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Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Chairman has saved his job by offering an additional bonus of Rs. 25 000 and a 6% pay hike to unions. SLT union were to demand the resignation of Kumarasinghe Sirisena which was averted by his two cronies Kiththi Perera and Priyantha Fernandez by cutting a deal with the unions by offering a Rs . 25 000 additional bonus and 6% pay hike without obtaining the necessary board approval. Earlier the board approved a maximum bonus of 2.25 months salary for 2016 amidst falling profitability due to high depreciation, a result of out of scale investments made pre 2015.

 Mobitel employees have informed that SLT Chairman that a non executive officer has been violating the Articles of association of Mobitel by forcibly signing various approvals and changing approval process of appointments and promotions. There were allegations to the effect that he has been changing board minutes to suit his agenda. Staff at Mobitel has suggested a detailed audit to be carried out independently to check these violations and to find if the Chairman has violated management practices. Sources say the current chairman has no previous experience in the field unlike past Chairman Nimal Welgama.

Public respect for the Police and its dignity was restored by the Yahapalana government, Minister of Law & Order and Southern Development, Sagala Ratnayake has said.

The Minster had made these comments while attending a passing out parade of 476 junior Police officers. Among the officers passing out were 275 Tamil Police constables and seven Tamil Women Police Constables.

The Minister expressed his pleasure at attending such a passing out parade where officers representing all ethnicities had sworn to protect this country, which is a far cry away from the war period in Sri Lanka.

According to the Minister, the facilities and equipment of the Police department were not upgraded for decades as the main focus of the past governments had to be on the war being fought. “Officers had to face many obstacles such as reduced training periods,” he said adding that they have even had to face serious issues regarding promotions. The Minister noted that the Police was once again neglected by previous governments in the post-war period as well.

However, the Minister said the Yahapalana government has taken steps to improve the Police department while developing facilities offered to officers. He also said the rehabilitation process of the Police has now commenced with the government also looking into the various promotion issues within the force. The Minister also promised to resolve the accommodation issues while also proving other facilities for the officers. “Our intention is to create a Police that protects the law in a fair and just manner,” the Minister said.

After President Maithripala Sirisena’s announcement on December 22 to appoint a commision to look into the massive frauds and corruptions carried out in the Mihin Lanka and Sri Lankan Airlines during the Rajapaksa regime, former first lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa is said to be in shock having heard the news according to sources from the President's Office.

According to sources, the former first lady has been sending continuous messages to the President’s party after the announcement was made in the hope of reconciling with him.

While Nishantha Wickramasinghe, brother of Shiranthi Rajapaksa was appointed as the Chairman of Srilankan Airlines during the former regime’s rule, reports say the company was actually controlled by the former first lady during his tenure.

At the time the media reported a large number of large frauds and irregularities committed within the SriLankan Airlines.

Political analysts point out that the President has now selected the best political strategy to tame the wayward Rajapaksa family.

Over 4000 Police officers will be deployed in the Colombo city during the holiday season for security and traffic management the Police said. According to Police Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara, this will include 2800 uniformed police officers and 300 officers in civvies. Another 1200 Policeman will be deployed for traffic management duty he said.

The Police are also set to introduce a special program to reduce traffic congestion within the city. “IGP Pujith Jayasundara has asked for the number of officers on duty to be increased during the time period,” SP Gunasekara said adding that necessary instructions have been given to the relevant senior officers. The Police are to also step up drunk driving detection to reduce accidents during the festive period.

Meanwhile, SP Gunasekara also requested the public to be vigilant and take necessary safety precautions at all times. “People should be vigilant about their valuables when in crowded places,” he said while emphasizing the need to be cautious when using firecrackers during the upcoming holidays.

Source: Sunday Observer

The National Police Commission (NPC) has recommended promoting Policeman-turned-politician Palitha Range Bandara to the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

A Spokesman of the Commission said the recommendation letter of the retired SI Palitha Range Bandara had been forwarded to the Law and Order and Southern Development Ministry.

The Minister would receive a pension and possibly a commuted amount too for the period he did not get paid.

This follows his appeal to the Commission that he had been victimized politically when he was in the Police Service.

The Commission recommended that he be reinstated in the Police Service from 24 August 2000 and promoted to the ASP rank on the 27th of the same month and sent him on retirement.

While the NPC has thought it important to resolve this issue, however, promotions of currently serving officers who were victimized politically in various ways continue to be delayed due to the inaction of the NPC and the Sri Lanka Police Department.

The National Peace Council has welcomed the government's decision to accept the challenge of governance in the future according to international standards by acceding to the Optional Protocol on the Convention against Torture that allows for greater international scrutiny of a country’s detention facilities and the Ottawa Treaty to ban landmines. Previous Sri Lankan governments had resisted acceding to these international instruments on the grounds of national security even while agreeing to their content in principle the NPC has said in a statement.

The mine ban treaty bans anti-personnel landmines, requires destruction of stockpiles and the clearance of mined areas, and assistance to victims who have suffered landmine injuries while the Optional Protocol of the Convention against Torture permits visits by independent international and national bodies to places of detention in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. This too is a forward-looking commitment as it seeks to ensure that present practices do not permit torture and the violation of human rights they said.

However, the NCP also noted the government’s slowness in implementing promises made in regard to human rights and justice issues that arose in the course of the war and postwar period. “This has led to doubts about the government’s intentions in regard to the implementation of those commitments,” the release said.

After winning The DSC Prize for South Asian Literature Sri Lankan writer Anuk Arudpragasam has won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize 2017 for his novel "The Story of a Brief Marriage".

From 47 titles submitted for consideration, Author and translator Arshia Sattar and poet and novelist Jeet Thayil chose the shortlist for this year's Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize. The final decision was made by judges Kamila Shamsie, Rohini Mohan and Margaret Mascarenhas who were unanimous in their decision.

"A native of Colombo his work presents the civil war in Sri Lanka like never before. Writing from within the debris of Tamil lives in prose that can pierce your heart, Arudpragasam's protagonists find dignity as they piece together strategies of survival. The story is about the human spirit in the most desperate of times. It sings not as testament of glory but as a dirge of despair," Sattar said.

"Anuk Arudpragasam has written an extraordinary novel that is timely, timeless and universal in its depiction of the possibility of tenderness and love blossoming in the midst of the mind-numbing carnage, suffering and horror that is war. 'The Story of a Brief Marriage' is mesmerizing from the first paragraph, and remains delicately poised between life and death from beginning to end," Mascarenhas stated.

Shamsie added that it is an exceptional accomplishment for any writer, especially a miraculous achievement for one who had just made a debut.

President Maithripala Sirisena is to appoint a commision to look into the massive frauds and corruptions carried out in the Mihin Lanka and Sri Lankan Airlines during the Rajapaksa regime.

The President expressed his confidence that through appointing the commission a series of frauds committed during the time could be revealed.

According to sources, the President had made this announcement during a meeting held yesterday (22) with the electoral organizers of the Sri Lanka Freedom party.

The meeting led by the President was attended by senior officers of the SLFP headquarters, President's district organising officers and lawyers.

No forgiveness for thieves!

While stating that the report into the Bond scam is due at the end of this month the President vowed to take action against those involved despite their status.

“People trusted in me to act as a clean politician,” he said adding that he made great attempts to halt corrupt practices. “I will take strict decisions after the local government polls” he further stressed.

Attempts to erase the Bandaranaike name

He also mentioned that it is ironic that those who attempted to erase the Bandaranaike name are now using the pictures of S.W.R.D and Sirimavo Bandaranaike in the campaign of G.L Peiris’s political party.

He pointed out that remembrance of the party founders was halted in 2011 by these individuals he further added. “They even removed the pictures of them in the party headquarters” he noted adding that therefore it is ironic they are now using the Bandaranaike name in the campaign.

Assets evaluation of around 2/3 of government agencies has stalled due to no Service Minutes and sufficient state valuers.

Therefore inaccurate evaluations the government has lost around Rs. 6000 million annually sources claim.

 Meanwhile, due to the lack of government valuers, the valuation process has not been revised for over 20 years in local government authorities, sources from the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils revealed.

When questioned regarding the issues President of the Government Valuers Association Nilantha Ekanayake said current plans are being made to hand over government valuations to the private sector due to the arsonous actions of the present value of the Government.

He also said corruption is rampant as a result and the current number state valuers should be increased to at least 800 soon as if not the state valuation process will take a serious hit.

The Colombo Fort Magistrate has rejected a request made by Litro Gas former Chairman Shalila Moonasinghe, to travel abroad. According to sources, he had made the request to travel to Canada for a medical purpose.

The CID filed a B report in the Colombo Fort Magistrate's Court regarding four suspects including Litro Gas former Chairman Shalila Moonasinghe in connection with the alleged transferring of USD 1.1 million from Far Eastern International Bank of Taiwan to their personal account in Sri Lanka.

While turning down the request made by Shalila Munasinghe, Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne had observed that the suspect's request cannot be considered at this juncture.

The government has spent Rs. 3215 billion in the past three years to provide various allowances for Ceylon Electricity Board staff contrary to the law.

These payments have been paid in contrary to the No 25 State Business Circular dated June 4, 1994, which requires the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers to make such payments.

The government had spent Rs. 1222 million in 2016 on various allowances for CEB staff while it spent Rs. 1993 and Rs. 3215 in previous two years respectively.

Meanwhile, the Ceylon General Employees Union has commenced a fast against the decision made in 2014 to set CEB engineers on a different salary scale and increasing their salaries.

Source : Sathhanda

The Police have received fourteen complaints of election law violations up to date. These complaints were received between December 9 to 22 countrywide, the Police said.

The complaints had been regarding various violations such as assaults, threats, looting of nomination papers, submitting fake nomination papers and damaging posters. Thirteen suspects have now been arrested in connection with these incidents.

The suspects were from Nikaweratiya, Kahawatta, Kobeigane, Mahawa and Ambanpola.