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Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary: 02/12

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  1. Ad Hoc Group of Bondholders says the “Agreement in Principle” between SL authorities & the Official Creditor Committee as well as that with China Exim Bank on 11th Oct”23, have not been shared with them: regrets there’s such a significant lack of transparency.
  2. Govt imposes a Special Commodity Levy on certain goods with effect from 1st Dec’23: Yogurt – Rs.2,000 per kg, Butter – Rs.1,500, Apples – Rs.600, Dates – Rs.200, Grapes (Fresh & Dried) – Rs.600, Fish – Rs.200, Big Onions – Rs.10.
  3. Police say selected Post Offices in the Western Province will be kept open for 24-hours per day to facilitate the payment of traffic fines and other postal matters: such post offices are Borella, Wellawatte, Havelock Town, Dehiwala, Moratuwa, Panadura, Kalutara, Kotahena, Kompanna vidiya, Battaramulla, Mount Lavinia, Nugegoda & Seethawakapura.
  4. Pastor Jerome Fernando arrested by the CID upon his arrival at the CID to provide a statement: produced before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court & remanded until 13th Dec’23.
  5. State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says discussions pertaining to the revision of operating hours of liquor stores are currently underway: also says certain existing laws pertaining to the sale of alcohol encourage people to turn towards the illicit sale of alcohol, as opposed to discouraging them for such illegal acts.
  6. Constitutional Council approves the appointment of Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon.
  7. Parliament Committee on Privileges recommends the suspension of Parliament for State Minister Diana Gamage and SJB MPs Sujith Sanjaya Perera & Rohana Bandara for a period of 1 month over the clash that took place in Parliament.
  8. October’23 Imports up to USD 1,610mn from USD 1,336mn last year: Exports fall to USD 928mn from USD 1,052mn: Tourism receipts up to USD 137mn from USD 55mn: and Remittances rise to USD 683mn from USD 284mn.
  9. Sectoral Oversight Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, chaired by Ajith Mannapperuma reveals that the highest number of elephant deaths is reported in SL compared to other countries, due to the elephant-human conflict.
  10. Sri Lankan Cricket legend Muttiah Muralitharan says Hindi & Tamil films enjoy a huge fan following in SL: asserts the craze for cinema comes in a close second to Cricket: says he recently watched Tamil hits – Jailer & Leo and Hindi movies – Jawan and Tiger 3.
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