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The Supreme Court on Monday (10 July) ordered that a report on the measures taken to compensate those affected by the X-Press Pearl disaster, and the progress in this regard, be submitted to the court before 15 September.

The relevant order was issued by a Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Murdhu Fernando, Shiran Gunaratne, Achala Wengappuli and Priyantha Fernando when the case was taken up in court this morning (10).

While the attorney who appeared on behalf the fishing community raised concerns that they are yet to receive compensation for the massive losses suffered due to the X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021, Additional Solicitor General Nerin Pulle, appearing on behalf of the Attorney General, assured that measures are underway in this regard.

Bench chair Justice Murdhu Fernando then ordered that the process in this regard must be expedited, and ordered the lawyers of the fishing community to file the compensation requests before other relevant institutions including the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA).

The relevant petition is due to be called before the court again on 05 and 06 October.

Laugfs Gas PLC, one of the two largest liquefied petroleum (LP) gas suppliers in the country, has also decided to reduce the prices of its domestic gas cylinders following the significant price revision announced by Litro Gas earlier this week.

Accordingly, the price of a 12.5 kg cylinder of Laugfs LP gas has been reduced by Rs. 300, bringing down the price to Rs. 3,690.

The revised prices are as follows;

12.5kg cylinder – Rs. 3,690 (reduced by Rs. 300)

5kg cylinder – Rs. 1,476 (reduced by Rs. 120)

The Laugfs Gas Company said the price reduction, effective from midnight today (July 06), was made in a bid to directly provide the benefit of the recent price drops in the global market to the consumers.

The general public can access further details regarding the price revisions, and the district-wise prices of the gas cylinders by contacting the ‘1345’ hotline, the company added.

Meanwhile, Litro Gas Lanka had also slashed the prices of its domestic gas cylinders substantially this week:

12.5kg cylinder – Rs. 2,982 (reduced by Rs. 204)

5kg cylinder – Rs. 1,198 (reduced by Rs. 83)

2.3kg cylinder – Rs. 561 (reduced by Rs. 37)

Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha has revealed that the country’s education system will undergo an educational transformation and essential measures will be taken to produce students who are prepared for the twenty-first century.

Speaking at a press conference held at the Presidential Media Center (PMC) themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’, the Minister stated that human resources will be managed for that purpose and education will be reformatted in accordance with global standards in order to produce a sustainable and high-quality education.

The Minister added that the ‘Suraksha Sisu Rakshanaya’ insurance scheme introduced for school children which was suspended due to the financial crisis will resume in 2024.

Speaking at the occasion, Premajayantha further commented; In developed countries, the Ministry of Education acts as a separate entity from the Central Government and a Provincial Minister is in charge of the Ministry of Education. The educational rights of children in countries like India, Canada and Japan have been safeguarded as a result of this educational pattern.

The Ministry of Education in Sri Lanka is under the control of the Central Government. All schools in our country, with the exception of 399, are governed by the Provincial Ministries of education.

The initiative to establish 1,000 national schools was launched in 2001. When the 13th Constitutional Amendment was initiated, there were 17 national schools in this country. However, as a result of political initiatives or the requests of individual Education Ministers, there was a dramatic rise in the number of national schools.

However, one cannot say that it led to high-quality education. There was a period in time when 28 national schools were created overnight. But right now, the education industry needs to undergo a transformative change. Instead of the exam-centred education system, students should be aligned in a student-centred education pattern.

There was a significant setback in education as a result of Covid-19 and the recent economic downturn. Additionally, socio economic issues made it impossible to run the schools effectively due to fuel and gas concerns.

Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) and Teacher trade unions did not attend to evaluate the answer sheet of the Advanced Level examination.

The evaluation of the A-Level exam questions has been completed, and that matter is now resolved. I think the exam results could be released in the middle of the next month. The A-Level exams for this year are scheduled to take place in December, according to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Education has taken steps to hold all the examinations in the prescribed year.

Also, the program needed to reform the new education is currently being implemented. Plans have been made to start teaching activities through English medium in association with the British Council. For this purpose, 13,800 teachers have been trained so far. The updating of textbooks for English was also started promptly.

The addition of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology to the curriculum is proposed for two grade levels, Grade 6-9 and Grade 10-13. We are attempting to secure Information Technology assistance for this from companies like Microsoft.

About fifty principal positions are open. While conducting a competitive examination for the recruitment, a trade union went to court and got an injunction. For the recruitment of teacher administration services, there are roughly 22000 openings.

Government employees who applied for the position have also gone to court to explain why they are unable to take the competitive exam. The recruitment process has thus far been delayed as a result. Due to 100 people’s human rights being brought up in court, 4.2 million students’ human rights have already been violated. As a result, we think the court will rule on this issue quickly.

We are working to continue the ‘13 plus’ education program presented by the President when he was the Prime Minister. A selection committee has been established to expand the education sector and the necessary proposals are currently being prepared. Accordingly, the necessary program to expand education will be prepared jointly with Non-Governmental Organizations in the future.

Arrangements are being made to provide loan facilities to Non-Government Universities as well as to create an environment where they can contribute to the economy of this country. It is intended to establish a training University in Kotagala to train students who choose to go to a plantation in order to safeguard the educational rights of the children of estate workers.

By substantially bolstering the regulating program of private and international schools, we are committed to ensuring children’s right to education. With regard to all of these issues, we are working to bring about a change in education from next year.

The Sri Lankan government has decided to initiate diplomatic discussions with Japan on the revival of the Japan-funded Light Rail Transit (LRT) project.

The Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday (July 04) approved a proposal made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the matter.

Accordingly, the government will prepare a timeframe to revive the previously scrapped LRT project and enter into an agreement following discussions with the Japanese diplomatic mission in Colombo.

In March 2019, the Japanese government agreed to grant loan assistance of USD 1,800 million for the LRT system project which was to be implemented that year and completed by 2026, as a solution for the traffic congestion in the city of Colombo and its suburbs.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had agreed to provide financial facilities under concessionary credit conditions while the Oriental Consultants Global Company of Japan had agreed to provide consultancy services in collaboration with several other companies.

On March 11, 2019, Japan and Sri Lanka signed the loan agreement and exchanged notes pertaining to the project, which had been designed to construct a 17km-long elevated rail track including 16 stations to cover important and major intersections from Malabe to Colombo Fort.

Under the project, it had been proposed to deploy 25 trains for the service and each unit was supposed to comprise four air-conditioned passenger compartments to accommodate 800 passengers

The total estimated cost of the project was Japanese Yen 246,641 million, and JICA was to provide JPY 200,415 million (approximately USD 1,800 million) as a concessionary loan. The company had provided the facility of paying the said loan over a period of 40 years including a grace period of 12 years and the annual interest rate thereon was 0.1 percent.

However, in September 2020, the then-Cabinet of Ministers gave the nod to terminate the project citing heavy operating costs, and environmental damage among other reasons.

A report compiled by the National Audit Office in December 2022 revealed that Sri Lanka incurred a loss of Rs. 5,978 million after former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa-led government unilaterally terminated the LRT project.

In May 2023, the current Cabinet of Ministers decided to green-light the revival of the project days before President Wickremesinghe departed for Japan for an official visit. The decision was taken in a bid to restore Sri Lanka’s credibility with the international community.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has granted C.D. Wickramaratne another service extension as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Public Security Ministry said.

Accordingly, IGP Wickramaratne has been granted a 03-month service extension from today as the police chief, subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council, according to the President’s Media Division (PMD).

A special meeting took place between the President and the Public Security Minister this evening (July 09) to decide on appointing a new Inspector-General of Police (IGP) due to impending retirement of Wickramaratne.

Meanwhile, President Wickremesinghe had reportedly tasked Minister Alles with deciding whether former IGP C.D. Wickramaratne should be given another tenure extension or an Acting IGP should be appointed.

Wickramaratne was initially supposed to retire from the police service on March 26, 2023, however, President Wickremesinghe extended his tenure by three months until June 26 by way of a special gazette notification dated April 06.

Thus, the position of IGP was set to be vacant since the end of Wickramaratne’s tenure on 26 June.

Senior Deputy Inspector-Generals of Police (SDIGs) Deshabandu Tennakoon, Nilantha Jayawardena, Lalith Pathinayake, Priyantha Weerasooriya and Ajith Rohana were reportedly among the nominations for the top post of the police force.

Stand-up comedian Natasha Edirisooriya who was arrested and remanded on charges of having insulted Buddhism, was released by the Colombo High Court on a personal bail of Rs. 100,000 today (05).

Natasha was charged under the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act.

The Tax Appeals Commission will be annulled due to an inefficient tax appealing process, said justice minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe.

A special act will be tabled in parliament soon for the purpose, he said.

The commission had not filed a single court case in the past two years, said Rajapaksa, adding that delays in taking up appeals has lost the opportunity to collect more than Rs. 117,000 million defaulted tax income.

Sri Lanka's State Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe said that the 1st disbursement of USD 250 million from the World Bank Budget Support program was received on Tuesday (4).

On the 28th of June 2023, the World Bank Board of Directors also approved $700 million in financing for two operations to help Sri Lanka implement foundational reforms that restore macroeconomic stability and sustainability, mitigate the impact of current and future shocks on the poor and vulnerable, and support an inclusive and private-sector-led recovery and growth path.

The Sri Lanka Resilience, Stability and Economic Turnaround (RESET) Development Policy Operation ($500 million) will support reforms that help improve economic governance, enhance growth and competitiveness, and protect the poor and vulnerable. It will provide budget support in two equal tranches against agreed prior actions.

The Social Protection Project ($200 million) seeks to support Sri Lanka in providing better-targeted income and livelihood opportunities to the poor and vulnerable and improving the responsiveness of the social protection system.

The active World Bank portfolio as of June 26 is composed of IBRD financing worth $1.09 billion and IDA financing worth $1.17 billion. Sri Lanka lost IBRD creditworthiness and cannot access additional IBRD financing. Upon the Government’s request, a reverse graduation to regain access to IDA concessional financing was approved. Until IBRD creditworthiness is re-established, Sri Lanka will have access only to IDA resources.

The CPF will leverage the close cooperation across the World Bank, IFC, and MIGA and with development partners.

As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries, IFC has invested close to $1 billion in Sri Lanka since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping businesses and sustaining jobs. Recently, IFC provided a cross-currency swap facility to three of the country's leading national banks that deal with over 30 percent of Sri Lanka's remittances and exports. The facility intends to support the private sector with critical financing, contributing to the country's urgent need to stabilize the economy. IFC will continue its efforts to promote private sector led growth by supporting innovation, product diversification, growth-enabling sustainable infrastructure as well as in deepening social and financial inclusion.

President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake has sent an official letter to all Secretaries to Ministries regarding attending meetings of the Committees of Parliament.

Accordingly, Mr. Ekanayake sent the letter today (06 July), while Parliament Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena and newly-appointed Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera were also copied, the President’s Media Division (PMD) reported.

It has been reported that in the letter of concern, Ekanayake stated that in the event the Opposition Leader wished to summon public officers for a meeting due to be held within the premises of the Parliament, he will be required to inform the relevant Minister, in writing, of the matter, who will then sanction the required officers to attend the meeting.

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera has assured that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is on a path towards achieving financial stability.

Participating in a media briefing held at the Presidential Media Centre themed ‘Collective path to a stable country’, Wijesekera expressed confidence in the government’s program, led by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, to promote financial stability in both the Electricity Board and the Petroleum Corporation.

Meanwhile, addressing accusations from various parties regarding the electricity price revision, the Minister highlighted that in June’s price revision, the government provided a significant 55% relief in electricity prices to 3.5 million out of the total 6 million consumers.

Addressing the press conference the minister said;

In the past year, our country faced challenges such as fuel queues and power cuts. However, under the decisions made by the new government, significant progress has been achieved in eliminating fuel queues and ensuring continuous electricity supply.

The revision of electricity prices took place in January and June, benefiting around 6 million household consumers. A 55 per cent price reduction was implemented for approximately 3.5 million consumers using 30 to 60 units of electricity.

Additionally, concessions were provided to the industrial sector during the price revision. There are approximately 40,000 registered religious shrines, and about 15,000 of them consume less than 30 units of electricity.

The electricity board had been facing significant financial losses, with a total loss of Rs. 409 billion in the past.

However, last year’s loss was reduced to Rs. 167.2 billion. The government has successfully completed all payments to suppliers and has created a favourable environment for initiating new renewable electricity projects.

Additionally, steps have been taken to remove a Rs. 120 billion debt from the balance sheet of the Petroleum Corporation, resulting in the electricity board’s improved financial position.

With the strengthened financial position, the electricity board plans to resume maintenance work and provide new connections that were put on hold in the past three years.

Out of the 36,000 new connection applications received, 20,000 connections have already been completed, and efforts are underway to fulfil the remaining connections within the next two months.

Furthermore, the Petroleum Statutory Corporation has established contracts with two new agencies for a consistent supply of fuel since September last year.

These agencies are scheduled to commence fuel supply by the end of this month, and the first fuel shipment is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka at the same time. Around 150 fuel stations have been registered by these agencies so far, ensuring reliable fuel availability.

After the arrival of their ship in Sri Lanka, fuel distribution was initially carried out under the name of Ceypetco.

However, future distribution will be conducted under their own company name. To address outstanding debts, including those owed to Indian and Iranian creditors as well as fuel suppliers, the Ministry of Finance has imposed a tax of Rs.50 per liter of fuel during distribution.

The Petroleum Corporation has successfully repaid all loans owed to the Bank of Ceylon and the People’s Bank, resulting in its strengthened financial position.

Despite this, the restructuring process of the Petroleum Corporation will continue as planned. The revised draft for the restructuring of the Electricity Board has been forwarded to legislators, and once received, it will be submitted to the Attorney General and subsequently presented to the Cabinet for recommendations.

There is a possibility of passing a new act in this regard. There is no pressure on the employees of the electricity board, and efforts are being made to verify the status of employees who have completed NVQ courses but are currently unemployed.

Legal actions are being taken against fuel stations that failed to maintain oil stocks during the fuel price revision. One such station, the Rajagiriya petrol station, has already been taken over by the government.

Complaints have been received regarding 120 fuel filling stations that did not comply with stock maintenance requirements during fuel price revisions, and future plans involve implementing appropriate legal measures.

The decision has been made not to hire new employees, as the current number of employees in the Ministry and its associated institutions is deemed sufficient.

The President, along with the Prime Minister and the government, has planned to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of government institutions based on collective decisions.

Investors who previously submitted tenders for renewable energy have not yet responded. It has been discovered that some of the organizations that were awarded tenders have sold them to other entities.

As a result, the tender call for 500 megawatts of renewable energy is expected to be cancelled in the upcoming cabinet meeting, and a fresh tender call will be issued.

Additionally, the necessary permissions have been granted to the ‘Adani’ company for the construction of a 500 MW renewable energy power plant. Their energy generation is projected to be integrated into the national grid by December of next year.

While the majority of employees from these institutions have expressed their desire for the restructuring of the Petroleum Corporation and the Electricity Board, some protests have emerged due to concerns regarding potential loss of trade union privileges.

However, granting salary increments and bonuses to loss-making organizations is not deemed acceptable. Such practices are not prevalent in any country worldwide. A 25% salary increase every three years for the 24,000 employees of the Electricity Board has been discontinued.

Salary increments are allocated exclusively to employees who are actively working and demonstrate productivity.

It is a common practice worldwide to provide salary increments selectively rather than uniformly across an organization. Similarly, bonuses distributed in April and December is contingent upon the company’s profitability and is awarded solely to employees who contribute effectively.

In collaboration with Indian loan assistance, plans are underway to equip government institutions and religious sites with solar panels. Each religious place will be provided with a five kilowatt solar panel, while government institutions will receive solar panels suitable for their roof sizes. The implementation of this project is scheduled to commence within the next two months.

Attention has also been directed towards exploring nuclear energy options, with plans to incorporate it into the 2023-2042 generation plan.

A comprehensive evaluation will determine the suitability and viability of nuclear energy for our country, and subsequent decisions will be made accordingly.

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has decided to reduce the Standing Deposit Facility Rate (SDFR) and the Standing Lending Facility Rate (SLFR) of the Central Bank by 200 basis points (bps) to 11.00 per cent and 12.00 per cent, respectively.

The Board arrived at this decision, at its meeting held on Wednesday (05 July), following a careful analysis of the current and expected developments, including the faster-than-envisaged disinflation process and benign inflation expectations in the domestic economy, with the aim of enabling the economy to reach its potential and stabilising inflation at mid-single digit levels in the medium term, while easing pressures in the financial markets, the CBSL said.

The Board expects that, with this reduction of policy interest rates by 200 bps, and the reduction of policy interest rates by 250 bps in early June 2023, along with the significant reduction of risk premia on government securities witnessed recently, the market interest rates, particularly lending rates, will adjust downwards adequately and swiftly.

“Therefore, the banking and financial sector is urged to pass on the benefits of this significant easing of monetary policy by the Central Bank to individuals and businesses, thereby supporting economic activity to rebound in the period ahead,” the statement said.

Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu has become the first player from her country to top the MRF Tyres ICC Women’s ODI Player Rankings after starring in a 2-1 series win over New Zealand in the ICC Women’s Championship.

The left-handed opener has thus emulated Sanath Jayasuriya, who is the only Sri Lanka player to top the ODI batting rankings for men, for 181 days between September 2002 and May 2003.

Athapaththu’s two centuries in three matches have lifted her six places, overtaking the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Meg Lanning and Laura Wolvaardt and displacing Australia’s Beth Mooney, who was at the top of the batting charts since 10 May.

Athapaththu won ‘player of the match’ awards for her 108 not out off 83 balls in the first match and 140 not out off 80 in the final match. She was also named ‘player of the series’, making a rapid rise from seventh position, her previous career-best ranking.

Only two other Sri Lanka players have reached number one position in the women’s rankings, both in the year 2014 – left-arm seam bowler Udeshika Prabodhani (T20I bowling) and Shashikala Siriwardene (T20I all-rounders).

Athapaththu, who has scored all her country’s top 10 individual scores in women’s ODIs, is currently at the highest-ever points tally by a Sri Lanka woman in ODIs with 758 rating points. The next best is just 587 by Dedunu Silva, who also has the next highest-ranking, reaching 11th position in April 2010.

Other Sri Lanka players to advance are Kavisha Dilhari (up 19 places to 37th among batters) and Prabodhani (up 14 places to 32nd among bowlers).

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Sophie Devine has shot up six places to 13th after smashing a match-winning 137 in the second ODI of the series in Galle.

In the latest rankings update, which also considers performances in the ICC Women’s Championship series in the Caribbean in which the West Indies prevailed 2-0 over Ireland, Ireland opener Gaby Lewis has progressed five places to 21st after her unbeaten 95 in the final match.

For the West Indies, Shamilia Cornell (up four places to joint-24th) and Afy Fletcher (up 14 places to 32nd) have moved up the bowlers’ list.

In the T20I rankings, Sophie Dunkley (up four places to 16th) and Amy Jones (up one places to 25th) have moved up the batting rankings after the first match of the England-New Zealand series while Sarah Glenn (up one place to third) and Jess Jonassen (up four places to 18th) have moved up the bowling rankings. (ICC)