News

Police Organised Crime Prevention Division (OCPD) recorded a statement from UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran in Jaffna, over her controversial speech on the LTTE. The former State Minister had been questioned for around three-and-a-half hours.
 
Speaking during a state event held in Jaffna on July 2, she had said that the LTTE should be resurrected for the freedom of the Tamil people.
 
Several parties including sections of the United National Party (UNP) had demanded action against Maheswaran prompting the Speaker to inform the Attorney General to investigate whether the Jaffna District MP’s controversial statement has violated the Constitution or any laws and to take necessary legal action. The AG had, in turn, instructed the Inspector General of Police to conduct investigations into the statement.  Maheswaran had resigned from her State Minister portfolio on July 5 following the backlash over the speech. 
 
Last Friday (July 20), the OCPD informed the Colombo Magistrate’s Court that  they have obtained testimonies from nearly 40 individuals including government employees and media persons, who were presented at the event in which the former State Minister delivered the said statement. A request had also been made to the Speaker to grant permission to obtain testimonies from Maheswaran and several other MPs, who had attended the event.
 
Source : Derana

A former Army commander, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka is said to be pressurising current Army Commander general Mahesh Senanayake. Senanayake is said to have complained regarding this to President Maithripala Sirisena as well.

Sources say Minister Fonseka has been meddling in the affairs of the Army in the past and the current Commander has opposed this prompting him to inform the President of these issues.

The Cabinet of Ministers, on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera decided to write off the non-consumption loans granted up to Rs One Hundred Thousand to women by all registered Finance companies.

Further, the government has also decided to introduce an interest rate cap of 30 percent per annum on all future loans given by Micro Finance Companies.

This scheme of relief initially will be limited to women who have obtained microfinance loans for non-consumption purposes in the drought-affected districts.

Accordingly, the Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera said that women who obtained such loan amounting to Rs 100,000.00 and below can apply for complete write off of the interest and the capital payment.

The General Treasury will reimburse the loss incurred by the micro finance companies for having written off the capital component. The Government has allocated Rs 500 million for this year to initiate the reimbursement program. The micro finance companies will have to absorb the interest component of the loan written off.

Micro finance institutions are currently providing micro loans without collateral through a door-to-door strategy of high interest rate loans amounting to 40 percent to 220 percent per annum for women seeking economic activities and income generation sources. When multiple loans are obtained under micro finance scheme, people have to pay much higher interest than the initial loan amount due to higher interest premium. 

Source : Colombo Gazette

Wife of missing cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda claims that the Military intelligence is attempting to prevent details about their attempts to hide information from reaching the media.

She made this statement at a press briefing held on July 16.

On July 6 the magistrate is said to have ordered the Director of Intelligence to present himself in court. The lawyer representing the Army had requested the proceedings to be then held in the official office of the magistrate and not in open court claiming that it could be a threat to the lives of the army officers.

However, Ekneligoda says this is an attempt to hide information they have been asked to submit to the CID and to prevent that information from reaching the media.

The government will start a new Development Bank and will offer LKR 10 billion in loans to Sri Lankan entrepreneurs during the first round of financing,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. 

Speaking at the Northern Entrepreneur Awards 2017 organised by the  National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) in association with Yalpanam Chamber of Commerce, in Jaffna, the Premier said that entrepreneurs in the Northern Province will get special incentives to promote entrepreneurship.

“Capital for development will also be given. Northern entrepreneurs will get larger tax reliefs. Tax relief for Capital expenditure is 200% at present but it will be increased to 300%. If your new industry is an industry targeting exports, then the tax is only 14% ,” he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the government is negotiating with India for a major development project for the Northern Province in the scale of the historic Mahaweli project’.

“We are in talks with India for Northern development, in the next 10 years. There was a strong base of entrepreneurship during pre-war times in the North, which the prolonged war destroyed. Some Northern entrepreneurs switched to Colombo while others migrated. Now we should rebuild the economy and speed up growth here, bringing north in par with the rest," he added.

Former Walapane Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Jagath Kumara Samarahewa and one other has been sentenced to a 12-year jail term by the Nuwara Eliya High Court. This was regarding a case filed by the Udupussellawa Police against them regarding the misuse of state vehicles in 2014 and possession of a firearm without a valid license. Forman PS Chairman Samarahewa is currently the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Organizer for Walapane. He was also fined an amount of Rs. 11.5 million.

Uva provincial councillors Shasheendra Rajapaksa, Kumarasiri Ratnayake and Sudarshana Denipitiya have left the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) group to sit with the opposition. Sources say they intend to act as independent councillors going forward. 

The trio have taken the decision in retaliation against a speech made by Chief Minister of Uva province Sampath Dissanayake in Tambuttegama on July 18.

While he is said to have apologised, the three councillors will stick to the decision made sources say. Other Councillors had worn black armbands in protest of the speech at the recent council meeting as well.

The water filling of Kalu Ganga under the Kalu Ganga- Moragahakanda project was inaugurated by the President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday (23).

Kalu Ganga reservoir will be created by blocking the Kalu River at Laggala and Pallegama areas and the capacity of the reservoir is 248 million cubic meters, stated the President’s Media Division.

It is reported that the reservoir will provide water to 3000 families that will be resettled in the lower valley of Kalu River.

Construction of the canal with the tunnel that links Moragahakanda and Kalu Ganga reservoirs will also be commenced today under the auspices of the President Maithripala Sirisena.

Source : Derana

It is reported that files compiled by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on the fraudulent and corrupt activities of former MP and close associate of the Rajapaksa family, Sajin Vaas Gunewardena and former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Port Authority, Priyath Bandu have disappeared.

The CID, upon completing investigations, had handed over the aforementioned files to the Attorney General’s Department in March 2015 for legal action.

Since the AG’s department had remained silent on this matter, the President too had reminded them. However, it was revealed that the Attorney General’s department seems to be the agency that is hindering the prosecution of Sajin Vaas and Priyath Bandu.   

Furthermore, it is learnt that the Deputy Solicitor Generals of the AG’s department have been ignoring the Attorney General’s instructions and delaying legal action.

It is also reported that Sajin Vaas has even been provided protection from the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) by a powerful Minister of the Yahapalana government.

The Government will impose interest rate limits on microfinance lenders, in a bid to prevent predatory loan schemes targeting vulnerable and impoverished people, especially in the war-affected districts of the North and East, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in Mullaitivu yesterday.

Minister Samaraweera said he would present the proposal to Cabinet this week, recommending capping annual interest rates at 30 percent for micro-finance loans, during a visit to Mullaitivu yesterday, to launch the Enterprise Sri Lanka programme at several banks in the Northern Province.

A cap on interest rates charged by micro-finance companies has been a long-term demand of groups agitating against exploitative loan schemes targeting the country’s poorest people. Activists say predatory loans charging exorbitant interest rates cause borrowers to take loans on top of loans, creating a cycle of debt that has impoverished communities that are already economically vulnerable, especially in the war-devastated regions, leading to suicide and other socio-economic tensions.

Enterprise Sri Lanka launched by the Ministry of Finance in June this year plans to grant subsidised loans to the public to encourage entrepreneurship.

The lending scheme gives lower-income communities options beyond microfinance loans. The Minister presented cheques to a large number of loan receivers at several banks in both districts and the majority of the recipients were women.

Prabajini Kamalraj, an expectant mother in Mullaitivu was obtaining a loan to complete the roof of her house before the arrival of her first child.

Invited by Minister Mangala Samaraweera to declare open the Enterprise Sri Lanka Desk at the Bank of Ceylon branch in Mullaitivu, Prabajini seemed pleasantly surprised. A majority of those obtaining the low interest loans hoped to build new homes or complete their partly constructed houses while others such as Pathmanathan Perumal, a peanut farmer, obtained a loan of Rs. 200,000 to buy a drizzling water system for his cultivation. Some also obtained loans to buy fishing gear, others to install solar panels for their homes and businesses. The borrowers acknowledged that the process was simple enough compared to obtaining regular loans from banks. However, some of those receiving the loans said they were already in debt.

Commenting on the Enterprise Sri Lanka program, political economist Dr. Ahilan Kadirgamar said it will most likely help to increase production in the North and support the growth of its economy. He said earlier loan disbursement by local banks was low in the North. “The banks have been reluctant to provide loans due to being in an economically bad situation,” he said.

Source : Sunday Observer

Sri Lanka plans to manufacture electric three wheelers by 2020, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. 
 
With more than 1 million three-wheeler drivers in Sri Lanka, Samaraweera said that the three-wheeler industry is indeed a major sector of the country and has become something of an icon as it is used in myriad aspects.
 
"It is an affordable means of transport for small business, providing last mile connectivity for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Three wheelers are a means of affordable private transportation as well, and is increasingly popular in the tourism industry," he said.

Samaraweera made these remarks at the launch of the 'Dialogue on Introducing Electric Three Wheelers' developed by the Japan Sri Lanka Comprehensive Partnership Secretariat and T-PLAN. 

Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Kenichi Suganauma hitch a ride in an electric tuk tuk.

Samaraweera said that the government has recognised the importance of this sector to the economy and intends to further empower those involved in the industry. 

"In the 2018 budget, we conceived the ‘tourist friendly tuk-tuk’ concept in collaboration with the hospitality industry. This programme provides for existing three-wheeler drivers to register with the SLTDA so that a three-wheeler would not only be a mode of transportation, but the driver to serve as a local tourist-guide as well.  This policy was initiated to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved and improve the quality of services provided in the tourism industry. I am pleased to announce that the implementation is progressing well and thus far 589 drivers have undergone training," he added.

Furthermore, under the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes, the Ministry of Finance will incorporate a subsidised loan scheme to enable three-wheeler drivers to invest in a multitude of additional services including meters, WIFI, GPS facilities, that would act as value-added services that are already provided to consumers; both domestic and tourists. 

"We are also developing a proposal to encourage entrepreneurship amongst the spouses of three wheeler drivers," he added.

The number of three-wheelers in Sri Lanka has increased eight-fold since the year 2000. The fuel consumption per person has increased from 90 litres to 150 litres during the same time.  In 2017, Sri Lanka spent nearly USD 3.5 B to import fossil fuels for the generation of electricity and transportation. This is equivalent to around 4% of GDP. 

"Therefore, Sri Lanka needs a longer term sustainable solution to mitigate the negative environmental consequences that arise as well as a solution to minimise the forex outflows from the country.  As a result, the vehicle policy in the 2018 budget too was designed to incentivise to move to a greener fleet of vehicles. The excise tax is structured such that diesel and petrol vehicles are taxed at a higher rate, making hybrids and electric vehicles more attractive, " Samaraweera said.

The Minister also noted that through such policies and projects, the Government of Sri Lanka will not only show continued commitment to the empowerment of the three-wheeler industry, but also to achieving long term economic growth through sustainable development.

A special hotline and a call centre will be set up to resolve issues faced by entrepreneurs using the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. 

The Minister said this after declaring open the dedicated counters established to help facilitate the Enterprise Sri Lanka loan application process at the BOC, People's Bank and the Regional Development Bank branches in Mannar. Foundation stones were also laid for a brand new bus stand in Mannar town at a cost of LKR 180 million by Ministers Mangala Samaraweera, Rishad Bathiudeen, Patali Champika Ranawaka and Eran Wickramarathne yesterday.

Under the Gamperaliya rapid rural infrastructure development programme, five Divisional Secretariats in the Mannar district will receive a total of LKR 1 Billion.