Courtesy NewsIn.Asia

Colombo, October 20 (Xinhua): China’s guidelines on international investment and its internal emphasis on green development are among things that Sri Lanka can learn from, a Sri Lankan business leader and conservation advocate said.

Dilhan Fernando, CEO of the Dilmah Tea and director of Dilmah Conservation, told Xinhua that COP negotiations have historically been slow-moving and have failed to deliver the collaboration necessary for action.

In contrast, the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in Kunming has brought countries together on this issue, which would make a difference.

The bold and formal Kunming declaration is one that we must commend China for,” Fernando added.

READ: Sri Lanka raises strong objections with India over fishermen row

Collaboration between Sri Lanka and China could help Sri Lankans understand the importance of green economy, he said, pointing out that China’s critical thinking on biodiversity conservation had entered its national policy framework in a significant way.

Sometimes people need a bit of prompting because this is a huge issue and an existential crisis,” Fernando said.

Opportunity in this century is aligned much more with green economy. Ultimately, if you look at biodiversity, it’s not about conserving nature, it’s about conserving resources for sustainable development,” he explained.

Fernando recalled that the world chose to ignore the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a 2006 report commissioned by Britain.

But the Kunming declaration would be a different kettle of fish because, at the Kunming meeting, an agreement was reached among the members of the International Panel on Climate Change with clear, specific and measurable objectives.”

Fernando further said that the implementation of climate objectives can’t be done by governments alone and that businesses and individuals would also have to change their behavior.

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

වත්මන් ආණ්ඩුව බලයට ගෙන ඒම සඳහා තමන් වහන්සේලා මැදිහත්වීම වූයේ උතුම් රටක් හැදීමට බලාපොරොත්තුවෙන් බව නාරාහෙන්පිට අභයාරාමාධිපති පූජ්‍ය මුරුත්තෙට්ටුවේ ආනන්ද හිමියෝ පවසති.

නමුත් කාගේ හෝ අවාසනාවකට අද රට අභාග්‍ය සම්පන්න තත්වයකට ඇද ඇද වැටී ඇති බව ද උන්වහන්සේ පැවසූහ.

මේ යන ගමන මේ ආකාරයෙන්ම ගියහොත් රාජපක්ෂ පරම්පරාවේ දේශපාලන අවසානය සිදුවන තම නිගමනය බවද උන්වහන්සේ තවදුරටත් එහිදී කියා සිටියහ.

තවදුරටත් අනාගතයේ හෝ රාජපක්ෂලා මෙරට බලය දැරිය යුතු බව හිතන්නේ නම් අගමැති මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාව වහාම රට බේරා ගැනීම සඳහා මැදිහත් විය යුතු බවද උන්වහන්සේ පැවසූහ.

ඒ නිසා තවමත් ප්‍රමාද නැති බවත් වහාම රට බාර ගන්නැයි මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටින බවත් ඒ සඳහා වත්මන් ජනාධිපතිතුමන් ද අකමැත්තක් නොදක්වනු අැති බව තමන් වහන්සේ විශ්වාස කරන බවත් උන්වහන්සේ කියා සිටියහ.

ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතාට රට පාලනය කරන්න බැරි බව ඔප්පු වී අවසන් බවත් තමනට අත්සැකීමක් නැති බව එතුමාම සඳහන් කර ඇති බවත් එහිමියන් තව දුරටත් කියා සිටියහ.

සිය විහාරස්ථානයේදී පැවැති මාධ්‍ය හමුවක දී ආනන්ද හිමියන් මෙම අදහස් පල කරන ලදී.

By Katharina Pistor Courtesy Ceylon Today

The ‘Pandora Papers,’ a new investigation led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, has fuelled outrage around the world. Politicians, businesspeople, sports stars, and cultural icons have been caught in the act of hiding their wealth and lying about it.

But how likely is a reckoning for the lawyers and accountants who helped them? There is nothing new about the practices the ICIJ’s investigation uncovered. True, the sheer scale, sophistication, and legal fire power deployed to allow today’s ultra-rich and powerful to game the law may be newsworthy. 

But the only truly shocking revelation is that it took more than 600 journalists from around the world to expose these practices, often risking their own safety and professional futures. The difficulty of that task attests to how well lawyers, legislatures, and courts have tilted the law in favour of elites. To hide their wealth, today’s rich and powerful have availed themselves of centuries-old legal coding strategies.

In 1535, King Henry VIII of England cracked down on a legal device known as the use,” because it threatened to undermine existing (feudal) property relations and served as a tax-avoidance vehicle. 

But thanks to clever legal arbitrage, it was soon replaced by an even more powerful device: the trust.” Legally encoded by solicitors and recognised by courts of equity, the trust remains one of the most ingenious legal tools ever invented for the creation and preservation of private wealth. In the old days, it allowed the wealthy to circumvent inheritance rules. Today, it is the go-to vehicle for tax avoidance and for structuring financial assets, including asset-backed securities and their derivatives.

Functionally, a trust alters the rights and obligations to an asset without observing the formal rules of property law; it thus creates a shadow property right. Establishing a trust requires an asset – such as land, shares, or bonds – and three personas: an owner (settler), a manager (trustee), and a beneficiary. The owner transfers legal title (though not necessarily actual possession) over the asset to the trustee, who promises to manage it on behalf of the beneficiary in accordance with the owner’s instructions. Nobody else needs to know about this arrangement, because there is no requirement to register the title or disclose the identities of the parties. This lack of transparency makes the trust the perfect vehicle for playing hide and seek with creditors and tax authorities. And because legal title and economic benefits are split among the three personas, nobody willingly assumes the obligations that come with ownership. 

A favoured legal device 

The trust became a favoured legal device for global elites not through some invisible hand of the market, but rather by purposeful legal design. Attorneys pushed existing legal boundaries, courts recognised and enforced their innovations, and then lawmakers (many of them presumably beholden to wealthy donors) codified those practices into statutory legislation. As previous restrictions were stripped away, trust law expanded its remit. These legal changes ensured that an ever-greater array of assets could be held in trust, and that the role of the trustee could be delegated to legal persons rather than honourable individuals like Judges. Moreover, fiduciary duties were curtailed, the trustees’ liability was limited, and the lifespan of the trust became increasingly elastic. Together, these legal adaptations made the trust fit for global finance. Countries that lacked this device were encouraged to emulate it. An international treaty, the 1985 Hague Convention on Trusts, was adopted with this goal in mind. In countries where lawmakers have resisted the pressure to sanction trusts, Attorneys have fashioned equivalent devices from the laws governing foundations, associations, or corporations – betting (often correctly) that Courts would vindicate their innovations. While some jurisdictions have gone out of their way to be legally hospitable to private wealth creation, others have tried to crack down on tax and legal arbitrage. But legal restrictions work only if the legislature controls which law is practiced within its jurisdiction. In the age of globalization, most legislatures have been effectively stripped of such control, because law has become portable. If one country does not have the ‘right’ law, another one might. As long as the place of business recognizes and enforces foreign law, the legal and accounting paperwork can be channeled to the friendliest foreign jurisdiction, and the deed is done. National legal systems thus have become items on an international menu of options from which asset holders choose the laws by which they wish to be governed. They don’t need a passport or a visa; all they need is a legal shell. Assuming a new legal identity in this way, the privileged few can decide how much to pay in taxes, and which regulations to endure. And if legal obstacles cannot be overcome quite that easily, lawyers from leading global law firms will draft legislation to make a country compliant with the ‘best practices’ of global finance. Here, tax and trust havens such as South Dakota and the British Virgin Islands offer the gold standard. The costs of these practices are borne by the least mobile and the insufficiently wealthy. But turning law into a gold mine for the rich and powerful causes harm well beyond the immediate inequities it generates. By potentially undermining the legitimacy of the law, it threatens the very foundation of democratic governance. The more that wealthy elites and their lawyers insist that everything they do is legal, the less the public will trust the law. Today’s global elites might be able to continue to conjure private wealth from law. But no resource can be mined forever. Once lost, trust in the law will be difficult to regain. The wealthy will have lost their most valuable asset of all. 

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, is the author of ‘The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequalit’. 

By Dr Parakrama Waidyanatha Courtesy The Island

In his novel published in 1891, tiled The Light that Failed”, Rudyard Kipling wrote the phrase, ‘biting the bullet’ to express the thought that fortitude can be gained by ‘biting a bullet’! As things are, should the President and government continue ‘biting the bullet’ or compromise in sincerity as discretion is the better part of valour.

The farmers have a genuine grievance in that there is no fertiliser, organic or inorganic! And organic fertiliser is not something that can be produced overnight. They are adamantly up in arms, and it would appear most likely that paddy and other arable crop cultivations will incur huge production losses. Farmers in the Mahaweli and other irrigated lands have taken up the unyielding stand that unless fertilisers are available, they will not cultivate this Maha season. Crop losses without fertiliser and other inputs can be as high as 40-50%, if not more, leading to a highly calamitous national situation. The same applies to plantation and other crops. Expert calculations reveal that tea yields too could decline by 50%!

More importantly, there are no readily available organic materials, vegetable, animal or other to meet the nutrient demand of the three million hectares of crops! Most plant–based organic matter has only about 1% nitrogen, if not less. Assuming, however, that together with animal dung and other organic matter sources the figure is increased to 1.5% and on average a hectare of cropland requires 100kg N per year, the total annual organic fertiliser demand should be at least 200 million tons if not more to provide the nitrogen requirement.

The average N demand for tea is at least 200kg/ha/yr, and some vegetables and other crops too, require more N than 100kg/ha/yr. The issue then is, how such a huge demand of organic fertiliser is to be met locally.

The recent fiasco with the attempt to import a seaweed- based organic fertiliser from a Chinese enterprise, Seawin Biotechnologies, is well known. Samples tested locally were reported to be contaminated with a harmful bacterium, Erwinia and the importation was stopped. Incidentally, the local Chinese Embassy had the audacity to contest the report of our quarantine authority, that the culture of the microbe could not have been done in the three-or four-day period as reported, but a senior professor of microbiology of the Peradeniya University and other specialists in the field have debunked the Embassy claim!

The supplier claims that fertiliser is heated to a temperature of 600 degrees centigrade to kill microbes. If so, how was the live pathogen detected. At this temperature not only microbes but also nitrogenous compounds should break down! Then how is the nitrogen replenished?

According to the company’s brochure on ‘seaweed granular compound fertiliser’ there are seven fertiliser formulations available for sale comprising nitrogen (N ) phosphorus (P2O5) and potassium (K2O), and nitrogen is replenished as ammonia, urea or nitrate! (Please see Table)

So, evidently, it is a granular fertiliser mixture of chemical and organic materials. The supplier does not claim that the product is organic, and it cannot as other than the ‘organic matter’ and the’ seaweed extract’ the rest are inorganic chemicals! So, clearly, having heated to the high temperature and losing the nitrogenous compounds, inorganic nitrogenous chemicals have to be added to achieve the required nutrient composition. So, the product is no longer fully ‘organic’. Then, who is deceiving whom?

Moreover, these seaweeds are believed to be essentially harvested from the Yellow Sea off the coast of Quindío City, an area highly polluted with metropolitan waste and excessively contaminated with heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. The status of these heavy metals are, however, not cited in the fertiliser composition table in the brochure. Further, although the supplier has apparently promised a 10% nitrogen content in the formulation, it is impossible to get such a high value from seaweeds! On the whole, then there are grey areas in the fertilizer deal.

The President and the government are apparently now gradually yielding to the countrywide fertiliser demand pressures of the farmers as evident from a recent news item that chemical fertiliser for corn will be imported. Then what about tea and other crops?

As per the ‘grapevine’ there is evidence that some nano (chemical) fertilisers are also to be imported and the Tea Research Institute has been asked to work out how much ammonium sulphate as the nitrogen fertiliser source is needed for the country’s tea apparently because some stocks of the latter being available. Ammonium sulphate has only 21% nitrogen whereas that of urea is 48%. Because of production interferences due to COVID the urea prices have shot up by 35 -43%, from April to September 2021, and the same should be true for other straight fertilisers.

Ammonium sulphate price globally is now reported to be about USD200/ metric ton whereas that of urea is about 450 USD. So, in terms of N contents in the fertilisers, the cost should be comparable except for the haulage. However, over application of ammonium sulphate can be detrimental in that the added sulphur in the soil is reported to inhibit phosphorus uptake by crops affecting growth and yield! Urea is the better option as the nitrogenous fertiliser when large quantities of it are needed.

In conclusion, it is the ignorance and obstinacy of the authorities that has pushed the country into this calamity. Minister after minister are obsessed with the wasa visa” myth as evident from their utterances both in Parliament and outside! It is the general belief, without evidence that, agrochemicals are the cause of many non-communicable diseases.

No politician speaks about ambient air pollution, the leading environmental health risk factor locally and globally. Records reveal that nearly 3.5 million premature, non-communicable deaths, for example, in 2017, were from stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, lower respiratory infections, and diabetes.

The President should, as a matter of priority, obtain a report from the health authorities on this matter of agrochemicals and health. This false belief was aggravated as a result of the initial suspicion that the chronic kidney disease (CKD) of the Rajarata was caused by agrochemicals but none of the research supported this contention. Research evidence gathered over several years, especially during the period 2010 and 2018 by no less than five groups of researchers established that the most likely aetiolating agent is hard water and fluoride in the some dug wells especially on high ground, as those who drank such water were essentially the ones that contaminated the disease.

Those who consumed water from the streams, reservoirs or dug wells in the plains did not contact the disease! Some of the research conducted by the current coordinator of CKD activities in the Health Ministry too supported this contention!

However, it is sad that the health authorities have failed to brief the President, the Health Minister and the government in general on this vital matter! Had this happened the President would, not have rushed into this decision of ‘going organic’ virtually overnight!

Courtesy The Island

An appreciation: Dr. Mrs. Cynthia Jayasuriya

The late Dr. Mrs. Cynthia Jayasuriya, top ENT surgeon would be remembered for promoting manioc, considered the poor man’s food, as a miracle nourishment that could hold the ultimate secret to curing cancer. Having undergone treatment for a long time, Cynthia declared she suffered from cancer and commenced a study of Western food practices before endorsing manioc. In public lectures and addressing gatherings, via Skype, Cynthia had no qualms in saying that she ate manioc three times a day and that manioc was the reason for her improvement.

 The media quoted her as having said: So I ate the manioc minimum of 10 grams three times a day. After having consumed it for one month, I underwent a cystoscopy (examination of the bladder) at the General Hospital by the same surgeon who treated me. He was surprised that my bladder was absolutely clean and normal. There was no place to take any biopsy”, were the surgeon’s very words to me.”

Cynthia strongly believed that comprehensive studies should be done on how manioc can be used in the treatment of cancer patients.

It is with immense gratitude I’m penning this appreciation of the much-adored Cynthia akki who passed away on April 12, 2020, a week prior to her 84th birthday. Cynthia belonged to an affluent Catholic family in Negombo. Her parents were Gladstone and Beeta de Livera. Gladstone’s elder brother, Michael de Livera, donated his spacious residence with more than five acres of land to then Cardinal Thomas Cooray to set up a home for the aged. Michael made the donation in memory of his parents. The Church established St. Joseph’s Home for the Aged for those who struggled to make ends meet.

Cynthia had one sister and six brothers younger to her. She had her early education at Ave Maria Convent, Negombo, before entering the Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya where she secured the required results to enter Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo. Her dream was to become an E.N.T. surgeon. Having had her postgraduate studies in the U.K, she returned to the country where she served in many hospitals. Subsequently, she served in the private sector hospitals, too. She was well known for her diagnostic and surgical skills and was much sought after being very kind and generous.

She had no qualms in providing her services free of charge to those unable to make payments. She married Wilfrid Jayasuriya from Kalutara. He was a government servant cum teacher and one-time Commissioner of the R.M.V. Jayasuriya taught at the American National College, an extension of a consortium of American, Australian and British Universities. Jayasuriya was the holder of a Doctorate for English Language, also winner of the Art Council Award for Best Novel 1996 (Libyan episode). Jayasuriya also authored ‘Time Traveller’, ‘Sri Lanka’s modern English literature: a case study in literary theory’, ‘Christine’s Story’ and ‘The British Diaries’

 They had four children, two sons and two daughters, Saliya, Palika, Charitha and Menik. Except her son Saliya, other children live in the US. Saliya resides in Colombo and, like his mother, is so affectionate whenever time permits he visits me and my husband, Claude at our home at Katuwapitiya, Negombo. As the writer is married to one of Cynthia’s brothers, she had the opportunity to know closely how much Cynthia loved her parents, brothers, only sister, and their siblings. We are forever grateful for her adorable ways, always the Good Samaritan to help. Whenever we were sick or in trouble she was our saviour.

Whilst I go down memory lane, I recollect, a long time back, when my husband had an operation. We were asked to go to her residence at Borella, where we were looked after well. She was a fabulous pianist. The memory of Cynthia playing the piano while singing softly is still afresh on the writer’s mind. Cynthia used to make butter having milked the cow. Another loving memory is Cynthia leaving her home for Sunday mass driving her Benz. Lastly she was a fond and adorable grandmother of Lauren, Michael, Jessica, Amy, Sophia and Juliette. May the Almighty Lord look after her. Let the perpetual light shine upon her.

Yours lovingly,

Nalini de Livera.

By Kelum Bandara Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Secretary to the Agriculture Ministry Prof. Udith Jayasinghe takes questions from Daily Mirror about the current crisis of the agriculture sector and the dispute over detection of harmful bacteria in fertilizer samples imported from a Chinese company. He is an expert in the agriculture sector. He is the former Vice Chancellor of Wayamba University. 
Excerpts: 

• Samples we received from China on two occasions found to be contaminated with bacteria. 
• We are having our evidence. We are going to prove it
•  We had to work with a misinformed policy
•  Our country’s plant and animal protection system is efficient.
•  They don’t engage in any malpractice

QThere is a crisis in the agriculture sector with farmers agitating over the lack of fertilizer. How are you going to address it?   

In the short term, it is an issue because people-farmers and other entrepreneurs – have been used to apply chemical fertilizer. Over the last three or four decades, what happened was the delivery of fertilizer to their doorsteps. They apply such fertilizer in quantities determined at their whims to their fields. Even fertilizer subsidies were given. They did not even pay the real cost, it means. We cannot blame farmers for their agitations. They have been used to do so. It is not recommendation or quality that matter to them. Once you have cultivated plants, it needs NPK. Plant does not know anything. It has no sense. It needs nutrition only. Nutrition is named in this country as fertilizer. Fertilizer is named as Urea, TSP and MOP. When there is fertilizer for paddy farmers, it is Urea. If you talk to an upcountry farmer who is cultivating onion or potatoes, fertilizer substances which look like pellets are identified by their colour. They call them ‘Dam Keta, Nil Keta ‘in local jargons. When these innocent farmers cultivate, they want output from it. For that, they need to have plant nutrients. When they don’t get it in the way they are used to, they get agitated. At the same time, we have to resolve this issue. We need agriculture at the end of day. 

Maybe, the beauty of organic agriculture was overestimated.  As a result, the previous mode of agriculture was harped on. I, as an agriculturist with experience over three decades, believe wrong advice has been given in this manner. 

QYou cited practical concerns involved here. But, the government started the introduction of organic farming three or four months ahead of Maha season. Why did you do it?

  When we prepared President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy document ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’, we clearly stated that we wanted to go through a system in which environmentally friendly  plant nutrients should be used. That is in place of poisonous, low quality and artificial fertilizer. It means we need transformation from a culture of using  poisonous fertilizer to a culture of using environmental friendly, non-poisonous, natural,  good quality and high generation fertilizer. These are naturally organic. We are promoting organic agriculture. Agriculture and fertilizer are two things. Organic agriculture was proposed in the manifesto. I was also involved in drafting it. It is a process to be achieved over a decade. Cancellation of the use of chemical fertilizer was announced in a gazette notification. I think it is based on wrong advice. I am not responsible for that. The President is not responsible for it. When we advise decision makers at the highest political level, it should happen in the proper manner. I believe this should not have happened. Now, we are in the process of revising it. We don’t lay the blame on the government because the President or the subject minister did not do it purposely. Maybe, the beauty of organic agriculture was overestimated. As a result, the previous mode of agriculture was harped on. I, as an agriculturist with experience over three decades, believe wrong advice has been given in this manner. It could not have been the cancellation of chemical fertilizer. It should have been allowing the import of eco-friendly plant nutrients. If the gazette notification had been worded that way, there would have been a nice situation in the country today. Then, we could have worked on it nicely. We had to work with a misinformed policy. We are now trying to correct it with the blessings of the political system and the administrative system. 

  
QHow are you going to revise this decision now?

Even in the discussion we had with the President, the ministers, the researchers and the administrators, we have very clearly indicated that we have planned to overcome this issue. We can replace those unwanted, poisonous fertilizer with standardized bio-fertilizer. Urea is also not a poisonous material. It is used in many other industries. When we use anything overly, it can be harmful. We are now going to come up with standards, application procedure and training sessions for farmers. It is a holistic framework. We need some time for it. The Maha season has started now. We need food security.  We need a compromise on our policy. If there is a mistake done, it is my duty to correct it. We want to go by government policies. At the same time, we want to protect our agriculture. 

If there is any bacteria present in whatever percentage, it is an issue. The company is saying its product is totally safe and sterilized. We have given a signal not to bring such substance here.

QHow challenging is it to overcome the problem currently existing?

It is a challenge. I have been here for just four months. At the beginning, I was also confused. I want to face the challenge with my friends. I know those in the system. Many of them are my teachers. Others are my friends, their friends etc. I have the support of these people. With that, I get a lot of advice and criticism. With respect to the government’s policy, we want to go for organically oriented, plant nutrients. When this comes to the next stage, you will be getting very high quality, third generation fertilizer well accepted in other countries. These are very innovative products. They are coming to Sri Lanka because our production of organic fertilizer is not enough to cover the entire paddy and other sectors. It is only 30 percent we have developed. We have to import the remainder. We are going to import from India. We have tested all these products. They are very good. We are in the process of bringing them here. I am sure farmers will be happy when they see it. Farmers are farmers. Businessmen are businessmen. Consumers are consumers. We will provide fertilizer. At the same time, we will implement our policies. The product we bring here is a Nano-technology based product. It is heavily used in India. Even Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is promoting it. 

We don’t want to import every time. We want to manufacture such products here. Next year, we hope we will be able to develop our own products. 

QAlready, some farmers have abandoned their cultivations such as maize. What will you be doing if there is a crop reduction as a result?

That is the thing we are really worried.  Before moving to the field, farmers have their estimations. Without seeing fertilizer and other inputs, they are a little reluctant to come to the fields and work them. Within the next ten days, it will be alright. There will be positive mindsets among farmers. It is true we are administrators. All administrators are Sri Lankans. They don’t want to destroy the agriculture system at any cost. The President correctly said that food security would be ensured. We will do everything possible to provide them what is needed. We will be able to take care of our food security. Some reduction of maize cultivation has happened.  This is the maize season. When there is no fertilizer, that is an issue. In two weeks’ time, I am certain the problem can be addressed. The Minister has also instructed to release fertilizer stocks available.   

I accepted this post at a time when nobody wanted to take over. I was   the Vice Chancellor. I had all the privileges. I could have stayed happily. I wanted to assume work here and deliver. I was sure that I could do.

QMaize is something we use to manufacture animal feed. When there is a shortage of animal feed, it will affect animal products, particularly poultry products. How are you going to address it?

We had a top level discussion in this regard with the Finance Minister and all agriculture administrators and the two ministers. If there is a shortage of maize, it will affect the manufacture of animal products. If there is any issue with maize production, it will be supplemented. We don’t want our livestock industry to be affected. I believe people will start cultivations soon. The pandemic also affected the implementation of our plans. We were in a disadvantageous position in arranging logistics. Now the system is working with the vaccination drive. We want to go a little faster. Maize cultivation will come into shape. We planned for 100,000 hectares to be cultivated with maize. I think 80,000 have been cultivated. The rest of the landmass will be cultivated with fertilizer arriving. 

QYou said organic fertilizer was imported from India. Do we have enough facilities for laboratory testing to detect harmful bacteria?

It is a very good question. Our plant quarantine laboratories are not testing these for the first time. We have a very good history for plant protection. Those who are in the profession have never been held responsible for bringing unwanted pathogens into the country. They are doing their job. I am really thankful for them. If any pathogen arrives, it will be a disaster. They have facilities to do so. That is not to say that the facilities are 100 percent compatible with those in other countries. We want to have more equipment, modern equipment. We have received funds. I am sure these facilities will be ok. But, they are doing a good job. With the existing facilities, they can get very accurate reports. Our country’s plant and animal protection system is efficient. They don’t engage in any malpractice.   

There will be positive mindsets among farmers. It is true we are administrators. All administrators are Sri Lankans. They don’t want to destroy the agriculture system at any cost. The President correctly said that food security would be ensured.

 
QThere is a crisis triggered over the rejection of samples of organic nitrogen extracts imported from China. The Chinese embassy says it takes at least 67 days for a test report to be completed on harmful bacteria contained in such matters. But, Sri Lankan plan quarantine services have done it in three days. The company disputed it. How are you going to address it?

To my level best, with the information I have, this is a technical issue dealt with by the plant protection experts and the team of the Department of Director General of Agriculture. We have separate additional secretaries dealing with it. They are very correctly dealing with it and reporting to me. Samples we received first were found to be with such bacteria. There was suspicion why it happened.  We even did not believe that could happen. We have followed very clear-cut, transparent, procurement procedures. We have followed all the standards. Then, we brought the second sample. It was tested in three different places. We detected the same. If there is any bacteria present in whatever percentage, it is an issue. The company is saying its product is totally safe and sterilized. Our people have clearly shown the results of what they have done. Whether it is three days or four days, they are defending it. Maybe it takes six days to give a full report. We have given a signal not to bring such substance here. 
As a leading company, it has been reported to the embassy. It is not going  to create a big issue. We are having our evidence. We are going to prove it. It is not a government to government issue. It is not a company to company issue. The company gets facilitation it needs. We also respond. China is a country that helps us in many different ways. 

The process is still not closed though the shipment has been stopped for the time being. This is an international procurement. I am certain there won’t be any financial claim from us. We wish the company will realize it. 

With respect to the government’s policy, we want to go for organically oriented, plant nutrients. When this comes to the next stage, you will be getting very high quality, third generation fertilizer well accepted in other countries. These are very innovative products.

QAre you in touch with the Chinese company in this regard?

Of course, I am not in touch. We have a separate secretary for it.  

QThe government imposed import restrictions on food crops that can be cultivated locally. But, the local yield is still not sufficient after two years. The prices of these items have gone through the roof. When are you going to achieve self-sufficiency?

 When you look at 2019 figures, the situation was ok. With the Covid situation, field visits, coordination and seed distribution were hampered. We have six big mega projects. We could not run them. The Ministry also faced some problems. At regional level, some officials could not work. All these led to some delay. We are catching it up now. Over the last three months, we have put them into work. Project management is one of my subjects. It is my area of expertise. I was involved in such project implementation and management for the last 20 years. This is a good chance for me at the ministry do my part. I accepted this post at a time when nobody wanted to take over. I was   the Vice Chancellor. I had all the privileges. I could have stayed happily. I wanted to assume work here and deliver. I was sure that I could do. Agriculture is not fertilizer only. It is one out of hundreds of other things. I am sure I will be able to deliver with my team and other stakeholders.  

QAre you confident that Sri Lanka can achieve self-sufficiency? 

I believe so. If the inputs are given, it can be done. We did not have a national policy on agriculture  for the last several decades.  I was personally involved in developing it. I have submitted it to the Cabinet.  

See video on www.dailymirror.lk

https://video.wijeyadigital.lk/37bcc122-7da5-4344-871b-4b99ebfdf2d6

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

Cuba has offered to help Sri Lanka with technology to manufacture medicinal items from drumsticks or Murunga (scientific name; Moringa oleifera), a statement from the Education Ministry said.

Cuban ambassador Andress Marcelo Gonzalez Garrido said this when he called on Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardane. According to the statement, the ambassador said Cuba was manufacturing medicinal capsules and powder from properties of Murunga trees. He said such technology could be offered to Sri Lanka where Murunga is abundantly grown.

The ambassador said it would be beneficial for both the countries to promote exchanges between the universities of the two countries. The Minister sought assistance from Cuba to promote the teaching of Spanish language in Sri Lanka.

Lankaweb Editor’s note

Drumsticks or Murunga (scientific name; Moringa oleifera) is a not native tree in Cuba. Even though you can see Drumsticks trees full of fruits all over Cuba now, according to the locals the first saplings were brought from India when former President Fidel Castro visited India.

උපුටාගැණීම අදදෙරණ

නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් දියර පොහොර භාවිත කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් තවමත් ඉන්දියාවේ ගොවීන්ට පවා අත්දැකීම් අඩු බව ශ්‍රී ජයවර්ධපුර විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ රසායන විද්‍යා පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්ය එස්. ඩී. එම්. චින්තක මහතා පවසයි.

ඒ අනුව ඔහු පෙන්වා දෙන්නේ, මෙම පොහොර මෙරට භාවිත කිරීමට පෙර ක්ෂේත්‍ර පර්යේෂණ සිදුකළ යුතු බවය. 

“නයිට්‍රජන්වලට අපි මුලින් පාවිච්චි කළේ යූරියා. යූරියා දැන් ලංකාවට ගෙනඒම තහනම් නිසා නැනෝ යූරියා පොහොරක් ආනයනය කරලා තියෙනවා. මේ පොහොර සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම රසායනික පොහොරක්. මේක ඉන්දියාවේ පර්යේෂණ මට්ටමින් සිදුකරලා, ක්ෂේත පරීක්ෂණත් සිදුකරලා ගොවියන් සඳහා නිකුත් කරලා තියෙන්නේ දැනට මාස 2කට ඉස්සෙල්ලා. තාම මේක ඉන්දියාවෙවත් ගොවීන් අතර භාවිත කරලා ගොවීන්ගේ අත්දැකීම් කිසිවක් නැති පොහොරක්. මේක ලංකාවේ එකපාරටම දානවාට වඩා ලංකාවේ ක්ෂේත්‍ර පර්යේෂණ කරලා ඒ හරහා ලැබෙන ප්‍රතිඵල විශ්ලේෂණය කරලා තමයි ලංකාවට හඳුන්වාදිය යුත්තේ කියලා මම නම් විශ්වාස කරන්නේ.”

පේරාදෙණිය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලයේ කෘෂි විද්‍යා පිඨයේ පාංශු සරුබව සහ පෝෂක කළමනාකරණය පිළිබඳ මහාචාර්ය සමන් ධර්මකීර්ති මහතා සඳහන් කළේ,

“මේ පොහොර සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පර්යේෂණ මා දැනුවත්ව නෑ. නමුත් ඉන්දියාවේ පවා කරලා තියෙන පර්යේෂණවලින් පෙන්වන්නේ සාමාන්‍ය නයිට්‍රජන් පොහොර යූරියා විදිහට යොදලා වර්ධන අවස්ථාවල මේ නැනෝ පොහොර වාර දෙකක් යෙදීම තමයි. මේ නැනෝ යූරියා දියර පොහොර 4%යි නයිට්‍රජන් තියෙන්නේ. බීජ හදන්න කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 50ක් ශාකයට අවශ්‍ය කරනවා. ඒ සඳහා අපි ලබා දෙන්නේ ග්‍රෑම් 100ක් වැනි කුඩා ප්‍රමාණයක් මේ දියර පොහොර හරහා. මේ දියර පොහොර පැය කිහිපයකට වරක්වත් ගැහුවොත් තමයි ශාකයට අවශ්‍යකරන නයිට්‍රජන් ප්‍රමාණය ලබාදෙන්න පුළුවන් වෙන්නේ. ඒ නිසා මේක කිසිසේත්ම ප්‍රායෝගික ක්‍රියාවලියක් නොවන බව තමයි මගේ විශ්වාසය.”

කෙසේවෙතත් කෘෂිකර්ම අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් ආචාර්ය අජන්ත ද සිල්වා මහතා සඳහන් කළේ, 

“මේ ප්‍රභවය ශාකයේ පත්‍රවලට දියරයක් ලෙස ලබාදුන් පසු ඒක ශාකය අභ්‍යන්තරයට ගමන් කරනවා. ඒ සඳහා කෘෂිකර්ම දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව කාලයන් හදලා තියෙනවා, මේ පොහොර කොහොමද භාවිත කරන්නේ කියලා. ගොවීන්ට කිසිම බයක් නැතුව මේ පොහොර පාවිච්චි කරන්න පුළුවන්.”

මහ කන්නය සඳහා අවශ්‍ය දියර පොහොර ගෙන්වීමේ පළමු අදියර ලෙස ඇණවුම් කළ නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් දියර පොහොර ලීටර් ලක්ෂයක තොගයක් ඊයේ (19) ඉන්දියාවේ සිට මෙරටට ගුවන් මගින් ගෙන එනු ලැබීය.

නයිට්‍රො රජා ලෙසින් නම් කර ඇති එම දියර පොහොර තොගය මේ වනවිටත් ගොවි ජනතාව වෙත බෙදාහැරීම ආරම්භ කර තිබේ.
 

Courtesy Adaderana

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has directed relevant authorities to continue ongoing interprovincial travel restrictions until 4.00 a.m. on October 31 (Sunday), says the Commander of Sri Lanka Army, General Shavendra Silva.

Sri Lanka lifted the island-wide quarantine curfew, which was in effect for over a month in a bid to curb the pandemic situation, on October 01 as the country started seeing a considerable drop in the number of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths reported.

The interprovincial travel restrictions however remained in effect despite the relaxation of the quarantine curfew.

A week later, the constraints imposed on crossing provincial borders were further extended until October 21. However, it was again decided that the restrictions would remain in place until the end of the month.

Courtesy Hiru News

The Fertilizer Secretariat states that samples of environmentally friendly nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer imported from India have been sent for testing.

Fertilizer Secretariat Deputy Director Kasun Mahathanthila told the Hiru News team that once the quality of the fertilizer samples are confirmed by the test reports, steps will be taken to provide them to farmers through Agrarian Service Centers.

Accordingly, the relevant stock of liquid fertilizer in the Central Warehousing Complex of the Wattala – Hunupitiya Colombo Commercial Fertilizer Company is currently being released to its regional warehouses, he said.

The first consignment of nano nitrogen liquid fertilizer from the Indian state of Gujarat was brought to Sri Lanka this morning.

Farmers in various parts of the country are still protesting, saying that they are unable to cultivate due to the lack of fertilizers and agrochemicals. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa had also attended a farmers’ protest in Dompe, Gampaha.

Meanwhile, Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Prof. Udith Jayasinghe stated that the gazette notification containing the clause pertaining to the suspension of the import of chemical fertilizers was prepared on wrong instructions.

He told the Hiru News team that the majority in the agriculture sector regretted the failure to provide proper information in preparing the relevant gazette notification.

Meanwhile, an adjournment debate is scheduled to be held in Parliament tomorrow on issues related to fertilizer.

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

Reportedly, more than 26,000 virus-infected patients are undergoing treatment at the moment at hospitals, treatment centres, and undergoing home-based care. 

The total number of coronavirus recoveries reached 493,674 after 360 more patients in total were discharged from medical care earlier today.

In the meantime, the total number of people, who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka, moved up as 18 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Tuesday (October 19).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,543.

The latest victims include 11 males and 07 females, the Department of Government Information said.

Three of the victims, two males and a female, are aged between 30-59 years and the remaining 15 victims are aged 60 years and above.

Courtesy Adaderana

The daily count of COVID-positive cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 539 today (October 20), says the Epidemiology Unit.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 533,305.

As many as 493,674 recoveries and 13,543 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.

More than 26,088 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් දකුණ හා මධ්‍යම පළාත් හිටපු ආණ්ඩුකාර

ඇමති කැමති කොම්පැනියෙන්, ටෙන්ඩර් නැතුව රු. බිලියන 9 ක නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් මිල දී ලීටර් මිලියන 2.1 ක් මිල දී ගැනීමට ‘කාබනික වගාව‘ නොව ගොවියාගේ බෙල්ල මිරිකලා රටේ කෘෂිකර්මයේ ආදායම සාක්කුවට දමා ගැනීමක් යැයි  යැයි හිටපු ආණ්ඩුකාර රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් පවසයි.

කෘෂි රසායන – රසායන පොහොර මිලදී ගැනීමට ඩොලර් නැති නිසා ඇරඹූ ඊනියා ‘කාබනික වගා නාට්‍යය‘ ගොවියා කාබාසිනියා කර, ගොවිතැන විනාශ කර  තිබෙනවා. දැවැන්ත අර්බුදයක් නිර්මාණය කරලා, රටපුරා පෙළපාලි, පිකටින්, පඹයෝ පුච්චන තැනකට වැටුණා.  අර්බුදයක් ඇති කරලා මල්ල පුරවා ගැනීමේ න්‍යාය අද ලංකාවේ දේශපාලන ව්‍යාවහාරය යැයි හිටපු ආණ්ඩුකාර තෙන්නකෝන් පවසයි.

රු. බිලියන 9 ක භාණ්ඩ මිලදී ගැනීමේ දී ප්‍රසම්පාදන ක්‍රියාවලියක් අනුගමනය කළ යුතුයි.  ඒ සඳහා නිර්ණායක ගණනාවක් තිබෙනවා.  අද රසායනාගාර පරීක්ෂණ නැතිව, කාබනික ලේබල් ඇතුව හෝ නැතිව රටට පොහොර ගේනවා.  මේක යට තියෙන්නේ දැවන්ත ගජමිතුරු ව්‍යාපාරයක්.

අද පොහොර ගෙන්වන්න ටෙන්ඩර් නෑ. මිල ගණන් නෑ. තරඟකරුවෝ නෑ.  ලංකාවේ මහ කන්නයේ අක්කර ලක්ෂ 8 ක වී වගාවටත්, වෙනත් වගාවන්ටත් අවශ්‍ය යැයි කියන පොහොර එක සමාගමකින් විවෘත මිල ගණන් නැතිව ගෙන්වා තියෙනවා. මේ දක්වා සමාගම් 6 ක් ගෙන්නපු රටේ අවශ්‍යතාවය ඇමති – ලේකම් කැමති තනි සමාගමකට දීලා තියෙනවා. ගනුදෙනුවේ වටිනාකම රු. බිලියන 9 යි.  තවත් බිලියන 3 ක මිලදී ගැනීම් සඳහා සුදානම් වෙනවා.

අර්බුදයක් ඇති කරලා, රටක් හූරාගෙන කෑමේ ව්‍යාපෘතියට හොඳම උදාහරණයක් තමයි ගොවියාට කාබනික පෙන්නලා වැඩි මිලට බන්ඩි පොහොර ගෙන්වීම. සීනි ජාවාරම, පොල්තෙල් ජාවාරම වගේම මගඩියක්. 

මහ කන්නය පටන්ගන්න වල් නාශක නැති කම නිසා නැගෙනහිර, මහවැලි කලාපවල, මහියංගනය කුඹුරු අතහැර දමලා. උඩරට එළවළු වගාව, මල් වගාම සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම නැවතිලා. හරිතාගාර වහලා දානවා.  වල් නාශක ඕනි කාලයට ආණ්ඩුව බන්ඩි පොහොර ගෙනල්ලා ඒවා ගබඩා ගරගෙන ඉන්නවා.  එම්.ඕ.පී. පොහොර අවශ්‍ය කිසිම වගාවකට ඒවා නිකුත් කරන්නේ නෑ.  කාබනික ලේබලේ ගහලා ආණ්ඩුවේ භාණ්ඩාගාරය හිස් කරලා තියෙනවා.

උඩරට ගොවියෝ දිලීර නාශක – කෘමි නාශක ඉල්ලනවා.  ආණ්ඩුව දෙන්නේ නෑ.

වියළි කලාපයට වල් නාශක – කෘමි නාශක ඉල්ලනවා. ආණ්ඩුව දෙන්නේ නෑ.

රටම පොහොර ඉල්ලනවා – පොහොර නැතිව දියර පොහොර ගෙනල්ල මඩිය තර කර ගන්නවා.

හෙට අනිද්දාට, තනි සමාගමකට කෘෂි රසායන ඒකාධිකාරය දෙන්න අවශ්‍ය පරිසරය ගොඩ නගාගෙන යනවා.  ටෙන්ඩර් නැතිව ඇමති කැමති සමාගමකට කෘෂි රසායන ඒකාධිකාරය දෙන්න හදනවා.  බෙහෙත් බෝතලයක් ගන්න කිරි පිටි, ගෑස්, සීනි ගන්න වගේම පොලීමේ ඉන්න වෙල යුගයක් හැදෙනවා.  ගොවියත් විනාශයි. රටත් විනාශයි. හැබැයි ගජ මිතුරෝ විතරක් ගොඩ යනවා. යැයි ද හිටපු ආණ්ඩුකාර තෙන්නකෝන් පවසයි.

රජිත් කීර්ති තෙන්නකෝන් දකුණ හා මධ්‍යම පළාත් හිටපු ආණ්ඩුකාර

By Rediff News Bureau

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was supposed to be on the first flight to land at Kushinagar airport on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 — at least so the buzz went — for an India-Sri Lanka summit, but when the special Sri Lankan Air flight arrived at Uttar Pradesh’s brand new (fourth) international airport, out stepped a Rajapaksa.

Only it was not Gota or his elder brother Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa, but the Sri Lankan prime minister’s eldest son Namal Rajapaksa.

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Buddha tourism gets a boost with Kushinagar airport‘India cannot take Gotabaya for granted’

Namal, 35, is Sri Lanka’s youth and sports minister — Anurag Thakur would be his Indian ministerial equivalent, not the mighty prime minister of India (does that explain the rather displeased look Modi wears in the photographs below?) — but he is said to be his father’s likely successor before eventually ascending to the presidency which his uncle holds currently.

Last year, Galle MP Manusha Nanayakkara told the Sri Lankan parliament that Rajapaksa family run ministries had 29 percent of all statutory bodies in the country under their grip.

The Island newspaper quoted Nanayakkara as saying: ‘The President and Prime Minister are from the same family. There are two cabinet ministers from that family — Chamal and Namal Rajapaksa.
Sahsindra Rajapaksa is a state minister.
Chairman of the District Development Council is Nipuna Ranawaka.
The Prime Minister has three Cabinet portfolios – Buddha Sasana, Finance and Housing and Urban Development.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has 23 institutions.
The Prime Minister has 49 under the Finance Ministry, 11 under the Buddha Sasana and six under the Urban Development ministry. He has 66 institutions under him.
Namal Rajapaksa has seven. Sashindra has six.
In addition seven other institutions including BOI, Telecom, Telecommunications and Regulations are under the COVID -19 task force under Basil Rajapaksa.
There is one Shipping industry state minister who does not have a single institution under him because he is not a member of the Rajapaksa family.’:)))

Since some political observers believe that Modi will be prime minister through this decade, the next time Namal comes to this country, he could well wear the title of prime minister or president!

Please click on the images for a better look at the NaMo-Namal encounter.

IMAGE: Namal gifts NaMo a Sinhala version of the Bhagavad Gita. All Photographs: Press Information Bureau

IMAGE: Namal arrived with a flight full of Buddhist monks, some of who met Modi in Kushinagar.

IMAGE: Ever seen Modi look so glum when meeting a foreign visitor? Namal’s dad, like Modi, is a huge grin-hugging politician.

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com

Chandre dharma-wardana

In spite of all this information and good advise from all the leading scientists of Sri Lanka (see recent articles in the Island by Dr. M. Dhanapala, Prof. Costa, Dr. Waidyanatha, Prof. Marmbe and many others), we have Ranjith Soysa writing the following:

“The President’s holistic decision on the banning of chemical fertiliser is, indeed, a step in the right direction, which will bring expected results in the improvement in soil and water quality and the general health of the masses.

What are the expected results? Where have such results been demonstrated”.

1. This is sadly, the continued failure to understand that composting and producing “Organic Fertilizer” will lead to the production of noxious green house gases like methane and CO2 in large quantities that will further add to the runaway global warming that is already occurring.

Mr Ranjith Soysa living in the precincts of the great barrier reef may know that a tiny increase in ocean temperature will wipe out the corals and most of the fish.

Also, the effluent and rain run off  that results when 100 tonnes/acre of organic fertilizer is added to get the same effect as 20 kg/acre of mineral fertilizer is enormous and leads to removal of oxygen from the aquatic ecosystem (rivers and streams) and its asphyxiation.

Legislation has been introduced in, e.g., Massachusetts to severely control organic farms because of this, even though organic farming is less than 2% of normal farming in US states.

Unfortunately, Venerable Ratana’s newest acolyte, namely President Gotabhaya has rushed into all this with the enthusiasm of a neophyte who wants be “the first in the world to convert the country to 100% organic”.

This is achievable, but at the cost of creating famine and causing rural riots that he may have to put down with his beloved military.

That the population has to be cut down by at least half  was well known in the research literature. When Dr. Adrian Mueller of the Swiss institute for organic agriculture discussed going 100% organic in a research article in Nature in 2018, he admitted that it will require a halving the population who will all have to be forced into being vegetarian, as pointed out very clearly when I wrote a reply to him.

http://dh-web.org/place.names/posts/CD-Mueller-OrganicL.pdf

The claim that inorganic fertilizer will improve the general health of the masses is the sort of nonsense that is good for Dr. Padeniya and Ven. Ratana.

Ranjit Soyza also says: However, such a crucial decision was not followed professionally to ascertain the availability of other nutrients, and enough supply of compost fertilizer to apply in the following growing season. The unscientific method of managing the subject gave opportunities to many to engage in public agitation against this holistic decision”

So Ranjith Soysa thinks that organic fertilizers are the way to go, but that its introduction has been mismanaged.

This is another popular myth.

Even if organic fertilizer production and the approach to organic farming had been properly managed, it will STILL LEAVE THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE STARVING.

I know that Mr. Ranjith  Soysa who has done good work in the fight against terrorism in Sri Lanka, and worked hard for the good of Sri Lanka, does not genuinely wish to support the creation of a man-made famine in Sri Lanka.

But I believe he (and indeed many others) had been strongly misled by the likes of Dr. Nalin de Silva and other ideologues in these matters.

We should remember that Gunadasa Amarasekera too was mislead to such an extent that he wrote a glowing preface to Channa Jayasumana’s  utterly unscientific and scandalous book “Waku Gadu Hatana“.

RANJITH SOYSA

We were  pleased to read the recent speech delivered at 72^nd anniversary of Gajaba Regiment by the President Gotabaya Rajapakasa in which he admitted about the voter disillusionment of his government. We are aware of the fact that the government had to contend with the unprecedented issues on account of the covid epidemic and had to give priority in seeking solutions to the challenges by imposing restrictions to the economic and social activities while channelling limited resources to medical supplies and social service facilities,

If the President is prepared to review and turn a new page for the improvement of the country one should expect the President to rehash the decision-making procedure of the Government. The voters are of the view that some of the crucial steps adopted were either introduced or implemented in some instances without recognizing the impact on the country’s sovereignty and the security.

As an initial step the President should consider appointing a National Planning Committee with the nationalist minded experts to work on a program to tackle key economic issues and management of nationally important strategic centres for next 4 years. Without proceeding ahead haphazardly and creating crisis situations once such decisions are adopted, if the government can adhere to a plan with a nationalist vision, it will be acceptable to the voters who elected the President. Such a plan should also investigate the country’s priorities, future stability, resources, the national security. The implementation should be transparent and should be accountable.

Let us examine some of the issues which were tackled without a proper plan which resulted in causing frustration and disappointment among the voters and the public. The method of overseeing the pricing and supply of commodities such as sugar, rice, garlic, gas cylinders etc was atrocious which brought untold hardships to the consumer as well as to  the producers. The complete mismanagement must be admitted by the government and a more rational formula will have to be adopted if the plan is to take the country systematically forward. It is necessary to exercise detailed examination of the supply chain, the storage facilities, and the Government outlets to get rid of the unconscionable profiteers awaiting to fleece the consumers and marginalize the public organizations which are established to protect the consumers. Once a rational decision is taken the government should pursue the implementation with determination rather than surrender to the dictates of the unscrupulous middlemen who hold onto the stocks  causing loss of confidence of the public.

A crucial area which needs urgent review is how to regulate luxury and semi luxury imports which consumes a considerable amount of foreign exchange earned by export of goods and services including the foreign remittances of  Sri Lankan workers, At least as a short term measure the free trade introduced by JRJ  about 40 years ago should be re-examined and suitable qualitative controls should be introduced to curb the outflow of foreign exchange for non-essential goods.

The President’s holistic decision on the banning of chemical fertilizer is indeed a step in the right direction which will bring expected results in the improvement in soil and water quality and the general health of the masses. However, such a crucial decision was not followed professionally to ascertain the availability of other nutrients and enough supply of compost fertilizer to apply in the following growing season. The unscientific method of managing the subject gave opportunities to many to engage in public agitation against this holistic decision.

It was an indeed ironical to hear the slogans mouthed by ‘farmers’ of 2021 demanding chemical fertilizer whereas their fathers were demonstrating in 1970S decrying the government’s and the officials’ dictates to replace bio fertilizers with chemical fertilizer to ‘usher in the green revolution ‘.It is the wish of the majority of the population to get rid of the vicious cycle of poisoning resulting in the use of chemical fertilizer and we would request the government to take the required steps in the right direction to implement the laudable decision effectively and efficiently.

 We need a clear and dedicated policy in relation to our international relations. We must always be nonaligned in our dealings with the big powers who are engaged in a global power game.

We should know the friendly nations who stood by Sri Lanka when it waged war with Tamil Tiger terrorists and subsequently at UNHCR, and about the other countries  who attempt to crucify Sri Lanka for defeating the world’s most brutal terrorist organization. Their attempts to continue persecuting Sri Lanka will naturally weaken Sri Lankan state and all times Sri Lanka should express her rejection of such vicious attempts and should bring these facts at bi-lateral discussions and multi-lateral conferences.

India, our neighbour is leaving no stone unturned until we have PCs and with all powers. Most of the Sri Lankans do not want PCs, an additional tier of administration at a cost of colossal expenditure and with practically no benefits. At a time when Sri Lankans are required to tighten their belts and manage expenditure, the Government must convey to India that all issues can be managed under the present unitary system of Government. Sri Lanka should be noticeably clear on this issue to enable Sri Lanka -India international relationship to prosper. Sri Lanka should also continue bi-lateral discussions with India regarding to oil tanks in Trinco as to how these can be used for the economic development of the country assuring that Sri Lanka will not allow any other country to have any control over the strategically important Trincomalee harbour. Recently an Indian writer, has stated that India does not bother to understand her neighbouring countries and decides on inter-state policies without considering the expectations of her neighbours. Imposing PCs on Sri Lanka and insistence on the implementation of the failed proposal too emanated from the Indian centralized foreign policy machinery which in this instance  primarily addressed the aspirations of the Tamil Nadu agitators who were expressing their support for the separatists in Sri Lanka. India’s strategy was to kill two birds with one stone and executed its policy of proposing PCs to weaken the central government of Sri Lanka while appeasing the extremists in Tamil Nadu to divert their attention from their own struggle for a separatist racist state in India. Sri Lanka should be firm in rejecting the Indian formula to destabilize the country and continue to address the common issues faced by ordinary people in Sri Lanka including the minorities living in the periphery.

The mandate given by the public clearly stated that the proportional system of representation should be changed and all future elections should be held according to the number electorates and the members should represent the electorates based on the percentage of  votes gained by the candidates. All who investigated into the system introduced by JRJ  were of the view that system breeds corruption and bribery while precluding the visible representation of an electorate.

The President recently invited the expatriate Tamil groups presumably as an effort to improve reconciliation of Sinhala and Tamil views and expectations. Such discussions should be based on specific conditions that the participants do not support separatism in Sri Lanka and they accept the unitary Sri Lanka. Otherwise, such discussions will only provide opportunites to reopen the subject of traditional homelands for minority communities in Sri Lanka pushing the country back to unenviable 1990 s ,

RANJITH SOYSA

උපුටා ගැන්ම ලංකා සී නිව්ස්

අනුරාධපුර පදවිය ප්‍රදේශයේ පැවති විරෝධතාවයකදී ජනාධිපති ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ මහතාගේ ආකාරයට සැකසූ අනුරුවකට පහර දීමට කටයුතු කළහ.

වගාවට අවශ්‍ය රසායනික පොහොර ඉල්ලමින් මෙම විරෝධතාවය අනුරාධපුර පදවිය ප්‍රදේශයේ පිරිස් විසින් සංවිධානය කර තිබිණි.

අම්පාර නාමල්ගම ප‍්‍රදේශයේ පැවති විරෝධතාවයකදී ජනාධිපතිවරයා ආකාරයෙන් සරසන ලද පුද්ගලයෙකුට බිම දමාගෙන පහර දෙනු ලැබිය.

Courtesy France24

Colombo (AFP)

Sri Lanka on Tuesday backed down from ambitious plans to become the world’s first completely organic farming nation, reversing a ban on imports of chemical fertiliser.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had imposed a total ban on agrochemicals in May, saying he wanted to make Sri Lankan farming 100 percent organic.

Plantations Minister Ramesh Pathirana said Tuesday that the change of course was to help growers of Ceylon tea, exports of which are worth $1.3 billion annually for the island nation.

by Melani Manel Perera Courtesy AsiaNews.it

The 2021 Global Hunger Index ranks Sri Lanka as a country with a moderate” risk of hunger. One of the problems is farmland management. Anthony Jesudasan notes that 37,000 hectares have not yet to be distributed among young Tamils.

Colombo (AsiaNews) – Sri Lanka continues to hold one of the lowest positions in 2021 Global Hunger Index, which covers 116 countries.

The level of hunger and food insecurity in the Asian country is defined as “moderate” at present. This is an improvement over reports from previous years when the situation was considered alarming”. 

Yet, despite improved hunger indicators, stunting in children under five has increased over the past year due to malnutrition.

Hunger is an old problem in Sri Lanka, which is closely linked to government land management and agri-food administration, this according to many observers.

The leaders of the country have divided up farmland and sold it to the world (other countries or businesses) for a commission,” said Aruna Seelarathana, a farmer from Anuradhapura district, speaking to AsiaNews.

Thousands of acres of land across Sri Lanka have now been taken over by the country’s political leaders. If people were allowed to farm that land, Sri Lanka would not have to deal with the problem of hunger today.”

K. Ariyapala, another local farmer, holds the same view. In addition to the lack of farmland, he laments that there is no way of getting fertilisers, agrochemicals, seeds and water in a timely manner.”

In his view, when the material required for farming is not available in time, farming is useless. Not having the required background to do our job means that not only farmers have to starve but that the whole country has to starve.”.

According to Anthony Jesudasan, who chairs the Voice of Plantation People organisation, the lack of land affects disproportionately the Tamil minority.

In order to strengthen the food production process, a survey was conducted in the hill region in 2013, which identified 57,000 hectares of virgin land that could be farmed; 37,000 destined for young Tamils. To date, nothing has been done,” he told AsiaNews.

Emphasising Sri Lankans’ right to land, Jesudasan noted that there is no future without food sovereignty and that the right to food should be recognised by governments without discrimination.

Political leaders should put in place measures that facilitate the process of food production and give land to everyone in Sri Lanka.”

In such a situation, We need to look to the future with confidence in the hope that the Sustainable Development Goals can be achieved by 2030 and bear fruit now in terms of food security and sustainable agriculture”.

The Economic Times

The beleaguered Sri Lankan economy faces substantial credit risk, with default ‘a real possibility’, Singapore-based Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday. The ratings agency also revised Sri Lanka’s growth forecast for 2021 to 3.3 % from 3.8 %, due to the surge in coronavirus cases in July-August.

“Sri Lanka’s public and external finances remain fragile, as reflected in our ‘CCC’ rating in place since November 2020 and affirmed in June 2021. A rating at this level indicates substantial credit risk, with default ‘a real possibility,’ ” Fitch said.

The island nation’s external liquidity position remains stressed, with USD 26 billion in sovereign foreign-currency obligations coming due between now and 2026.

Going forward, Fitch projects the country’s foreign-exchange reserves to plummet to USD 2.5 billion by 2023, down from the USD 3.5 billion in August 2021, following a grant received through the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights to the tune of USD 780 million.

Through the rest of 2021, the majority of foreign-currency debt repayments consist of project and syndicated loans.

Sovereign bond repayments of USD500 million and USD1 billion due in January and Jul ..

Sovereign bond repayments of USD500 million and USD1 billion due in January and July 2022, respectively.

Referring to the six-monthly road map published in October by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Fitch says although authorities have outlined plans to secure funds through bilateral, multilateral and other syndicated loans, the financing plans contained limited details, including the sources and time-lines of financing arrangements.

Read more at:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/sri-lanka-faces-substantial-credit-risk-default-a-real-possibility-growth-forecast-predicted-at-3-3/articleshow/87132540.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

 අම්රා ලියාකත්  මව්බිම දැන්

කාබනික පොහොර ආනයනය කිරීම පිළිබඳව මතු ව ඇති ගැටලුව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ආණ්ඩුව මුරණ්ඩුකාරී ප්‍රතිපත්තියක නොසිටින බව කැබිනට් ප්‍රකාශක ජනමාධ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම මහතා පවසයි.

ඔහු මේ බව සඳහන් කළේ, අද (ඔක්. 19) පැවති කැබිනට් තීරණ දැනුම් දීමේ මාධ්‍ය හමුවේදී මාධ්‍යවේදියෙකු  නැගූ ප්‍රශ්නයකට පිළිතුරු දෙමිනි.

ගොවීන් රසායනික පොහොර භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත් කරමින් කාබනික පොහොර ගෙන් වන බව පැවසුව ද ආණ්ඩුව ඉන්දියාවෙන් නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් දියර පොහොර ලෙස නැවත රටට රසායනික පොහොර ගෙන්වීම තුළින් ආණ්ඩුව ප්‍රතිපත්තිය ක්‍රියාත්මක කර නැතැයි එහිදී මාධ්‍යවේදියා ප්‍රශ්න කළේ ය.

ඊට පිළිතුරු ලබා දෙමින් ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේ, ගොවීන්ගේ අස්වැන්න සහ ආර්ථික ගැටලු පිළිබඳව සලකා බලමින් අවශ්‍ය අවස්ථාවලදී පියවරක් පසුපසට ගැනීම වරදක් නොවන බව ය.

මාධ්‍යවේදියා: මහ කන්නය ආරම්භ වීමට කටයුතු සූදානම් වෙලා තියෙනවා. අපි දකිනවා ගොවියෝ දිවයින පුරා පොහොර ඉල්ලා පෙළපාලි යමින් ඉන්නවා. ආණ්ඩුවේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය වුණේ කාබනික වගාවට  මිනිස්සු යොමු කරනවා. මේ රසායනික භාවිතයෙන් ඉවත් කරලා, අලුත් වැඩපිළිවෙළක් හඳුන්වලා දුන්නා ප්‍රතිපත්තිමය වශයෙන්. නමුත් අපි දකිනවා ඉන්දියාවේ මේ නයිට්‍රජන් පොහොර නැනෝ තාක්ෂණයෙන් හදපු නයිට්‍රජන් පොහොර. කෙසේ වුණත් අපි දකින විදිහට මේකත් රසායනික පොහොර ආණ්ඩුව දැන් මොකක් ද මේ අනුගමනය කරමින් ඉන්නේ? එක පැත්තකින් ගොවීන්ට පොහොර නැහැ. අනෙක් පැත්තෙන් ආණ්ඩුව ප්‍රතිපත්තිය ක්‍රියාත්මක වෙලත් නැහැ. මේ තත්ත්වය තුළ මෙවර ජනතාවට මහ කන්නයේදී මොන වගේ ගැටලුවකට මුහුණ දෙන්න වෙයි ද?

ඩලස් අලහප්පෙරුම: මේ ආණ්ඩුව කිසි ම ප්‍රශ්නයකදී දැඩි මුරණ්ඩු ප්‍රතිපත්තියක, ආණ්ඩුව හිතන දේ ම අනිවාර්යයෙන් කරන්න ඕන කියන දැඩි මුරණ්ඩුකාරී ප්‍රතිපත්තියක නැහැ. මේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය නරක ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් නෙවෙයි නේ. කාබනික පොහොර පිළිබඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය කිසිම කෙනෙකුට කියන්න බැහැ. මේක වැරැදි චේතනාවකින් ගෙනාපූ නරක ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් කියලා කාටවත් කියන්න බැහැ. මේක ලෝකේ පුරා ම සම්භාවනයට පාත්‍ර වෙච්ච යහපත් ප්‍රතිපත්තියක්. අපේ ඉතිහාසය පවා පිරිලා තියෙන්නේ. කාබනික පොහොරත් එක්ක තමා අපේ කෘෂිකර්මාන්තය ඉහළ තැනකට ගියේ. අපි විදේශ රාජ්‍යයන්ට පවා ඉතිහාසයේ සහල් අපනයනය කරපු ජාතීන්, රසායනික පෙහොර භාවිතාවෙන් නෙවෙයි. ඒක හොඳ ප්‍රතිපත්තියක් නමුත් මේ සංවාදය තියෙන්නේ මේකේ කාලවකවානු පිළිබඳව. යම් ගැටලුවක් මතු වෙච්ච හැම තැනකදී ම. දැන් මල් වගාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ඊයේ කැබිනට් මණ්ඩලයේදී සාකච්ඡා වුණා. මල්වල වර්ණ ගැන්වීමට පවා වෙන ම වූ රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍ය සහිත පොහොරවල් තියෙනවා කියන එක. උදාහරණයක් විදිහට කාබනික පලිබෝධ නාශක පිළිබඳ යම් හිඟයන් තියෙන බව වාර්තා වෙනවා. ද්‍රව නයිට්‍රජන් පිළිබඳවත් එවැනි ම ආකාරයක් තමා තිබුණේ. ඒ නිසා අනම්‍ය දැඩි මුරණ්ඩු ප්‍රතිපත්තියක ඉඳගෙන නෑ උඹලා කැමති උණත් නැති උණත් මේක කරන්න ඕන. එහෙ ම නෙවෙයි. 

අපි අර ඉලක්කයට යෑම සඳහා යම් කාලයක් ගත වෙයි. ඒ ගත වන කාලසීමාව තුළදී ගොවියාගේ පැත්තෙන් ප්‍රශ්න දිහා බලලා, අස්වැන්න පැත්තෙන් ප්‍රශ්න දිහා බලලා, ඔවුන්ගේ ආර්ථීක පැත්තෙන් ප්‍රශ්න දිහා බලලා අවශ්‍ය තැන් වලදී පියවරක් පසුපසට ගැනීම වැරැද්දක් නෙවෙයි. එය එසේ විය යුතුයි. මේකේ අවසාන වශයෙන් බලන්න ඕන අපේ රටේ අස්වැන්නත් අහිංසක ගොවීන්ගේ ආර්ථිකය දිහාත් බලලා. අපි ආණ්ඩුවක් විදිහට පැහැදිලිව ම එවැනි අර්බුදකාරී තැනකදී අවසාන විග්‍රහය විදිහට ගොවීන්ගේ පැත්තෙන් මේ විග්‍රහය ගන්න පැකිලෙන්නේ නැහැ. ඒක වැරැද්දක් නෙවෙයි. ඒක පසු බැසීමක් නෙවෙයි.

 අම්රා ලියාකත්

උපුටාගැණීම අදදෙරණ

වගාවන් සඳහා අවශ්‍ය අනුමත කෘමිනාශක සහ වල්නාශක මෙරටට ගෙන්වීමට අදාළ සමාගම්වලට අවසර දුන් බව කෘෂිකර්ම අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් මහාචාර්ය උදිත් ජයසිංහ මහතා පවසයි.

අද දෙරණ “BIG FOCUS” වැඩසටහනට එක්වෙමින් වැඩිදුරටත් අදහස් දක්වමින් ඒ මහතා පවසා සිටියේ, “අද පොහොර එනවා. මොකද්ද එන්නේ නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන්, නයිට්‍රජන් පෝෂකය තමයි අද ඉඳන් අපේ ලංකාවට ලැබෙන්නේ.” යනුවෙනි.

ප්‍රශ්නය –  ඔය නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් කියන්නේ 100%ක් කාබනික වගාවට යොදා ගන්න පුළුවන් පොහොරක් ද?

“දැන් මේ පොහොර කියන්නේ රසායනික සංඝටක එකතු කරලා, සාදන සංයෝගයක්. එතකොට මේ අද එන නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් ප්‍රඩක්ට් එකක් විදියට කාටහරි කියන්න පුළුවන් රසායනික ද්‍රව්‍යයක් කියලා. මේකේ ජීවි ද්‍රව්‍ය නැති නිසා මේක අකාබනිකයි කියලා කියන්නත් පුළුවන්. එහෙම නෙමෙයි මේක විශේෂිත පොහොරක්. යූරියා කිලෝ ග්‍රෑම් 50ක කොට්ටයක් වෙනුවට තුන්වෙනි පරම්පරාවේ නැනෝ නයිට්‍රජන් එකකින් ගහන්න ඕනේ 500ml බෝතලයක් පමණයි. හෙක්ටයාරයකට මේකෙන් අවශ්‍ය වෙන්නේ 2.5lයි. එක වතුර ලීටරයකට දිය කරන්නේ 4ml.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – දැන් ඔබතුමන්ලා කිව්වා හෙක්ටයාරයකට කිලෝග්‍රෑම් 500ක් විතර දාන්න වෙයි කියලා කොම්පෝස්ට්. කොම්පෝස්ට් දාන්න ඕනේ ද?

“කොම්පෝස්ට් දාන්නේ පසේ වයනය කියන සාරවත්භාවය ඇති කරගන්න.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – මේක ගැහුවහම වල් උඩට එනවානේ ඔක්කෝම එක්ක ?

“ඒ නිසා තමයි පියවර ගත්තේ, අනුමත වල්නාශකවලින් අපේ සමාගම් හරහා මේ අවශ්‍ය ගානට ගේන්න දෙන්න. හැබැයි වල්නාශක ගහනවා කියලා අර නිකන් ඉබාගාතේ ගහන්නේ නැතුව, යම්කිසි වැඩපිළිවෙලක් අනුව අක්කර ගාන අනුව දීලා කරන වැඩපිළිවෙලක්.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – කෘමි සතුන්ගෙන් සිදුවන හානි විශාල ප්‍රමාණයෙන් ගොවි මහත්වරුන්ට වෙනවා. ඔවුන් ඒක අත්විඳිනවා. ඒකට මොකද කරන්නේ ?

“ඒවට පළිබෝධනාශක, වල්නාශක අවශ්‍ය ප්‍රමාණයෙන් ගොවි ජනතාවට ගෙනත් දෙන්න මේ අවස්ථාවේ කටයුතු කරලා ඉවරයි.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – ඔය කියන දියර පොහොර තේ වගාවටත් යොදන්න පුළුවන් ද?

“තේ වගාවටත් මේ දියර පොහොර යොදන්න පුළුවන්. හැබැයි අපේ තේ වගාව අපනයනය මත පදනම් වූ වගාවක් නිසා අපි එකවරම ඒ කටයුත්තට යන්නේ නෑ. ඒ නිසා තේ වගාවට අවශ්‍ය කරන මෙතෙක් කල් භාවිත කරපු පොහොර වර්ග නියමිත ප්‍රමිතියෙන් ගෙන්නු පොහොර වර්ග අපි ලබාදෙනවා.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – දැන් මේක සුදුසු නෑ කියලා හරවලා යවපු නැව දැන් ආය එනවා. ආය එන්නේ මොකට ද?

“දෙයියනේ, මුහුදේ නැව් යන එක නවත්වන්න නෙමෙයි නේ මම ලේකම් විදියට ඉන්නේ.”

ප්‍රශ්නය – දැන් වචනයක් කියන්න. ‍ඔබතුමන්ලා ගේන්න දෙන්නේ නැද්ද ?

“ගේන්න පුළුවන් බාන්න බෑ. බෑවත් රට ඇතුළට ගන්න බෑ. අපි ඒකට අවසර දෙන්නේ නෑ.”

Courtesy Adaderana

Courtesy Adaderana

The Cabinet of Ministers has given the nod to amend existing laws and regulations applicable to ban cattle slaughter in Sri Lanka and to table them in the Parliament, says the Government Information Department.

Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted on September 28, 2020, to prohibit cattle slaughter in order to increase local agriculture and local milk production and to amend the laws and regulations applicable to it.

Further, it gave the green light to amend by-laws passed by local government institutions in relation to cattle slaughter.

Accordingly, the legal draftsman has drafted bills to amend the following acts/ordinances:
• Authority 272 of the Cattle Slaughter Ordinance No. 09 of 1893
• Animal Act. No. 29 of 1958
• Authority 252 of Municipal Councils Ordinance
• Authority 255 of Urban Councils Ordinance
• Pradeshiya Sabha Ordinance No. 15 of 1987

The Attorney General has certified that the said bills are not clashing with the provisions of the Constitution. Accordingly, the Cabinet o Ministers granted the approval to the consolidated resolution tabled by the Prime Minister – in his capacity as the Minister of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government – and Minister of Agriculture to publish these bills in the government gazette as notifications and thereby table in the Parliament.

Courtesy Adaderana

The total number of people, who died of COVID-19 infection in Sri Lanka, moved up as 18 more fatalities were confirmed by the Director-General of Health Services on Monday (October 18).

The new development has pushed the official death toll from the virus outbreak in the country to 13,525.

The latest victims include 09 males and 09 females, the Department of Government Information said.

According to official data, 11 deaths were reported among elderly people aged above 60 years. In addition, 06 people aged between 30-59 years and one female below the age of 30 have also succumbed to the virus infection.

Courtesy Adaderana

The daily count of COVID-positive cases confirmed in Sri Lanka moved to 548 today (October 19), says the Epidemiology Unit.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of coronavirus reported in the country to 532,766.

As many as 493,314 recoveries and 13,525 deaths have been confirmed in Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic.

More than 25,900 active cases in total are currently under medical care, official figures showed.

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Mr. Basil Rajapksha, the Minister of Finance, stated that his intention is to eliminate the budget gap or deficit in Sri Lanka. It is a good fiscal motivation, and the task is difficult to achieve and it may be an art of discourse because the budget deficit of Sri Lanka cannot be quickly eliminated from the current environment. As people knows the budget deficit is a concept that has a considerable history. When talks budget policies during wartime, A.C.Pigu advised that the cutting wages would be increased the wage fund and unemployment could reduce giving jobs spending saved money, despite the classical views, Keynes stated the deficit budget would support to increase spending and effective demand and create more employment opportunities. The covering budget gap or deficit would be crated inflation and how to control the inflation has not been advised by Keynsian supporters, but later Milton Friedman advised introducing an inflation tax. The view of Keynes has been implemented in many countries and economists found that the idea of Keynes would be suitable for when an economy has an excess capacity, but many countries opted for continuously deficit budgets and it has been a serious economic problem in the 1980s and the World Bank advised managing balance budget or excess budgets and many Western countries have been converted the fiscal system to balance the budget using the collected funds from privatised public enterprises.

Mr.Basil Rajapaksa, as the Minister of Finance has an excellent idea, how to eliminate the deficit budget is a gigantic task because the budget policy of Sri Lanka has not been targeted to balance revenue and expenditure. It has been a structural problem in Sri Lanka’s economy since the Korean war and the budget policies of the country did not explain to people in simple language why Sri Lanka needs eliminating the budget deficit. In addition, the corrupt practices of politicians and bureaucracy also contributed to increase the budget deficit in negative format.

Why doesn’t Mr.Basil Rajapaksa begin a campaign to educate people about outcomes of a balance budget. A balance budget would reduce the debt of the country and eliminate many economic problems. The major problem is how to eliminate the negative deficit. One option is to increase taxes in various sectors, the others are reducing spending (especially expenditures for parliament and its members), increase job opportunities for poor people reducing their subsidies, stopping free health and education for people who are in a reasonably higher level income bracket.

The best option to eliminate budget deficit is reduction of expenditure and increase revenue. In the 1980s, many western countries either reduced or eliminated budget deficit by selling public enterprises and using the pays off debts and budget gap.  

Mr.Basil Rajapaksa needs promoting these ideas among people and explaining possible positive impact on the elimination of the budget deficit. If it happens, the value of Sri Lanka rupee will be higher and the foreign reserves in increase US $20 billion.  

By Garvin Karunaratne, former G.A. Matara 

An extract from an unfinished novel- a piece of fiction, but  truly portraying Dr Wicks and Aadusena at work. Dr Wicks is no longer with us and Aadusena was murdered during the second JVP insurrection days by an unknown assassin. However they stood for the people, worked with them. That was how most Members of Parliament and their Assistants worked.

                It did not take long for Vasanta to find the office of the Member of Parliament.

It was a small office  next to the  Cooperative s Union. The door was open and he entered with great trepidation, not knowing what would happen. The manner he was treated like a criminal at the AGA’s office  bore forebodings of defeat and disaster. If not for the timely intervention by the disapathy who happened to be there, he may have been arrested by the Police..

          The door was open and he knocked. He heard the words, Do come in” and he took a few steps forward. He could actually feel his heart beat fast and a sheer uneasiness crept into his entire being. He was shivering.  What was his next experience going to be, he wondered.  Whatever it was,  he had to endure it. He stepped forward and saw a stocky well built man in his forties. Vasanta was greeted:

          Ayubovan, Do come in and sit with me” 

          It was a calm and composed voice, flowing with kindness. Ayubovan was the Sinhala word for may you live long and Vasanta was certain that the person he was meeting would be kind. The office of the Member of Parliament was a political office and Dr Wickrema belonged to the Communist Party. All that Vasanta had learned from the text books he pored over at Peradeniya was that members of political parties only supported their members, and he was not a member of any political party.  At the AGA’s office  anyone should be welcome but here there was no such rule.

          Son, what brought you here?”

          The very tone of the voice built up a chord of communication and he was certain that he would not be thrown out. He was taken aback at the kindness that flowed in the few words that were spoken. He looked at the person, a stocky, well built, with a rough face and lengthy locks of unkempt hair that looked more like the mane of a lion. He could not for a moment believe his eyes, as to how a person looking so rough could speak so kindly. His voice crept into his entire being into his blood, sinews and gave him courage.

          I like to meet the Member of Parliament”

          Son, you cannot meet him today because he is not here. But if you come on any Saturday you can be certain of meeting him.”

          What  time must I come?”

          Come in anytime. He will be here like a prayer at eight in the morning and he will not leave this place till he has met everyone.”

          I will come on Saturday”.

          I too will be here. I am Adusena.”

          Thank you sir.”

          You do not have to sir me. We are here to serve you. I am the Chairman of the Akuressa Council and also work as the Assistant to Dr Wicks, the Member of Parliament. Can I know from where you come. How is it that I have never met you earlier?”

            I live on the Hulandawa Estate.”

            How come, I never met you there.  We go that way very often to speak to the workers..”

          I was a scholarship student at Rahula, Matara and have been spending the last four years studying at Peradeniya.”

          Vasanta did not want to speak any more.  He bowed down to leave.

          Ayubowan. Please come on Saturday. I will wait for you, young lad. ” said Adusena.  Vasanta reciprocated in turn,

          Ayubowan”.

__________________________________________________________________-

_________________________________________________________________________-

          Vasanta got up early on Saturday and went to meet the Member of Parliament. By the time he reached Aadusena’s office there were around twenty five people and more were flocking in every minute. They were of all ages, young, elderly and the old. Some were supporting themselves on sticks, hardly able to walk. Some wore clean clothes, but others were in rags. It was a medly of life, a real cross section of people in want, struggling to live, a scene that he had never before imagined or seen in his life. He had studied politics as a subject for the degree, but never imagined the real face of day to day politics.

          The office of the Member of Parliament was bustling with activity. He saw a whole hoard of people surrounding  Aadusena, who could not be seen, but whose voice was clearly heard.  Vasanta felt that he should  somehow creep through and mark his presence. That proved a difficult task because people were huddled everywhere. like matchsticks in a box. He waited not knowing what to do. All of a sudden he heard Aadusena’s voice very clearly,

          Ayubovan, our lad from the Hulandawa Estate. Son, do take a seat.  The Member of  Parliament will come in any  time now.”

          Aadusena’s welcome words kept reverberating in his ears for quite a time. It was so different from how he was treated at the office of the AGA the other day. The people on hearing Adusena’s words looked hard at him and heaved  to the sides making room for him to get to Adusena.  He walked towards Adusena who held his shoulder with a firm grip, a grip that conveyed a sense of welcome that he had never sensed earlier. It was a firm bond that held them  bound.

          Thank you sir,”

          I have once told you not to sir me. Let me not have to tell you again. I belong to the Communist Party, the party of the people at large. We are all comrades, all equal. Do take a seat and wait. The Member of Parliament will be here soon, but you will have to wait a while. There are very old and disabled people and he will meet them first.”

          I can wait.”

          It was very interesting to see Adusena at work. He moved with the people greeting everyone with a kind smile on his face, bowing to them. May you live long was on his lips again and again. To the young men he would grab their shoulders and move them forcefully towards his chest. To girls and women he would greet them with clasped hands, uttering sister, mother as appropriate. Some were addressed  as brother, father.

It was all a scene from real life, a scene which touched him to the extreme, a scene which he had never expected to see, a scene that was really close to his heart.

          To add to the medley, a monk walked in . Adusena rushed to his table and brought out a white cloth which he draped on a chair and greeted the monk prostrating at his feet.

          What has brought you to us. You should have sent me a message and we would come to the temple to see you.”

           I know you are busy and I want to see the Member of Parliament”.

           He should be here any minute.”

           These are two lads who have just graduated from the University and I want to get them into jobs. Their parents are my dayakayas- benefactors and I can vouch for their character. They are well brought up children and can be trusted..”

Vasanta thought all was lost. He had no connections to the Member of Parliament other than Aadusena.

          All of a sudden a car screeched to a halt. There was a split second silence and everyone  stood up. It looked as if  the world of human life, with all its misery had got off to a sudden start. Aadusena rushed out and greeted an old gentleman, who walked with measured steps.  He greeted the monk, bending down on all fours. The monk spoke.

          I have brought you two graduates of our Univcrsity at Ruhuna. They passed out this year and they come from very good families, who are my dayaka- benefactors.”

          My Government is approving the Divisional Development Councils Programme these days and we will be recruiting graduates soon..”

Then addressing Aadusena he said:

          Make a note of their names and addresses and when applications are called get them application forms to fill.”

          Thank You” said the monk. I will tell the lads to be in touch with Adusena.”

          I will look after that task.”said Aadusena.

          The monk stood up and Dr Wickrema bowed down and worshipped him.. Aadusena called for the driver of the car of the Member of Parliament and asked him to drop the monk at his temple.

          Vasanta stood aside. He thought the Member of Parliament would perhaps be  giving him that same answer. For a moment he wondered. That monk personally knew the Member of Parliament. However in the manner that Aadusena spoke he seemed to have  a better chord of oneness though he had actually met him only once earlier. He stood aside and strained his ears to see people speaking to Dr Wickrema and getting replies. Dr Wickrema greeted all of them, made them sit and listened to them carefully, allowing them to pour out their hearts content. Then he would call Adusena and ask him to contact someone and take necessary action. At times he telephoned an officer and sorted the problem out. Some of the old people had no one to support them and the Dr Wickrema arranged for them to get admission to an Old Folks Home run by the State. Adusena was ready with a pad of paper to write out letters which were immediately signed by Dr Wickrema.  Some even cried that they had no money for sustenance. Out came a letter by Aadusena recommending them for a Public Assistance grant, Once in a way, to a very few that had a touching story, Dr Wickrema would put his hand into his pocket and find a five rupee note and hand it over.

          Take this any buy yourself some milk today” he would say and see them off.

          Vasanta could not imagine the human suffering that was unfolding before his eyes. To Aadusena and Dr Wickrema it was something they were very familiar, but to Vasanta it was like- the life to which he belonged. If his mother did not slave day in and day out tapping rubber trees the three of them would be destitute. 

.

          It was late in the evening when Vasanta was introduced to Dr Wickrema by Aadusena. All the people had left and it was a talk between him, Aadusena and Dr Wickrema. Dr Wickrema had  not taken any lunch. He had been drinking tea. Vasanta had not had  anything but he was used to it because generally there was no food at home. Aadusena poured some tea into three cups and Dr Wickrema offered him the cup with both hands. Vasanta felt honoured.

          This is a lad from the Hulandawa Estate, a Rahula scholar who has just returned from Peradeniya. He came and met me last Tuesday and wants to find a job”

          Be in touch with the GA’s office and be certain to give him an application for the post of Development Assistant.”

          Yes. I have made a note of it.”

           Then Dr Wickrema addressed Vasanta.

           I come often to Hulandawa. I know the entire staff there and none of them have any children at any university. The Superintendent has no children.  How have I missed you all these years?”

           Sir,”

           Stop calling me sir, We are together all equal as comrades” quipped Dr Wickrema very sharply.

           Vasanta was stunned.

          I am sorry sir.”

          Go ahead and tell me. Who is your father and what is he doing on the Hulandawa Estate?”

            My father died long ago and my mother is Menike and she is a rubber tapper and we live in Cooly Line No 61. That is where I was born.” Tears poured down his eyes.

            Do not cry lad, That is enough. I can figure out that you are telling the truth. I am due to meet the disapathy soon when I will ask him to select you as the Development Assistant for my area. You can take it from me. I will get that done.”

           Dr Wickrema stood up to leave and both Aadusena and Vasanta got up. As Aadusena got hold of Dr Wickrema’s bag, Dr Wickrema took two steps towards Vasanta, gripped his shoulders and hugged him. That conveyed to Vasanta the very fact that Dr Wickrema would support him. He felt something coming out of Dr Wickrema to him, pervading his entire body. He had never felt that way earlier. Communication links were not reduced to words and written on paper. A kind glance, a grab on a shoulder, a shaking up and all looked  well.

          Dr Wickrema left.

          I’ll see you soon. We will soon work together.” Dr Wickrema told Vasanta as he left.”

විශේසඥ වෛද්‍ය ආර්.එන්.ජී රාජපක්‍ෂ

වෛද්‍ය විද්‍යාවේ විවිධ ක්ෂේත්‍ර ගැන පලපුරුද්ද ,හැකියාව සහ අත්දැකීම් ඇති වෛද්‍යවරුන් අදදින සොයාගැනීම විරලය. මන්ද මූලික උපාධිය ලැබූ විගස නගරය ආශ්‍රිතව රැඳී සිටිමින්, යම් විශේෂ ක්ෂේත්‍රයකට සීමාවී එතැන් පටන් විශේෂඥ දැනුම ලබා ගෙන ඉක්මණින්ම වෘත්තිය තත්වයකට එළඹීමට බොහෝ වෛද්‍යවරුන් උත්සාහ කිරීම නිසාය.

වෛද්‍ය රුවන් ජයතුංග ගැන මා තුල ඇති ආකල්පය ඊට වෙනස්ය. මූලික උපාධියෙන් පසුව දුර බැහැර රෝහල්වල රැඳී සිටිමින්, විවිධ ක්ෂෙත්‍ර වල අත්දැකීම් ලබමින්, ඒවායේ හදවතින්ම සේවය ලබාදෙමින් ඔහු අත්දැකීම් සම්භාරයක් ලබාගත් බව මම නිසැකවම දනිමි.

ප්‍රසව හා නාරිවේද විශේෂඥ වරයෙකු ලෙස 1999 -2002 වසරවල මා සමග හලාවත මහ රෝහලේ සේවය කිරීමේදී ඔහු මාගේ සැත්කම් වලට නිර්වින්දන වෛද්‍ය වරයෙකු ලෙස සේවය ලබා දුන් කාලයේ මම එය හොඳින් අවබෝධ කර ගතිමි. තම සේවය උපරිම ලෙස ලබා දී රෝගියා ගැන මනා සැලකිල්ලකින් කටයුතු කිරීම මා දුටු ඔහුගේ විශේෂ ගුණාංගයකි.

සිය ගණනක් වෛද්‍යවරුන් මා අතින් පුහුණුව ලැබීය. වෛද්‍ය රුවන් මාගේ ක්ෂේත්‍රය තුල නොසිටියත් ඔහු කවදා හෝ රෝගීන්ට අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය ,දීප්තිමත් වෛද්‍ය වරයෙකු වන බව මම එදා ඔහුට අනාවැකියක් පැවසුවෙමි. අද එය ඉටුවී ඇති බව දැකීම සතුටකි.

අද මනෝවෛද්‍ය ක්ෂේත්‍රය තුල විවිධාකාරව සේවය ලබා දුන්නත් විවිධාකාර අත්දැකීම් සම්භාරයක් ලබා එම ක්ෂේත්‍රයේ පොත් රාශියක් ලියා ,තම අත්දැකීම් ගැන මෙවැනි පොතක්ද ලියූ ඔහු ගැන හැඳින්වීමක් ලිවීමට මා හටද අවස්ථාවක් ලැබීම සතුටකි.

වෛද්‍ය ආර්.එන්.ජී රාජපක්ෂ.

ප්‍රසව හා නාරිවේද විශේෂඥ.

රාගම