News

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara says that the fuel prices will be revised from midnight today (March 29).

He said that the prices will be revised based on the fuel pricing formula.

Accordingly, Octane 92 petrol will be reduced by Rs. 60, Octane 95 petrol by Rs. 135, Auto Diesel by Rs. 80, Super Diesel by Rs. 45 and Kerosene by Rs. 10 per litre.

The new prices are as follows;

Octane 92 petrol - Rs. 340

Octane 95 petrol - Rs. 375

Auto diesel - Rs. 325

Super diesel - Rs. 465

Kerosene - Rs. 295

The Chairman of the Indian Oil Corporation or IOC Shrikant Madhav Vaidya called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe over the weekend.

The Chairman of IOC Shrikant Madhav Vaidya met with President Wickremesinghe along with the Shri Pankaj Jain, the Secretary to the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

He presented 500 IOC produiced indoor solar cooking systems, to the Government of Sri Lanka, in the presence of Gopal Baglay, the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

The visiting IOC Chairman also presented a unique jacket, made of sustainable threads obtained by recycling PET bottles under Indian Oil's Unbottled initiative.

In addition, he also took part in an event to inaugurate three filling stations of Lanka IOC in Colombo, and the opening of the new premises were done remotely.

Manoj Gupta, the Managing Directro of LIOC tweeted that 34 more new LIOC filling stations are set to commence physical operations within March 2023 further strengthening the footprints of LIOC in the country.

The Chairman of IOC noted that it underlines the company's unwavering dedication to fortify Sri Lanka's energy security and also demonstrates the IOC commitment to becoming a dominant player in the global energy space.

The Chairman of IOC Shrikant Madhav Vaidya also met with Sri Lankan cricket legend & World Cup Winning Captain Arjuna Ranatunga in Colombo.

Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekers has called for the termination of employees of both the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd (CPSTL) who disrupt the distribution of fuel.

Taking to Twitter, the Minister stated that he has instructed the CPC and CPSTL Chairman to take the necessary disciplinary steps required pertaining to the termination of employment of those employees or trade union activists who disrupt the distribution of fuel and the work of other employees, or who act in violation of the essential service orders.

He added that instructions were also given to take any legal steps required in this regard.

Wijesekera’ s decision comes in the backdrop of an announcement made by the Petroleum Trade Unions’ Collective to stage a strike action, withdrawing themselves from engaging in the filling and distribution of fuel across the island.

Despite calling off the Satyagraha staged against the Government’s alleged decision to privatise CPC, the trade union collective had reportedly later decided to stage a strike action instead.

A Satyagraha campaign was launched yesterday (27 March) against the government’s alleged ongoing attempts to privatize the CPC.

Local Government polls will be held prior to December this year, former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said on Monday (27).

The former President said his party, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), was prepared to face any election, whether it be the local council or the Presidential.

He made the remarks to reporters after visiting the Sri Abhayarama Temple in Narahenpita today.

When inquired about the country’s future economic situation, Rajapaksa responded that they will be watching what happens going forward.

Sri Lanka will become the first country in the region to adopt a green economy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Monday (27).

The President said this will be made possible as the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Power and Energy, and the Climate Change Office are working together to introduce a green economic policy focused on renewable energy within the next two months.

According to the President’s Media Division (PMD), President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his aim to place Sri Lanka at the forefront of green economic policy, much like its success in tea exports.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced this during a meeting with investors who attended the Sri Lanka Green Energy Summit, which took place at the President’s Office yesterday (27).

President Wickremesinghe also expressed his gratitude to the investors who participated in the Clean Green Energy Summit and pledged to provide the necessary facilities to meet their investment requirements.

Sri Lanka is currently facing two major challenges – debt restructuring and transitioning to green energy. While debt restructuring is already underway, the country must also act quickly to establish a green economy. Sri Lanka has great potential to generate energy through renewable sources such as solar, wind, biogas, and sea waves. President Wickremesinghe believes that transitioning to a green economy could be the key to building a stronger economy for Sri Lanka.

The President also committed to facilitating local and foreign investors who attended the conference, and confirmed that a green economic policy will be implemented within the next two months, which would be the first of its kind in the region.

The investors who attended the conference will be given legitimacy, and the government is committed to providing them with the necessary support. The green economic policy is not a short-term program, but a long-term initiative that requires a legal framework. The President emphasized the need for legislation to be passed promptly to adjust to the new policy.

The President expressed his appreciation for the investors and their contribution to Sri Lanka’s recovery through the green economy. He stated that he aims to make Sri Lanka the world’s first green economy, just as the country has achieved the world’s first in tea.

The President highlighted that Sri Lanka has the potential to become the first in Asia in green energy, thanks to its natural resources and the experienced investors present at the meeting. He also mentioned the ongoing discussion of bringing an oil pipeline from India to Trincomalee and emphasized the importance of cooperation with South India in moving towards renewable energy.

According to the President, Trincomalee has been identified as a potential port for green hydrogen due to its proximity to the North, which has abundant sources of green hydrogen, renewable energy, and strong wind power in Sri Lanka. He added that this would create development opportunities for the country and investors, leading to economic expansion and good returns on investment.

The investors who attended the Sri Lanka Green Energy Summit expressed their gratitude to President Ranil Wickremesinghe for the hospitality and stated their intention to return to Sri Lanka in the future to invest in the green economy sector.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabri, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera, Environment Minister Naseer Ahmed, State Minister Dilum Amunugama, Senior Advisor to the President on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene, International Adviser to the President on Climate Change Eric Solheim, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, as well as local and foreign investors and other officials, participated in this discussion at the Presidential Secretariat.

Cabinet approval has been granted for three foreign entities to enter the fuel retail market in Sri Lanka, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera announced on Monday (27).

Minister Wijesekera said via a Twitter message, that Cabinet approval was granted to award licenses to China’s Sinopec, United Petroleum of Australia and RM Parks of USA in a collaboration with Shell Plc to enter the Fuel Retail market in Sri Lanka.

He further stated that the energy committee and relevant other procurement committees had given their approval and recommendation to award the three (03) companies the licenses to operate in Sri Lanka.

The three companies will be allocated 150 dealer-operated fuel stations, each of which is currently operated by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).

They will be granted a license to operate for 20 years to import, store, distribute and sell petroleum products in Sri Lanka, the minister said.

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera added that a further 50 fuel stations at new locations will be established by each selected company.

The strike launched by representatives of the Union Collective of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) against attempts to privatize the CPC continues for the second consecutive day today.

According to the Chairman of the Collective Jagath Wijegunawardena, a discussion will be held today on the future course of action.

He further said that it was regrettable that Cabinet approval has been granted to hand over state-owned fuel stations to foreign entities.

The representatives of the Union Collective of the CPC launched a strike from 07.00 am yesterday (27) against the privatization of the CPC.

“The CPC is a profit-making state enterprise at present. However, there are attempts to sell the organization which owns over 600 fuel stations to a foreign private company,” Jagath Wijegunawardena alleged.

Meanwhile, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday announced that Cabinet approval has been granted for three foreign entities to enter the fuel retail market in Sri Lanka.

Minister Wijesekera said that approval was granted to award licenses to China’s Sinopec, United Petroleum of Australia and RM Parks of USA in a collaboration with Shell Plc to enter the Fuel Retail market in Sri Lanka.

He further stated that the three companies will be allocated 150 dealer-operated fuel stations, each of which is currently operated by the CPC and that they will be granted a license to operate for 20 years to import, store, distribute and sell petroleum products in Sri Lanka.

Minister Kanchana Wijesekera added that a further 50 fuel stations at new locations will be established by each selected company.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is moving to make sure that Sri Lanka repays its debts even if its people die of hunger, charged Supreme Lanka Council leader Wimal Weerawansa.

At the behest of its US, UK, German and other masters, the IMF is laying down conditions for endless taxes, higher interest rates, to make the Central Bank independent while ruining local banks, the MP said at the House debate on March 23 on the IMF bailout loan that Sri Lanka has secured.

These masters of the IMF account for 36 per cent of Sri Lanka’s total foreign borrowings through international sovereign bonds, but claim as much as 76 pc of the combined loan interest repayments, according to Weerawansa.

After seeing hilarious scenes of lighting firecrackers and government MPs thanking the president for securing the IMF loan, the second stage will see the restructuring of foreign and local debts.

That will cause massive harm to the country’s financial and banking systems, as in the case of Greece, he said.

Weerawansa quoted from Greece’s former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, well-known writer Naomi Klein, economist Milton Friedman and ex-chief economist of the World Bank Joseph Stiglitz to support his allegations against the IMF.

The IMF’s attempts to lure Sri Lanka further into a debt trap, while forcing it to sell profit-earning state enterprises and retaining the burden of the loss-making ones, is a crime that should not be allowed, he added.

Veteran vocalist and musician 'Sangeeth Nipun' Professor Sanath Nandasiri has passed away at the age of 81.

The late Emeritus Professor Sangeeth Nipun Sanath Nandasiri was the Former Chancellor of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts in Sri Lanka.

He was the the third Chancellor of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, and as a veteran musician had served as a Head of the Department of the Institute of Aesthetic Studies and as the first Dean of the Faculty of Music of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts.

He was honoured with a honorary professorship as a tribute to his outstanding contribution to the field of creative music in Sri Lankan.

Chairman of the Sri Lankan Musicians Guild Janaka Wickremesinghe told News 1st that Sanath Nandasiri who was ill for a prolonged period, passed away at his residence.

He said the funeral arrangements will be announced later.

Starting tomorrow, March 27th, Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera has announced that the government will begin distributing free rice to 2.9 million families.

The rice being distributed comes from the paddy purchased from farmers during this year’s Maha season, which has been converted into rice.

In addition, the government has decided to give each family 10 kilograms of rice per month for a period of 2 months. The distribution will take place in several districts, including Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Kandy, Ratnapura, Galle, and Matara, as requested. The Minister of Agriculture emphasized the importance of this program in supporting the local farmers and ensuring food security for families in need.

Former Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Michael Perera, has passed away at the age of 81.

The former Gampaha district Member of Parliament was born on 15 September 1941, and served as the 17th Speaker of Parliament from December 2001 to February 2004.

He served as an elected member of the Ja Ela Urban Council (UC) from 1964 to 1967, after which he was appointed as the Vice Chairman of the UC until 1970.

Perera then served as the Chairman of the Ja Ela UC from 1970 to 1971.

He then served as the Chief Organiser of the United National Party (UNP) for five years from 1971 to 1976, and was elected as an MP to the First National State Assembly until 1977.

Prior to being elected as an MP to the First Parliament of Sri Lanka in 1978, Joseph Michael Perera was elected as an MP to the Second National State Assembly from 1977 to 1978.

Perera remained an MP of the First Parliament for 10 years, from 1978 to 1988.

Opposition MP Harsha de Silva, in response to the President's speech on the IMF agreement, said that he was relieved that the government had finally obtained the approval of the IMF Board for the USD 3 billion facility.

He commended the President for convincing his majority SLPP government on the IMF program who until recent times was totally opposed to it.

Dr de Silva stated the only political party that tabled their own plan out of the crisis was the SJB. He said their plan, named the “Blueprint”, first tabled in August 2022 and an updated version in February 2023, contained a detailed plan on how to come out of bankruptcy and set the stage for sustained growth.

He said the Blueprint dealt with the sensitive issue of taxes. He criticized the highest marginal tax rate of 36% being applied at Rs 300,000 a month. The lawmaker pointed out that the maximum rate for those earning approximately Rs 500,000 a month could be capped around 24 to 25%, while the highest tax bracket would increase to 39-40% to achieve the expected income.

Reiterating that they were ready to help the government wholeheartedly to rescue the country from the crisis, De Silva stressed the need to come out of this IMF agreement victorious, as this could not be another failed attempt. He called for unity regardless of party allegiances, as the President stated, as this was only the start of a long road.

The next biggest hurdle was the debt-restructuring process, and to do that, massive economic reforms were necessary. De Silva clarified what these reforms were, stating that the government revenue needed to increase from 8.5 percent to 15 percent of GDP. He explained that over 95 percent of government revenue was tax revenue, and only 5 percent was non-tax revenue.

He added that to increase revenue, the economy must expand. But currently it is contracting, with lending rates increasing to 30 percent. Many small-medium enterprises had closed as they couldn't keep up with the rates. Additionally, export companies were planning to move shop as taxes on the export sector had gone up to 30 percent while neighboring countries were only 12 to 15 percent.

The SJB lawmaker called for a plan to turn the economy around and create jobs. He noted that the IMF agreement was only a stabilization program and not a roadmap to develop the country. He noted that they needed to have a consistent political ideology governing the country, failing which they would go nowhere.

De Silva stressed the need to cut Sri Lanka’s debt stock but argued that foreign creditors were not willing to carrying the entire burden, as, of Sri Lanka's debt to GDP ratio of 128 percent, 63.6 percent was foreign debt, while 64.6 percent was domestic.

De Silva noted that the IMF's focus was on the government reducing the gross financing need from about 34 percent to 13 percent of GDP and that the question of domestic debt restructuring had been raised at the press briefing by the IMF yesterday. Although IMF stated that methodology was irrelevant to them, they were insinuating that domestic restructuring had to happen.

He urged extensive discussions on critical issues like these, as they could not hastily state whether they agree or oppose such measures. According to de Silva, there was roughly Rs 14 trillion domestic debt, out of which Rs 4 trillion was in Treasury bills, and Rs 9 trillion was in Treasury bonds. He questioned whose debt will be cut and what the roadmap for reducing this debt will be. De Silva believed that extensive discussions are necessary as most of the local debt is from the Employees Provident Fund (ETF) and local banks that consist of people’s hard-earned money.

Another critical issue that de Silva highlights is the impact of the economic crisis on low-income households. In particular, he highlights the issue of electricity tariffs, which have increased by over 1,100 percent in a short span of time for the bottom 25 percent of consumers, who use less the 30 units a month.

De Silva suggested that it is not the responsibility of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to provide subsidies to low-income households. He argued that if this is the case, the Board will never be able to become profitable. Instead, de Silva argued that it is the responsibility of the government to cushion low-income households by providing subsidies to those who need them, while the EB focuses on becoming profitable.

De Silva emphasized the need to move away from traditional politics that advocate for providing subsidies to all or going on strike. He suggested that developed countries, or even developing ones like India with their Aadhar system, are able to determine who needs help and provide adequate assistance via budget allocations. He insisted Sri Lanka adopt a mechanism of targeted subsidies.

De Silva concluded by expressing his general agreement with the Sri Lanka’s IMF program but urged further discussion to resolve the contentious issues.