Nov 1 (DM) Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has on Oct 26 requested Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to appoint a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to recommend reforms in all three tiers of elections in the country, Parliamentary, provincial councils and local govt. Minister seems to have made this request in line with a recent statement made by Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe. Prez during a meeting with a group of professionals at the Prez Secretariat more..

Nov 1 (CT) Last week local dailies published a report on Israeli and India to jointly invest in the development of the agriculture sector in SL, promoted by our man in New Delhi. According to the report, citing sources, the move was initiated by the island’s Agriculture Ministry in collaboration with Israel’s Agency for Int'l Development Cooperation. Israel is to provide technical assistance by sharing knowledge and agro technologies and India to provide financial support to Sri Lanka. more..

Nov 1 (TM) The 22nd Amendment Bill is former Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s amendment and not that of Ranil Wickremesinghe and having formed a govt after Gotabaya Rajapaksa left, the Govt had to support the Govt, asserted SLPP MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage, explaining his reasons for supporting the 22nd Amendment Bill. “If we are in the Govt, we have to support the Govt. There were arguments and various things, more..

Nov 1 (TM) Minister Keheliya Rambukwella’s plan to introduce paid services at selected public hospitals has attracted criticism from various parties, including health sector trade unions, which claim that the Minister’s plan is an attempt to gradually privatise the health sector. However, according to the Minister, this is aimed at providing better services for a minimal fee, in a context where the number of persons that seek services from the public health sector has increased owing more..

Nov 1 (DM) The rise of Rishi Sunak to the helm of the Conservative Party - he dodged a membership vote thanks to Penny Mordaunt’s last-minute withdrawal from the race, which could otherwise have produced quite a different result - has made many ponder as to why SL cannot have a Tamil or Muslim PM or a Prez. Many commentators have blamed the perceived ethno-nationalistic nature of the SL state, a yet another perceived act of discrimination at the hand of the state. more..

Nov 1 (SO) The main objective is to ensure that the powers exercised by the Executive Prez are exercised with both responsibility and accountability. That is, the primary purpose of this 21st constitutional amendment is to ensure the balance of power between the legislature, Executive and the judiciary in the implementation of the law. The constitutional council was established as a related mechanism. more..

Nov 1 (CT) Under pressure from MPs, the Speaker will ask the Cabinet for permission to raise the value of a parliamentarian’s medical insurance from Rs 200,000 to one million rupees, although the State health system is currently collapsing day by day, from providing medication to performing Computed Tomography (CT) scans due to a variety of problems. Why should medical insurance for MPs, who are well-off with perks from the State that is losing the confidence of the people, more..

Nov 1 (Island) Dissident SLPP MP Dullas Alahapperuma has used an interesting analogy to describe the govt’s fear of elections or polls phobia, which he has likened to Amou Haji’s aversion to water. He has driven his point home. His speeches are usually replete with figures of speech and local idioms, which help convey his message very effectively. Amou Haji has been in the news recently. He was an Iranian hermit who did not bathe for over 50 years and came to be known as more..

Nov 1 (ST) There is never a dull moment in this Resplendent Isle. If politicians do not hurl chairs at each other or spray parliamentary opponents with chilli powder in the best Westminster traditions as extolled recently by the Govt’s Chief Whip and Housing Minister, they crisscross the political floor and double-cross their parties with impunity in self-serving exercises. While their corrupt and wanton conduct has brought Sri Lanka to its knees and denigrated it in the eyes of the world, more..

Nov 1 (Island) Walking into a creditor meeting without an actionable growth plan is like diving into a quagmire. SL needs a plan and a drastic one that can jump-start the economy. If you go to Israel, now the leading innovation hub, everybody has a deck. Just to explain, deck is a business plan presentation. Does SL govt have a growth plan based on startups and innovations? If you look at the US, Silicon Valley pretty much generated most of the growth area and they were not backed by the govt. more..

Nov 1 (FT) President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Sunday described his accession to power in crisis-hit Sri Lanka as taking over the titanic after it hit the iceberg. His witty remark was made at the 32nd AGM of the SL Tea Factory Owners Association at the Water’s Edge Hotel as a response to what Wickremesinghe described as its Chairman Lionel Herath’s tale of woes. “He (Lionel Herath) came out with a tale of woes. more..

Nov 1 (FT) Colombo Port is continuing to face rough weather with September marking the sixth consecutive month of negative growth trajectory. In April when the first year on year decline was reported it was dismissed as not alarming. However Colombo Port appears to have not recovered since. In September overall handling of containers declined by 3.3% but lower than decline of 5% and 10.5% in the preceding two months. Transhipment boxes handled were down by 2.2%, again lower more..

Nov 1 (CI) The margin of victory will suggest the defending champions have got their campaign back on track. But it was a less-than-perfect performance from Australia as they beat Ireland by 42 runs to join NZ on five points at the top of Group 1. Their net-run rate remains below England's, which could come into play when semi-final spots are decided. After being asked to bat, Australia recovered from a slow start thanks to a half-century stand between Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh. more..

Nov 1 (FT) A roundtable discussion on the development of the Northern Province was held last week hosted by Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah. Several Ambassadors and High Commissioners and representatives of international organisations attended the discussion which focussed on challenges and opportunities in Northern Province, some of the on-going initiatives and those planned to enhance socio-economic development. Northern Province Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah, more..

Nov 1 (Island) Through a pilot advocacy initiative funded by the Centre for Int'l Private Enterprise (CIPE), the Confederation of Micro Small and Medium Industries (COSMI) reached out to help the local community overcome the current crisis, through a novel advocacy initiative to assist those among it displaced by large -scale infrastructure (LSI) projects. The intervention sought to assist the Kaludodol community (KC) to find a better and permanent location to sell their products. more..

Nov 1 (FT) SL’s Presidential Envoy to Europe and Commonwealth Niranjan de Silva Deva Aditya (Nirj Deva) said this week in Brussels that he has started discussions for SL to join the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS). “The Maldives’ more advanced application to join the OACPS should be looked at alongside SL’s application,” he said. Nirj Deva, former EU MP and Vice Prez of EU more..

Nov 1 (FT) In a hard-hitting evaluation of the recruitment process, CMA Sri Lanka Founder President Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala told a powerful gathering of professional accountants who manage a multitude of top companies that the bureaucracies are responsible for the bankruptcy of SL. “No matter what decisions are taken by the Cabinet of Ministers, the bureaucracy can kill them all. Today that is exactly what has happened with the over 1.5 mil bureaucracies of SL,” he alleged, more..

Nov 1 (FT) Top global experts yesterday highlighted the importance of digitalisation, innovation, sustainability, transparency and governance for SL to overcome the ongoing economic crisis and to address the alarming challenges ahead of a looming global recession. They shared the key insights at the inauguration of the two-day CMA National Management Accounting Conference 2022 titled Crises an Opportunity to Re-Build Sri Lanka yesterday. more..

Nov 1 (TM) Corporate earnings of listed companies in SL are expected to increase by 30% year-on-year (YoY) in 2022 and subsequently reduce by 20-25% YoY in 2023, with the introduction of taxes and reduction in consumption. Softlogic Stockbrokers Head of Research Mahesh Udugampola said that corporate earnings are expected to rise 30% YoY, which is a slowdown from the 80% increase in corporate earnings more..

Nov 1 (ST) Prez’s Office has imposed travel restrictions on ministers and senior officials during the upcoming budget debate. Accordingly, all ministers have been told not to undertake official or private visits from the date of the budget on Nov 14 until the budget debate is completed on Dec 8 with the voting. All ministry secretaries & additional secretaries of state ministries have been advised not to organise any overseas official visits by ministers and the issues involved could be handled more..

Nov 1 (Island) Colombo Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith says that there are no politicians who work with a conscience in this country. Attending the annual feast at St. Jude’s Shrine at Indingolla, Archbishop said corruption and lies impeded national progress and the conscience of the entire country was dead. “Conscience is what shows us why we should do the right thing and love God and our neighbours, and why we should be heroes. Do we have a conscience today? more..

Nov 1 (DM) The JVP is still behaving like they did in the 88-89 era where they unleased violence on the people, SLPP MP Namal Rajapaksa said today. "We thought that there had been a change with the JVP up to some extent. But still, the way that they behaved on May 9 shows the behaviour of the 88 and 89 eras," Namal said. Addressing the media, he said that they thought the JVP had put their sticks, swords, daggers, and torches aside and had joined with the workforce to rebuild the country. more..

Nov 1 (DM) Former Prez Maithripala Sirisena through his lawyers today informed court that if the cases filed against Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe are laid by, then Court should lay by the cases against all defendants in connection with the lawsuits filed by the victims of those who have died and injured during the suicide bomb blast took place at St Sebastian's Catholic Church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo. Prez's Counsel Faizer Mustapha appearing for the first defendant more..

Nov 1 (TM) Instead of the national schools concept, a project will be implemented in the future to establish cluster schools with a method of exchanging physical and human resources between several schools located near each other, and with national schools and other schools taking the lead at the helm of the clusters, said Minister of Education Dr. Susil Premajayantha. “National schools and other schools are more..

Nov 1 (CT) Although there were 41 international airlines flying to SL prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, that number has now reduced to 17 due to factors such as the fuel crisis, pandemic and shortage of aviation staff, CAASL said. Currently, there is a shortage of traffic controllers, as most have sought overseas jobs and the remaining staff is over-worked, it is learnt. Meanwhile, Cabinet approval has been received to sell 49% of SriLankan Airlines’ catering and ground-handling operations, more..

Nov 1 (FT) State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the Appropriation Bill for 2023 is the most testing since Independence, as it has focused on to ease the burden on the people whilst protecting the economic independence. As per the draft of the Appropriation Bill for 2023, the total expenditure estimated for 2023 is a staggering Rs. 7.8 trillion as against Rs. 6.1 trillion for 2022. Recurrent Expenditure has been estimated at Rs. 4.6 T, while total Capital Expenditure at Rs. 3.24 T more..

Nov 1 (TS) Malaysia on Monday contributed medicine valued at RM288,610.00 to Sri Lanka, according to a statement issued by the Malaysian Foreign Ministry (Wisma Putra). The medicine was handed over by caretaker Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin to the SL High Commissioner to Malaysia, Sumangala Dias at the Ministry of Health, Putrajaya and was witnessed by senior officials of Wisma Putra and the Health Ministry. The contribution symbolises the close relations more..

Nov 1 (CT) The price of bakery products, including a 450g loaf of bread, has been reduced by Rs 10, All Island Bakery Owners’ Association (ACBOA) said. ACBOA Prez N.K. Jayawardena said, organisation is considering revising prices of all bakery products, following the reduction of wheat flour prices, but noted that they are not receiving flour for the prices reported in Media. Following a special discussion, Jayawardena said that the price of bakery products was reduced with effect midnight yesterday. more..

Nov 1 (TM) Dept of Immigration and Emigration Controller General Harsha Illukpitiya said that he will take his time to reply to the RTI requests received with regard to the citizenship status of MPs. Illukpitiya said that there are a few RTI requests recently received in regard to the MPs’ citizenship status, adding that he would take time to reply to these requests in line with the law. “There have been a few RTI requests recently. more..

Nov 1 (Island) SL’s defence expenditure had risen by 300%, compared to that at the height of the war against LTTE, FSP Propaganda Secretary, Duminda Nawagamuwa, said. Proposed defence expenditure for 2023 was 488 billion rupees, he said, adding that it was equal to what the govt proposed to spend on health and education. “As a percentage of the budget, I think we are only behind Israel when it comes to defence expenditure. We know why Israel spends so much money on defence. more..

Nov 1 (AD) A police officer has died after being assaulted by villagers amidst a tense situation in Kebithigollewa last night. Several police officers, responding to a report on the death of a woman caused by a wild elephant attack, had shown up in Rambakapuwewa area in Kebithigollewa. When the police officers arrived at the location, at least 100 people including a Buddhist monk had blocked the road. A tense situation then ensued as the group of individuals wielding clubs attacked police more..

Nov 1 (EN) A proposal by minister of justice for a special committee in parliament on election reforms is being challenged by the main opposition SJB which claims that the proposal is an attempt to delay elections. SJB general secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara speaking at an event said on Monday claimed that Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe had given an assurance to ruling SLPP MPs that elections will not be held. more..

Nov 1 (FT) A popular catchphrase during the recent protest movement was that we have hardly achieved any progress since independence 74 years ago. Particularly the youth born after the opening up of the economy believe so. Perhaps Colombo has not become a Singapore, but my village experience and possibly many other similar Sri Lankan villages have been different. I have seen immense progress in my village since independence. I was born soon after independence and lived in a village. more..

Nov 1 (FT) Despite their constant reference to the open economy and the outside world, right-wing economists writing about Sri Lanka often seem surprisingly oblivious to the momentous changes that are now occurring in the global order. It seems like many neoliberal experts want to return to the heady days of the 1980s, when the debt crisis caused by dollar borrowings, which increased in the aftermath of the 1970s energy crisis, exposed Southern countries to IMF-led shock therapy. more..