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Chairman of the United National Party (UNP) Wajira Abeywardena has said that Sri Lanka’s conviction rate remains as low as two percent, as reported in the media. While Sri Lanka records only a two-percent conviction rate, Japan’s stands as high as 98 percent, according to him.

This stark contrast exposes a troubling reality. Most individuals arrested in Sri Lanka are eventually acquitted of the charges brought against them. After prolonged detention—often raising serious human-rights concerns—they ultimately walk free without a conviction.

In our country, investigative officers simply implement laws that were formulated elsewhere. Parliament is the law making body. Law makers make laws. After World War II, new international institutions were created, but we must now ask whether these institutions remain appropriate in today’s context. Human rights conditions differ according to the economic strength of each country. It is a sad reality. These institutions should take such disparities into account, he said as reported in our online edition.

He added: “Our Constitution specifies that it is permissible to keep a person under arrest or detained until investigations are completed. If someone is held for periods ranging from three months to 25 years before the judiciary delivers a final ruling, it is still not considered a rights violation in that sense. It is time to address this. I hope every institution concerned will pay due attention.”

Even before the UNP Chairman highlighted the issue at an event to mark International Human Rights Day, the alarmingly low conviction rate had sparked sporadic debate in political circles. Creating a safe and orderly society requires the elimination of crime, the upholding of the rule of law, and the effective enforcement of legislation. While Sri Lanka has the necessary laws, enforcement remains the greater challenge in certain instances. Procedural delays, weak evidence, and victim withdrawal are widely recognised as major contributors to the poor conviction record.

An acquittal does not necessarily mean the accused is innocent. In many instances, charges cannot be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In other cases, prolonged or flawed investigations undermine the prosecution. Investigative lapses—sometimes stretching over years—have become a systemic problem.

For any society to move forward, justice must be accessible, efficient, and fair. The maxim “justice delayed is justice denied,” popularised by William Ewart Gladstone in 1868 remains relevant today. Beyond improving judicial infrastructure, the government must strengthen its investigative arms, particularly the police, to ensure that the law applies equally to all.

Most cases based on police investigations collapse in court due to weak evidence collection, procedural errors, and poor prosecution practices. Crime control and improving conviction rates are core responsibilities of the police. Enhancing officers’ investigative skills and mandating higher professional qualifications should therefore be priorities.

In today’s technology-driven world, scientific evidence is crucial for successful prosecutions. Forensic laboratories and other specialised units must be upgraded and adequately resourced. Medical experts, proper collection of physical evidence, and accurate analysis all play vital roles in securing convictions. Effective coordination among all these actors is equally important. Without it, insufficient evidence, incomplete documentation and flawed reporting become common reasons for cases to be dismissed and offenders to go unpunished.

 Sri Lanka’s criminal justice system must be strengthened by improving the processes involved in investigating, prosecuting, and trying offenders. Only then can public trust be restored, the rule of law upheld, and justice delivered without delay.

Strengthening the criminal justice system must also go hand in hand with broader institutional reforms. One of the main challenges is the severe backlog of cases that clogs the courts. Thousands of files remain pending for years, sometimes decades, resulting in witnesses forgetting crucial details, victims losing interest, and accused persons exploiting loopholes to evade accountability.  

Another important area is the independence and capacity of the Attorney General’s Department. Workload on prosecutors should be eased.

At the investigative level, strengthening internal oversight within the police is essential. Allegations of coerced confessions, custodial violence, political interference, and mishandled evidence   should not mar the reputation of the police.  

 Witness protection remains another critical weakness. Many cases collapse because victims and witnesses fear retaliation, particularly in cases involving powerful individuals, drug networks, or organised criminal groups. Sri Lanka does have a Witness Protection Authority, but its operations should be improved. A fully functional witness protection system—with relocation provisions, anonymity options, and psychological support—would encourage more individuals to testify without fear.

(Source - Dailymirror)

Sri Lanka’s fisheries harbour sector is increasingly being exposed as a case study in systemic governance failure, as repeated audits and investigations point to entrenched weaknesses in procurement, financial control and institutional accountability within the Ceylon Fishery Harbours Corporation (CFHC) and the Ministry of Fisheries.

For more than a decade, the Auditor General’s Department has consistently flagged serious violations of government procurement guidelines, ranging from consultancy appointments made without Treasury approval to equipment purchases carried out outside approved procedures. These are not isolated administrative lapses, but patterns that suggest an institutional culture tolerant of shortcuts, political pressure and opaque decision-making.

One of the most striking issues highlighted in audit findings is the manipulation of estimated project costs. In several harbour development projects, politically connected consultancy firms were found to have inflated cost estimates, enabling them to secure disproportionately high consultancy fees. In at least one major case, an official inquiry was forced to reduce payments by half, despite reports of intense lobbying and political intervention to maintain the original figures.

The leasing of fisheries harbour premises has also emerged as a major source of financial loss. The Modara Fishery Harbour lease, terminated due to accounting irregularities, reportedly caused a potential loss exceeding Rs. 470 million to the state after assets were undervalued and rental terms poorly structured. Such arrangements, auditors note, indicate weak internal oversight and a failure to safeguard public property.

Procurement irregularities extend beyond construction and leasing. Auditor General’s reports document instances where high-value equipment was purchased without proper approval, including a fish vacuum packaging machine that resulted in a loss of nearly Rs. 6 million. Consultancy payments for harbour projects were also made without mandatory clearance from the General Treasury, directly violating financial regulations.

Perhaps the most damaging example of flawed planning and oversight is the Oluvil Harbour project. Frequently cited as a “white elephant,” the project consumed billions of rupees without adequate feasibility studies or environmental assessments. Persistent operational problems and coastal erosion have rendered the harbour largely ineffective, reinforcing concerns that political considerations routinely overrode technical and economic realities.

These governance failures have increasingly drawn the attention of investigative bodies such as the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC). The arrest of a former CFHC Chairman in June 2025 over procurement violations related to an unsolicited proposal further underscored the depth of institutional vulnerability.

Analysts warn that without structural reform strengthening procurement transparency, enforcing audit recommendations, and insulating technical decisions from political interference the fisheries harbour sector will continue to bleed public funds. More critically, these failures undermine the livelihoods of fishing communities who rely on safe, functional harbours, turning vital national infrastructure into symbols of waste and mismanagement rather than engines of coastal development.

Former Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman Dammika Ranatunga has been arrested by the Bribery Commission over allegations of financial misconduct. He is accused of causing a loss of nearly Rs. 800 million to the state-owned oil company and is due to be produced before court today.

The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has arrested former Chairman of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Dammika Ranatunga, in connection with alleged financial irregularities during his tenure.According to investigators, Ranatunga is accused of cancelling three long-term fuel procurement tenders planned for the 2017–2018 period and instead approving spot purchases at significantly higher prices. Authorities allege that this decision resulted in a financial loss of approximately Rs. 800 million to the CPC.

He is expected to be presented before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court later today for further legal proceedings.

The cancellation of Global Leasing Limited’s lease for prime land on Perahera Mawatha has exposed broader uncertainties in Colombo’s urban development policies. The land, Assessment No. 135, was initially earmarked for a mixed-use project including residential, commercial, and hospitality components but was reclaimed after the investor reportedly failed to meet conditions set in the lease agreement.

Global Leasing Limited is no stranger to large-scale urban projects. The firm has previously executed residential towers, mixed-use complexes, and commercial developments under past administrations, often benefiting from long-term lease agreements and state support. However, despite its prior successes, the company could not progress the Kollupitiya project, leading to its lease being terminated by the Standing Negotiations Committee.

Officials have not publicly disclosed the precise reasons behind the lease cancellation, leaving industry observers to speculate whether delays in approvals, financing challenges, or strategic government changes contributed. The lack of clarity has prompted calls for improved transparency, especially in high-value land allocations.

In September 2025, the UDA Board authorised a new call for proposals, now supported by a cabinet-appointed committee. The revised tender prioritises hotel or commercial use, while allowing up to 50 percent of the land for residential development. The 99-year lease will follow the International Competitive Procurement process, based on the Government Chief Assessor’s valuation.

Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake emphasised that the re-tender aims to attract credible investors capable of executing a bankable project in one of Colombo’s most prime locations. Yet critics argue that repeated cancellations without clear explanation may discourage foreign and domestic investment.

As Colombo competes for high-value development, the handling of Assessment No. 135 may serve as a test of the government’s ability to combine contractual enforcement with investor confidence and urban planning priorities.

The Nawalapitiya-Kandy main road has reopened to traffic today after an 18-day closure due to damage from Cyclone Ditwah. Authorities warn motorists to drive carefully as some construction work continues and heavy vehicle restrictions remain in place.

The Nawalapitiya-Kandy main road, which was disrupted by landslides during Cyclone Ditwah, has resumed vehicular traffic today (15) after being closed for 18 days. Emergency repairs involved clearing displaced earth and reconstructing sections of the road to ensure safe travel, though the risk of further landslides above the roadway persists.

The Road Development Authority (RDA) has advised drivers to exercise caution while traveling on the route until all restoration work is fully completed. Restrictions on heavy vehicles remain in effect.

The repair project was executed with collaboration from the RDA, the 6th Corps of Engineers Regiment, Nawalapitiya and Ethgala Police Stations, the Pasbage Korale Pradeshiya Sabha, and other local authorities.

Following the reopening, MP Thushari Jayasinghe stated that most roads in the Pasbage Korale area have now been restored. She also mentioned that the Ulapane-Kandy road, still under repair, is expected to reopen within approximately one week.

Schoolchildren are allowed to continue using their November SLTB season tickets throughout December to ease travel disruptions caused by recent disasters. Meanwhile, teachers have agreed to contribute a day’s salary to support the recovery of affected educational activities.

School students will be able to travel on Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) buses during December by presenting their valid season tickets issued for November, authorities have announced.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena said the temporary concession has been introduced to support students facing transport difficulties, noting that the facility will be granted upon showing last month’s season ticket.

In a related development, Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe said teachers have collectively agreed to donate one day’s salary in January. The funds raised through this initiative will be directed toward restoring and supporting academic activities disrupted by the recent disaster situation.

Cyclone Ditwah effectively tested Sri Lanka’s governing capacity in an age of climate risk – a test the State appears to have miserably failed. What unfolded in late November was not simply the fury of nature overwhelming human systems, but also the exposure of institutional paralysis, delayed decision-making, and a troubling attempt to displace responsibility after the fact.

In the days following the disaster, the Government found itself facing mounting criticism. The initial reflex was predictable: deflect blame. Attention was directed at the Department of Meteorology, which was accused of failing to issue timely warnings. Yet this narrative has now been decisively undermined.

The Sri Lanka Association of Meteorologists went on record last week stating that from 23 November onwards, warnings relating to Cyclone Ditwah had been issued no fewer than 25 times to ‘authorised institutions.’ These warnings were not vague advisories; they were structured alerts based on evolving data. The problem, as the association made clear, was not the absence of information but the absence of action. That distinction matters, because when warnings exist and remain unheeded, what follows is no longer an ‘act of God’ but a failure of governance.

Nowhere was this failure more evident than in the functioning  – or dysfunction – of the Disaster Management Centre (DMC). At the time the cyclone reached its most destructive intensity on 27 and 28 November, the institution tasked with coordinating national disaster response was effectively dormant and leaderless. A director general was appointed only on 29 November, after the damage had largely been done.

The DMC operates directly under the Executive authority of the President. In that context, attempts to shift culpability onto technical agencies such as the Meteorology Department appear less like genuine accountability and more like political damage control. When early warnings are issued, the chain of responsibility does not end at forecasting; it begins there.

Disaster management is not about predicting rain, it is about translating information into evacuations, reservoir management, land-use restrictions, emergency mobilisations, and timely communication with local authorities. On each of these counts, the State faltered. It is becoming clear that the consequences of this failure extend far beyond the immediate human suffering and strike at the heart of Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery.

Just last week, Moody’s issued a stark warning that Cyclone Ditwah could stall Sri Lanka’s post-default fiscal recovery. The rating agency cited extensive infrastructure damage and, crucially, the country’s weak capacity to manage climate-related risks. For a country still navigating the long shadow of sovereign default, perceptions of institutional resilience matter almost as much as macroeconomic numbers. 

Sri Lanka entered the final quarter of this year with ambitious but necessary targets. Foreign reserves were expected to reach $ 7.2 billion by year-end and economic growth needed to approach 6% to maintain momentum under the IMF-supported stabilisation programme. Even before the disaster, these targets were proving difficult. After Ditwah, they appear increasingly unrealistic.

By the end of November, gross official foreign reserves had fallen to $ 6.03 billion, declining by $ 183 million in a single month. The current account, which had remained in surplus for much of the year, has now slipped into deficit territory. Tourist arrivals continued to grow in November, suggesting that the reserve decline cannot be explained away by the cyclone alone. The deeper issue is structural fragility.

Yet, beyond balance sheets and credit assessments lies the human reality of Ditwah – one that resists abstraction. “The plantations are unsafe. There will not be any work for several months. We will have to snap out of plantation lives and work somewhere else,” a tea plucker told a reporter of a foreign news agency, from a Government shelter. He had fled with his wife, also a tea plucker, and their two children after landslides made their estate uninhabitable. The fate of this family can no longer be considered an isolated story; it is a window into a broader economic shock that official statements have yet to fully acknowledge.

Tea is not merely a symbol of Sri Lanka’s colonial past or a feature of its brand identity, it is one of the country’s biggest sources of export revenue. When plantations are rendered unsafe and labour displaced for months, the impact is not confined to estate communities. It ripples through export earnings, rural consumption, employment, and foreign exchange inflows. Recovery in this sector cannot be improvised for it requires coordinated rehabilitation, slope stabilisation, infrastructure repair, and social protection for displaced workers.

The same applies to another quietly critical sector now reeling from the floods: export-oriented shrimp and prawn farming. Almost all such farms have reportedly been severely affected, raising further concerns about export revenue losses. In an economy where every dollar matters, these shocks accumulate dangerously fast.

Faced with devastation, the Government has announced relief packages and compensation promises running into billions of rupees. Compassion is necessary, but compassion without method can be fiscally reckless. Disturbingly, many of these commitments have been made in the absence of verified damage assessments. The responsible approach would have been to provide immediate emergency assistance, conduct systematic data collection, calculate costs transparently, and seek parliamentary approval based on clearly articulated criteria. Instead, the country risks substituting urgency with improvisation.

This matters because relief spending does not occur in a vacuum. Increased transfers raise demand without increasing supply, fuelling inflation or import growth or both. In Sri Lanka’s case, where reconstruction materials have few domestic substitutes, the pressure will fall disproportionately on the external sector, further straining foreign reserves.

The Government has already introduced two supplementary budgets, significantly increasing expenditure this year and next. While politically understandable, these decisions will complicate relations with the IMF, potentially forcing a reopening of completed reviews and delaying the next tranche. The Central Bank Governor’s earlier confidence that Sri Lanka would end the year with record post-crisis reserves now looks misplaced.

The governance failures surrounding Ditwah are also moving towards a legal reckoning. Several Opposition parties are reportedly preparing to file Fundamental Rights petitions in the Supreme Court, alleging criminal negligence in the failure to mitigate disaster impacts that claimed hundreds of lives. What is notable is not only the scale of the legal mobilisation, with around 1,500 lawyers across the nine provinces reportedly having volunteered, but the framing of the case: whether the State violated its duty of care to citizens in the face of known risks.

To its credit, the Opposition has, so far, chosen restraint over opportunism, calling for unity and relief rather than immediate political attack. But unity in crisis must not mutate into immunity from accountability. A democracy that cannot ask hard questions after tragedy will repeat its mistakes.

Even so, Cyclone Ditwah confronts Sri Lanka with the uncomfortable truth that climate disasters will not be episodic anomalies. They will be recurring stress tests. Each one will interrogate the same questions: early warning systems, institutional readiness, land-use planning, reservoir management, fiscal buffers, and social protection.

What failed in November was not technology but governance. Warnings existed. Risks were known. Institutions were in place – on paper. What was missing was timely leadership, coordinated action, and the humility to accept responsibility rather than redirect blame. As Moody’s warning underscores, international markets are watching. But more importantly, so are citizens whose lives, livelihoods, and futures depend on whether lessons have been learnt.

Cyclone Ditwah should mark a turning point – not in speeches, but in systems. Not in slogans, but in structures. Early warnings must trigger automatic, empowered responses. Disaster management must be professionalised, insulated from politics, and led by those with authority and expertise. Climate risk cannot be treated as an occasional emergency; it is now a permanent condition of governance.

 

Sri Lanka stands at a dangerous crossroads. It is trying to rebuild an economy shattered by default while facing a future of more frequent and intense climate shocks. The kicker: the margin for error has vanished.

(Source - themorning.lk)

Weather conditions across the island are forecast to become more unsettled from tomorrow due to the influence of an easterly wave. The Meteorology Department warns of increased showers, gusty winds, and possible lightning, urging the public to remain cautious.

Showery weather is expected to strengthen across Sri Lanka from tomorrow (16) as an easterly wave begins to influence atmospheric conditions, the Department of Meteorology reported.

Intermittent rainfall is forecast for the Northern, North-Central, Eastern, Uva and Central provinces, while afternoon or evening showers and thundershowers may develop in other parts of the country after 1.00 p.m.

The Met Department also cautioned that fairly strong winds, reaching speeds of 30 to 40 kmph, could occur at times over the eastern slopes of the central hills, as well as in the Northern, North-Central and North-Western provinces and the districts of Trincomalee, Hambantota and Monaragala.

In addition, misty conditions are likely during the early morning hours in parts of the Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces, along with the Galle and Matara districts.

Authorities have advised the public to take necessary safety measures to reduce the risk of damage from sudden strong winds and lightning associated with thundershowers.

Schools across Sri Lanka will resume classes tomorrow following closures caused by Cyclone Ditwah, the Education Ministry announced. However, 147 damaged schools will remain closed, while flexibility will be granted on school uniform requirements in affected areas.

Schools that were closed due to adverse weather conditions linked to Cyclone Ditwah are scheduled to reopen across the country tomorrow (16), according to the Ministry of Education.

Ahead of the reopening, school principals, teachers, and non-academic staff have been instructed to report to their respective institutions today (15) to carry out necessary preparations and ensure a safe return for students.

The Ministry noted that 147 schools that suffered damage or are still unsafe will not resume academic activities at this stage.

Considering the challenges faced by communities impacted by the disaster, the Ministry has also introduced a relaxed approach to school uniform regulations for students as well as academic and non-academic staff in affected areas.

As emergency relief winds down, the economic reckoning from the recent cyclone is only beginning. While floodwaters have receded, the financial burden left behind threatens to test Sri Lanka’s already strained public finances, exposing a widening gap between disaster damage and the state’s capacity to compensate victims.

Opposition estimates place the total economic loss at nearly USD 6 billion, encompassing destroyed infrastructure, lost livelihoods, agricultural devastation, and business disruptions. However, officials concede that while physical damage has been documented, the full social and economic cost remains unquantified.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, says that the Treasury has so far disbursed more than Rs. 13 billion to provide relief to the people affected by the disaster situation.

According to figures cited by a senior Treasury official, the compensation framework currently under discussion involves an extensive and costly breakdown. Immediate household relief alone carries a heavy price tag. Providing Rs. 25,000 to clean 67,505 damaged homes would cost nearly Rs. 1.8 billion, while a further Rs. 50,000 per household for essential kitchen items would require an additional Rs. 3.4 billion.

Temporary displacement support adds further pressure. Offering Rs. 25,000 per month for three months as rental assistance would require Rs. 312 million, assuming limited coverage. Any expansion of eligibility would significantly raise this figure.

The agricultural sector represents one of the largest financial exposures. With 510,000 hectares of cultivated land damaged, compensation payments would require approximately Rs. 7 billion. Losses in vegetable farming and livestock are estimated at Rs. 20 billion each, reflecting severe disruptions to rural incomes and national food supply chains.

Perhaps most alarming is the cost of restoring livelihoods. Treasury estimates indicate that compensating families who lost income with Rs. 50,000 each would demand Rs. 44 billion, dwarfing several other relief components combined. Meanwhile, Rs. 200 million is required to revive small and medium-sized enterprises, and Rs. 5 billion would be needed to compensate destroyed business premises.

Education-related recovery has also emerged as a priority, with Rs. 2.5 billion required to replace schoolbooks and learning materials lost in floods.

The total expenditure comes up to Rs 103 billion  Tto be spent to pay compensation for damages and lively hood support for cyclone and flood victims.

Against this backdrop, the government has allocated an additional Rs. 550 million for immediate disaster relief, drawn from a Rs. 30 billion disaster management allocation in the national budget. However, these funds cover only a fraction of estimated needs.

While insurance companies have been instructed to fast-track claims and international partners, including the United Nations, have stepped in, the cyclone has laid bare a hard truth: disaster recovery is now as much a fiscal challenge as a humanitarian one.

Sri Lanka’s energy procurement process has come under renewed scrutiny following state-owned Litro Gas Lanka’s decision to award its largest annual liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply contract to Switzerland-based Geo Gas Trading SA, sidelining long-standing supplier Oman Trading International.

The tender, which will cover the country’s entire domestic LPG requirement for 2026, has triggered controversy amid claims of abrupt contract termination, procedural rigidity and inadequate consideration of transitional requests.

The Cabinet of Ministers recently approved the award of a 12-month contract to Geo Gas Trading SA to supply 380,000 metric tonnes of LPG, with a permissible variation of plus or minus 20 percent, beginning January 2026. Litro officials have stated that the decision followed an international competitive bidding process and that the Swiss firm emerged as the lowest evaluated bidder after technical and commercial assessments.

However, the outcome has drawn sharp criticism from industry stakeholders, particularly Oman Trading, which has supplied LPG to Sri Lanka over several years.

The company has reportedly objected to the cancellation of its existing supply arrangement without accommodating a requested three-month extension, which it argues was necessary to ensure continuity and avoid supply disruptions during the transition period.

Oman Trading has claimed that its proposal met Litro’s updated tender specifications and that its long operational history with the state supplier was not adequately factored into the final decision.

Litro Chairman Channa Gunawardana has confirmed that Geo Gas Trading SA is a new supplier for Sri Lanka and that most of its LPG will be sourced from the United States, marking a departure from the Middle East-centric sourcing pattern used previously.

While Litro maintains that the Swiss trader fully complied with revised technical standards covering product purity, calorific value, cylinder compatibility, shipping safety and delivery timelines questions persist over the evaluation process that disqualified three out of five bidders at the technical stage.

Geo Gas Trading SA is headquartered in Switzerland, a hub for global commodity trading, yet it remains a relatively unfamiliar entity in Sri Lanka’s energy landscape.

Industry analysts note that publicly available information on the company’s track record in supplying large-scale LPG volumes to state utilities, particularly in South Asia, is limited.

This has intensified calls for greater transparency, given the critical nature of household LPG and its direct impact on cost of living and public safety.

Critics argue that while competitive pricing is essential amid Sri Lanka’s fragile economic recovery, procurement decisions involving essential commodities must also weigh supplier experience, continuity of supply and transition risks. The refusal to grant a short extension to an incumbent supplier, they say, warrants clearer justification.

As Sri Lanka continues to emphasise governance reforms and transparency under broader economic restructuring efforts, the Litro LPG tender is emerging as a test case. Whether Geo Gas Trading SA delivers seamlessly in 2026 or whether the decision becomes the subject of audit or parliamentary scrutiny will depend on how effectively the contract is executed and how openly Litro addresses the concerns now being raised.