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Liquor stores and bars are closed under Sri Lanka’s curfew measures which has caused black market liquor prices to triple. Sri Lanka Police say they are trying to stop people swapping instructions for how to produce illicit liquor during a curfew imposed due to the new coronavirus.

Posts on social media like Facebook and WhatsApp have been widely shared with tips for producing moonshine using locally available items such as sugar, coconut water and yeast.

Deputy Inspector General Ajith Rohana says that people who promote consumption of liquor or methods to produce it could face a prison sentence of up to two years. He says special teams are examining posts on social media and those who publish posts on distilling spirits at home, will be prosecuted in accordance to the provisions of the National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol Act.

Sri Lanka has recorded 197 cases of the new coronavirus and seven infected people have died. Nearly 20,000 people have been arrested for curfew violations.

Sri Lankan health officials on Thursday confirmed the fourth death caused due to COVID – 19 in the country.

Director-General of Health Services Dr. Anil Jasinghe said the deceased has been identified as a 58-year old man who had been receiving treatment at the IDH Hospital.

He had developed pneumonia while being treated at the hospital.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the country rose to 151 after four people tested positive for the virus on Thursday.

Government statistics show that 127 people suspected to have contracted the virus are under medical supervision with the number of recoveries standing at 21.

Former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera called out Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa for the grossly irresponsible and misleading statement the latter had made recently.

The full text of the statement issued by Mangala Samaraweera is as follows;

"Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa is the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. He also holds the vital portfolio of Finance, Economic and Policy Development. He was President of Sri Lanka for two terms and held many ministries during that time. And he has been a Member of Parliament since 1970.

Therefore, he has no excuse whatsoever for the grossly irresponsible and misleading statement he made yesterday. It is a base political statement, dressed up to conceal its mendacity, using the official letterhead of the Prime Minister.

In the interests of brevity, I will not respond to the entire statement. However, the claims made in relation to Parliament’s role in our Republic and its public finance function have a direct bearing on the health crisis, economic crisis, debt-crisis and looming constitutional crisis facing our nation today.  

Canard I

“It is without getting a budget approved in Parliament that we have allocated this amount of money and given relief to the General Public.”

Any money allocated by the Government is the public’s money. It is raised by taxes and by debt – which must be paid by future taxes. It is not the largesse of any person, office or family.

The current allocation of money is determined by the Vote-on-Account passed by a Resolution of Parliament on 23 October 2019. That Resolution determines the scheme of expenditure and borrowing for the period 1 January 2020 to 30 April 2020. Therefore, any money the Government must have been approved by Parliament.

The Prime Minister’s claim that money is being spent without Parliamentary approval is a very serious violation of the Constitutional provisions on public finance. These provisions clearly state that Parliament has the power of the purse; including complete and undiluted control over government revenue, expenditure and debt.

Canard II

“The President did not have the opportunity to get the assistance of Parliament to do any of these things. Parliament did not support us when we tried to get an interim budget approved before Parliament dissolved.”

As stated above, all the expenditure currently being spent by the Government is under the Vote-on-Account passed on 23 October. Any expenditure outside that would be a violation of the constitution. Therefore, Parliament has adequately discharged its duty of providing the Executive with necessary funds for the governance of the Republic.

As further expenditure and borrowing is necessary in light of the Coronavirus, my colleagues across the political spectrum have made abundantly clear that they will support the allocation of additional funds and an increase in the debt ceiling.

As to the claim that “Parliament did not support us when we tried to get an interim budget approved before Parliament dissolved”, that is a lie. The Government moved an unprecedented resolution in Parliament. It attempted, for the first time in history, to move a motion to amend a Vote-on-Account. Despite this highly irregular procedure, political parties sitting on the Opposition benches agreed to support the Government’s social welfare schemes. We did not object to increases in expenditure on health, education and other schemes.

However, we did object to raising the debt-ceiling. As a result of the debt-fuelled growth of the 2009 to 2015 era and the utterly irresponsible tax cuts this year, Sri Lanka was in a debt-trap. If we failed to pay our debt, then we would default. This would lead us down the path of Argentina or Greece. In order to prevent this fate, we insisted on maintaining the responsible borrowing limit that had been put in place. Between 2017 and November 2020, Sri Lanka recorded its first proper primary surplus – meaning the government’s books were balanced - in 63 years. That record was repeated in 2018 and up until November 2019. This was maintained despite the Rajapaksa’s constitutional coup and the Easter Bombings.

Canard III

“The public who have the sovereignty ask us as to what use there is re-summoning Parliament in such a situation.”

Mr. Prime Minister, the public are concerned about their health. They are concerned about whether their food stocks will last. They are concerned about paying for their next basket of provisions. They are concerned about whether they will lose their jobs. They are concerned about the strength of the rupee. They are concerned about the health of the economy.

They are also concerned that the rule-of-law is maintained and proper checks-and-balances are put in place. We have seen the corruption and abuse of power that arises when there is no accountability. Parliament is one of the three key pillars that constitutes the checks-and-balances that protect our government from abuse and keep our democracy – the oldest in Asia – alive and flourishing. Sri Lanka has faced many disasters: natural, like the Tsunami, or man-made, such as terrorism and insurgencies. We have faced them all successfully because we were a democracy.

This is why the constitution clearly states that the sovereignty of the people shall be jointly exercised within a framework of fundamental rights. First by the legislature. Second by the executive. And third by the judiciary. In fact, following the passage of the 19th Amendment, the President is responsible and accountable to Parliament. Due to the dissolution of Parliament, it has been unable to provide that oversight. As the date of elections has been extended, and the country has been engulfed by multiple crises, it is the President’s duty to invoke the provisions of the Constitution relating to such a situation, including Article 70(7).

Conclusion

The government is playing fast-and-loose with the Constitution and with the rule-of-law. It is not only putting the health of our democracy in danger, its actions are severely damaging the health of our economy. The borrowing limit is about to be breached, which means the government can raise no further funds despite the desperate need for a fiscal stimulus. We are on the verge of a constitutional crisis. There is uncertainty about the authorization to raise funds following 30 April. This cavalier attitude, combined with the myopic tax-cuts earlier this year, are key reasons why the interest rate on government debt rose to over 100% last week. Investors and financial markets have lost all confidence in the government. Even before the corona outbreak, the stock market was plummeting and foreign investors sold their assets in droves. By contrast, following the Easter Bombings we were able to raise debt in June 2019 at 5.49%.

Many citizens are going to lose their jobs. Our industries are facing an unprecedented crisis. The rupee is collapsing. This is the time to get all arms of government working to prevent any further deterioration in the situation. It is not the time to start constitutional crises. It took the economy months to recover after the last one in October 2019. To do so then was criminal, to do so today would be the most callous case of placing a family’s private political interest over the interests of the entire country."

Another patient tested positive for COVID – 19 in Sri Lanka has died, raising the number of deaths caused by the virus upto two in the country, officials said on Monday.

The deceased, who has been identified as a resident of Kochchikade had been receiving treatment at the Negombo Hospital.

He had been suffering from heart and respiratory issues and had tested positive for the virus today (March 30).

So far, 122 people have tested positive for the virus in the country, with the number of recovered patients standing at 14.

The first person to have died in the country since contracting the virus was reported last Saturday. The deceased was a 60-year old resident of Marawila.

Sri Lankan health officials on Tuesday said the number of COVID – 19 patients in the country has risen to 185.

Earlier today, the health ministry confirmed its sixth death due to the virus, while also announcing four more recoveries.

Accordingly, the total number of active cases stands at 137, with the total recovered cases standing at 42.

Deputy Leader of the United National Party (UNP) Ravi Karunanayake says the UNP has decided to extend its unconditional support to the government to fight the COVID-19 virus at a time where the virus has dealt a severe blow to countries around the world, both economically and socially.

UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe together with several senior party leaders are scheduled to President and the Prime Minister today. "We have already been a given an appointment to meet them," he added.

The former minister made this statement by releasing a video on social media.

The UNP firmly believes that we should work together to defeat this calamity. We hope to meet the President and the Prime Minister and express our views on the matter. We've been allotted a time for that." Karunanayake said.

Don't politicize donation programs - Akila

Meanwhile, UNP General Secretary, Attorney-at-Law Akila Viraj Kariyawasam released a video on social media claiming that people's lives have been completely ruined due to the crisis caused by the Coronavirus.

Kariyawasam called on the government to refrain from politicizing any relief measure programmes and to protect all Sri Lankans who have gone abroad due to work or other reasons and requested the relevant authorities to immediately pay attention to these matters.

The number of patients affected due to COVID – 19 has reached 175, health officials said Sunday, as 13 more patients tested positive since last afternoon (March 14).

Director General of Health Services, Dr Anil Jasinghe said that three out of the nine patients are receiving treatment at the Homagama Base Hospital. The other patients included one each from Negombo and the Puttalam Quarantine Centre and two from Colombo, Dr. Jasinghe said.

He noted that another patient who was from Matara had maintained contact with a COVID – 19 patient.

According to the ministry of health, 133 people suspected to have contracted the virus are under medical observation at present.

Sri Lanka has confirmed five deaths due to the disease, with the number of recovered patients standing at 33.

The Ministry of Health states that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country have increased to 120.

Meanwhile in view of the extension of the curfew by the Government, the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) has decided that the CSE will remain closed for Trading on Monday, 30th March 2020.

Accordingly, 30th March 2020 will be considered as a market holiday.

A 44 year old male who tested positive for COVID-19 and was being treated at the Welikanda Hospital, passed away this morning.

The Director General of Health Services confirmed the 05th COVID-19 death in Sri Lanka adding the victim had returned to the country from Italy and was a resident from Homagama.

This is incidentally, the first COVID-19 death reported from the Welikanda Base Hospital.

The second Sri Lankan who tested positive for COVID – 19 in the country has died, becoming the first death reported in the country, officials said on Saturday.

The patient, a 60-year old resident of Marawila, had died while receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the IDH Hospital in Angoda.

Statistics issued by the Epidemiology Unit show that the deceased, who was identified with the disease on March 12, had 17 contact points.

The number of COVID – 19 patients in the country has risen to 159, health officials said, after eight persons tested positive for the virus by late Friday.

According to the ministry of health, 128 people suspected to have contracted the virus are under medical supervision in state hospitals across the island.

Sri Lanka has confirmed four deaths due to the virus, with the number of recovered patients standing at 24.

The Sri Lankan government has signed a US$ 500mn deal with China Development Bank to help the country better mitigate the financial impact of Covid-19, as it continues to struggle with fiscal debt.

The facility has “concessional terms on both interest and tenure”, says a statement issued by the Chinese foreign ministry. The loan has a tenor of 10 years and a three-year grace period, along with interest rates linked to the US dollar-Libor rate.

The funding is set to be disbursed by the end of March, with the aim of increasing the official foreign reserves of Sri Lanka to enable it to better manage the financial effects Covid-19 is having on the country.

As part of its response, the Sri Lankan government has imposed a nationwide curfew and closed all international commercial flights into the country.

Despite criticism that Sri Lanka has depended too heavily on Chinese loans in the past, particularly for infrastructure projects relating to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and as such has seen its sovereign debt spiral, the loan was “urgently requested”, says the statement.

Countries which depend on China, the country where Covid-19 originated, could suffer the most economically at the hand of the novel coronavirus.

“Countries that are most dependent on China stand to be hit the hardest; these include countries in Asia and the Pacific, due to their economic relations with China. Sri Lanka is no exception, given its close links to China in terms of trade, investment, and the movement of people over the past decade,” says Talking Economics, a Sri Lanka-focused socio-economic policy think tank.

Concerns over the sustainability of Sri Lanka’s debt to China peaked when the government was unable to pay back loans issued by China to build its Hambantota Port, which subsequently saw Beijing take control of the port under a 99-year lease at the end of 2017.

Basil to head Task Force

Meanwhile, the government announced a mechanism to distribute goods without any disruptions that came into effect from March 25.

A Task Force headed by Basil Rajapaksa has been appointed to manage the process of selling goods door to door in the country. The Task Force comprises of several entities including secretaries of ministries, district secretaries, and divisional secretaries.
However, many took to social media on the past few days complaining of not having adequate time to get essential food items during the short window where the curfew was lifted on Tuesday.