Courtesy MailOnLine

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – Anti-government protests roiled Sri Lanka’s capital on Tuesday amid demands that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign, as the country suffers its worst economic crisis within memory.

Tens of thousands of people gathered outside of the president’s office in Colombo, led by supporters of the opposition party of the United People’s Force.

Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa addressed the demonstration, declaring it marked the beginning of a campaign to oust the government.

“You have been suffering now for two years. Can you suffer further?” he told the large crowd carrying signs and anti-government banners.

Premadasa described the sitting government as “evil” and blamed it for many of the country’s economic woes.

Demonstrators accused the government of mismanaging the economy and creating a foreign exchange crisis that has led to shortages of essentials like fuel, cooking gas, milk powder and medicine.+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition sit on the fence of the Chinese owned Port City project as they gather a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka is struggling to pay for imports as its foreign reserves are at an all-time low.

Rajapaksa is scheduled to address the nation on Wednesday. He is expected to speak about the economic crisis and possible solutions.

Fuel shortages have curbed transportation within the country, including of essential supplies, and have led to hours-long daily power cuts.

In the face of the fiscal crisis, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank floated the national currency last week, resulting in its devaluation by 36% and a further sharp rise in prices.

Authorities have expanded banned imports to include some fruits and milk products, alongside the existing ban on imports of cars, floor tiles and other products, to staunch the outflow of foreign currency.

Sri Lanka’s fiscal crisis is partly driven by outstanding foreign debts of some $7 billion.+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lankan main opposition beat a portrait of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition block a road during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporter of Sri Lanka’s main opposition burn placards and a coffin during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

A supporter of Sri Lanka’s main opposition displays a loaf of bread to highlight the rising food prices during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition shout slogans as they carry a coffin pasted with a portrait of Power and Energy Minister Gamini Lokuge during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. Sinhalese reads, “Taken the power ministry, now in the cart” (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition shout slogans as they carry a coffin pasted with the name of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition shout slogans during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition shout slogans during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)+10View gallery

Supporters of Sri Lanka’s main opposition wearing masks of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, second left and Prime Minster Mahinda Rajapaksa, center, march during a protest outside the president’s office in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. The protestors were demanding the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the country suffers one of the worst economic crises in history. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Written by Nirupama Subramanian Courtesy The Indian Express

Rajapaksa, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to finalise the credit line.

AS INDIA prepares to sign off on a $1-bn emergency credit line to Sri Lanka for food and essential commodities during Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s visit, it will push Colombo for the finalisation of earlier proposals on the joint development of Palaly airport and Kankesanthurai harbour, both in the Jaffna peninsula close to the Tamil Nadu coast.

Rajapaksa, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to finalise the credit line.

India has extended $1.4 bn to Colombo since January — a $500 mn line of credit, $400 mn currency swap and $500 mn for loan deferment with Asian Clearing Union — after Rajapaksa’s last visit in December 2020.A mountain destination like no otherSponsored by NEOMLearn more

The Ministry of External Affairs said Rajapksa briefed Modi on initiatives being taken by both countries to increase bilateral economic co-operation, and conveyed his thanks for the support extended by India for the Sri Lankan economy”.

Modi said Sri Lanka had a central role in India’s Neighbourhood First policy and maritime SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) doctrine. He also noted the potential for increasing bilateral tourist flows, including through joint promotion of Buddhist and Ramayan circuits.

Speaking to The Indian Express, an official said Delhi was pressing” Colombo to quickly finalise the two connectivity” projects at Palaly and Kankesanthurai. Both projects will help Colombo resuscitate its tourism industry after the double blow of the Easter bombing in 2019 and the pandemic from 2020, the official said.

The two sides are also looking at restarting a ferry service between Thalaimannar in north-western Sri Lanka and Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

The Palaly airport was opened to civilian flights from Chennai in October 2019 after a partial refurbishment of the runway, but has been closed since the pandemic. Colombo has shown no sign of reopening the facility, now known as Jaffna International Airport. India had helped in lengthening the runway at Palaly before its reopening, and has expressed interest in further development.

The two countries had signed an MoU on developing the Kankesanthurai harbour in 2018, with Exim Bank providing funds for carrying out feasibility studies, preparing a detailed project report, conducting geo-spatial surveys and removing wreckage. The project has not progressed.

The two projects will add to India’s portfolio in the Tamil-dominated north-east and the theatre of its three-decade civil war that ended 2009.
On March 11, Indian companies concluded two other major agreements for projects in the region: an agreement between National Thermal Power Corporation and Ceylon Electricity Board to set up a solar power plant at Sampur in Trincomalee and a deal by Adani Group to set up two renewable energy projects worth $ 500 million, likely at Mannar in the north-west.

While the terms of the Adani agreement are not in the public domain, both agreements are significant given that at India’s protest last year, Colombo cancelled a Chinese renewable energy project in the islands off Jaffna. In January, India and Sri Lanka signed a deal for the joint development of the Trincomalee Oil Tank farm, another project that had faced many obstacles.

The Sri Lanka High Commission said Modi and Rajapaksa discussed a wide range of bilateral issues”, and that other than tourism and fisheries, renewable energy was also discussed. The statement referred to digitalisation”, which likely relates to a recent pact to replicate the Aadhaar model in Sri Lanka.

Courtesy The Island

In the nineties with the emergence of the Newly Industrialised Economies (NIEs) or so-called Asian Giants or Asian Miracle, theorists all over the world began to talk about Easternisation” as against Westernisation”, Asianness”, Borderless World” and Blurring of Borders”. In present day Sri Lanka, we witness a new kind of blurring of borders”, that is between Viyath Maga and Jara Maga”. The Sunday night (13 March) newscasts and Monday dailies (14 March) flashed a news item, i.e. Chairman of the Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) lambasting the Chairperson and her cohorts of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) over its handling of the fire onboard the crude oil carrier MT New Diamond and the sinking of X-Press Pearl carrying chemicals in 2020 and 2021 respectively. With this news item it came into the public domain for the first time that this Chairperson is an activist of Viyath Maga. Still we do not know why these Viyath Maga” grandees entered parliamentary politics and hold office. If they had entered the arena with the intention of cleaning the Augean Stables and changing the system” they should be reminded that, Systems Theory” is a very important management tool for the managers as well as the politicians. But I doubt whether the people who were harping on changing the system” had an iota of knowledge of the Systems Theory. Space do not permit me to explain what the Systems Theory is. Instead of introducing clean” politics and effective management tools they all have fallen into this quagmire and traversing along the path taken by their elder cousins” proving mere grandiloquence does not give us foreign exchange, gas, fuel, cement, drugs, feretiliser, flour or essential foodstuffs. All of them have proven their inefficiency, from the top man who heads the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

According to The Island report, only Rs. 51 million out of, estimated Rs. 3,480 million, due from New Diamond, had been received as compensation by MEPA. Though the compensation in respect of X-Press Pearl had been estimated at USD 37 million, the shipowners had agreed to pay only USD 29.5 million. The Chairperson of MEPA had admitted that an organisation that had represented the interests of ship owners and insurers had advised the MEPA, too. It’s a case of getting advice from the mother of the biggest rogue!

COPE’s allegation that the MEPA had collaborated with the shipowners to prevent them from paying for environmental damage in the first case and the organisation that represented the interests of shipowners and insures would have been able to manipulate the whole process to the advantage of shipowners and insures in the second case is indictable that should receive urgent attention of law enforcement authorities in the context of the present economic, political and social turmoil. It is very conspicuous that this allegation, coming from another Viyath Maga” grandee, whatever the motive. We wish the Chairman of COPE courage to investigate Litro, another failed agency headed by another well connected Viyath Maga” activist and the members of the sugar mafia.

The MEPA deal” questions the credentials of just an attorney-at -law who had performed as the Legal Officer of the said Agency, prior to being appointed as its Chairperson, that involves highly technical matters related to marine biology and marine ecology. Soon after the formation of this government a Viyath Maga” neophyte was appointed as the Chairman of the National Library and Documentation Centre, an institution headed by eminent library scientists and top-level academics from its inception. To his credit he has translated into Sinhala the autobiography of a Viyath Maga” State Minister who is in charge of marine-related matters. This person participated in a late night SLRC show, Subhani Rath” singing Hindi popular hits. Very soon he was rewarded with SLRC chairmanship. The man who had exposed the garlic racket was thrown into wilderness. The replacement of MILCO novice is growing grass promising us to give milk powder in late April. He is wise enough not to carry out an islandwide artificial insemination programme!

SENA THORADENIYA

By Shamindra Ferdinandoa Courtesy The Island

‘Yahapalana Govt. paved way for 20A’

Former Auditor General Gamini Wijesinghe has presented an eight-point plan to restore democracy, good governance and accountability. He has declared that far reaching remedial measures are required as an utterly corrupt political party system, has caused irreparable damage to the country.

Wijesinghe’s proposals pertain to the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. The country couldn’t be saved unless the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary were brought under the law, Wijesinghe has said, referreing to the 2015 and 2016 Treasury bond scams and USD 6.7 mn payment made to China last year for a consignment of carbonic fertiliser rejected by Sri Lanka to highlight the collapse of the accountability process.

 Wijesinghe examined what he called a pathetic situation against the backdrop of developing economic crisis at a public meeting organised jointly by the election watchdog PAFFREL and the 12 March Movement. The former AG also called for abolition of all legal/constitutional protections for politicians, to subject political parties for State audit, restoration of financial discipline, safeguards for agriculture, support for local industries, creation of sub economy by way of implementation of CESS projects and finally constant update of laws.

Wijesinghe retired in April 2019 having served the public sector for over three decades.

Wijesinghe functioned as the Auditor General during yahapalana administration (2015-2019).

Alleging that the 20th Amendment to the Constitution enacted in Oct 2020 crippled the State auditing process, Wijesinghe questioned the integrity of Members of Parliament.

In one of the harshest criticism of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe administration, Wijesinghe alleged that the then political leadership lacked the will to operationalise the Independent Commissions. The public got fed up with Independent Commissions because the then government crippled key outfits, Wijesinghe said. In fact, those who had enacted the 19th Amendment without its proper implementation paved the way for the dictatorial 20th Amendment, the former AG said.

Wijesinghe explained how successive governments exploited what they fondly called collective responsibility of the cabinet-of-ministers to their advantage. The retired public servant with an impeccable record said that lawmakers’ responsibility should be for those who voted for them not a selected group of persons-cabinet of ministers that pursued agendas, sometimes inimical to the country.

At the onset of the meeting organized to mark Sri Lanka receiving right to vote 90 years ago, at the Sri Lanka Foundation, Executive Director of PAFFREL and Co-convenor of the March 12 Movement Rohana Hettiarachchi said that except for a few, the Members of Parliament largely represented the interests of the business community, criminals, drug dealers, multinational companies and external powers.

Hettiarachchi asked whether the executive, the legislature, Provincial Councils and Local Governments addressed the grievances of the people. Pointing out that there were as many as 10,000 elected and nominated representatives at different levels-from the Executive to Local Government, Hettiarachchi explained how corrupt political party system plunged the country into crisis. They perpetrated corruption with impunity and facilitated waste, corruption and irregularities at every level, Hettiarachchi alleged.

Among those in the audience were heads of watchdog committees, Anura Priyadarshanaya Yapa of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) and Prof. Tissa Vitharana of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPF).

Referring to the much criticized 20th Amendment and the recently endorsed Bill that provided for the Regulation of Processing of Personal Data, Hettiarachchci asked whether the laws were enacted for political reasons. Claiming that those so-called people’s representatives hadn’t been at least aware of public woes, Hettiarachchi said that the Parliament neglected its primary responsibilities, namely public finance and enactment of laws. The civil society activist declared that the parliamentary system had failed and the failure on the part of Parliament to cut down on waste and expenditure at a time the country was on the verge of economic calamity exposed the corrupt system in place.

Ex-AG Wijesinghe, in his well-received speech said that the Parliament had done everything except its primary tasks, namely ensuring transparency in public finance and enactment of laws. The political set up was in such a heinous state today some questioned whether Sri Lanka could cope up with universal franchise, Wijesinghe said, discussing how the ignorant electorate ended up creating a set of rogues whoever in power. Wijesinghe explained how political parties in their quest for power had destroyed existing laws in place. The former official questioned how the presidential pardon and the power enjoyed by the executive to dissolve the Parliament impacted the public.

Successive governments had taken massive loans over the past several decades today country was in a debt trap, Wijesinghe said. The situation is so bad we do not know the total amount taken as loans.”

Referring to the recent set of proposals unveiled by an alternative group of the SLPP, the former AG said that such plans were irrelevant. Wijesinghe accused successive governments and even those within various administrations of pulling in different directions at the expense of political stability.

Political parties couldn’t be allowed to pursue agendas that were contrary to State policies any more, he emphasised.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Claiming that people have had to stay in gas, fuel and medicine queues because of the failure of Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Leader former Minister Udaya Gammanpila said today people would not have to languish in queues if the import of non essential goods was restricted.

He told a news conference that the total import cost last year was US Dollars 20.6 billion, which was a highest import cost reported in the history of Sri Lanka.

He said only US Dollars 4.6 billion out of the total import cost had been spent on the import of essential goods such as fuel, coal, gas, medicine and medical apparatus and added that nearly USD 6 billion had been spent on the import of non essential goods.

“If the government paid heed to the requests made after October 20, 2020 to restrict import of non essential goods, people would not have to suffer in queues for essential goods today,” he said.

Gammanpila said the then State Minister Ajith Nivaard Cabraal presented a set of recommendations to the Cabinet on October 26, 2020 to be adopted to find solutions to the impending economic crisis.

“These recommendations included restriction of import of non essentials. If any person was dying of cancer or heart ailments, the Finance Minister should take the responsibility for such deaths,” he said.

He said the Central Bank prepared a six-month Road Map for Ensuring Macroeconomic & Financial System Stability on October 1, 2021 and submitted it to the Finance Minister to get cabinet approval and pointed out that it has not been presented to the Cabinet so far.

“That is why we say that the Finance Minister is purposely acting to sabotage the country’s economy,” he said.(Ajith Siriwardana)

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Minister of Water Supply Vasudeva Nanayakkara said today he would not remain in the government, if it was seeking the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and abiding by its conditions.

The Minister told a news conference convened by the eleven constituent parties of the government that seeking assistance of the IMF would mean that Sri lanka would have to abide by its conditions.

He said Sri Lanka would have to cut down on expenditure on welfare, transferring ownership of state institutions to the private sector and imposing restrictions on state expenditure on education and health.

“I am not in a position to stay in a government which would adhere to such conditions of the IMF,” he said.

The Minister said he would continue to abstain from ministerial duties and that he boycotted the last Cabinet meeting as well.

When asked on possible increase in water tariffs, he said he would not allow any increase in water tariffs as long as he functioned as the subject minister.(Ajith Siriwardana)

Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa says he is very sensitive to the many sufferings the people have experienced over the past two months and said he is determined to make tough decisions to find solutions to the inconveniences experienced by the people.

He stated this while delivering his special address to the nation on Wednesday (16) night. 

I address you today at a challenging time. I am well aware of the shortages of essential items and increase in prices. I am also aware of issues such as gas shortage, fuel shortage and power cuts. I am also very sensitive to the many sufferings the people have to experience over the past two months.” 

The President said he knows that this situation will continue for reasons beyond their control though they make maximum possible efforts with regard to these situations. 

I accept responsibility for the actions I take,” he said. Today, I am determined to make tough decisions to find solutions to the inconveniences that the people are experiencing.” 

The President said he has appointed a National Economic Council and an Advisory Committee to assist it and that he will constantly monitor whether the decisions he make through this are implemented. 

Therefore, he requested the people to have faith in the actions he will take on behalf of the people.

The President said he is well aware of the difficulties faced by the people and that Sri Lanka is not the only country in the world affected by the prevailing crisis situation.

The entire world is engulfed with various hardships,” he said, adding that increasing shipping costs, rising commodity prices and shortages of certain goods caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are all beyond their control. 

However, we have adopted concessionary initiatives for the benefit of the people,” he stressed.

This crisis was not created by me. When those who contributed to the creation of this crisis are criticizing the government in front of the people today, I am attempting to immediately resolve this crisis and provide relief to the people,” he said.

Rajapaksa said that in a crisis situation like this, it is the responsibility of the politicians and intellectuals of a country to collectively find solutions to the issues.

The root cause of current issues is our foreign exchange crisis,” he said.

He said that they must take action to fill Sri Lanka’s trade deficit, which will be USD 2.4 billion, and increase the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

He said that to this end, they have initiated discussions with international financial institutions as well as with friendly countries regarding repayment of our loan installments. 

The government is in discussions with various parties to implement a new method regarding this which will be beneficial to the country, he said, adding that yesterday’s discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was also held for this purpose. 

He said that through those discussions, they hope to find a way to pay off the island’s annual loan installments, sovereign bonds, and so on. 

Subsequent to my discussions with the International Monetary Fund, I have decided to work with them after examining the advantages and disadvantages.”

President Rajapaksa said that due to some decisions he has taken in the recent past, they were able to control the import expenditure to a great extent. 

We suspended importing vehicles two years ago because we saw this issue in advance. In addition, we encouraged local industries. We also stopped the importation of many non-essential food items and took steps to cultivate those crops in our own country.” 

Now we can witness the successful results of those initiatives,” he stressed.

He said the most serious issue the country is facing in controlling the cost of imports is the rapidly rising fuel prices in the world market. 

Generally, more than 20 percent of our import expenditure is spent on purchasing fuel, he said, adding that in the last few months alone, fuel prices in the world market have more than doubled. 

This is the reason why the increase in fuel prices in our country was inevitable.” Fuel is widely used in our country not only for vehicles but also to generate electricity, he said.

This is why, I constantly took steps to discuss and encourage relevant agencies to use renewable energy sources as much as possible.”

Therefore, by limiting the use of fuel and electricity as much as possible, the citizens too can extend their support to the country at this time, he said. 

I hope that you will understand the responsibility lies with you at this challenging time.”

The full address by the President is below: 

President’s Address to the Nation (2022.03.16) by Ada Derana on Scribdhttps://www.scribd.com/embeds/565059141/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-fsjEJ2l49zhhazoR0uPH

Courtesy Adaderana

The Health Ministry says that another 320 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, as the daily count of new cases continues to rise in the country.

This brings the tally of Covid-19 cases registered in the country thus far to 657,134. 

According to official figures, 619,193 positive cases have recovered.

Following the new development, the number of virus-infected people who are undergoing treatment moved to 21,525. Meanwhile, the death toll stands at 16,416.

Only one coronavirus related death has been reported within yesterday, according to the Government Information Department. 

It said that the Director General of Health Services has confirmed 01 coronavirus related death for March 15, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus to 16,408.

The deceased is reportedly a male patient over the age of 60 years. 

Courtesy Adaderana

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris has pointed to inaccuracies” contained in the UK Travel Advisory on Sri Lanka in its successive revisions, resulting in the projection of a negative image” of the country.  

He has conveyed the above to the UK authorities at a high level on Tuesday (March 15), the foreign ministry said.

In this regard, the Foreign Minister has observed that the reference in the Travel Advisory to the likelihood of terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka and their indiscriminate nature, is contrary to the ground reality, when the country remains vibrant, secure and peaceful, welcoming visitors from all over the world,” the statement said. 

The Minister cautioned that such inaccuracies in the Travel Advisory could exacerbate the prevailing economic vulnerabilities at a time when the country’s tourism industry has just begun to revive itself consequent to the global pandemic and when the country is most in need of foreign remittances to reinvigorate its economy.”

At the same time, the Minister has welcomed the increase in tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in the first two months of this year, with the UK being the third largest source of tourist traffic to the country.

The Foreign Minister also called upon the UK authorities to positively revise the UK Travel Advisory on Sri Lanka to better reflect the practical realities in the country, the ministry said.

Courtesy RT

Russia says neo-Nazi Azov” militants blew up building where they were holding hostages.

Responding to claims by Ukraine that an airstrike destroyed a theater in Mariupol and killed civilians sheltering there, the Russian Defense Ministry said there had been no such strikes against ground targets in that city, and accused the neo-Nazi Azov” battalion of killing its hostages.

The Russian military was aware of reports that Azov” militants had kept civilians inside the theater as human shields, and did not consider the building a target for airstrikes for that reason, Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Previously, it was known from the refugees who got out of Mariupol that the Nazis of the Azov Battalion could hold civilians hostage in the theater building, using the upper floors as firing points,” Konashenkov said. 

Taking into account the potential danger to civilians, and the provocation already carried out by the nationalists on March 9 with hospital No. 3 in Mariupol, the theater building in the city center was never considered a target for destruction,” he added.

According to Konashenkov, the available reliable information” indicates that Azov militants committed a new bloody provocation by blowing up the theater building they had mined.”

The paramilitary Ukrainian unit that uses WWII Nazi symbols had made Mariupol its base, and reportedly forbid civilians from fleeing to safety as Russian forces and fighters of the Donetsk People’s Republic surrounded the city. 

Courtesy RT

The Russian president says the myth of the Western welfare state, of the so-called golden billion, is crumbling”

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin © Kremlin Press Service / Handout / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin has opined that the latest rounds of unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and its allies over the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine, mark the end of an era. According to Putin, from now on the West will be losing its global dominance” both politically and economically.

Speaking on Wednesday, the Russian head of state proclaimed that the myth of the Western welfare state, of the so-called golden billion, is crumbling.” Moreover, it is the whole planet that is having to pay the price for the West’s ambitions, and its attempts to retain its vanishing dominance at any cost,” Putin said.

The president predicted food shortages across the world as Western sanctions against Russia are adversely affecting the entire global economy.

Touching on the decision by several Western powers to freeze Russia’s central bank assets, Putin claimed that this would only serve to irreparably undermine trust in those nations, and make other countries think twice before placing their reserves in the care of those countries. According to him, nearly half of Moscow’s assets were simply stolen” by the West.READ MORE: Russia will respect private ownership unlike the West – Putin

Addressing people in the West, the Russian leader said the massive sanctions imposed on Russia were already backfiring on the US and Europe themselves, with governments there trying hard to convince their citizens that Russia was to blame.

Putin warned ordinary people in the West that attempts to portray Moscow as the primary source of all their woes were lies, with a lot of those issues being the direct result of the Western governments’ ambitions” and political short-sightedness.”

The Western elites, according to Putin, have turned their countries into an empire of lies,” but Russia will keep on presenting its own position to the whole world, no matter what.

High Commission of Sri Lanka New Delhi

Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi stated that India would always stand with Sri Lanka, a close friendly neighbour, when the visiting Sri Lankan Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa called on him this afternoon (16) in New Delhi.

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa is on a two-day official visit to New Delhi to follow-up on the short and medium-term economic cooperation measures that were agreed during his visit to India in December last year.

The meeting between the Prime Minister of India and the Finance Minister of Sri Lanka was held at the former’s office in the Parliament House. The meeting was held in an extremely cordial manner.

At the outset, Finance Minister Rajapaksa thanked Prime Minister Modi for all the assistance that India has provided to Sri Lanka at this critical time. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi assured the Minister that India would always stand with Sri Lanka, a close friend.

The two dignitaries discussed on a wide range of issues pertaining to the bilateral relationship during the call. The areas of discussion included agriculture, renewable energy, digitalization, tourism and fisheries among others.

The Prime Minister and the Minister discussed Sri Lanka’s decision to move towards organic agriculture. Prime Minister Modi highlighted the advantages of natural farming and India’s experience in developing related techniques and products, including nano-fertilizers, which could be of relevance to Sri Lanka.

The two dignitaries also agreed that cooperation in development of renewable energy in Sri Lanka is mutually beneficial and that it should be pursued with vigour.

With reference to India’s expertise in unique digital identity and the proposal for bilateral cooperation for Government of Sri Lanka’s similar programme, it was stressed that such identity could serve as a platform for providing common people with access to various services.  

The significance of promoting the Ramayana trail in Sri Lanka and Buddhist circuit in India, including in Gujarat, was highlighted for attracting a large number of Indian tourists to Sri Lanka. In this context, specific reference was made to the MOU on tourism, signed between Sri Lanka and the State of Gujarat in 2009, which could serve as a template to promote tourism at the state level.

Prime Minister Modi and Minister Rajapaksa had a comprehensive discussion on the fisheries issue between the two countries and recognized its complex and multidimensional aspects including humane treatment of fishermen, livelihood, enforcement, ecology of the ocean, early release of arrested fishermen and their boats etc. The two dignitaries also agreed on the urgent need to find a lasting solution to this complex issue.

Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa was accompanied to this meeting by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda.

High Commission of Sri Lanka

New Delhi

16 March 2022

Sugath Kulatunga

15/3Down with the Rupee

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble,

Down with the rupee, make it tumble,

Poor people let them crumble.

(With apologies to Shakespeare)

During the last few days there were many excellent presentations on the present economic crisis. There are several points I as a non-economist do not understand. Much repeated argument is that the corvid pandemic is not the main cause of the present debacle. According to CBSL statistics from 2014 to 2018 the workers’ remittance was 7 billion dollars and earnings from Tourism was 4 billion dollars making a total of 11 billion US dollars. Trade deficits in 2019 and 2020 were 5.1billion US dollars. The result was a BOP surplus of 6 billion US dollars. This picture completely changed due to Corvid and nothing else. If after Corvid we can reduce imports by USD 2 billion and increase tourist earnings by USD 2 billion we could aim at a saving of 10 billion which is sufficient to meet our immediate debt obligations. What we should hope for is a recovery of the World economy and an early peaceful solution to the Russia / Ukraine conflagration.

Another reason for the current problem identified in these scholarly presentations is the drastic reduction in government revenue. During the time Of NM as Minister of Finance a Marxist friend in the Ministry explained to me a rather incongruous but convincing theory, that taxing the private sector and investing in particularly State enterprise is against all business principles. The return on investment in these SOEs is negative whereas the money in the hands of the private sector invariably gives a positive ROI. If the reduction of VAT benefits went to business groups, it is likely that it would be ploughed back in investment as there is a limit to their consumption. Even if the poor people  who have a higher propensity to consume spent those benefits in consumption it increases the velocity of money and generate income and employment.

Many economists preach that devaluation is the panacea for most BOP ills. This is what the renowned economist Nicholas Kaldor had to say about devaluation.”it is more likely that a large-scale devaluation will end up reproducing much the same initial price relationships at the cost of a great deal of additional inflation”.” As early as 1931, Keynes advocated a system of import tariffs and export bounties for commodity trade as an alternative to devaluation of sterling at that time. Keynes and others—Great Britain (1931, p. 199)—argued that such a system would be superior because it would avoid the depreciation….

The Rupee underwent two major devaluations in 1965, and 1967 The continued pressure on external assets in Sri Lanka due to imports growing at a faster rate than exports, made it imperative that the Sri Lankan rupee be devalued. Accordingly, it was devalued by 20 per cent on 22 November 1967.” It is the same problem and the same solution we adopted.

A symbolic 3% devaluation was done in 2011.

In a 70 year history since Independence, according to an analysis the Sri Lankan Rupee is down by as much as 4,942.5% or by 49 times vis-à-vis US dollar from Rs. 3.32 per US Dollar ($)  in 1948 to latest rate of Rs. 167.4125 per US Dollar ($). Inversely, 1 Ceylon rupee was equal to US $ 0.30 in 1948. This means that US cents 30 could buy one Ceylon rupee at independence. Today, a meagre US cents 0.0059 is sufficient to buy one Sri Lankan Rupee.”

Ref: September 2018-http://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/sri-lanka-rupee-fell-by-over-2201-against-us-dollar-in-a-41-year-history-from-1977-2018/

So far Sri Lanka has gone to the IMF 16 times. During the recent past SL has replaced the governor of the Central Bank and printed over a Rs 1 trillion worth of currency. The move that created great expectations was the appointment of Basil Rajapaksa as the Minister of Finance. None of these have made any impact on the dollar crisis. The only visible sign is the exit of two political stalwarts from the Cabinet. Now we have a 15% official devaluation and a flexibility of a further upward float.

From Rs. 3.32 per US Dollar at the time of Independence we have reached over Rs 280 per US dollar today. Throughout this period the only solution we have had to this depreciation of the rupee was further devaluation. The government of the Father of the Nation preferred colonization to industrialization on the apprehension that industrialization would lead to organized labor which would support the left movement. In 1944, the State Council resolved to launch a State Project of Industrialization in Ceylon. In the same year there was the – Industrial Corporation Bill, and J.R. Jayawardhane moved a motion in the State Council for the preparation of a complete plan for industrialization”. There was a firm bipartisan consensus on industrialization with a different emphasis on ownership. D.S. Senanayake (DS) was a prime mover of the ‘plan for industrialization.’ The decision makers did not recognize the plain fact of the need to increase exports and reduce the trade deficit to stop the depreciation of the rupee. Industrialization would have been the way out. At the same time Colonization did not achieve food self-sufficiency either. After the introduction of the PL 480 flour a substantial percentage of food sufficiency has been met with imported flour.

Value of exports even today is around US$ 20 billion whereas the GDP is US$ 80 billion, four times the value of exports. Therefore, rupee depreciation will benefit a small section of the country and will not be the best option for a majority of the people and will leave consumers worse off.

The present devaluation of 15% or Rs 130 to a dollar which could end up at Rs 280 to a dollar has sent shock waves throughout the economy. The devaluation which has been aggravated by unprecedented rise in energy prices has hit every economic pursuit from industry, fisheries to agriculture and services. Lives of the population which were just coming out of the despair of the corvid pandemic have been made utterly miserable. The government and traders will make a quick buck with the devaluation. Government will benefit by higher customs collections and the traders will gain by applying the new prices to stocks in hand. For example the pharmaceutical industry is reported to have 4 months stock in hand. They will apply the approved 29 percent increase from day one. All products transported or otherwise will increase their products on the excuse of additional fuel cost.

Political parties are blaming each other for the present debacle. But none of them have identified the real issues and worked diligently towards a solution. During the latter part of the Sirimavo regime of 1970, fresh thinking was afloat on institutional mechanisms to promote exports and investments. These incipient concepts were concretized by the 1977 government in the institutions of the GCEC and the Export Development Board. The GCEC lost it dynamism after the early demise of the entrepreneurial Director Upali Wijewardhana. GCEC was more concerned with filling the land with apparel quota chasing industries rather than encouraging high tech industries. The Export Development Board did well under the professional management of the former Director of the ITC(UNCTAD/WTO) and the stewardship of the intrepid Minister Athlathmudali. But even during that time EDB was deprived of its legal dues from the Cess collection. The robbery still continues. After that the EDB became a victim of timid ministers and Chairmen who were devoid of a development” vision. The institutional mechanisms of both these bodies are intact but their vision is obscured.

Our policy makers, and economists who were trained in the West believed in non intervention in the economy. They were led by their noses by the policies of the IMF and the World Bank. Our politicians did not believe in long term development but depended on empty promises to win votes. This is well described in the Sri Lanka Guardian of December 14, 2009: At the heat of the 1970 election just a year after the moon landing, Sirima Bandaranaike promised to bring rice from the moon and some gullible voters believed it. After coming to power people starved without rice. In 1977 JR Jayawardena promised to give 8 grains including popular dhal (lentils) but people got parippu” (a slang word meaning humiliation). In 1988 R Premadasa promised 2,500 a month but people lost their food stamps and instead some received 1,250 a month. Chandrika famously promised cheap bread at 3.50 rupees in 1994 and we saw the biggest price hike of bread from 3.50 to 20 rupees during her time; a staggering five times increase. Then in 1999 Ranil Wickramasinghe promised gold chains for youth but he didn’t make it so nothing happened. When Ranil promised a youth dole of 2,000 rupees in 2001 he won but the dole was never given. If it was given, who would pay for it? The poor people. Their income tax payment would skyrocket and VAT on every milk powder packet, cake of soap, etc. would go up to collect the billions of rupees needed to give all these election sweeteners.”

The 1977 open market policies which were meant to promote exports opened the flood gates for imports. When the Banks which were reluctant to finance exports competed with each other to finance imports which were short term and risk free. The interest rates for export activities were as high as 25%. We were blind to the successful policies adopted by the East Asian Nations.

‘’In short, amid the rich diversity of experiments of industrialization in the post-war era, the East Asian Tigers stand out as lessons of exceptional success. The success of these economies was brought about with the enormous intervention of the state—a state that was not only developmental, but also enjoyed the support of business groups.”

https://hir.harvard.edu/the-east-asian-miracle-where-did-adam-smith-go-wrong/

The most successful Asian Tiger South Korea did not depend on FDI for infusion of technology. They bought the best technology. When both the IMF and World Bank were against it they invested in heavy industries. Our policy makers are advised to read the success story of Korean steel POSCO and the lessons for developing countries.                              https://www.posri.re.kr/files/file_pdf/59/338/6867/59_338_6867_file_pdf_1514351242.pdf

The two-fold objective of a devaluation is to stimulate exports and reduce imports. What have we done to stimulate exports? Have we diversified our supply base? Have we introduced new technology? Have we made full use of our human resources and physical resources in minerals, marine products and horticulture or in the scope for adding value to existing products? What incentives are there for innovations and their commercialization?

Some economists try to compare the recent rapid development of Bangladesh despite the pandemic to claim that corvid is not the cause of our present economic crisis. One reason for the continuous success of Bangladesh and India is the very high percentage of their savings. Both these countries have a much broader and expanding supply base. The domestic savings as a percentage of the GDP in India in 2020 was 28.9 and Bangladesh was 23.8 whereas in Sri Lanka it was only 18.9. Despite all the subsidies enjoyed by Sri Lankans we live beyond our means. When politicians offer gold chains to youth the message is extravagance. It is profligacy on borrowed wealth. We need to give up this peacock mentality and adopt alpeccha” style of living.

Immediately we need to have a safety net for the poor people and launch a holistic short-term program for production of food. Meanwhile opposition political parties and trade unions must hold their horses until the economy gets a breather. Just now they are in a fox hunt. We have to go back to the battle cry we had in the early 80s of ‘export or perish”. We did not care about that exhortation in later years, and we have perished. What can be done will be dealt in future notes.

By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando

There has been a lot of criticism concerning the dollar deficit that has significantly affected inflation. At long last, the dollar was allowed to free-float. However, financial experts say, it is too late!” Simultaneously, 367 non-essential items were restricted from 9 March 2022 after 45 years. 

Many point an accusing finger at the Government for not planning its economic structure steadfastly. The writer of this column does not wish to point the finger at any successive governments because loans obtained were to develop the country, of course at exorbitant rates (with excessive commissions!) Due to the heavy burden of loans, the Government needs to settle these loans in U.S. dollars at a higher exchange rate! 

Sri Lanka needed loans to upgrade airports to international standards, expand harbour and build expressways, which has helped the transport industry tremendously. The construction of bridges in rural areas and overhead bridges in towns contributed immensely to ease traffic conditions. The ‘abandoned’ Paper Mills Corporation at Valaichchenai and a brand new Lanwa Sanstha Cement Company commenced production. Still, the construction industry expected cement price at Rs 1,350, but with a dollar increase, it has gone up to Rs 1,850! 

It is regrettable to note the emergence of Covid-19 affected Sri Lanka and the world’s economy. Even before the pandemic, Sri Lanka’s economy was in a bad shape. The Government had to spend millions of dollars on injections to combat the epidemic and daily wage earners had to be looked after to overcome their lost income due to the pandemic. Additional expenses incurred on Samurdhi payments of low-income groups. The worst was the collapse of the tourist industry and the loss of income for hard-working Sri Lankans slaving away in foreign countries. Such factors contributed to the high cost of living in the country and the poor man has to live a ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence!

An exciting piece of writing in Sinhala appeared on Facebook, under the caption: ‘ Are Glory and Pride Over?’ which the writer of this column translated into English. It was emotional writing of actualitiespointing out how most citizens (including the 225 MPs) neglect the motherland. The following is the translation:

Once, I had to transport three Indian Officials to Taj Hotel in Colombo in the early hours of a morning. The driver of the vehicle stopped at red traffic lights. The Indian officials, in a frantic voice, asked: Why did the driver stop the vehicle? Is there something wrong with the car?”  I told them, Because traffic lights turned red!” Instantly, both of them laughed brashly and said: It is crazy to stop the vehicle when there is no one on the road or there is no mechanical failure!”  

The journey proceeds

Once again, we were on the way to the Taj Hotel. I was pleased to hear complimentary comments about my homeland from the two foreigners.  I informed them that my driver was in the Sri Lankan Army previously. Hence, he is disciplined, yet not all motorists pay any heed to such trivia under the circumstances.  The senior Indian official said, Even though Sri Lanka is a South Asian country, we don’t see this level of discipline in our country.” 

The Sri Lankan made a comment on Facebook about Ceylon receiving independence from the British on 4 February 1948. However, he deems to think that Sri Lanka received freedom only after 22 May 1972. Until Ceylon became an independent sovereign, she had connections with the British. Still, many of his friends started to criticise and ask him, What sort of freedom did the Ceylonese receive?”  Those questions made him write about his country. He says he always fell in love with his motherland as a young boy. When he became an entrepreneur and started travelling abroad, he always wanted to return home. It was a deep feeling generated automatically within him.  

In Sweden

He was in the capital of Sweden once. A tourist guide pointed to a lake and a surrounding thicket and asked him, Aren’t they beautiful and priceless?”  He glanced at the lake and the ‘forest,’ but the lake appeared rather a typical stream, and the ‘forest’ looked like an ordinary ‘wood’ with trees and plants! He then asked the Swede, What do you mean by being beautiful and priceless?”  The Swede answered back, saying, both the lake and forest are invaluable to the Swedish people,” and continued, the lake was polluted in the past to the brim but the authorities decontaminated it, and currently its water is used for human consumption. 

Sri Lankan returns home

When the Sri Lankan returned home, he counted the number of herbs in his garden, and walked up to border and saw hundreds of trees on the horizon. What a lovely country is this!” He exclaimed noisily! He visualised how 103 rivers surround Sri Lanka, and any seed thrown into the ground geminates in a flash! His daughter had to count the number of birds that perched in their garden for her school project, but neither of them could believe that twenty-six types of birds settled in their garden!

He then pondered how people in this country face constant problems and absorb them with a smile. Still, others criticise the Government for its doomed destiny. Nevertheless, Sri Lankans, on the whole, are generous individuals, he wrote.

As a student, he remembered how he received free education up to the university level. All his school books and uniforms, including shoes were donated to him by the parents of his school friends’ families and teachers. He was ecstatic to hear such meritorious deeds! He remembered how a father of one of his friends lost his job during an industrial strike in 1980. Even when employed, his friend’s family managed with the father’s meagre income. His schoolmate now lives in the United States, and his earning capacity exceeds over one million dollars. Reciprocatively, he helps all needy families in Sri Lanka now.

The Sri Lankan writing on Facebook recognises how people are sweating out in foreign countries to earn a buck for survival and for savings as Sri Lanka lacks opportunities. Does he want to know whether it is not a great boon to Sri Lanka to encourage new innovators to rebuild her economy?

History

One schoolboy invented a robot, when the schools closed during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was an electronically operated trolley to reach Covid-19 patients so doctors and nurses can keep a safe distance from the patient. Social media highlighted the boy’s cleverness, but the Government allowed the issue to die a natural death! Once, a young entrepreneur invented a motorcar to run on water. Another 15-year-old schoolboy, Sunthalingam Priranawan, produced a solar-powered tuk-tuk out of scrap metal. If these individuals had been encouraged and helped, Sri Lanka would not have had this current economic crisis. The Government could have earned millions of dollars instead. Unfortunately, no Sri Lankan Government had ever recognised the skills of talented people. It is why talented folk leave the country to enrich foreign economies! What is required by any government is action but not lip service!

He appreciates how dedicated thespians display their latent talents whenever he walks out of the Lionel Wendt theatre. While he listens to new inventions of musicians, midwives attend to pregnant mothers, postmen distribute letters around the county and teachers instruct students, health workers in hospitals listen to patients day or night;  despite their grievances, government servants and private sector employees perform their duty, all these brings immense joy and pride to him about his motherland.

One must accept that no country can survive without direct and indirect taxes! The guy who wrote on Facebook thinks his parents probably could not have afforded him a higher education, if no free education was available in Ceylon. He is indeed indebted to his motherland; thanks to the free education, he managed to end up as a professional. He spent seven years in university and admitted that the students tried to murder the vice-chancellor during that era” due to his narrow-mindedness”. He is more astonished to learn his university, whose name once got tarnished, could come up again with an excellent coding team. 

From late 1980 to early 2000, university students were highly exasperated. Each morning they woke up and wondered whether the country would exist by tomorrow! He is happy that Sri Lanka still survives after thousands of youths were massacred, but he says the challenge is not over yet.  He says his friends who live abroad now do not possess an inch of land in Sri Lanka. Yet, they had to leave the country due to political skulduggery, searching for greener pastures. Many ignore their responsibilities (including the elected government representatives). People need to save this country from the present catastrophe.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful island, and everyone knows its value. It does not matter whether the 225 Parliamentarians are relevant to this equation! We are 21,918,775 without them and can put the country back on track again! There is no point in condemning anyone now because Sri Lankans have been experiencing centuries of exploitation due to the culpabilities of all its rulers. He insists that, the present trend is uncertain, but we must change the situation.”

First and foremost, Sri Lankans need to stop condemning their motherland and stop talking about handing it over to colonials or foreigners to run the country. We need to look after our motherland like we look after our children.”

tilakfernando@gmail.com

Courtesy Sputnik

With a national debt of over $30 trillion, a skyrocketing consumer price index thanks to trillions in new government spending, and renewed efforts by emerging economies to find alternative means of exchange in foreign trade, the greenback’s time in the sun as a harbour of stability in uncertain times could be coming to an end.

The dollar may lose its status as the de facto world reserve currency thanks to inflation, the fragmentation of the globalized economy and, fatefully, the new US and Western sanctions slapped on Russia targeting its foreign reserves, Spiegel contributor Henrik Muller argues.There are now some signs that the dollar’s dominance may be coming to an end,” the observer wrote, pointing, for example, to the corrosive role of inflation, which surged to a whopping 10 percent in February, according to fresh US Department of Labor statistics.

Inflation can cause lasting damage to international confidence in the value of the dollar,” Muller explained. Ultimately, the financing of the entire US economy depends on the status of the dollar. The United States is able to run current account and budget deficits in the long term, and that means living structurally beyond its means – because half the world is willing to lend America money at very low interest rates,” Muller stressed.

The unprecedented step by the US and its allies of freezing about $300 billion in Russian foreign reserves abroad in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine is another major warning sign, the observer noted. The sharpest weapon in the arsenal of sanctions against Russia was the freezing of Moscow’s currency reserves in other central banks, a step which had never been taken in this form before. Should fears spread that the US government could confiscate currency assets at any time, this could cause massive damage to the dollar,” Muller added.

The observer suggested that for countries with large currency reserves, the question arises as to whether their balances with the Fed (and other Western central banks participating in the sanctions) are still safe…The country with by far the largest forex reserves is China. The Saudis and other Gulf emirates also have substantial dollar holdings.”Goodbye, Petrodollar? Riyadh Reportedly Weighs Accepting Chinese Yuan for Oil Purchases16 hours ago

Finally, the observer noted, the crisis in Ukraine is rapidly changing the balance of power in the financial markets, leading to the formation or strengthening of new blocs of sovereign powers with fragmented financial markets replacing US-dominated global financial institutions. These tectonic shifts are likely to impact the forex market, and the dollar’s strength, accordingly, he added.

Muller pointed to the Soviet experience of the convertible ruble zone within the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) bloc as an example of one possible vision of things to come, saying it appears that the People’s Republic of China is already on its way to establishing its own” economic bloc.

For fairness sake, the observer admitted that discussions about the imminent decline of the dollar have been taking place for decades, starting with the collapse of the Bretton Woods system in the early 1970s, when the greenback lost its gold-backed status. Since then, the US currency has weathered a series of crises. Not even the US’s transformation in the 1980s from a net creditor into a net debtor nation managed to alter this state of affairs.How Could US Sanctions on Russia Speed up De-Dollarisation and Help Rise of the Yuan?13 March, 18:11 GMTToday, Muller noted, America’s money still accounts for about 60 percent of global currency reserves and outstanding international debt, 55 percent of cross-border bank credit, and over 40 percent of foreign exchange and trade transactions.Once a monetary standard has been established, it is not easy to replace it with a new one. Such a chance happens only once every few generations – most recently after the First World War, when the British pound gradually lost its dominant international role.

The decline of the pound as world money was preceded by a long relative decline of the British Empire. Other powers caught up economically and militarily, notably the United States and Germany. But the pound and the financial center of London remained the financial center of the world for quite some time,” Muller wrote.

The same may be true of the US dollar today is the implication. The currency has already fallen behind the European Union and China in total trade volume, while central banks have moved to diversify their dollar holdings by moving to other assets.So far, the dollar has benefited from the fact that there are no real alternatives; the euro lacks an institutional foundation. Gold lacks liquidity; the renminbi is not even convertible…Cryptocurrencies are only a theoretical option because they lack the ‘soul of money’…i.e. the trustworthiness of state institutions. But digital currencies are developing quickly, also driven by central banks themselves. These are innovations that can completely change the monetary system,” Muller stressed.

Shenali D Waduge

Sri Lanka is $35billion in debt. It is a debt that did not happen overnight. It is a debt that IMF will not solve & cannot solve. Taking loans without a plan & internal measures to curb & cut expenses is not going to help or solve Sri Lanka’s debt situation. Taking loans and burdening the middle class and poor is unforgiveable while offering tax holidays and incentives to the rich & privatizing the little state owned enterprises we have left. It is a valid question to pose whether the economic collapse & financial fall outs are pre-planned with geopolitical advice simply to privatize what little we have left & place Sri Lanka under a defacto foreign rule though politicians wish to enjoy all perks of office at the cost of the tax payer inspite of sacrificing the sovereignty of the nation, a pledge they promise not to do.

It is puzzling how even those we deem ‘intellectuals’ amongst us are chirping the need to accept IMF loans without even looking at the background & eventual outcomes of these loans. One has to wonder if some of the well-planned protests are simply to justify the government’s decision to return to IMF claiming it to be what the people want. Do people realize the repercussions awaiting them after taking IMF loans?

Sri Lanka is in $35billion debt – how far will $500m IMF loan provide relief & to whom & at what cost to the people? How many of those demanding Sri Lanka run to IMF can answer this or are they happy to enjoy some artificial relief with country flooded with more luxury goods?

Who were the advisors that allowed the import of $300m worth of luxury goods like mineral water when that money could have been used to import oil knowing the global oil situation? Who will take accountability for this bad decision? Tourists must have been enjoying mineral water in candle light!

Sri Lanka should not take sides in Indo-Sino rivalries & should not unite with QUAD against China

Sri Lanka has historical relationships with both India & China. These are special for different reasons. Although the manner of these relationships differ, at all times we must be able to balance ties being careful with the manner we deal with each country in particular taking stock of their past overtures to Sri Lanka. In that sense we do not have many good memories of India given its role in terrorism in Sri Lanka as well as the political bullying by India & arm-twisting demands made by India over the years. All these require Sri Lanka’s political leadership to deal with India with caution in particular regarding the demands they make which have political/economic/social & even cultural implications for Sri Lanka.

How can Sri Lanka agree to cut ties with China simply because India or West demands it? Why should Sri Lanka cut ties with China when India & West deal with China far more than Sri Lanka? 

Why should Sri Lanka give anything to India simply because we have given China? This was the logic used to give Colombo West Terminal without calling for tenders.

Why did Sri Lanka refuse Chinese investments amounting to $3b including an energy plant worth $1.5b that would have answered the current crisis, simply to please India?

Is India purposely demanding Sri Lanka cut off China so as to put Sri Lanka in a standstill so the QUAD could get their way? Is the refusal of 1million Chinese vaccines simply to bring Pfizer – also part of the Quads anti-China program?

Whatever India demands – don’t Sri Lanka’s leaders have a spine to diplomatically do what Mrs. B did when India demanded she not allow Pakistan to re-fuel during the Indo-Pak war? If she did not give into Indian demands, why cannot the present political leadership?

How many are aware of the stringent exclusivities attached to the loans to be given by India? Simply to provide relief for a government by giving $1b loan what does Sri Lanka have to forfeit. We have to give India exclusive access to investments that they demand for Indian companies in Sri Lanka.

While it is noteworthy that we owe China only $8b out of the $35b debt, simply to please India or under Indian orders we have even refused a $2b swap from China which eventually went to several African countries & Iran got $500b.

Can Sri Lanka’s leadership & policy makers explain why we are trotting to India to seek $500m refusing others & likely to agree to giving the Indian Navy access to our waters & giving preference for Indian investments? What is the catch? Why are we sacrificing our sovereignty to allow Indian troops into our waters? This is no different to US Pacific Command coming & leaving Sri Lanka as they liked during the last government. Does this also mean that India will agree to US entering Sri Lanka to implement MCC under another name which will first be vetted by India so as to ensure India’s national security does not get compromised. India is in for future surprises if India thinks US will not eye it eventually to be balkanized.

It should be clear that taking loans or privatizing state entities simply to get a bulk amount has not reduced our loans or provided any relief to the masses though it has upped the lives of a handful doing the deals & enjoying the commissions. A country is not for only a handful alone to enjoy.

With essential goods increasing daily & little or no price controls & black market racketeers having a field day, the govt can resort to printing money & paying public servant salaries but how can local companies especially SMEs sustain their companies to make enough revenues to meet the monthly expenses when these are spiraling? These companies & employees are equally helpless. The scenario is no different globally too.

Small as Sri Lanka is, we have been a resilient nation & the masses have weathered many a hardship throughout its post-independence history. The people have never complained or fussed but have always looked forward to better leadership. But they have been disappointed throughout. All that they have asked & expected for the luxuries that politicians enjoy (applicable to entire Parliament & all political parties) is to protect the sovereignty & territorial integrity of Sri Lanka & the future of the present & future generations. It is not too much to ask of politicians who indulge in colossal waste. But count the national assets Sri Lanka had at post-independence & count how much we have left & how these remaining assets are also being lined up to be siphoned off. This is unacceptable as it is not a solution & it is only going to leave beggars out of our people.

If politicians deem it fit to sell the country to foreign hands & corporates – there is little point in having a Parliament, politicians or government – we may as well be under foreign hands! This is certainly not what we want & not what we expect politicians to do.

We hope Parliament realizes the debacle taking place as a result of their collective faults & set things right without sacrificing the nation & its people any more than they have.

Shenali D Waduge

by Garvin Karunaratne 

The IMF warns Sri Lanka of its unsustainable foreign debt. It is sad that the IMF forgets that it is the IMF itself that paved the path for the creation of this unsustainable debt. That happened in 1977 when the IMF imposed its Structural Adjustment Programme(SAP)on Sri Lanka. Till then Sri Lanka had no foreign debt.

Dr Gamini Corea, a celebrated son of Sri Lanka- the one son who held the high position of the Secretary General of UNCTAD, has castigated the IMF for laying down stringent conditions euphemistically called Structural Adjustment Programme in return for concessional loans to the World’s poorest nations.” (quoted by Thalif Deen in NoComment)

President Jayawardena when he won the general election in 1977 need not have gone on knees begging for funds from the IMF because when Prime Minister Sirimavo handed over the country to him there was no foreign debt and the country had up to that date been managed with the funds that Sri Lanka earned. This was achieved through effective import controls and restricting the use of foreign exchange.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank were established by the United Nations to help countries and up till the Seventies they did perform that task well helping the poorer countries. The countries were developing new programmes of creating production and finding incomes for their people. There was a change in the late Seventies- President Ronald Regan and Prime Minister Thatcher accepted the neoliberal economic model- the Structural Adjustment Programme, propounded by Professor Milton Friedman. As stated by the SAARC Report- The Report of the Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation): The Industrial Countries for the first time since World War !! are in need of markets for their products just as the economies are made vulnerable by the international debt crisis. So they have put into effect the Structural Adjustment Programme(SAP) The Main prescriptions of the SAP is therefore a reduction in government expenditure… often accompanied by devaluation, increases in the prices of public utilities and import liberalization. Studies of these programmes show that they are regressive, that they adversely affect the poor.”

The neoliberal SAP insisted that the countries should abolish import controls and also provide foreign exchange to be used freely by citizens. . Earlier, the use of foreign exchange was carefully managed to ensure that the country could meet the expenses out of its earnings. Under neoliberal SAP. the IMF provided loans and our leaders were happy to spend. The IMF also provided grace periods and long repayment contracts so that the leaders could enjoy and leave the task of repayment for future leaders. The money was thus squandered on unnecessary imports and free use by the rich of the country to live in luxury, go on holidays and educate their children abroad all done on borrowed money. It is this process that has taken us unawares to almost bankruptcy today(2022). Further the IMF insisted that the government departments that attended to development should be abolished which meant that there was no real development. It was this process of depending on loans importing instead of producing, and not paying back the loans which sent up the foreign debt of the country to as much as $ 54 billion today.

While the real culprit for this is the IMF, the educated experts in the Central Banks should have warned the Government that living on loans would bring bankruptcy someday. Instead of warning the Central Bank Reports sang hosannahs and our educated dons in the universities never addressed the subject.

Former leader of the Communist Party DEW Gunasekera, a true patriot, has rightly stated that Sri Lanka should deviate from the neoliberal strategy that it has followed since 1977, which policy has ruined a country that was not in debt to anyone till 1977. He has said emphatically that 44 years of experience from 1977 to 2022 is more than enough.” (The Island.lk 03032022) He adds we must embark on a strategy of planning and State intervention. The strategy of import and consumption should make way for export oriented domestic production,” His are words of wisdom.

Incidentally it so happened that when my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Alternative Programmes of Success” was published by Godages in 2006, a book that deals with how the economy of Sri Lanka was ruined by following the IMF dictates, I took a few copies of this book to Mr. DEWGunasekera and requested him to hand over copies to parliamentary leaders. That was when our foreign debt was around $ 15 billion. He happily undertook that task stating that it will be difficult to find leaders who world read it. My book details how the IMF has taken our country to a situation of bankruptcy. Though we were bankrupt, yet the IMF gave us loan after loan so that we would not feel the pinch. But later on the IMF backed out and our country had to find loans from banks, bonds and continue on the same path because the loans could never be paid back- we had to actually get into further debt to service the loans- not to default. In fact I have written two other books on the subject:

How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development , Kindle/Godages 2017

How the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Proigramme Destroyed Sri Lanka, Godages, 2022

Sri Lanka embraced the IMF teachings as far back as 1977, while other countries were more careful and did delay the process. In fact Bangladesh commenced structural adjustment with the IMF only in 1986 and they realized their mistake and backed out of the IMF in 2007.

Almost all Third World countries have had to have dealings and draw loans from the IMF. In the IMF process of liberating imports and the liberal use of foreign exchange all countries have run up their foreign debt. Bangladesh, the country that recently came to our Aid by giving us a loan of $ 200 billion has a foreign debt of $ 44.2 billion. India has a foreign debt of $ 570 billion. However these countries have managed avoid to food queues and shortage of essential supplies like fuel and gas by carefully restricting imports and careful use of foreign exchange. In this respect Sri Lanka should have taken action to restrict imports of non essential items, restricted the use of foreign exchange and not engaged in fanciful projects like building flyovers etc . far earlier.

Today, the situation that Sri lanka is facing is severe hardship for the people. The only solution is to follow the policies that were adopted before 1977, namely very strict control over foreign exchange use. It was a case of allowing foreign exchange for essentials- food, medicines etc and no funds were allowed for foreign travel or foreign studies. There were very effective import controls and price controls. . The development work in the country- , payments of subsidies for opening up land or for building roads etc were all done with locally printed money. Foreign exchange was so guarded that when I went abroad in 1973 for studies, I had to find employment and study. I was not given a single dollar or pound. Though strict controls were placed on the use of foreign exchange there was tremendous action in the development field, all done with printed money. The Marketing Department Cannery made Sri Lanka self saufficient in all fruit juice and then 8% of the pineapple tinned was exported- all done within three years 1955 to 1958. The Small Industries Department was very active with handlooms, powerlooms and the country produced all the textiles it needed. The Divisional Development Councils Programme of 1971-1977 made many items that were imported and provided employment to 33,200 youths. Since 1977 as advised by the IMF we have opened our gates for imports and all above programmes were abolished or sidelined.

Today(14/3) it is reported that 180,000 economic development officers are on strike. Divided into districts there should be 800 economic development officers in each of our 22 districts. In my District, Matara in the days when we implemented the DDCP, I had some 25 such officers. In my paper The Way Out of the Economic Abyss besetting Sri Lanka:( Lanka Web 12/3/2022 ) I have pointed out that the Government Agents have no work now. They last worked on the DDCP of 1971-77.Since then they have found some work to do, work that they handed over to the Additional GA in 1967 when Premier Dudley wanted the GA solely for his paddy cultivation programme. However today the GA have a very busy role as Assistants to the political authorities that chair the District Coordinating Committee.

Is it not sad that there has not been a single programme of creating employment and creating production since 1977. Is it not a simple task to create a new programme of economic development and there lies the task for the Government Agents( who have no proper job now) and the 180,000 strong economic development officers. The production they can create will wipe out the food queues and also save the foreign exchange that we spend on food imports. But will the IMF who ruled us from 1977 and rule us very indirectly but effectively today, approve it?

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D.Michigan State Uniuversity,

Author of:

How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Alternate Programmes of Success, Godages, 2006

How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development, Godages/Kindle 2017,

How the IMF’s Structural Adjustment Destroyed Sri kanka, Godages 2022Further

15032022

Shenali D Waduge

If we judge Sri Lanka’s economic development vis a vis the western loans & expert economic advisors our story is quite bleak. We have had countless economic gurus claiming to be the know-it-alls but have failed to come up with a plan to bring Sri Lanka out of the debt trap it happily walks into. To pay a loan we take a loan & this has been the expert advice followed. We blame the politicians & demand the experts be given a bigger role, but what have the experts tapped to advice, really advised or have they been happy to take their remunerations and endorse everything the politicians demand as a result of shady deals they strike? If we cannot trust the politicians, we have little to say about the economic experts’ as well.

We need to ask ourselves some hard questions. It is obvious that the open economic policies that have had little planning & strategy has led to the current situation. It has gotten worse with every year & now come to boiling level.

There is no harm in taking loans but there has to be a solid plan to pay back those loans & no sooner the loan is taken its usage needs to be monitored & recorded. We have been happy to import & lead a life of luxury while keeping the lower rungs of society happy with handouts. This has become a political ploy & every party aspiring to come to power ends up promising goody-bags of relief & handouts that win the votes. These handouts do not come free & are often tagged to conditions of monetary bodies that provide the loans. Most of the countries that offer loans (in different names) always demand political conditions which are often detrimental to our sovereignty. Our policy makers do not look at the long term political damage of agreeing to the conditions when whatever loan we take has to be paid back with interest & in DOLLARS while agreeing to conditions means political bullying when we do not keep our end of the bargain.

Political advisors have also failed in not raising objections to political conditions against loans being offered. Look at all of the loans India provides – these are generally related to ‘ethnic favoritism’ as are loans coming from other countries.

Recall the GSP+ these even demanded changes to Sri Lanka’s constitution, repealing of the PTA & many other conditions violating our sovereignty while GSP could be revoked at any time though conditions agreed cannot.

Much as many are gaga over the dollar, it is important to note that the US is trillions in debt & has printed trillions to keep dollar afloat amidst the covid bailout program. Therefore, it is not only Sri Lanka that is printing currency. Trillions in loans, makes US the most indebt country in the world not any other.

Why Countries are Dumping the U.S. Dollar

There are many calls to DUMP THE DOLLAR as we need to be thinking of ways to come out of the rut not to please countries as Sri Lanka’s appeasing policy advisors recommend. Do we dump the dollar or do we continue to devalue the Sri Lankan rupee turning our people into beggars with no national asset to call our own. Once that happens, what are we as a nation? Nothing but beggars & slaves to foreign countries/companies who will be running our country. All our ports, harbors, airports, land – sovereignty is being handed over simply for governments to survive and not to provide relief to the people or a sustainable future for future generations. As we have seen in the past decade we have given up much that is ours while those that land pretending to be ‘Santa Clause’ is actually trying to take over what we have remaining. How many assets have we lost and what have the general public gained as a result?

What have the so-called experts” to say – they will simply blame the politicians but they are the biggest fault bearers as they are the ones who negotiate the deals & they are the ones who hold the drafts of the agreements & they are the ones who should be making public any detrimental clauses violating the country & its sovereignty – they will become bigger heroes by not being party to the siphoning off Sri Lanka than keeping quiet & doing the legwork to finalize these corrupt deals.

When will politicians & policy advisors realize that tomorrows future is technology & we must hold ownership to every back office technology instead of outsourcing to foreign parties who end up charging us in dollars for every minor change we request. We have enough of technological savvy individuals capable of shining far beyond expectations only if they are given a chance to do so. Why have our politicians being satisfied to go running to the foreigners instead of giving our people incentives & a chance? By outsourcing everything & anything we are inviting trouble & we should know the nature of the troubles we have invited over the decades since post-independence.

We have weathered numerous conflicts all with external clandestine involvement infusing rebellious motives with the ulterior goal to vanquish talented men & women to their graves leaving a brain drain across Sri Lanka. How many talented youth have we lost in the 1972, 1980s and 1990s as a result of rebellions and terrorism during JVP, JVP-UNP & LTTE terror periods.

It is no secret that the economic hitmen hired by western sources locally is only to continue the neocolonial agenda of transferring sovereign & national assets into corporate hands. It is no secret who controls the US & who sponsors the US policy decisions. Countries & leaders have been overthrown by orders of multinational companies given to Western governments – the political assassinations, overthrowing of governments, installing puppets to power, manipulating elections are all part of this agenda. Even for bananas leaders have been overthrown & US troops have been despatched to overthrow countries on corporate orders!

Have the western loan givers ever demanded tax increases on the elite, curbing elite corruptions & similar demands to rope in the blue collar criminals instead of simply going after a man who steals a loaf of bread to feed his hungry family? All of these foreign economic experts & loan givers always insist the government cut social welfares given to the poor & middle class & every time a foreign loan is taken the poor & middle class end up suffering more while the politicians & cronies splurge on the money given.

Sri Lanka has enough and more resources to turn into profitable ventures & proper planning should have succeeded to raise Sri Lanka’s portfolio higher instead of relying only on a handful of revenue generating avenues – when Sri Lanka has far more than beaches to offer, Maldives has a far more successful tourist plan with only its sandy beaches. How many of our children became pawns of pedophiles when 1980s saw tourism luring young children as toy boys.

When we have natural minerals to turn into profitable income generating ventures why are we happy to hand over these to foreign parties who know how to profit from them. Our organic farming effort came a crop simply because of tardiness amongst our people & because the deal makers wanted to pocket from commissions from import fertilizers. Shouldn’t the policy makers have realized these realities before making public such a national endeavor?

We are an island surrounded by sea with plenty of fish & yet we import canned sardines. During Mrs. B’s tenure there were programs taught in schools to make use of resources in the provinces they lived in & start small industries – when there are plenty of mangoes, jak fruit, lime, bananas, cinnamon, pepper, and other seasonal crops people should be taught how to sustain internal livelihoods at least, in times like covid this would have come in very useful. Small industries were strategically killed after open economic policies of 1980s.

The Mahinda Rajapakse government commenced encouraging homes & flat dwellers to start growing vegetables & fruits in their backyard/flat – this was a very popular project but it came to a halt half way. We start everything with a bang & then stop half way. When we have an excellent train service, we have failed to even utilize this to transport food & vegetables. When we have an excellent military logistics department we have not fully utilized them to mitigate any disaster situations.

Sri Lanka’s leaders have been boasting of turning Sri Lanka into a ‘logistics hub’ for years but we have never had a sincere plan to do so. All of these grand programs end up limited to powerpoint presentations or insertions distributed at conferences or diplomatic meetings but never a structured plan with a genuine team monitoring, tabulating & mitigating any issues related to its success. By now, if Sri Lanka’s desire to turn its location to geo-strategic advantage should have made Colombo Port & new ports be enviable to our competitors in Chennai & Singapore, instead those that run Chennai & Singapore end up dictating how Sri Lanka’s ports should be developed”. Do our people not realize that Chennai & Singapore would never want Sri Lanka’s Port to develop as it would be a blow to their volumes & revenues?

They say Africa is rich but Africans are poor – sadly the same applies to Sri Lanka.

The people vote for a government to govern the nation, politicians think that they are elected to plunder the nation & live luxurious lives by burdening the people with taxes and debt. This ugly practice needs to stop & politicians must come to terms with their role while economic experts should either come up with a plan or stay at home. There is little point in boasting of being economic experts if they cannot think of an out of the box plan to take Sri Lanka out of the situation it has fallen into as a result of arrogant politicians and head-nodding experts.

Shenali D Waduge

by Garvin Karunaratne 

Current visits by US administrators to Sri Lanka deserves special attention. The USA controls the IMF which has imposed neoliberal economics on all Third World countries since the Seventies. Sri Lanka today is the worst casualty, caught unawares. The MCC Programme is another carrot dangled at us. In this context my earlier Paper is enclosed for kind info.

Posted on October 26th, 2020

The MCC Compact Method of Creating more Poverty: The USA can definitely do better.
By Garvin  Karunaratne, PhD. Michigan State University 

The Millennium Challenge  Corporation Compact has come up with an easy, novel method of poverty alleviation. It requires the identification and separation of a mass of  land, the  creation of a cadastral map of land parcels and a complete inventory of State land…improve the valuation of State and private land parcels by improving data collection…improving deeds registry… and research in support of measures to improve land administration policies”(The Island:15/7/2019)  The aim is also” increase tenure security and tradability of land for small holders. 

The method  involves a transportation project for which MCC provides $ 480 million to promote economic growth.  This comprises a transport project of  $ 350 million .and a land project of $ 67 million 

It was the Batalagoda   Rice Research Institute that found the miracle seeds in the early Fifties, a half decade before the International Rice Research Institute was established by the USA in the Philippines. I was in the fray introducing new varieties to cultivators in 1955, later as Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services in Anuradhapura  I spearheaded the Green Revolution through elected cultivation committees- 300 hundred of them. The combined effort of the Department of Agrarian Services and the Department of Agriculture did a yeoman task later spearheaded by no less a person than Mr Dudley Senanayake, the Prime Minister of the country. I served as the Additional Government Agent at Kegalla in 1967 and 1968  and we spared no pains to bring about development. 

`The work involved a range of Departments- the Department of Irrigation to provide irrigation, The Department of Land Development to handle the development of peasant cultivation in colonies, the Department of Agriculture with its Rice Research Institutes, the Department of Agrarian Services, the Government Agents in charge  of land handled by District Land Officers, the Department of Small Industries, the Department for Development of Agricultural Marketing- the department that provided the development infrastructure for marketing vegetables. In these I have worked as the Assistant Commissioner of Marketing Development, Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services, the Deputy Director for Small Industries and the Additionl Government Agent at Kegalla and the GA at Matara for eighteen long years. 

The MCC Compact thinks of transportation necessities. Sri Lanka had a marvelous  transport system in the Fifties and Sixties. Red Onions were produced in Jaffna and our stores were stock full during the season. During the season around twenty wagon loads of red onions were despatched  to the rest of the island daily. In my days in the Southern Province three wagon loads of red onions  came daily to Galle and was sold to dealers and consumers by the Marketing Department. During the paddy harvest season daily twenty wagon loads of paddy came to Galle and Matara for distribution to millers to be milled for distribution to people. At Tripoli Market the headquarters of the Vegetable Marketing Scheme there were at least ten wagon loads  and twenty lorries of vegetables dispatched the earlier day from all corners of the island.  Our transport network was extremely efficient. Highways built in recent times by our Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his service as a Minister and Prime Minister has seen to it that transport is very efficient. Now the Railways have gone downhill, but road transport has been developed;there are better motorways and what is required for any programme of poverty alleviation is not transport facilities.  

Land was ably handled by the Government Agents who had District Land |Officers fully equipped with vehicles and surveyors. 

With all the Departments of the Government working pell mell, by 1970, the Green Revolution was a grand success and the country was self sufficient in paddy the staple crop even while issuing a rice ration to the people. The peasants settled in the colonization schemes got massive  harvests. 

To get down to what has been achieved by the Unites States of America in Third World Countries, the only success one can speak of in poverty alleviation is the Comilla Programme of Rural Development, in Bangladesh, with expertise provided by Michigan State University.  Half a dozen professors resided in the serpent infested Kotwali Thana and with the Director Akhter Hameed Khan  developed a model of poverty alleviation by providing irrigation water, mainly through deep tube wells, introducing new high yielding varieties of paddy, worked with peasants organizing them in cooperatives, brought about administrative changes, cooperatives attending to marketing.  This Programme  had grand success in that it doubled the yields of paddy the staple crop and also brought about a situation of full employment. Truly even today the Kotwali Thana where the Programme was implemented is an oasis within a poverty stricken Bangladesh. 

In all the above programmes that have been successful transport and land registration was an insignificant part. It was the opening of land, the provision of irrigation water, organizing peasants into cooperatives and other people’s organizations, providing marketing facilities, an efficient agricultural extension service that enabled poverty alleviation. 

Thus I wonder how a petty land project and a transport project is going to bring about poverty alleviation.  

If the MCC  Project had been drafted by any one with a knowledge of agricultural economics there would be funds for agricultural and rural development extension services, the build up of marketing channels, initiating small industry to enable people to get involved in manufacturing their production. That was what  the Comilla Programme of Rural Development  proved beyond doubt.  

Anyone thinking of agricultural development has to think of building up the agricultural extension service , which does not exist today at the village level because during the days of President Premadasa,  2400 overseers who worked at the village level were promoted as Grama Niladharis. Uptodate no trained officer has been appointed and the Govermants have been  appointing untrained  workers. Thus any poverty alleviation through agriculturae has to look into this aspect.  

Let me get down to specifics., It will interest the MCC organizaers to know that till 1977 SriLanka had a highly developed cereal, vegetable and fruit marketing scheme  which was totally abolished at the advice of the International Monetary Fund. The Department for Development of Agricultural Marketing implemented a cereal purchasing scheme whereby paddy and other cereals in short supply. Paddy was till 1977 purchased at a premium price from genuine cultivators. This price increase reached the genuine cultivators. After 1977, the method of purchasing from genuine cultivators was abandoned and instead paddy was purchased from anyone. Generally it was traders that sold to the Government  and the premium price went to the traders and not to the genuine cultivators.  In case the MCC wants to attend to any poverty alleviation in any country agriculture has to be looked into. Transport and land are very miniscule aspects and attending to only these two aspects cannot bring about poverty alleviation.  the development infrastructure that the country had has to be brought back.  

The Marketing Department had a vegetable purchasing scheme which purchased vegetables from producers at prices higher than what was offered by traders at the producer fairs. The vegetables were transported overnight to Tripoli Market, the headquarters in Colombo when all vegetables over ten rail wagon loads and about twenty lorryloads are received every morning and the vegetables are distributed to Fair Price Shops in the City. This controlled inflation. The IMF advise that the Marketing Department should be privatized and abolished was done in 1978 and the  producers are at the mercy of the trader mafia that purchase at the lowest possible price.  In case the MCC wants to provide marketing facilities to enable producers to sell their produce at reasonable rates, it should advise that the Marketing Department should be re established.  

The Marketing Department had a Cannery which purchased fruit from producers. The total produce of pineapples, red pumpkin and ash pumpkin  was  purchased at a premium price and this was turned into Juice and Jam. This was a boon to the producers. The country became self sufficient in Jam and Juice. With the abolition of the MD the producers have no market for their produce. This alleviated poverty among the vegetable and fruit producers and this may be an idea for the MCC to take action in case they are interested in poverty alleviation. 

To enable cultivators to have high yielding varieties of paddy for the areas we had Rice Research Institutes. Half of these have been privatized. And currently there is no definite programme to have high yielding varieties planted. 

What is the necessity to bring in a US Company for any surveying in Sri Lanka. The Survey Department in Sri Lanka is a well equipped and a very efficient department. . 

What is the urgency to do a survey of 2.5 million plots of land in the  country.  Private ;lands are surveyed and all LDO allotments have also been surveyed in the last few decades before they were alienated to settlers. 

It would interest the Millennium Challenge Corporation officials to come to know how the development in Sri Lanka and other Third World countries was sabotaged. That is the story of my book: How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development(Kindle/ Godages: 2017) 

Let me close with a quote from luminary professor Jeffery Sachs: 

Western  Governments enforced  draconian budget policies in Africa in the 1980s and 1990s., The IMF and the World Bank virtually ran the economic policies of the debt ridden continent recommending regimes  of budgetary belt tightening jnown technically as the Structural Adjustment Programme. These programmes had little scientific merit and produced even fewer cresults. By the start of the twentyfirst century Africa was poorer than in the late 1960s when the IMF and the World Bank  had first arrived on the scene, with disease, population growth and environmental degradation spiralling out of control. IMF led austerity has frequently led to riots, coups and the collapse of public services>”( From The End of Poverty) 

Sri Lanka has too played poodle to the IMF since 1977, carrying out all its instructions. Sri Lanka had to abolish its development infrastructure that had  actually brought about poverty alleviation, self sufficiency in agriculture and success in many areas of industry. All this was sacrificed following the IMF prescriptions, which we yet follow. It would be apt to state that our current international debt of $ 56 billion was created by adhering to the instructions of the IMF. 

It is time the IMF and its ruling Countries of the West- the USA  opened their eyes and direct a new paradigm for development. and its implementation would bring great credit to the United States of America. 

Garvin Karunaratne, Ph.D. Michigan State University 
Author of  How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka & Altternative  Programmes of Success, Goidages, 2006 
How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development,(Kindle/Godages 2017) 
 Colombo 27/10/2020

High Commission of Sri Lanka New Delhi

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda sought ways and means of further enhancing cooperation with India in the power and renewable energy sector, when he met the Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy of India Shri Raj Kumar Singh in New Delhi.  

Minister Singh, recalling the age-old close relations between India and Sri Lanka, extended a warm welcome to High Commissioner Moragoda. The Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy of India and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka discussed a range of issues pertaining to bilateral cooperation in the power and renewable energy sector.

The discussion focused on the ways and means to deepen and broaden the long-term strategic cooperation in the sector as well as short and medium- term projects to enhance interactions between the two nations.

In this context, the progress of the projects under the Line of Credit of USD 100 million extended by India in June 2021 was reviewed. This Line of Credit, extended through the Exim Bank of India finance various projects in the solar energy sector in Sri Lanka including those announced during the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) held in March 2018, such as rooftop solar photovoltaic systems for households and government buildings.

Further, the proposed Sampur solar power plant, for which the agreement was inked just last week between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), was also discussed by the Minister of Power and the High Commissioner. They also welcomed the recent MoU regarding Indian private sector investments in a wind energy project in Mannar, Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner Moragoda presented a copy of his policy road map              “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India 2021/2023” to Minister Singh. The Strategy envisages establishing close cooperation between Sri Lanka and India in the power sector, allowing greater space for renewables such as wind and solar power.

Minister Raj Kumar Singh was a senior officer of the Indian Administrative Service before joining politics, and served as the Home Secretary of India from 2011 to 2013. He has served as a Member of Parliament since 2014.

High Commission of Sri Lanka

New Delhi

15 March 2022    

නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය

වැඩබිමට අවශ්‍ය දැනුම සහිත ශිල්පීන් අධ්‍යාපනික ආයතනවලින් බිහි නොවීම විශාල ගැටලුවක්. ඒ නිසාම අප අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ තිබෙන සියලුම වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනවල ඉගෙනුම ලබන දරුවන්ගේ වෘත්තීය පුහුණුව පිළිබඳව වැඩි අවධානයක් යොමු කරමින් ක්ෂේත්‍ර පුහුණුව වැඩි වශයෙන් ලබා දීමට අපි කටයුතු කරනවා.”

වැඩබිමට අවශ්‍ය දැනුම සහිත ශිල්පීන් අධ්‍යාපනික ආයතනවලින් බිහි නොවීම විශාල ගැටලුවක්.  ඒ නිසාම අප අමාත්‍යාංශය යටතේ තිබෙන සියලුම වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන ආයතනවල ඉගෙනුම ලබන දරුවන්ගේ වෘත්තීය පුහුණුව පිළිබඳව වැඩි අවධානයක් යොමු කරමින් ක්ෂේත්‍ර පුහුණුව වැඩි වශයෙන් ලබා දීමට අපි කටයුතු කරනවා.” නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය විශේෂඥ වෛද්‍ය සීතා අරඹේපොල මැතිණිය විසින් පවසන ලදී.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යතුමිය මේ බව පැවසුවේ එතුමියගේ ප්‍රධානත්වයෙන් ඊයේ දින (14) Leema සමාගම සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අධිකාරිය (VTA) සමඟ සිදු කෙරිණු අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම් අත්සන් කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවේදීයි.

 ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අධිකාරිය (VTA) සතු පහළ යාගොඩ ප්‍රාදේශීය මධ්‍යස්ථානයේ දැව තාක්ෂණ ශිල්පී පාඨමාලාව දියුණු තාක්ෂණය සහිතව වැඩි දියුණු කර, එහි අධ්‍යාපනය ලබන දරුවන් වෙනුවෙන් යාවත්කාලීන පුහුණුවක් සහ ඔවුන්ගේ රැකියා සුරක්ෂිතභාවය ඇති කිරීමේ අරමුණින් දැව නිමැවුම් භාවිත කර ගෘහ නිර්මාණ සහ ගොඩනැගිලි නිර්මාණකරුවන් ලෙස ඉහළ කීර්ති නාමයක් දිනාගත් ප්‍රමුඛ පෙළේ ආයතනයක් වන Leema සමාගම සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අධිකාරිය (VTA) සමඟ මෙම අවබෝධතා ගිවිසුම් අත්සන් කරන ලදී.

ඒ අනුව ‘දැව තාක්ෂණ ශිල්පී (ගෘහ භාණ්ඩ)’ පාඨමාලාව හදාරන සිසු සිසුවියන් සියලු දෙනා ඔවුන්ගේ වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපනය සහ පුහුණුවෙන් පසුව Leema සමාගමේ ස්ථීර රැකියාලාභීන් බවට පත්වේ.

මෙහි දී Leema සමාගමේ සභාපති චන්න විජේසේකර මහතා විසින් රචිත ‘ලී වැඩ ප්‍රායෝගික පාඨමාලා’ නම් වූ පොත එළිදැක්වූ අතර එය රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යතුමිය වෙත පිළිගන්වන ලදී.

මෙම අවස්ථාව සඳහා රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශ ලේකම් දීපා ලියනගේ මහත්මිය,  ශ්‍රී ලංකා වෘත්තීය පුහුණු අධිකාරියේ සභාපති එරංග බස්නායක මහතා, උප සභාපති මහේෂ් ආරියරත්න මහතා, Leema සමාගමේ සභාපති චන්න විජේසේකර මහතා, කලමනාකරණ අධ්‍යක්ෂක ශමික විජේසේකර මහතා ඇතුළු පිරිසක් සහභාගී වූහ.

මාධ්‍ය ඒකකය

නිපුණතා සංවර්ධන වෘත්තීය අධ්‍යාපන පර්යේෂණ හා නව නිපැයුම් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යාංශය

Courtesy RT

Kiev’s constitution-enshrined bid for membership in the military bloc can’t be realized, Zelensky said

Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the UK Joint Expeditionary Force meeting

NATO allies don’t want to see Ukraine among their ranks and Kiev realizes that, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Western leaders on Tuesday. Now Kiev seeks protection from individual member states.

We’ve been hearing for years that the [NATO] doors were supposedly open, but now we know we won’t enter there. That is the truth, and we must acknowledge that,” Zelensky said during a video call with the UK Joint Expeditionary Force, a meeting of the leaders of Nordic and Baltic nations hosted by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

I am glad that our people are beginning to understand that and to rely on ourselves and those partners that aid us,” he added.

The Ukrainian leader apparently included the people he was addressing on the list of good friends of Ukraine, despite most of them leading NATO allies. He said the military organization was in no position to offer the security guarantees that his country wants to receive from other nations. But individual states could help Ukraine even with NATO doors closed to it, he suggested, and have been doing so for eight years of what he described as a Ukrainian war against Russia.

Zelensky shamed NATO for not imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine due to concerns that this would escalate the hostilities into a full-blown world war. The refusal to impose it is shared by all members of the organization, with US, its de facto leader, reiterating it on many occasions over the past weeks. Read more US comments on possibility of blockading Russian international trade

The Ukrainian leader claimed NATO member states hypnotized themselves” with the fear of a global conflict that would have the potential of ending human civilization. He didn’t hide bitterness over the fact that allies refused to protect Ukraine the way they are bound to defend each other in case of a military attack.

Ukraine made NATO membership a key goal of its foreign policy after the 2014 armed coup in Kiev put an anti-Russian government into power. The aspiration was made part of its national constitution in 2019.

Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February. President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO’s creeping expansion into Ukraine without its formal accession was a major factor in his decision to order the incursion. Kiev blasted the attack as unprovoked.”

Western nations mostly agreed but refused to fight for Ukraine militarily. Instead, they ramped up weapons supplies to Kiev and imposed harsh economic sanctions against Russia, expecting them to inflict enough damage to stop the military offensive.

Courtesy RT

Beijing will safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, according to the country’s foreign minister.

While stating that China will stand up for its legitimate economic interests in the face of Western sanctions, the country’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has refuted the notion that Beijing is taking Russia’s side in the Ukrainian conflict.

China is not a party to the [Ukrainian] crisis, nor does it want the sanctions to affect China. China has the right to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” insisted Wang Yi on Monday during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart José Manuel Albares Bueno. 

The Chinese foreign minister called on Moscow and Kiev to engage in dialogue to prevent further escalation, saying only diplomacy can open the door to peace.”

China has been promoting peace talks in its own way since the very beginning of the Ukraine crisis. We hope that the fourth round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks can achieve new progress acceptable to all parties,” the official statement read.

The country’s top diplomat also explained that Beijing sees the current crisis as an outcome of Europe’s multiple security conflicts accumulating over the years. He argued that to resolve the conflict legitimate security concerns of all involved parties should be addressed.

While calling for peace and encouraging the belligerents to reach a ceasefire, Beijing adamantly condemned Western sanctions designed to punish Moscow for its military action.

China always opposes the use of sanctions to solve problems, let alone unilateral sanctions that have no basis in international law, as such moves will undermine international rules and harm the people’s well-being in all countries,” Wang Yi said.Read more US, China react to India’s missile launch into Pakistan

The United States and its European allies have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia targeting its banking system, energy exports, and technological development after Moscow launched its military offensive in late February.

Having assumed that Beijing will try to help Moscow to override the restrictions, Washington has threatened to shut down Chinese chip manufacturers if they continue trading with Russian companies.

Earlier, quoting an anonymous US official, The Washington Post reported that Moscow has requested military aid from China to conduct its operation in Ukraine. The story was denied by both Russian and Chinese officials.

Some forces continue to smear China’s objective and fair position on the Ukraine issue by creating all kinds of false information,” Wang Yi said.

Courtesy Sputnik

The Ukrainian leadership’s rhetoric about the prospect of changing the country’s nuclear status wasn’t just empty words, and such a development would not only pose a security risk to Russia but to the entire world, Patrushev stated.

Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, has declared that “it became clear” that advisers from the United States encourage and support the Ukrainian government’s efforts to create biological and nuclear weapons.

Speaking at a conference on national security held at Russia’s North Caucasus Federal District on Tuesday, Patrushev argued that Ukraine possesses all the things needed for such an undertaking – resources, expertise, technology, and delivery systems – and that Russia simply couldn’t allow Ukraine to procure nuclear weapons.

The Ukrainian leadership’s talk about the prospects of changing the country’s nuclear status wasn’t just hot air, and such a development would have posed a security risk not just to Russia but to the entire world, Patrushev stated.”We could not allow rabid, uncontrollable nationalists to possess nuclear weapons,” he said.

Patrushev also insisted that the aforementioned threats to Russia’s security were created in Ukraine by the United States and its allies.Nationalists Blew Up Institute Building in Kharkov to Hide Nuclear Research, Russian MoD Says11 March, 15:06 GMTHe also said that Russia procured information that confirms the “implementation of military-biological programmes in biological laboratories established in Ukraine with the direct involvement of foreign consultants and advisers, including their funding from the United States.”US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland expressing concern about preventing research materials from those laboratories from falling into Russia’s hands was not a coincidence, he added.

Last week, Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that the goal of Pentagon-funded biological research in Ukraine was to establish a covert mechanism for spreading deadly pathogens.

He also said that documents originating from bio labs in Ukraine, the United States planned to conduct work on avian, bat and reptile pathogens in Ukraine in 2022, and further study the possibility of transmission of African swine fever and anthrax by these creatures.

The laboratories also performed experiments with samples of bat coronavirus, Konashenkov added.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

A seed crisis has emerged because of the impossibility of importing hybrid seeds due to the dollar crisis. (PIC: AFP)

• There are issues regarding importing fertilizer, pesticides and seeds for the Yala season due to the dollar crisis
• Farmers have faced difficulties during the Yala season due to the lack of seeds
• Vitamins and hormones are required for the better growth of plants and they are not available in the market
• 244,964 kilos of seeds were imported in 2020 alone at the cost of 1,955,140,724 rupees
• Importing 85% of the seed requirement of the country every season is a sad situation
• The price of one MT of fertilizer has increased from 390 USD to 1200 USD in the world market

Farmers had high hopes to cultivate during the Yala season, but their hopes have begun to shatter. Presently farmers are unable to begin farming for the upcoming Yala cultivation. Plans were implemented to commence cultivations for the Yala season providing fertilizer, seeds and chemical fertilizer unlike during the previous Maha season. These plans however are about to be ruined because of the foreign exchange crisis affecting the import of seeds and fertilizer.

Importation of seeds, chemical and organic fertilizer for the Yala season should have begun by now. But that will not be possible because of the dollar crisis, according to former Director of Agriculture K. B. Gunaratne. The upcoming Yala season like the previous Maha season will turn out to be disastrous for farmers. There are issues regarding importing fertilizer, pesticides and seeds for the Yala season due to the dollar crisis. Only 15% of the seeds required are produced locally. The country has faced a seed crisis,” he added.

This crisis was created because of a decision taken by top level officials of the Department of Agriculture to produce only 15% of the seed requirement in 2002. Gunaratne said that even though he was opposed to the decision, the authorities did not listen. Now we experience the harmful effects of that decision and seeds have to be imported. The decision aimed at increasing the harvest eventually ruined the country’s agriculture. A seed crisis has emerged because of the impossibility of importing hybrid seeds due to the dollar crisis,” he added.

“Seeds have to be imported. The decision aimed at increasing the harvest eventually ruined the country’s agriculture. A seed crisis has emerged because of the impossibility of importing hybrid seeds due to the dollar crisis  – Director of Agriculture K. B. Gunaratne “

Farmers have faced difficulties during the Yala season due to the lack of seeds. Even though seeds imported recently were released to the market their prices have doubled. A packet of seeds weighing 50 grams is sold at 5000-6000 rupees. Even if farmers buy seeds at high prices they are not sufficient for the Yala season. A seed scarcity is unavoidable during the Yala season, according to Gunaratne.

Farmers accuse that some locally produced seeds do not grow as expected. It is difficult to receive a good harvest from them. Our income is insufficient as a result. We need chemical fertilizer to get a bumper harvest when using imported seeds. Vitamins and hormones are required for the better growth of plants and they are not available in the market. Even if they are, they are expensive. Buying seeds and fertilizer at high prices will not guarantee a good income either,” they added.

It is the duty of the Department of Agricultural to provide good seeds, but its officials do not carry out their duties, Gunaratne added. The papaya variety called ‘Rathna’ -produced by the Department of Agriculture- became popular. But as the variety called Red Lady was imported from Malaysia, targeting a good harvest, this variety was not produced,” he added. Hybrid seeds which produce more harvest were imported. When companies and several individuals tried to import those seeds the Department of Agriculture did not make any attempt to compete against them, but only decreased the production of seeds required locally Gunaratne,” added.

“As the present Government halted importing fertilizer people have begun to import fertilizer illegally from India and sell here. They are available everywhere and we will have to file cases against every shop. That is not practical. Filing cases will not put an end to this – Lasantha Ranaweera Deputy Registrar of the Office of the Registrar of Pesticides”

A kilo of Red Lady papaya seeds cost 50,000 rupees at the beginning, but by now the price ranges between to 1200000–1400000 rupees a kilo making farmers helpless. The dollar crisis and the inability to import give rise to a price hike regarding seeds. 244,964 kilos of seeds were imported in 2020 alone at the cost of 1,955,140,724 rupees. On the same year 19,067 kilos of fruit seeds were imported at 178,511,179 rupees. Importing 85% of the seed requirement of the country every season is a sad situation. Gunaratne said that even the seeds which can be produced easily in the country are imported. Importing seeds such as carrots, cabbage, beet and leeks-all of which cannot be produced locally- is not a problem, but importing all seeds cost extra expenses and is not suitable for the country,” he added.

Unusable pesticides

Seeds said to have been allegedly imported illegally from abroad

A 50-kilo bag of chemical fertilizer is presently sold at 20,000 rupees and in some places at 25,000 rupees. The president addressing the public at  Anuradhapura recently said that he would increase the income of farmers by 100%. But reaching that target would not be possible in this manner, according to Gunaratne. Unusable pesticides are being imported at present. Pesticides can be imported only for 30% of the local requirement. Gunaratne said that the Department of Agriculture had permitted to import 60% of pesticides during the Maha season from 2021 to 2022. 

It will not be possible to import both chemical and organic fertilizer for the upcoming Yala season as promised by the Government because of the dollar crisis. The price of one MT of fertilizer has increased from 390 USD to 1200 USD in the world market. The price that private companies sell a 50-kilo bag of fertilizer ranges between 18000-30000 rupees. However according to the world market prices, a bag of fertilizer should be sold locally at 17500 rupees. The problem is whether the farmers can bear the expense. 591,872,055 MT of fertilizer were imported in 2020 through 14 companies. That same year the two state fertilizer companies imported 29,945,298 MT of fertilizer. 385,000 MT of fertilizer are required for paddy cultivation and 375,000 MT for other crops. Importing fertilizer is uncertain on the face of the ongoing dollar crisis. Even if applied for it would take about two months to arrive. Therefore a scarcity of fertilizer in the coming Yala season is unavoidable,” Gunaratne added.

“The importation of fertilizer will not be affected by the dollar crisis. The Finance Ministry was informed to provide funds to import fertilizer for agriculture by giving priority to the task. The Minister discussed the issue with fertilizer importers. We have an act for fertilizer and a secretariat through which illegal importation of fertilizer will be dealt with – Dr. Ajantha de Silva Director General of Agriculture“

Jathika Govijana Ekamutuwa Chairman Anuradha Thennakoon said that fertilizer and pesticides available in the local market meet the substandard. Pesticides and fertilizer containing chemicals such as glyphosate are secretly imported from India through Kalpitiya harbour. Low quality seeds are also imported from India. Seeds bought at cheap prices are sold at higher prices. A former driver of the Office of the Registrar of Pesticides is behind the importation of fertilizer and pesticides containing chemicals. He has distributed the stocks in Anuradhapura, Kurunegala and Polonnaruwa. After a complaint was filed against him he was slapped with a fine of 50,000 rupees which he paid off and continued to distribute toxic fertilizer and pesticides. 

The Organic fertilizer project of the Government is a scam. It has failed to solve problems related to fertilizer despite claiming otherwise. Organic fertilizer- provided by the Government- is substandard and is mixed with Urea. The green agricultural project of the president has turned out to be a lie. Expired fertilizer and pesticides are released to the market after changing expiry dates. The Office of the Registrar of Pesticides does not look into these matters. Some people are planning to ruin the upcoming Yala cultivation as well. Farmers who cultivate using illegal and overpriced fertilizer and pesticides will not earn any profit,” Thennakoon added. 

“Pesticides and fertilizer containing chemicals such as glyphosate are secretly imported from India through Kalpitiya harbour. Low quality seeds are also imported from India. Seeds bought at cheap prices are sold at higher prices. A former driver of the Office of the Registrar of Pesticides is behind the importation of fertilizer and pesticides containing chemicals – Anuradha Thennakoon Jathika Govijana Ekamutuwa Chairman“

Director of the Fertilizer Secretariat Mahesh Gammanpila could not be contacted over the phone. His only response came in the form of an SMS asking this writer to mention the topics that need to be discussed. But he did not respond to the text message the Daily Mirror sent him. Deputy Registrar of the Office of the Registrar of Pesticides Lasantha Ranaweera said that cases were filed regarding pesticides and seeds imported illegally during the last 10-15 years. As the present Government halted importing fertilizer people have begun to import fertilizer illegally from India and sell here. They are available everywhere and we will have to file cases against every shop. That is not practical. Filing cases will not put an end to this. This happens everywhere in the country and is unstoppable. We have nothing to do. The Government should provide solutions,” he added.
Attempting to contact Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Alutgamage was futile as he was attending a court proceeding. He wasn’t available even later. 

No issue regarding organic fertilizer”– Dr. Ajantha de Silva

Director General of Agriculture Dr. Ajantha de Silva said that the Minister had a discussion with importers regarding the seed problem. We expect to provide solutions to their problems. There is no problem regarding fertilizer. We have permitted the import of chemical fertilizer. There is also no issue regarding organic fertilizer. We will give organic fertilizer as concessions. National Fertilizer Secretariat will coordinate that matter. The importation of fertilizer will not be affected by the dollar crisis. The Finance Ministry was informed to provide funds to import fertilizer for agriculture by giving priority to the task. The Minister discussed the issue with fertilizer importers. We have an act for fertilizer and a secretariat through which illegal importation of fertilizer will be dealt with. Nothing can be done illegally.” he added.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Myanmar uses 70% of chemical fertilizer during the monsoons and 100% of such fertilizer during the dry weather

• Sri Lanka’s pride has taken a beating because it has gone to the extent of obtaining loans from Bangladesh and importing rice from Myanmar
• The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has paid 3.05 billion rupees more than what other countries pay to import rice from Myanmar, The Global New Light reported
• The newspaper article also reported that the exported rice was of low quality
• Reportedly, 100,000 MT of white raw rice and 50,000 MT of parboiled rice are to be imported to Sri Lanka

Focusing on the current plight of the paddy industry in Sri Lanka which runs back to 2600 years ago is a timely requirement. History bears evidence of a rich paddy cultivation existing in the country during the time Prince Vijaya arrived in the island. Sri Lanka was known as the Granary of the East during King Parakramabahu’s time because of the fertile paddy fields. Former Director of Agriculture K. B. Gunaratne said that more than 3000 varieties of paddy were cultivated back then. 

The annual rice consumption of Sri Lanka per person is 120 kilograms, but it has reduced to 85-90 kilograms by now. Myanmar is known to produce golden rice which contains B Carotene. Old paddy varieties of Sri Lanka contained similar nutrients, but the local political authority has ruined such varieties, – Former Director of Agriculture K. B. Gunaratne”

At present people are starving and even forced to take their own lives because they’ve failed at feeding their children. Sri Lanka’s pride has taken a beating because it has gone to the extent of obtaining loans from Bangladesh and importing rice from Myanmar. 

The global rice requirement depends on the population and economic growth of Asian and African countries. It has increased from 439 million MT to 496 million MT during the period from 2010-2020. Considering the rice requirement in 2010, it is likely to increase to 555 million MT by 2035; a 26% increase than 2010. It is calculated that farmers will have to produce an additional 8-10 MT of paddy annually,” said Gunaratne.

In the past Myanmar did not hold a stable position in producing rice, but over a period of time it became the most prominent rice exporter in the world; exporting 631000 MT of rice annually. Myanmar toiled for a decade to uplift rice production and followed policies to increase the use of lands, water resource management, infrastructure and

A website report of the rice deal that features Sri Lanka and Myanmar

harvest. Myanmar did not forsake agricultural policies because of a mere comment given by a monk or a doctor and was not strict on following an organic agricultural policy. It did not dream of increasing its harvest by 100%; with or without fertilizer. Myanmar was strict on pursuing one goal and the single policy it had to ensure success was to implement a 10-year plan.

In areas receiving monsoon rains in Myanmar paddy is cultivated in 5.7 million hectares of land. During the dry weather, roughly 5.7 million hectares of land are cultivated. The annual rice consumption in Myanmar is 160-208 kilograms per person. Myanmar is one of the most rice consuming countries in the world. The annual rice consumption of Sri Lanka per person is 120 kilograms, but it has reduced to 85-90 kilograms by now. Myanmar is known to produce golden rice which contains B Carotene. Old paddy varieties of Sri Lanka contained similar nutrients, but the local political authority has ruined such varieties,” said Gunaratne.
In a country where ministers boast of similar feats as King Parakramabahu farmers have lost all their incomes and are forced to protest and demand fertilizer and seeds,” Gunaratne said.

150,000 MT of rice is to be imported ruining the rice production in the upcoming Yala season. Politicians and officials import rice for the commission and such imported rice stocks are eventually sold as animal feed or else the rice sold as animal feed is polished and sold back as good rice, – Anuradha Thennakoon Jathika Govijana Ekamutuwa Chairman”

The Global New Light, a popular newspaper in Myanmar, recently revealed that several people in Sri Lanka had sought a commission for the stock of rice ordered from Myanmar. This article received much attention in the country. The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has paid 3.05 billion rupees more than what other countries pay, The Global New Light reported. According to the agreement signed between the two countries the export price of rice to Sri Lanka is 440-450 USD per MT, but according to the newspaper the price of rice exported to other countries is between 340-350 USD per MT. 
Accordingly, Sri Lanka pays 100 USD additionally per MT which is 20300 rupees. Sri Lanka is to import 150,000 MT of rice. 

The newspaper article also reported that the exported rice was of low quality. Myanmar uses 70% of chemical fertilizer during the monsoons and 100% of such fertilizer during the dry weather. Compared to countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia, Myanmar uses less chemical fertilizer. But when producing paddy with an increased harvest, the use of chemical fertilizer is 100%, according to Gunaratne. 
Myanmar also uses pesticides to a large extent. Paddy cultivation in Myanmar is mostly affected by 29 insects. Rice blight is mostly found in Myanmar. Therefore pesticides are used both minimally and excessively. Farmers in Myanmar take advice on pesticides from traders. These traders recommend a product that gives them the highest commission. Media reports from Myanmar regarding the quality of exported rice should receive more attention from Sri Lankan officials,” Gunaratne said. 

Those who are behind the garlic scam, water bottle scam and biscuit scam can be behind this Myanmar rice deal. Even on March 15- the World Consumer Rights Day-the authorities will make sure that Sri Lankans are in the dark or in queues. There is no end to this matter, – Asela Sampath, Foundation for People’s Rights Protection Chairman”

U Than Oo, Secretary of Bayintnaung Rice Wholesale Depot, said that rice would be exported for 2022 and 2023. Reportedly, 100,000 MT of white raw rice and 50,000 MT of parboiled rice are to be imported to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is to pay an additional 15 million US$ hence one needs to investigate whether that is the commission going into the hands of people involved in this deal. Attempting to obtain commission when most people are without electricity and gas is a huge crime. That commission in Sri Lankan rupees is 3.04 billion, according to the news article,” said Gunaratne. 

The letter issued by the Myanmar Embassy

The son of a minister and a top official of Sri Lanka State Trading Corporation (STC) were accused directly regarding their involvement in obtaining commissions through this deal. A STC spokesperson said that some documents regarding the deal had already been displaced. 

Jathika Govijana Ekamutuwa Chairman Anuradha Thennakoon said that only 15,000 MT of rice is imported annually according to the rice requirement of the country. This is done without affecting the paddy price during the two seasons-Yala and Maha- with the hope of regulating the price of rice during shortages. However 150,000 MT of rice is to be imported ruining the rice production in the upcoming Yala season. Politicians and officials import rice for the commission and such imported rice stocks are eventually sold as animal feed or else the rice sold as animal feed is polished and sold back as good rice,” Thennakoon added.

We cannot completely ignore what the Myanmar media had reported,” Chairman of the Foundation for People’s Rights Protection, Asela Sampath said. Those who are behind the garlic scam, water bottle scam and biscuit scam can be behind this Myanmar rice deal. Even on March 15- the World Consumer Rights Day-the authorities will make sure that Sri Lankans are in the dark or in queues. There is no end to this matter. They keep obtaining commission in the guise of granting concessions to people,” he added.

Secretary to the ministry of Trade Bhadrani Jayawardena could not be contacted. A spokesperson of the Ministry of Trade said that the news article from Myanmar was baseless. Rice is not exported for such low prices. The article does not mention any details of any such deal. The price of rice has increased compared to the price in 2019. With the increase in shipping cost, the price of one MT of rice was discussed to be 490 US$, but we could reduce the price to 440 US$. I can answer if accusations can be proven,” she added.

Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardana could not be contacted.
Attempting to contact Sri Lanka State Trading (General) Corporation (SLSTC) Chairman Yoga Perera proved futile. An officer of the SLSTC responding to our queries said that Perera was not in his office on Monday, had attended an urgent meeting on Tuesday and was absent on Wednesday. The Chairman does not come to the office every day,” he added. The Chairman did not call back despite this officer taking our number.

The newspaper report that appeared in The Global New Light

Rice is not exported for such low prices. The article does not mention any details of any such deal. The price of rice has increased compared to the price in 2019. With the increase in shipping cost, the price of one MT of rice was discussed to be 490 US$, but we could reduce the price to 440 US$, – Spokesperson Ministry of Trade”

Commercial Division of the Myanmar Embassy in Sri Lanka apologises  

Despite what the Myanmar media had to say regarding the rice deal the Commercial Division of the Myanmar Embassy in Sri Lanka issuing a statement said there was no issue regarding the quality of rice exported to Sri Lanka and that they could guarantee the quality. The embassy statement contained an explanation from the Myanmar Rice Federation regarding the news article appearing on Global News Light web site. Accordingly the article sporting the headline Myanmar’s rice export to Sri Lanka fetches high prices,” is not published by the federation, but is based on an interview conducted by a freelance journalist with Than O, a rice trader in Bayintnaung Rice Wholesale Depot. We are sorry that this article was used by the media criticizing the Sri Lankan Government. The Myanmar Government will also make an explanation. The newspaper has misunderstood the Free on Board (FOB) price and Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) price. 340-350 USD per MT is the FOB price and 440 USD is the CIF-Colombo price and includes the shipping cost, insurance cost and other fees. As informed by Sri Lanka State Trading Corporation, one MT of rice is sold at 440 US$ according to the CIF Colombo price through a Letter of Credit of 90 days. The prices are the same as the rates for other countries.

‘This article is false. Compared to other countries, rice will be exported without disturbances. The rice variety exported to Sri Lanka is 5% broken white raw rice milled and polished properly and its quality is certified by a third party. The embassy can reassure on the quality of rice exported to Sri Lanka,” the statement said. 

Courtesy Adaderana

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 08 coronavirus related deaths for March 14, increasing the country’s death toll due to the virus to 16,407.

The deaths reported today include 04 males and 04 female patients, according to the Government Information Department.

Two of the Covid-19 victims are between the ages 30-59 years while the rest are aged 60 years and above. 

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry says that another 428 persons have tested positive for Covid-19 today, pushing the tally of confirmed cases detected in the country to 656,814.

Courtesy Sputnik

Sanctions against Russia and the arms supplies to Kiev will not solve the current crisis, while Ukraine’s guaranteed neutrality would be a reasonable solution, argued Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of the Bundestag for The Left, in her latest interview with Die Welt. Could Berlin become a responsible peace broker?”The German government under Chancellor Scholz is more subservient to Washington than the Merkel government,” says Gilbert Doctorow, an international relations and Russian affairs analyst. “As a US vassal, Germany is dancing to the melody coming from Washington which is to extend the Ukraine-Russia war as long as possible in order to inflict maximum economic and political damage on Russia in the hope of precipitating regime change. The interests and welfare of the Ukrainian people count for nothing. For Germany, as for the United States, all the sympathy to the suffering refugees from Ukraine is all Public Relations. The reality is that for Scholz the Ukrainians are just cannon fodder.”Sahra Wagenknecht, a member of the Bundestag for The Left, told Die Welt on Monday that Russia has long warned the West against providing Ukraine with offensive weapons and integrating the country into NATO. “After all, 2,000 US soldiers were already in Ukraine, and NATO maneuvers were taking place on its territory,” the leftist politician stressed.She noted that the weapons delivered by NATO member states to the Ukrainian leadership “are prolonging the war, but they will not result in Ukraine winning it.” The promise of NATO membership did not help Ukraine either, Wagenknecht remarked.Nevertheless, it’s highly unlikely that the German Left could stop Berlin’s armament of Ukraine, says Dr. Christian Blex, an AfD lawmaker, state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Wagenknecht’s party, Die Linke, largely supports the federal government which has recently resorted to Cold War rhetoric, according to the politician.”My party, the Alternative for Germany, is the only exception here,” Blex notes. “The AfD parliamentary group of the Bundestag passed a position paper this week in which we clearly speak out against arms deliveries in war zones.”

Smoke rises amid damaged buildings following an attack on the Yavorov military base, in Yavorov, Lvov Oblast, Ukraine, March 13, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media. @BackAndAlive/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Courtesy The Straits Times

COLOMBO (AFP) – An IMF delegation was in Sri Lanka on Monday (March 14) for talks on the island’s worsening economic crisis, with the public suffering through months of food, fuel and medicine shortages.

A lack of foreign currency has left traders unable to pay for vital imports in what authorities concede is the South Asian nation’s worst financial crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Long queues outside gas stations and rolling blackouts have become the norm, while record inflation has caused serious hardship among the island’s 22 million people by repeatedly pushing up the cost of groceries, transport and pharmaceuticals.

A senior staffer from the International Monetary Fund “will hold talks” with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, finance minister Basil Rajapaksa, a spokesman for the leader told AFP.

Sri Lanka’s government is divided on seeking a bailout, but the international lender said it was “ready to discuss options if requested” in a Monday statement.

The IMF warned earlier this month that the country’s US$51 billion (S$70 billion) foreign debt was “unsustainable”, and called for a currency devaluation and higher taxes to revive its almost bankrupt economy.https://55bc105189822b518dfb8ed9ce1f646d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Sri Lanka last week allowed the rupee to float, a move that saw the currency nosedive 25 per cent against the US dollar and triggered a fresh wave of price increases.

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Fuel costs have risen by nearly 80 per cent since early February while food prices rose by a quarter according to January figures.

The coronavirus pandemic hammered the South Asian island’s tourism sector – a key foreign exchange earner.

Sri Lanka needs nearly US$7 billion to service its foreign debt this year, but the country’s external reserves at the end of January were just over US$2 billion – enough to finance one month of imports.

International ratings agencies have downgraded Sri Lanka over expectations it may not be able to repay its borrowings, though the government insists it will.