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The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was passed in Parliament with amendments by majority vote.

It will be added to the constitution of Sri Lanka as the 21st Amendment.

174 votes were cast in favor of the amendment during the third reading in Parliament, while no one voted against it.

However, during the second reading of the amendment 179 votes were cast in favor, and Dr. Sarath Weerasekera exercised his vote against it.

Six MPs who were in parliament during the vote for the second reading were not present for the vote for the third reading.

The Samagi Jana Banavegaya, Sri Lanka Freedom Party, Tamil National Alliance, and the National People's Power voted in favor of the constitutional amendment.

Notably, over 40 Members of Parliament were not present in the chamber when the vote was taken up.

This constitutional amendment features the inclusion of the constitutional council and enforcement of the Independent Commissions.

Anyone who is a dual citizen will no longer be allowed to be a member of Parliament, and present dual-citizen MPs will also lose their seats.

The constitutional amendment also allows the President to dissolve the parliament after 2 and a half years of the parliament being elected.

In addition, the Opposition Leader will also have to consult when appointing civil society members to the constitutional council.

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, a supernatural satire set amid a murderous Sri Lankan civil war, has won the Booker Prize.

The Sri Lankan writer's novel is about a photographer who wakes up dead, with a week to ask his friends to find his photos and expose the brutality of war.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, presented the prize, and the author said it had been "an honour and a privilege" to be on the shortlist.

Pop singer Dua Lipa was the star guest.

The prestigious £50,000 prize, for a single work of fiction published in the UK in English, also gives the other five writers on the shortlist £2,500 each.

The writer said he decided in 2009 to write "a ghost story where the dead could offer their perspective" after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, "when there was a raging debate over how many civilians died and whose fault it was".

Head judge Neil MacGregor praised the "scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and hilarity" of the novel, calling it an "afterlife noir" which "takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death".

He said the judges' decision had been unanimous, adding all of the shortlisted books were "all really about one question, and that is what's the point of an individual life?"

Karunatilaka said as he accepted his prize: "My hope is that in the not too distant future... Sri Lanka has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work.

'I have self-censored'

"I hope it's in print in 10 years... if it is, I hope it's written in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories, and that Seven Moons will be in the fantasy section of the bookshop, next to the dragons, the unicorns and will not be mistaken for realism or political satire."

He later added that he had "self-censored" a couple of short stories after author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in August, having faced years of death threats for his novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims see as blasphemous.

"I was in the process of publishing a collection of short stories when this incident happened, and I discovered a couple which I don't think was offensive to any religion," Karunatilaka said.

"But my wife said, can you not do that? You've got two young kids. This story is not that good. Just leave it out."

He added that "this is something that hangs over all of us if we're writing in South Asia, especially writing about politics or religion".

President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that immediate measures are being taken to create an investment-friendly environment in Sri Lanka and create economic stability.

The President said this addressing the gathering at the Mireka Tower Opening Ceremony at Havelock City in Wellawatte today (20), where he was the Chief Guest.

The President also said that laws that had been introduced under the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) will be re-enacted to introduce an efficient system replacing the existing slow process, to encourage foreign investment.

The President further said that he had already appointed a committee to bring the Board of Investment (BOI), the Export Development Board (EDB) and the Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) together onto one platform and establish one investment promotion agency to encourage foreign investment in Sri Lanka.

He further added that Sri Lanka needs to be made an investor-friendly country to attract foreign revenue and get out of the vicious cycle of foreign borrowing.

The statement made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe is as follows;

“This complex, Havelock City is a tribute to Mr S. P. Tao and his commitment to Sri Lanka. I told Mildred, now you are virtually a Sri Lankan citizen. So let’s think of where the next investment is going to be. I first got to know Mr Tao in 1994 as I became the Prime Minister. He had started at the World Trade Center and after President Premadasa passed away, the late Sirisena Cooray brought him along to meet me. That’s how our first contact started. I met him many times, and not only the late Mr S. P. Tao but also Mildred Tao. Then I must say, the commitment is such that during the attacks, a lot of people wanted to pull out.

Instead, when I asked Mr Tao, he said, ‘no, I’m going to stay here. So first, thank you for that confidence in Sri Lanka’s future. When you crossed over and I was Prime Minister in 2003, again, I met S.P. Tao and he has been meeting me on and off, and he wanted to start a new project.

The new project came along and they were looking at the Havelock town, Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mill land that was abandoned. So some people asked why we wanted to give it. We can have some industrial business there. But I said Havelock town started as a residential area. So let’s look at this. This will be the start of the Havelock city development.

I had known this place earlier when I was young and the Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills were operational. I used to come here when Mr Solly Captain’s father was in charge of the mills. We used to have lunch there and also we were taken along to see the mills. Then in 1975 when I entered politics, President J. R. Jayawardena was the MP for Colombo South and he asked me to take over Wellawatte North. At the time this area was known as Wellawatte North Ward.

I used to come here and one of our meeting places was the old worker’s residence at the other end of the complex. So, I told Mr S. P. Tao, that whatever he does, to ensure that the workers who lived there were looked after, which he did. So I was more than happy. Here was the area that I had known when I was first in charge and I thought why not. I took over Biyagama next and started zones there.

So, I thought, why not have one zone in Havelock town and no better person than SP Tao to start it off? So it is this venture’s results which we see today. Many people were involved in it. I see Rohini Nanayakkara, who was involved in this project from the very beginning.

She doesn’t want me to reveal her age. Okay, I will not reveal your age, I am only saying that you were involved. There’s Ajith Jayaratne and many others who were involved in the project. So I must again say thank you. I am saddened that Mr S. P. Tao is not here. After all, he had lived to 105. Nevertheless, this is a tribute to Mr S. P. Tao.

So I look forward to another investment, as I said, from the company. That will have to be Mildred’s investment. This is Mr S. P. Tao’s investment. So now you got to make one for Mildred. However, I must say that we have to now seriously look at foreign investment, replacing foreign loans, as our main source of income.

We have to become an export-oriented economy, and we have to keep increasing our foreign investments. Now, if we are to keep increasing our foreign investment, we must have an outward-looking economy. We can’t have an inward-looking economy. So, now as the economic stabilization is taking place, and the discussions are on between Japan, China and India, about the main creditors, on how to restructure the debt, we are also looking at how we can now revive growth.

One of the biggest issues we have is the number of government agencies that investors have to pass through. You go through BOI, Tourist Board, or some other ministry, then you go to Port City and then you come back to where you started. Then you do a second round. After about ten years, you can get the investment through. This just won’t work.

When we came in 1977, we started the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC). There, the decisions were taken quickly and really in ten years, we got four zones going that is Katunayake, Biyagama, Koggala and Seethawaka. Then there was Pallekele which Mr Wijethunga wanted. Thereafter, what are the big investment zones that we have started?

The whole system has broken down. The Tourist Board is where people go around for various fairs and come back after they have had a good holiday. Therefore, I appointed a committee which is now looking at the whole structure and the investment authorities. What this committee is recommending and working on is that the BOI the EDB and Sri Lanka Export Credit Insurance Corporation (SLECIC) are brought together as one investment promotion agency.

Secondly, the industrial estates and investment zones will be broken off. I think Katunayake and Biyagama are the best zones in South Asia. We are now looking at thousand-acre zones and initiating them from Bingiriya, then Hambantota and Trincomalee. A separate corporation will handle these.

Then we have to look at the laws. We have to cut through these laws and go back to the GCEC system. When the investment is made, the organization has two weeks to make their remarks and the thereafter-final decision is taken. That is the only way. Next is to develop the quality of human resources, and manpower available and look at the infrastructure.

If these steps are in place, we won’t need 40-year tax holidays. We should have an efficient bureaucracy and efficient infrastructure to ensure that investment can take off. Therefore we would be focusing mainly on zones, whether it be for manufacturing, IT or even tourism, rather than have people located everywhere they want. We could expedite matters earlier under the GCEC because we had an efficient system.

So this is the new system, we are looking at. How do we open up? There will be many laws that will be changed and there will be some who will object and say that we are betraying the country. So remember that propaganda will go on. But we must have fast growth. We have gone down. It doesn’t mean we have to stay down.

Sri Lanka can be like a football. You hit it, send it down and then it bounces back up again. So that’s what we have to be and we must go all out. We have several people leaving the country. That’s okay. We can’t stop that. We must train more people. We are modernizing the education system. So that’s what we are working on while we are looking at stabilization measures which we are working on with the IMF.

Certainly, we are also looking at modernizing the economy, looking at the industry and how we can go ahead. Another area of interest is going to be modernized agriculture. There’s so much land available. I thought I’d share with you what we are now working on because by the end of the year will be able to announce many of the measures that will be implemented by early next year to get the legislation enacted. Therefore, many measures are needed to be taken.

However, this is all to make Sri Lanka an investor-friendly country. And when investors come in, we will certainly have more employment, and higher income and we will be able to get off this vicious cycle of foreign borrowing. We can’t do this a second time. So let’s make up our minds. Let us commit ourselves to moving forward to promote greater foreign investment.

Before I conclude, I would like to say that Mr S. P. Tao, had a lot of faith in Sri Lanka. He looked at the locations and said, this is a good point. Even better than China or India. I too share the same view. So let’s hope it succeeds.

Thank you.”

Former Chairman of the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Prof. Charitha Herath has been nominated to serve in the new COPE Committee.

Addressing Parliament today (18), Deputy Speaker MP Ajith Rajapakse announced that Prof. Charitha Herath will fill the vacancy which occurred after the resignation of opposition MP Dr. Harsha de Silva.

Following the announcement of a 27-member COPE Committee, Prof. Herath had slammed the government, especially President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, for omitting his name.

Thereafter, on 4th October, Opposition Leader MP Sajith Premadasa proposed in Parliament to nominate Prof. Charitha Herath to the new COPE committee.

MP Premadasa said Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Dr. Harsha de Silva who was appointed a member of the Committee has taken a voluntary decision to step down from the COPE committee.

Dr. Harsha de Silva had announced his resignation on the grounds of holding the post of Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance and the workload related to the Committee.

MP Premadasa said as such, the Opposition has decided to propose Prof. Charitha Herath to fill the vacancy on the COPE Committee.

Targets must be reasonable and achievable if Sri Lanka is to succeed on its 17th agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), lawmaker Eran Wickramaratne said.

He made this comment in response to a special statement made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday (19) over the government's new tax policy.

Wickramaratne noted that creating a primary balance is a clear indication of debt sustainability, highlighting the fact that this was possible in the recent past because macro-economic management was independent of executive interference.

"It is inevitable that tax revenues have to increase. A primary balance has been created only 4 times since Sri Lanka’s independence," he said, referring to when the country was able to record a positive surplus twice in the 1950s and again in 2017 and 2018 under then finance minister the late Mangala Samaraweera.

"However, IMF targets on primary balances need to be revisited by providing a longer period to achieve the target," he said, adding that whilst the move from indirect taxes to direct taxes is inevitable in cushioning the poor and vulnerable given the foreign currency crisis.

He further said that taxation on exports should be implemented gradually and the government should revisit the 30% threshold on exports.

The Supreme Court has ordered that legal action be initiated against two members of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) Dr. Sanjeewa Jayawardane and Dr. Ranee Jayamaha.

A five-member bench comprising chief justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Buwaneka Aluvihare, Vijith Malalgoda, L.T.B. Dehideniya and Murdu N.B. Fernando issued the order, while granting leave to proceed with the fundamental rights case no. SC FR 195/2022.

It also directed the petitioners to add the two who are current members of the 28th respondent (CBSL Monetary Board) as 32B and 32C respondents.

The petitioners, Dr. Athulasiri Kumara Samarakoon, Soosaiappu Neavis Morais and Dr. Mahim Mendis, had named 39 respondents including former president Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former finance ministers, former secretary to the president and also two former CBSL governors and two of the members who served in the monetary board during the period relevant to the fundamental rights application.

The bench directed the CBSL’s Monetary Board to produce all documents, relating to matters referred to by Dr. Jayawardane and Dr. Jayamaha at the meeting of the Committee on Public Enterprise (COPE) on May 25, 2022.

Specifically mentioned in the order are the suggestion said to have been made, that the Republic should seek relief and/or other financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, and objection to and/or otherwise disagreement expressed regarding the artificial maintenance of exchange rate of the Sri Lankan Rupee at/or at a level below 203/- as against the US Dollar.

The said documents are required to be submitted to the Court not later than November 30, 2022.

Based on the statements made by Dr. Jayawardane and Dr. Jayamaha at the COPE had been referred to as evidence against certain respondents in this case by the petitioners.

Some of the said respondents by their affidavits have denied the averments together with proof to show that the statements made by the two at the COPE meeting are false and misleading.

The CBSL has released a document indicating Dr. Jayamaha and Dr. Jayawardane as the persons who have received highest payments as Monetary Board members; receiving Rs 3,225,000/- and Rs 2,725,000/- respectively.

Copy of the CBSL document is found below.

A decision has been taken to wind up operations of the “Covid 19 Health and Social Security Fund”, which was established to provide relief to those affected by the Covid 19 epidemic, and Cabinet approval has been obtained for it.

The Secretary of the Covid-19 Health and Social Security Fund, Dr Tharaka Liyanapathirana notified the public that the “Covid-19 Health and Social Security Fund” at the Bank of Ceylon, account number 85737373 has been closed down effective from October 18th and requested the public not to donate to this fund from now on.

He also notified donors not to send cheques or money towards this fund, to the Presidential Secretariat.

The secretary of the Covid-19 Health and Social Security Fund extended his appreciation to the donors who contributed to this fund to make this program implemented throughout the country during the Covid-19 epidemic, a success.

The Covid-19 Health and Social Security Fund had received a total of Rs. 2,207,164,785.58 (Rs. two billion two hundred and seven million one hundred sixty-four thousand, seven hundred and eighty-five and fifty-eight cents) in donations.

Out of this sum, Rs. 1,997,569,456.56 (One billion, nine hundred and ninety-seven million, five hundred and sixty-nine thousand, four hundred and fifty-six rupees and fifty-six cents.) had been used for providing facilities for PCR tests, awareness programs, quarantine activities, national vaccination program, purchase of beds for intensive care units and purchase of medicines.

As of October 18, 2022, the sum remaining in the Covid Fund was Rs. 216,877,431.05 (Two hundred and sixteen million, eight hundred and seventy-seven thousand, four hundred and thirty-one rupees and five cents), which has been credited to the President’s Fund to provide for surgery and medical aid assistance.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Power and Energy has decided to reduce fuel prices with effect from Monday (17) night.

92 Octane Petrol (1 Litre) reduced by Rs. 40/- to Rs. 370/- per liter

Auto Diesel (1 Litre) reduced by Rs. 15/- to Rs. 415/- per liter.

Prices on other petroleum products will remain the same.

Lanka IOC announced that it has decided to reduce fuel prices, to the same rates of the CPC.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (19) granted permission to issue notice on Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appear in court on the 15th of December 2022 over the case filed over the enforced disappearance of social activists Lalith & Kugan, back in 2011.

Sri Lanka's Supreme Court on Wednesday (19) granted permission to issue notice on Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appear in court on the 15th of December 2022 after a fresh petition was filed requesting to annul the Court of Appeal’s decision preventing the enforcement of an order issued by the Jaffna Magistrate's Court on former President Rajapaksa with regard to the enforced disappearance of Lalith Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan in 2011 within the Jaffna High Security Zone.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had granted permission to the complainant to sent notice to then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appear in court on Wednesday (19).

Attorney Nuwan Bopage apearing for the complainant requested permission from the Supreme Court to sent notice to the Wijerama Mawatha residence of the Former President, as it has come to light that Rajapaksa is no longer living at his residence located in Mirihana.

Permission was granted to re-issue notice on the Former President by the Supreme Court Judge-bench comprising of Justices Gamini Amarasekara, Yasantha Kodagoda and A. H. M. D. Nawaz.

Deputy chief government whip Sagara Kariyawasam is to organise the ruling MPs for the House debate on the draft 22nd amendment to the constitution, reports say.

Prasanna Ranatunga, who is the chief government whip, will miss the entire duration of the debate owing to a private visit to France.

In addition, general secretary of the SLPP, Kariyawasam has openly declared that his party would not support certain clauses in the 22 amendment.

Party leaders have decided to have the debate on the second reading of the 22A draft bill on October 20 and 21.

MPs are free to vote as they wish

SLPP MPs have the freedom to use their vote as they wish at the vote on the amendment, said cabinet spokesman Bandula Gunawardena.

Since the cabinet has already approved the amendment, all ministers will support the related draft bill, he has told the media.

The minister believed the amendment would take place in a manner that fulfills the wishes of the people.

State-owned Lanka Sathosa has announced a reduction in the prices of 06 items.

According to Lanka Sathosa, the price drop comes into effect today, 19th October 2022.

The reduced prices of the 06 items per kilogram are as follows:

Garlic reduced by Rs. 60 New price – Rs. 490

2. Wheat flour reduced by Rs. 55

New price – Rs. 320

3. Sprats reduced by Rs. 50

New price – Rs. 1,450

4. Lentils reduced by Rs. 30

New price – Rs. 285

5. White sugar reduced by Rs. 15

New price – Rs. 260

6. Imported white rice reduced by Rs. 5

New price – Rs. 169

The Disaster Management Centre issued rising water levels in the Kelani ganga, Kalu ganga, Kuda ganga and Gin ganga.

In a statement, the Centre also released minor flood warnings to Kelani Ganga (N’ street and Hanwella), Kuda Ganga (Kalawellawa) and Attanagalu Oya (Dunamale).

Meanwhile, the Meteorology Department stated the current heavy rains are expected to continue, due to the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ – The region where the Northern Hemispheric wind and the Southern Hemispheric wind converge) located in the vicinity of the island. Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central and North- Western provinces and in Galle and Matara districts.

Heavy showers above 100 mm can be expected at some places in Western, Sabaragamuwa and Central provinces and in Galle and Matara districts. Showers or thundershowers will occur elsewhere over the island during the afternoon or night. Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm can be expected at some places. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.