News
Navy-Army relations to reach new heights: Shavendra
Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva assured that in his capacity as the Army Chief, he would do everything possible to further foster close relations and strong connectivity with the Navy as well as the Air Force during his tenure since all three professional organizations are working for a common goal.
“We all stood together during the critical times of our history and the support given by our Other Ranks in all three forces could not be belittled and it was the unity that freed this country from grips of terrorism. Let me profusely thank the Navy for its unstinting support accorded presently as well as in the past,” the visiting Army Chief quipped.
Lieutenant General Silva also made a special mention of the very effective Naval operations being conducted by sailors round the country in their quest to detect narcotics and other harmful elements, trying to enter the country. He also pledged the Army's support for such operations in the future and invited the Navy to join hands with the Army for such projects too.
The visiting Army Chief also praised the Navy’s contribution to all types of natural disasters and national catastrophes and invited a representative team of senior Naval Officers to attend the forthcoming Army drill competition awarding ceremony as special guests showing their spirits of brotherhood and strong connectivity.
Finance Minister orders probe into distribution of liquor licenses
Excise Commissioner General, H.G. Sumanasinghe reiterated that no such new licenses have been issued for distillery factories during this year.
No discussions with thieves who robbed the Central Bank: President
Admitting that the SLFP has conducted a number of discussions with the SLPP on the matter, he said they have not had discussions with the UNP. He also stressed however he will also not hold any discussions with thieves who robbed the Central Bank.
The President made these comments at the SLFP district convention held yesterday evening (15).
“Both parties are seeking our support”
The President also revealed that the SLFP has received invitations from both parties but has not held a discussion with the UNP. According to him, the SLFP held discussions with the SLPP as the SLFP places the motherland in the number one spot while the party’s identity is the next important factor for them.
He also said he will not allow anyone to underestimate the SLFP and is prepared to show the party’s power to both the UNP and the SLPP.
The President also assured the party is prepared to undertake a programme that will ensure that SLFP party members are not treated unfairly.
Eminent economist lashes out at Rajapaksa regime’s crony socialism
‘Mahinda Chinthana’ period of de-liberalisation had to depend on China for infrastructure development. Previous government’s “illiberal democracy and ethnic agenda has pushed the country into an economic abyss.
The LTTE and JVP in combination did a spectacular job at destroying the best of Sri Lanka’s political elite and the new government also came to power without an economic plan and it never developed one.
He noted that he has observed the dire state of the Sri Lankan state or in academic jargon, a serious lack of state capacity, and he came to the conclusion quite quickly that even fairly simple reforms were difficult and perhaps in some cases impossible to push through because of the “dysfunction” of the Sri Lankan state.
These observations were made by International renowned Sri Lankan–born economist Dr. Razeen Sally who is a Visiting Associate Professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
He was delivering the 69th anniversary oration of the Central Bank in Colombo on Wednesday.
The present Sri Lanka government came to power without an economic plan and it never developed one and it eventually unveiled a “Christmas tree wish list” of things that’s going to happen by 2025, he added.
He noted that he has observed the dire state of the Sri Lankan state or in the academic jargon a serious lack of state capacity and he came to the conclusion quite quickly that even fairly simple reforms were difficult and perhaps in some cases impossible to push through because of the “dysfunction” of the Sri Lankan state.
U.S. ambassador opens renovated archeological museum in Anuradhapura
The collection consists of archeologically significant rare objects, including gilded statues, bronze statues, ancient coins, clothing, and tools used in different industries, along with models of the ancient town of Anuradhapura.
“I am delighted that the U.S. Government has helped preserve Sri Lanka’s stunning heritage for future generations to discover,” Ambassador Teplitz said. “This museum demonstrates our appreciation of and respect for Sri Lanka’s culture.”
In 2015, the U.S. Department of State’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) provided $150,000 for display cases and the security of the collection. The 20 new dehumidified cases, located in the newly renovated building, are built according to the latest international conservation standards. The grant includes the costs of a newly installed security system and fire detectors along with a disaster management plan. This is the third grant that AFCP has awarded to the Department of Archeology’s Museum in Anuradhapura.
In 2009, AFCP awarded $30,000 to catalogue the museum collection. In 2012, a grant of $40,120 was awarded to conserve the museum collection and train Department of Archaeology staff on the conservation of artifacts.
Rs. 1.6 billion Japanese grant to strengthen counter-terrorism activities
As an immediate response to the incident, the Government of Japan has agreed to provide Japanese Yen 01 billion, (approximately Rs. 1.6 billion) grant under the Japanese Government’s non - project grant aid scheme for the provision of necessary equipment to strengthen the capacity of Sri Lanka Police and Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka ) Limited on counterterrorism activities.
Accordingly, the necessary equipment for surveillance and detection will be provided by the Government of Japan to Sri Lanka Police and to the Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Limited, through the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation respectively to ensure the public security and for the safety of air passengers.
The signing of Exchange of Notes pertaining to the above Grant Aid took place today, at the Ministry of Finance.
Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, Secretary, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and H.E. Mr. Akira Sugiyama, Ambassador, Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka on behalf of the Government of Japan signed the above Exchange of Notes.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa's track record comes to light again
“Our country should be free from crime, drug trafficking, terrorist financing, money laundering and corruption. Our houses and streets must be safe places for children, women and the community at large. Businesses should be shielded from security threats.”
Those were the buzzwords of Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he was addressing all the forums and meetings held so far during his campaign.
What he is hiding about his past record including crimes and corruption of the previous regime will be exposed when the real race is on for the presidency, a renowned political analyst said.
He recalled that Sri Lankans have short memories and they have conveniently forgotten the illegal evictions, the ‘White Van’ abductions, the Matale ‘mass graves,’ the Bodu Bala Sena extremism as well as unwarranted militarisation, land grabs, detentions without being formally charged to extra-judicial executions.
The list will not end there. It also included mass killings, to violations of international law, to war crimes, to mass atrocities – the one name and the one family that is synonymous and inextricably linked to these and other multitude of human rights abuses and heinous crimes in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, siphoning off Tsunami funds that came into the Helping Hambantota initiative into a private account, the Euro 28 million MIG Deal, Shangri-La land deal for 10 acres of $125 million, the hedging deal which incurred a loss of 280 million, building memorials via spending public money, controversial Avante Garde transactions were among the hundreds of corrupt practices carried out during previous Rajapaksa regime were well documented and published in local print and social media during that period.
Therefore, Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Rajapaksa family regime should be made answerable for a multitude of human rights abuses and heinous crimes in Sri Lanka during their rule, he claimed.
SL economy has shown 'resilience' after Easter attacks
In April, bomb blasts ripped through churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing more than 200 people and injuring more than 400.
Analysts as well as the Sri Lankan Government had predicted the bombings would hit the country’s growth this year.
State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne had said 2019 growth “would be around 3%” – lower than projections by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank.
The IMF’s 2019 growth forecast for Sri Lanka was 3.5%, while that of the ADB was 3.6%.
In May, a Reuters poll showed that the country’s 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) growth could hit an 18-year-low following the bombings, falling to 2.5%. The attacks weighed on tourism, foreign investment, and business activity in the country.
Since then, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has cut its rates twice in a bid to lift its struggling economy in the wake of the attacks.
Sri Lanka’s key tourism sector is seeing “quite a good recovery” after the attacks, said Cooray.
“Month on month we’re seeing quite a strong rise in the arrivals and ... we’ve been monitoring the forward bookings compared to, say, the same period last year. We’re happy to see that the trend of forward bookings is actually quite positive,” he said. “We’re seeing almost the same level of bookings from the period September to March 2020, so the recovery momentum is certainly quite strong, given the incident that happened.”
Tourism accounted for about 5% of the Sri Lankan economy in December 2018. In that month, tourism revenue stood at $475.2 million.
The upcoming Presidential Elections this year could also lead to more good news for Sri Lanka’s economy, Cooray said.
“Post the election, with further clarity on certain policies and large ticket investments, I think that could be a further catalyst for growth going forward,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s Hambantota International Port, located in Colombo, could attract more foreign investments as well, Cooray added.
“There’s 15,000 acres of land that has been earmarked for development of industries surrounding the port, and I think that is the opportunity that is there for the private sector in Sri Lanka to capitalise… it’s something that could be used to attract (Foreign Direct Investment) into the country,” said Cooray.
His company is a big player in the development of the port, a partnership between the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and China Merchant Port Holdings.
Lotus Tower blooms while Chinese debt looms
When the Government has failed to manage SOEs due to official inefficiency and lack of productivity, the decision to hand over the Lotus Tower to another similar state entity does not augar well for the country, economic analysts said.
Be that as it may, the government has decided to vest the proposed television tower and the entertainment centre in a management consultancy company as a Public Company under the ownership of the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC).
The company is to be enlisted it in the Colombo Stock Exchange and to issue a share capital of 30 per cent through an initial public issue.
However, in terms of the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Act, and the Sri Lanka Telecommunication (Amendment) Act, the TRC has no powers to implement the proposal .
By reason of impossibility of establishing a company in terms of the Telecommunication Act, several steps had been taken to lease the Colombo Lotus Tower to a property management company.
From the start of Tower constructions by two Chinese companies in November 2012, it has faced multiple delays and charges of mismanagement and fund wastage which were highlighted by the Auditor General.
Although the period for completing the Project was 912 days, it had been extended up to October 2017, and it was not completed until this year delaying the completion of the project by more than 500 days.
The total amount of the loan of US$ 88,655,000 had been utilized in the computation of the agreed charges from the beginning but it was reported that US$ 636,508 had been over paid.
Foreign Ministry sends Mahendran's papers to Singapore
The extradition request of former Central Bank Governor, Arjuna Mahendran has been sent to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The Attorney General’s Coordinating Officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said yesterday (12) that the documents have been sent to Singapore.
The extradition request will subsequently be forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore.
The Attorney General on September 2nd tendered the extradition request for the former Central Bank Governor to the Defence Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry for necessary authentication and transmission to the Singaporean government.
Accordingly, the President signed the documents amounting to 21,000 pages that are to be lodged with Singapore.
Mahendran was indicted in June for causing losses of more than US$11 million to the state.
Sri Lankan authorities had completed the legal requirements to formally lodge an extradition request with Singapore.
Mahendran, who is wanted in connection with investigations into the Central Bank Treasury bond scam, is believed to be in Singapore.
A Singapore national of Sri Lankan origin, he was accused in 2015 of passing sensitive information to his bond-dealer son-in-law to make millions during his term as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
In February last year, Mahendran was named a key suspect in the multi-million dollar bond scam in Sri Lanka. He fled abroad, failing to appear in court to respond to charges.
Discussions with UNF leaders a resounding success: Sajith
Deputy Leader of the UNP, Sajith Premadasa claims the special discussion held last night with UNF leaders on the Presidential candidate was a resounding success. The Minister made this claim responding to the media while leaving the meeting venue.
The meeting held at the residence of Minister Mangala Samaraweera last night (14) was also attended by Ministers Champika Ranawaka, Rauf Hakeem, Rishad Bathiudeen, Mano Ganesan and Palani Digambaram. Meanwhile, UNP Ministers supporting Premadasa including Malik Samarawickrama, Kabir Hashim, Mangala Samaraweera, Ranjith Maddumabandara, Eran Wickramaratne were also in attendance.
According to sources, the Ministers had engaged in a lengthy discussion about the possible candidate the coalition led by the UNP could field in the upcoming election.
Following the meeting, Minister Ajith P. Perera had put up the post below on his Facebook page.
A challenge presented by PM Ranil!
A decision was made to discuss with the minority parties of the UNF after Premadasa’s meeting with PM Wickremesinghe last Tuesday (10).
According to the BBC Sinhala Service, the PM had stipulated that Premadasa must win over the support of the minority parties if he is to become the UNP Presidential candidate which was agreed by the parties as well. The meeting was held last night in accordance with this agreement.
UNP decision to Ranil on Tuesday
Meanwhile, a party leader of the UNF who was in attendance at yesterday's meeting has told theleader.lk that the agreements of the meeting will be informed to the Prime Minister officially on Tuesday after the cabinet meeting.
While Minister Rajitha Senaratne was not invited to yesterday's meeting, sources claim Premadasa is set to meet Senaratne separately in the coming days.
President wants terrorism prevention laws expedited
Following the Easter attacks, a group of parliamentarians prepared and handed over a proposal to the President.
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