resources that are precious, have been ‘made poor’ largely due to the same reasons why we are ‘poor.’ Ignorance that they are rich in so many ways.
For traditional nations to create an indigenous education sector that is attractive and useful to themselves the world would first need to have us recognising and appreciating what is ours. Not because the UN says so but because our ancestors said it.
Our ancestors did not have foreign university degrees but they created a country that was economically sustainable by using all existing national resources. Can we say the same of ourselves?
Colombo, May 3: China, which had expressed displeasure over Sri Lanka’s approaching the IMF for a bailout without consulting it first, and had warned that its relations with Sri Lanka would depend on the conditions set by the IMF, has now revised its stand.
Beijing has realized that it cannot turn a blind eye to Sri Lanka’s plight and should join the rest of the world in helping it pull its economy out of the woods.ADVERTISEMENT
The Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong said told Lankan Finance Minister Ali Sabry on Monday that China would fully support Sri Lanka in securing the assistance of the (IMF). As a major shareholder of the IMF, China is willing to play an active role in encouraging the IMF to positively consider Sri Lanka’s difficulties and reach a proper agreement as soon as possible, Ambassdor Qi told Sabry.
China’s earlier stand would have alienated it from the bulk of Sri Lankans who expect the world to help them tide over an unprecedented economic crisis created by a severe shortage of forex.
The Standoff
It is generally acknowledged that while India rushed to Sri Lanka’s help with funds and material aid, China was an idle spectator. China had cold-shouldered Sri Lanka’s appeal for debt repayment restructuring. The Chinese appeared to be making use of the crisis to get some of their long standing demands met. They probably thought that Indian help would run out in a few months, the IMF’s conditions would be painful and that the Sri Lankans would have to come back to China for funds in the not-too-distant future on China’s terms.
Sure, the Chinese have genuine grievances against Sri Lankan regimes which need to be addressed. And China has its lending policies to keep in mind also. But the lack of response from Beijing to pleas from Sri Lanka was depleting China’s political and social capital among Sri Lankans. It had eroded whatever soft power China had in the island nation.
Instead of debt restructuring, China had offered a US$ 1 billion loan to repay loans already taken from it, plus US$ 1.5 billion as credit for buying goods from China. When President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, in January this year, that it would be a great relief” if China re-structured the repayment schedule, Wang did not commit himself. Instead, he stated that Sri Lanka should provide necessary conditions for Chinese investments, make the Colombo Port City and the Hambantota port engines of Sri Lanka’s industrial growth” and resume talks for an early conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement.
Recently, Ambassador Qi Zhenhong said that China would await the results of Lanka’s negotiations with the IMF, and went on to warn that Sino-Lankan bilateral relations would be shaped by the outcome of the negotiations with the IMF. He might have said this in the context of the IMF’s possible disapproval of Chinese loans which, in the West’s view, pushed developing countries into debt traps. The Ambassador then repeated Wang’s call for an early movement towards a Sino-Lankan FTA.
Pointing to another issue troubling Sri Lanka, the Lankan cabinet spokesman Nalaka Godahewa said that the West’s reaction to any deal between Sri Lanka and China would also have to be considered by the Lankan government.
Sri Lanka was thus caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. While it desperately needed IMF’s help, China could not be sidelined either. China and Japan are the second largest bilateral lenders to the island nation.
Views from China
After Wang’s visit in January, the Chinese Communist Party-run Global Times quoted Song Wei of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, as saying that only interest-free loans” are eligible for debt relief and that loans raised through the market are not.
However, Song added that China may negotiate equity cooperation and rescheduling,” thus indicating the existence of a window of opportunity for debt rescheduling.
According to Sri Lankan diplomats, talks with China on rescheduling and related matters would start after the current holidays in that country. In addition, the Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa told his Chinese counterpart, Li Keqiang, that Sri Lanka will begin working on restarting talks on the FTA which had been suspended in 2018.
China lends to Sri Lanka for interest, although the rates are generally low (at 2% according to economist Umesh Moramudali). There are no interest-free loans. And grants have been few and far between. Therefore, China will have difficulty finding ways to restructure its loans to Sri Lanka. But it has compromised on its principles earlier in the case of some other countries, especially Africa.
According to Deborah Brautigam and Yinxuan Wang (Global Debt Relief Dashboard: Tracking Chinese Debt Relief in the COVID-19 Era, China Africa Research Initiative (CARI), Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Version 1.6, January 2021), Chinese debt relief falls into four categories: the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI); debt cancellation under the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC); ad hoc debt relief; and contributions to the IMF’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust.
Debt relief can involve renewal/refinancing by which the outstanding balance of a loan is transferred to a new loan agreement; re-profiling /rescheduling (extending the repayment time, but not reducing the net present value of the debt – all DSSI treatments fall into this category); restructuring (changes in the terms that result in a reduction in the net present value) or debt forgiveness (reductions in the principal, which can be partial or complete).
Four Chinese lending institutions have participated in debt restructuring so far: The Export-Import Bank of China (Eximbank) China Development Bank; (CDB); Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC); and China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA).
According to the Jubilee Debt Campaign UK, China has suspended US$ 5.7 billion in debt, accounting for more than half of the world’s total.
But Sri Lanka is not entitled the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). However, Ecuador, which was not eligible for DSSI, received a grace period on a loan with the China Development Bank in August 2020, which allowed the postponement of US$ 417 million in payments for one year. Ecuador also reached an agreement with the China Eximbank to defer US$ 474 million in payments between September 2020 and the end of 2021.
Venezuela was also not eligible for DSSI. But according to Reuters, in August 2020, Venezuela reportedly won a grace period until the end of 2020 from Chinese banks on some of its US$ 19 billion in oil-secured loans. This deferred US$ 3 billion in 2020 loan repayments, mainly to the China Development Bank.
Chinese banks renewed maturing commercial loans to Pakistan. China also renewed its three-year bilateral currency swap with Pakistan to support Pakistan’s debt sustainability. But Beijing refused to restructure terms for several Belt and Road Initiative (CPEC) power plant projects with Chinese investment. According to Deborah Brautigam and Yinxuan Wang, the China Development Bank reportedly increased a credit line by US$ 700 million and lowered the interest rate and delayed the repayment timeline by two years.”
Therefore, there are chances of China’s considering ways and means of helping Sri Lanka face the unprecedented crisis it is undergoing. Ambassador Qi Zhenhong’s assurance to Minister Ali Sabry on Monday, is an early sign of that.
Peoples’ Responsibility Center, a civil organization staged a protest near the Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka calling for the Sri Lankan government to purchase fuel from Russia. Pix by Kithsiri de Mel
The JVP revealed that former Minister Namal Rajapaksa has received money from two Companies – ‘NR Projects’, a Netherlands company and ‘Aspen Medical’, an Australian Company through Nimal Perera connected to the construction of the Nuwara Eliya and Hambantota Hospitals.
Convenor of the Voice Against Corruption Wasantha Samarasinghe said this fraud came to light during the investigations into a complaint they lodged over the Krrish Deal.
He said according to the B report of the case over the Krrish Deal, Namal Rajapaksa had admitted that he had received Rs. 60 million and that he had donated it to a Rugby tournament. However, the Rugby Federation has said that they had not received such a donation from him,” he said.
Samarasinghe said further investigations into the case revealed the fraud and corruption involving the construction projects of the Nuwara Eliya and Hambantota Hospitals worth Euro 82 million undertaken by the NR Projects a Netherlands company.
He said NR Projects a Netherlands company and Aspen Medical an Australian Company had deposited money to Nimal Perera’s Sabre Vision Holdings Account in Singapore from which money had been channeled to Namal Rajapaksa’s account.
He said Netherlands company-NR Projects had deposited Euro 4.33 million and Aspen Medical Company had deposited US$ 555,000 to Nimal Perera’s Singapore Account.
It was revealed that the Aspen Medical Company had not undertaken any projects in Sri Lanka.
However, Namal Rajapaksa had tweeted that once again a documentary has surfaced with allegations that myself & my family are connected to a transaction between 2 companies that we have no clue about, the Yahapalana Govt accused me of many things for which I am still going to court. None have any connection to this!” (Ajith Siriwardana)
Former President Maithripala Sirisena today strongly rejected the allegation made by Wasantha Samarasinghe, the convener of the Voice Against Corruption, that a portion of the money allegedly stolen from the Central Bank bond fraud had been given to former President Maithripala Sirisena and his family members.
In a media release, the former President’s private secretary Sameera de Silva stated that Blaming innocent people without any basis for political gain was not a moral political act and that all possible action would be taken in the future regarding this malicious statement.”
This is a completely untrue statement and the commitment of former President Maithripala Sirisena to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Central Bank Fraud and a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the Forensic Audit and to investigate the Central Bank Bond Fraud is a fact that is appreciated by many and it is a matter of respect at home and abroad,” the statement added.
Former Governor of Central Bank, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, in response to the allegations levelled by JVP Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has said the payments made to Pakistani American political donor Imaad Zuberi have been made on official written instructions of the government, and not on the wishes of a single person.”
Earlier today, at a media briefing convened to expose past corrupt deals of Sri Lankan politicians, MP Dissanayake alleged that Cabraal had wired USD 6.5 million in total to Zuberi in 2014 to rehabilitate Sri Lanka’s image in the United States.
Zuberi was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a U.S. court for lobbying and campaign contribution crimes, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice.
According to the U.S. State Department, Zuberi had been in 2014 to rehabilitate Sri Lanka’s image in the United States, which had suffered because of allegations that its minority Tamil population had been persecuted. A press release issued by the State Department last year read that Zuberi had promised to make substantial expenditures on lobbying efforts, legal expenses, and media buys, which prompted Sri Lanka to agree to pay Zuberi a total of USD 8.5 million over the course of six months in 2014. Days after Sri Lanka made an initial payment of USD 3.5 million, Zuberi transferred USD 1.6 million into his personal brokerage accounts and used another USD 1.5 million to purchase real estate.”
Pursuant to the contract, Zuberi had received USD 6.5 million in total from Sri Lanka.
In his statement, Cabraal said, As the banker to the government, the payments made by the Central Bank on behalf of the government in 2014 have been made on the official written instructions of the government, and not on the wishes of a single person.”
He noted that such payments included those made to Imaad Zuberi and his organizations that were engaged by the government in respect of communication programs in the United States.
In that regard, it must be stated that all payments on behalf of the Government had been made based on the official written instructions and approval of the relevant government authorities.”
Further, the respective payment protocols and procedures had been followed by the Central Bank in the normal course of business when making these payments, Cabraal explained.
The former Central Bank governor reiterated that there has been no procedural or other violation by the Central Bank in making the payments totaling USD 6.5 million to Zuberi and his organizations, on behalf of the government.
Nevertheless, as it is now observed, there are certain groups of politically motivated persons who had been alleging that these payments have been made by me personally in a fraudulent manner, thereby causing a loss to the country.”
Cabraal pointed out that these same groups had these transactions investigated in detail for 5 years from 2015 to 2019, and after doing so, it had not been possible to point out any lapses or violations of any law on his part.
As a result, no action was instituted against me by any law enforcement authority during that period of 5 years. Nevertheless, these politically motivated groups have once again begun to hurl false allegations against me in order to tarnish my reputation and provoke public hatred upon me.”
While vehemently denying those allegations, Cabraal stated that I would respond to what he called despicable actions” through the legal process and also institute action against the perpetrators of these falsehoods” at the appropriate time in order to hold them accountable for their abusive actions.
The government of China has decided to provide another grant of Chinese Yuan (CNY) 300 million to Sri Lanka to help in the supply of medicine, food, fuel and other essentials, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement issued today.
The grant comes after a telephone conversation held between Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in late April.
During the earlier phone conversation, Premier Li told PM Rajapaksa, China feels for Sri Lanka for the difficulties and challenges you face, and we want to do our utmost to provide help to improve the people’s livelihoods in your country.” Upon learning of this decision, PM Rajapaksa has reiterated Sri Lanka’s gratitude to Premier Li and the Chinese Government for their continued support to Sri Lanka.
This latest grant will bring the total amount of China’s grant aid to CNY 500 million (approximately USD 76 million).
The go-ahead of the Cabinet of Ministers has been given to provide a special cash allowance for a period of three months to identified low-income families affected by the ongoing economic crisis.
Relevant proposal was tabled by the Minister of Finance and Minister of Samurdhi.
As the low-income families entitled to Samurdhi, Elderly, Kidney and Disability allowances have been severely affected by the current economic crisis in the country, the government has identified the need for immediate relief to those families and their families on the waiting list.
Contingent Emergency Response Component in projects funded by the World Bank Group will provide the necessary funding for this, the Department of Government Information said in a statement.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal to hand over a special cash allowance to identified families from May to July.
Mainly, more than 3 million family units will receive the relevant allowance and a monthly cost to the tune of Rs. 4,455 million has been estimated for this, Minister Shehan Semasinghe said addressing the media briefing to announce Cabinet decisions.
The Mahanayaka Thero of the Malwatta chapter of Siam Nikaya, Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero has decided not to allow any politicians to meet with him.
The decision has been taken by the Mahanayaka Thero as no responsible persons have still responded to the proposals by the Chief Incumbents of the three Buddhist Chapters, on resolving the current issues of the country.
The Mahanayake Theras of the three chapters recently submitted a letter to the President, the Prime Minister and the political party leaders, which contained six proposals including the formation of a temporary interim government to save the country from the crisis with the full consent of the monks.
It is stated that the decision was taken due to the fact that no one has responded positively to the document so far.
When the Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa had arrived in Kandy recently to present the document containing the proposals submitted by the ‘Samagi Jana Balawegaya’ for the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to the Chief Prelates, he had not received permission to meet the Chief Prelate of Malwatta Chapter.
Due to that he had to visit only the Chief Prelate of Asgiriya chapter and present the relevant document.
A group of backbenchers of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) also visited the Chief Prelate of Malwatta on the 29th and requested permission to present a document containing their proposals regarding the crisis.
It was reported that the Mahanayake Theras of the three Chapters have decided to convene a meeting with the leaders of all party represented in Parliament to discuss the current situation.
he Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Qi Zhenhong today (May 02) reiterated China’s fullest support for Sri Lanka in securing the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to overcome the ongoing financial crisis.
Mr. Zhenhong made these remarks during a meeting with Minister of Finance Ali Sabry.
As a major shareholder of the IMF, China is willing to play an active role in encouraging the IMF to positively consider Sri Lanka’s difficulties and reach proper agreement as soon as possible, Mr. Zhenhong added
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has announced maximum retail prices for three local varieties of rice.
However, the new maximum retail prices are not applied to rice stocks released to the market at concessionary prices by the Paddy Marketing Board, a special gazette notification published by CAA Chairman Shantha Dissanayake noted.
According to the communiqué, the directive comes into effect from today (May 02).
New maximum retail prices imposed on three local rice varieties are as follows:
White/Red Nadu (steamed/boiled) – Rs. 220 per kilogram White/Read Samba (steamed/boiled) – Rs. 230 per kilogram Keeri Samba – Rs. 260 per kilogram
