February 19, Colombo (LNW): A staggering revelation comes to light exposing Sri Lanka’s critical vulnerabilities towards combatting corruption in procurement, according to a Verité Research report.
The report, “Backwards in Blacklisting: Gaps in Sri Lanka’s Procurement Framework Enable Corruption“, points out that Sri Lanka’s procurement guidelines, established in 2006, lack essential provisions, notably the absence of recognising corrupt activities during procurement as grounds for blacklisting contractors.
This omission exposes the system to potential corruption risks.
Furthermore, the report reveals a lack of compliance with existing regulations, such as the failure to blacklist contractors who default on contracts, as mandated.
Unlike neighbouring countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka’s Department of Public Finance has not populated its online database with the names of such defaulters.
These findings underscore the pervasive corruption within Sri Lanka’s public procurement system, corroborated by assessments from civil society governance diagnostics and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF has stressed the urgency of enacting a public procurement law by December 2024 to align with global best practices, emphasising the need for comprehensive reform in this critical area.
February 19, Colombo (LNW): Tamil Nadu Police announced on Sunday the arrest of three individuals from Nagapattinam district, seizing over 364 kg of ganja intended for smuggling to Sri Lanka, New Delhi-based IANS reported.
The arrested individuals were identified as K. Sathiyaseelan (37) from Velankanni, M. Mahendran (38) from Naluvedhapathi, and T. Sugumar (29) from Pushpavanam.
The suspects were apprehended while planning to transport the ganja to Sri Lanka via the sea route, utilising the seized fiberglass boat, according to Nagapattinam Superintendent of Police, Harsh Singh.
A case has been filed against the accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by the Vettaikaraniruppu Police.
February 19, Colombo (LNW): A few showers may occur in Eastern and Uva provinces, and showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in Sabaragamuwa province after 4.00 p.m., the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather forecast today (19).
Mainly fair weather prevail elsewhere, the statement added.
Fairly strong winds about (30-35) kmph can be expected at times in eastern slopes of the central hills and in Northern, North-central, North-western, Uva, Southern and Eastern provinces and in Matale and Kandy districts.
The public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain:
Mainly fair weather will prevail over the sea areas around the island.
Winds:
Winds will be north-easterly and wind speed will be (25-30) kmph. Wind speed may increase up to (45-55) kmph at times in the sea areas off the coasts extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota and from Colombo to Kankasanthurai via Puttalam.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coasts extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota and from Colombo to Kankasanthurai via Puttalam can be rough at times.
Our defeat was always implicit in the victory of others; our wealth has always generated our poverty by nourishing the wealth of others – the empires and their native overseers. In colonial and anti-colonial alchemy, gold changes into scrap metal and food into poison. Edward Galeano[i]
Preamble
The opening of Edward Galeano’s book looks at the historical origins of Latin America’s underdevelopment, the central theme being the genocide of the native population by the Spanish and Portuguese ‘civilising’ colonial project in the Americas. This involved hunger, overwork, communicable diseases, and massive damage to the cultures, flora and fauna of the continent. Echoes of this are found in the thirty year civil war in Sri Lanka and in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.
The genesis of this paper was the carpet bombing of Gaza by Israel. At the time of writing, over 26,000 inhabitants are dead, many of them refugees from Israeli occupation. The majority are women and children. 60,000 are wounded, with access to medicine and health care more precarious by the day. An overwhelming majority of the population are facing imminent starvation. All this is transmitted daily to the world.
There are those who say that the victims are the terrorists. They largely rely on the horrific events of October 7, when the armed cadres of Hamas managed to break out of the open-air prison of which the people of Gaza were confined. In the bloody melee that ensured around 1,100 mostly Israelis lost their lives and over 200 hostages were taken. It is also alleged that Hamas were guilty of rape and beheading. It is undeniable that atrocities occurred, but until there is an independent enquiry, questions will remain. How many deaths were caused by crossfire is also uncertain. None of this justifies the harm caused to the civilian population of Gaza.
What Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure is reminiscent of what happened in Sri Lanka during the last months of a thirty odd years civil war between the Sinhalese majority government and the Tamil armed opposition. This playbook is also disturbing similar of other colonisers, like the Moroccan military in Western Sahara; Indonesian security forces in West Papua; the Burmese military junta, the Turkish government in the repression of the Kurdish people in Türkiye and North East Syria. All mercilessly done to enable, perpetuate and demonise the colonised and the unacceptable price the oppressed always pay.
The Argument
In this paper I shall highlight the use of mass murder against the dispossessed and the ideological, structural and legislative methods used to demonise the dispossessed. In doing so in a small way the hope is that the mass struggle for social justice and self-determination becomes, an international one, like what is happening in Gaza, in which atrocities are not allowed to happen, without exposure and resistance.
The paper will do this by looking at the historical similarity between the respective struggles of the Tamils and Palestinians, examining the asymmetrical nature of their respective struggles, the reasons for the struggles, the attempt to hide massacres, and who must be held accountable.
The paper starts by looking at the links, military and economic, between the respective states.
Collaboration
The Lankan government’s relationship with Israel has waxed and waned, depending on its geopolitical interests and ideological predilections. In contrast, Israel has always pursued good relations with the Lankan government. Their rapport deepened during the long Lankan civil war (from the 1980s to 2009). Israel supplied the Lankan armed forces with military aircraft and ships – Kir fighter jets, Super Dvora class patrol boats, Saar 4 class missile boats and Gabriel missiles. The relationship was cemented in the colonisation in the Eastern Provinces (Mahaweli project) by Sinhalese farmers and peasants who displaced many Tamil and Muslim landowners.
Like the Indian government, the economically bankrupt Lankan government has offered its people to replace the foreign workers who left Israel because of the conflict in Gaza. Some estimates put the figure at 100,000.[ii]
In the last phase of the civil war elite troops of the Lankan military were trained by Israeli military personnel. They were taught how to methodically mop up areas, with no distinction made between civilians and armed LTTE cadres.
Asymmetry of the forces of the state versus the armed resistance
One of the more successful tricks of colonisers is to exaggerate the size and the prowess of the “enemy”, thus stoking the fears of the majority community and justifying the diversion of resources from health and education to the security apparatus. This places the emphasis on a military solution, not a political one.
In 1984, with the civil war heating up, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) had around 2,000 fighters, with the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) having 17,000. During the last phase of the war the LTTE had a force estimated to be no greater than 11,000, facing probably 160,000 well-equipped and trained Lankan troops.[iii] Considerably more, in fact, if the military police, intelligence, navy and air force are taken into account. Gordon Weiss states that in 2009, at the end of the civil war, Lanka had the 17th largest army in the world, more than 30 times its strength at the start in 1983.[iv] And all this in a country that has fewer than 23 million people.
Hamas established their Qassam Brigades[v] in 1992. The brigade has carried out numerous attacks against Israel, including suicide attacks. According to the CIA the Brigade has around 20,000 to 25,000 members. It well stocked with guns, grenades, and rockets. It has no tanks, artillery, planes, or warships. It is an irregular force, lightly armed and with no backup, unlike the IDF. There are other forces arraigned against the Israeli state but their capabilities are even smaller than those of the Qassam Brigades. [vi] It is estimated that the Hamas military budget is around $100 million.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 169,500 active military personnel, with 465,000 in reserve. Its defence budget in 2023, including aid from the United States, was around $23.6 billion, a budget greater than the military budgets of Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, and Jordan combined. Its military, navy and air force are equipped with the latest weapons. With the help of its main ally, the United States, it has a mostly effective missile shield, the Iron Dome (worth many billions of dollars).[vii] The IDF is considered to be one of best equipped and most efficient armies in the world.
According to the UN, from 2008 up to the current conflagration there were 6,407 Palestinian deaths as opposed to 308 on the Israeli side.[viii] According to Israel’s social security agency, the death toll on October 7 was 1,139. It has identified 695 Israeli civilian deaths and 71 migrant workers. Around 373 members of the Israeli military and security forces were reported dead.[ix] Since then, 26,000 Palestinian have been killed, mostly civilian. Gaza has suffered air bombardments before this. In 2008 the Israeli air force, in Operation Cast Lead, dropped 600 tons of bombs and reduced large swathes of the Gaza strip to rubble. Even areas deemed safe, like the UN compound, were bombed with many casualties. Around 4,000 civilians were killed and 5,000 wounded. Israeli deaths were 13 (three which were the result of friendly fire).[x]
In the last phase of the civil war in Lanka (July 2006 to May 2009) credible estimates of deaths range from 40,000 to 80,000. Around 6,000 were of the security forces of the Lankan army. Reliable estimates of the human deaths during the civil war are around 200,000, the overwhelming majority being Tamils.[xi]
From the start the Lankan government, like that of Israel, was much more comfortable with the military option than with dialogue. In 1977, for example, the government of Lanka sent in the military to deal with a small group of Tamil insurrectionists who were involved in assassinations and bank robberies.[xii] The army targeted the whole Tamil community. They arrested, shot or tortured anybody who was critical of the government, including student activists, teachers, academics, artists, priests and social workers. As a direct result the violence escalated, culminating in 1983 in a pogrom against the Tamils in the south, resulting in tens of thousands of their houses being looted and burnt, countless women being raped and 3,000 deaths. The background to this was being the gunning down of 13 Lankan soldiers who were on patrol. Hushed up was resultant massacre of 60 Tamil civilians by the military. The hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees fleeing the pogrom fell into the arms of the “boys with the guns” and a low-intensity conflict flared into a full-blown civil war.[xiii]
The second part of the part of the paper will critically look at the ideological defence of the colonisers and what is life for people under the thumb of the military of the occupier.
[iv] Weiss, Gordon (2011). The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers, p. 234.
[v] Named after a freedom fighter, Ezzedine al-Qassam, who was killed by the British military in 1935; his death was one of triggers of the 1936-39 Arab revolt.
[vi] These figures are similar to estimates made by other media outlets including western ones. ‘What is Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades,’ Al Jazeera, 26 October 2023.
[vii] ‘How do the Israeli military and Hamas compare in size and strength,’ ITV 13 October 2023. Retrieved: http://www.itv.news.
[viii] Figures gleaned from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. October 2023.
[x] ‘The Occupation of the American Mind’ (2016). Documentary produced by Media Education Foundation.
[xi] For a more detailed and sober analysis of the casualties of the last phase of the civil war, see: Report of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka, 31 March 2011
[xii] This was not the first time the military was brought in to quell the Tamils right to self-determination. In 1961, Major General Richard Udugama was dispatched to the north with the 1st battalion of the Ceylon (as the country was known then) after the party representing Tamils (Federal Party) launched a peaceful disobedience (Satyagraha ) campaign against Sinhalese being the sole language – with the resultant mayhem.
[xiii] Cooke, Michael (2011). The Lionel Bopage Story. Agahas Publishers. In particular, pp. 235 to 294.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe conducts an observational tour of the Tangalle and Galle areas: inspects several tourist hotels, actively engaging with proprietors to gain firsthand insights into their challenges: asserts swift and decisive actions will be taken in response to concerns raised by the business community: liaises with relevant officials over the phone, orchestrating solutions and soliciting input on strategies for industry development.
EU Ambassador Carmen Moreno meets with micro, small, and medium-scale businessmen in Sri Lanka, at the Opposition Leader’s office: Opposition Leader Premadasa highlights the challenges faced by these businesses, including impacts from the Easter attack, COVID-19, and economic difficulties, resulting in closures and auctions: stresses their significant contribution to the economy and employment.
JVP former MP Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa says the government has proposed a resolution to abolish the executive presidency in a plot to prevent NPP/JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake from winning the next Presidential Election: stresses that those who had initially opposed the idea of abolishing executive presidency are suddenly wooing the resolution, in a bid to secure the position of the current regime which came to power without a mandate.
Leader of the Mawbima Janata Party and former media mogul Dilith Jayaweera says he did not intend to join politics, but believed in political streams and backed various parties in the past: asserts he has now commenced a journey for the people of the country: admits that the past allegiances he might have resorted to were committed on the sole belief of building the country and making it a developed one for its citizens.
The prison hospital faces severe overcrowding with 350 inmates, far exceeding its 185-person capacity: Authorities express grave concerns and urge immediate measures to address the crisis: Efforts focus on discharging patients promptly to create space, although expanding capacity is not currently viable.
The Chief Prelates of the three Buddhist Chapters express concerns to President Ranil Wickremesinghe about potential social instability amid discussions on state asset privatization: highlight this critical problem in a formal letter seeking attention and deliberation.
The Ceylon Teachers’ Union announces a trade union action starting in Kandy on Tuesday to demand the government fulfill its commitment of providing a salary increment: Union Secretary General Joseph Stalin laments despite receiving one-third of the promised amount, the government failed to provide a clear timeline for the rest: The action follows 120 days of waiting and increasing financial strain on educators due to the rising cost of living.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index indicates that manufacturing and services sectors expand in January 2024, despite the recently revised VAT hike: Manufacturing growth is driven by textiles & apparel, but food and beverages declined after the festive season: Employment and Stock of Purchases increased, but Suppliers’ Delivery Time lengthened due to shipping disruptions: Services, including personal services and tourism-related sectors, continued to grow, but VAT amendments and the end of the festive season affected wholesale and retail trade negatively.
Sri Lanka plans to revise electricity tariffs after consultations by the Public Utilities Commission, despite objections from the Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA): The Union claims the Electricity Board incurred arbitrary expenses, including high emergency power purchase prices: highlights allocations for unlicenced power plants and construction expenses, urging the PUCSL to consider them: Meanwhile, electricity demand dropped by 22%, but revenue doubled due to a price revision in 2023.
Sri Lanka clinched victory by 4 runs at a thrilling T20 match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in Dambulla: Wanindu Hasaranga’s strong batting led SL to a total score of 160/10: Afghanistan’s Ibrahim Zadran’s 67 runs fell short as Matheesha Pathirana’s 4 wickets for 24 runs secured the win for SL.
February 18, Colombo (LNW): The government has made major strides towards transforming the economy while making growth more inclusive during the past 19 months as it cannot afford another economic crisis of magnitude in 2022.
But much remains to be done to create a better future for all Sri Lankans, former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake stated adding that a unique opportunity is now opened to implement permanent structural reforms that may be difficult under normal circumstances.
Sri Lanka is a highly indebted nation, with public debt far exceeding the size of the economy. It is essential to finalise external debt restructuring soon to restore debt sustainability and boost confidence.
This needs to be supplemented by fiscal consolidation, including enhancing revenue and investment, pruning unnecessary public expenditure and improving the governance of public finances, he added.
President Ranil Wickremasinghe’s administration is determined to enact necessary acts and introduce statutory laws including the Economic Transformation Act, foreign investment law, and SOE Legislation etc creating conditions for investment and trade, incentivising exports, and integrating into global value chains.
Mr Karunanayake said that the government has to promulgate public services delivery act in addition to all proposed legations on the pipe line which guarantee time bound delivery of services for various public services rendered by officials to citizen,
It should provide and provides provisions for punishing the corrupt public servants who are deficient in providing the service stipulated under the statute while protecting honest officials for their decision making speedily for the benefit of the people and the country.
Right to Service legislation are meant to reduce corruption among the government officials and to increase transparency and public accountability, he pointed out.
Lack of access to information and long bureaucratic processes created opportunities for errant public officials to demand bribes and intermediaries to take advantage of citizens.
Some high officials are sitting on public or private investment projects without taking a decision thereby depriving the country of much needed foreign investment, he claimed.
There is no retraction of investment incentives if they are adhered to transparent rules, he opined
However Mr Karunanayake noted that sweeping tax holidays running up to 20 to 25 years given under a Strategic Development Project (SDP) Act has been suspended until the structures and processes are in place in place to evaluate the effectiveness of offered incentives.
Explicit criteria are to be established to evaluate the investment, and in the long term replace it with a new investment law, he revealed.
Sri Lanka has corporate tax at 30 percent after aggressive macro-economic policy involving rate and tax cuts made the country bankrupt, compared to lower rates in East Asian nations which have full or greater monetary stability than provided by Sri Lanka’s central bank
Moreover Former finance minister Ravi Karunanayake emphasised that it is essential to bring down bank lending rates now running up to new high 15-16 percent as many companies depend on credit financing
More than corporate income tax at 30 percent, the higher cost of setting up a business venture in Sri Lanka due import duties and para tariffs is a deterrent to investors, he pointed out.
To encourage investors, the government will be liberalising trade, eliminating import restrictions, and pursuing stronger regional and bilateral trade agreements, he said.
Sri Lanka imports more than it exports, so there is a net outflow of money but the debt associated with the creation of that lost money remains he said pointing out that country’s entire economy is threatened.
But if the country exports more than it imports, there is a net gain of additional debt-free money within the national economy, he explained.
February 18, Colombo (LNW): An alarming revelation has come to light regarding the burgeoning overcrowding crisis at the prison hospital, prompting serious apprehensions among supervisory authorities.
The current inmate population at the facility has surged to 350 individuals, significantly surpassing its intended capacity of 185, Prisons Department Spokesperson Gamini Dissanayake told Daily Mirror.
This surge in occupancy has raised significant concerns among the authorities tasked with overseeing the well-being and healthcare provisions within the prison system.
Measures are currently being implemented to address the escalating congestion, as the situation demands urgent attention and intervention.
Despite the pressing need to alleviate overcrowding, Dissanayake clarified that expanding the hospital’s capacity is not a feasible solution at present. However, efforts are being directed towards easing congestion through the timely discharge of patients, thereby creating space for incoming individuals in need of medical attention.
Reports indicate that the severity of the situation has compelled authorities to resort to accommodating two patients in a single bed, underscoring the acute shortage of available space within the facility.
Such measures, despite being temporary, highlight the dire circumstances confronting the prison healthcare system and the imperative need for swift and effective resolutions.
The overcrowding crisis at the prison hospital not only poses significant challenges in terms of patient care and hygiene but also raises broader concerns regarding the overall management and resource allocation within the penal system.
As authorities navigate this critical juncture, concerted efforts are required to address the underlying issues contributing to overcrowding and ensure the provision of adequate healthcare services to incarcerated individuals in adherence to fundamental principles of human rights and dignity.
February 18, Colombo (LNW): In a notable development, the Chief Prelates representing the three Buddhist Chapters have articulated profound apprehensions regarding the possible emergence of social instability in light of ongoing discussions surrounding the privatisation of state assets.
Expressing their concerns, the Buddhist leaders conveyed a formal letter outlining their apprehensions to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
With their letter addressed to the highest office, the Chief Prelates aimed at drawing attention to what they perceive as a critical issue deserving of comprehensive consideration and deliberation.
February 18, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s manufacturing and services continued to inflate in January 2024 with a pick-up in apparels while services also moved forward despite concerns over a hike in value added tax, according to a Purchasing Managers’ Index compiled by the central bank.
Sri Lanka Purchasing Managers’ Index for Manufacturing (PMI – Manufacturing) recorded an index value of 55.6 in January 2024, indicating an expansion in manufacturing activities. This improvement was attributable to the increases observed in all sub-indices.
The expansion in New Orders and Production was largely driven by the manufacture of textiles & apparel sector. However, New Orders and Production in the manufacture of food & beverages sector decreased on a month-on-month basis due to the decline in demand with the end of December festival season.
Meanwhile, Employment and Stock of Purchases expanded during the month in line with the New Orders and Production. Further, Suppliers’ Delivery Time lengthened at a higher rate in January, mainly due to shipping disruptions in the Red Sea. Expectations for the manufacturing activities for the next three months remain positive, mainly due to the improved macroeconomic environment.
The continued expansion in Business Activities was driven by the significant improvements observed in other personal service activities, and accommodation, food and beverage sub-sectors amid tourist arrivals surpassing 200,000 for the second consecutive month.
Meanwhile, financial services also improved further in line with the reductions in market interest rates. Nevertheless, amendments to VAT and the end of the festive season adversely affected the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector during the month.
New Businesses increased in January, particularly with the increases observed in financial services, other personal service activities and professional services sub-sectors.Employment fell despite new recruitments made by several companies.
Meanwhile, Backlogs of Work continued to decline during January.Expectations for Business Activities for the next three months continued to rise in January. However, due to VAT amendments,there are concerns regarding a drop of sales in line with the decline in purchasing power of consumers and increase in input costs.
February 18, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka will be introducing another electricity tariff revision following the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) announcement of the date considering stakeholder consultations held on 15 in a chaotic situation.
The Electricity Consumers’ Association (ECA) has demanded the PUCSL not to consider the alleged arbitrary expenses incurred by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) in approving the proposed electricity tariff revision.
In a letter addressed to the Commission, the ECA has claimed that the CEB has paid high prices for emergency power purchases in violation of the approved prices.
“They have paid a high price of Rs. 120 per electricity unit after obtaining the relevant approval, indicating that they will pay only Rs. 56 per unit. More than Rs. 3 billion has been misused through this. It is not possible to consider such expenses as expenses of the CEB,” the letter read.
The letter further revealed that the CEB has allocated more than Rs. 5 billion for unlicensed power plants this year (2024), which the ECA stated is also not an expense that can be considered in determining electricity tariffs.
“In addition, more than Rs. 14 billion has been allocated for the construction of power plants and Rs. 53 billion for interest payments for this year. These expenses have been included with the aim of misleading the relevant institutions.”
Further noting that a Parliamentarian representing the Government has said that an additional tax of Rs. 9 billion has been imposed on fuel every month, the ECA stated that the PUCSL should take into account the matter when approving the electricity tariff revision.
Meanwhile Electricity demand fell by 22 percent to 4,516 Gwh during the first four months of the year 2023 from 4,935 Gwh in the corresponding period of the year 2022.
Nonetheless, the revenue generated from electricity sales for the respective period was more than doubled primarily due to the second upward price revision that took place with effect from February 15, 2023, with an average increase of 66 percent reflecting cost recovery adjustments.
Accordingly, the revenue generated from electricity sales was recorded as Rs.180,117 million for the first four months period of the year 2023.
In the future, CEB will implement a regular, bi-annual end-user tariff modification based on a forward-looking cost recovery basis in order to make CEB financially viable and minimize the budgetary burden on the government.
However, as a result of higher fuel and coal prices in the rupee terms, the direct generation cost was increased by 55 percent to Rs. 177,468 million in the first four months of 2023 compared to Rs. 114,460 million in the same period in 2022.
Further, due to the increase in interest rates on the bank borrowings for the working capital requirements, the finance cost has increased to Rs. 23,264 million in the first four months of 2023 compared to Rs. 5,876 million in the same period of 2022.
