Plantation Industries Minister Dr. Ramesh Pathirana has unveiled an ambitious plan to introduce entrepreneurship circles in 5,000 schools across Sri Lanka, aimed at educating schoolchildren about business initiation and management. Currently implemented in 300 schools, this program seeks to enhance students’ knowledge in various domains, including business establishment, operation, financial management, and the utilization of modern technology.

Dr. Pathirana made this announcement during his participation in the opening ceremony of the Central Provincial Industry Exhibition, held at the Bogambara Old Prison Premises in Kandy from October 6-8, organized under the guidance of the Industries Ministry. The initiative aims to empower young minds with essential entrepreneurial skills, fostering a culture of innovation and financial prudence.

Moreover, Minister Pathirana outlined plans to facilitate the international market access of quality products created by those involved in these exhibitions and other entrepreneurs. He mentioned that a delegation from the Economic Development Board recently participated in an exhibition in Moscow, Russia, showcasing selected items. These products will also be displayed at an upcoming industrial conference and exhibition scheduled for December in Cairo, Egypt. Additionally, the government is preparing the groundwork to penetrate the markets of India and Africa by showcasing Sri Lankan products at international exhibitions.

Reflecting on the resilience of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs amid economic challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Pathirana praised their dedication to safeguarding their businesses and stabilizing the country’s economy. Despite facing shortages of electricity, oil, gas, and raw materials, they achieved a historic milestone by earning USD 13.1 billion in export income last year, setting a record.

The minister highlighted the growth and diversification of the country’s industrial sector during the two years of import restrictions, with entrepreneurs now classified into 20 categories and receiving continuous support from the Industries Ministry.

He emphasized the notable progress made in the motor vehicle accessories manufacturing sector, with Sri Lanka producing car seats, tires, rims, sensors, and other components, many of which are exported globally. Additionally, the country has entered the global market for gearboxes and motor vehicle engines, strengthening its presence in the automotive industry.

Minister Pathirana also underscored Sri Lanka’s emergence as a hub for the production of hard tires, contributing significantly to the nation’s economic development.

Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) Commissioner Badhrani Jayawardena has announced a crucial initiative to address the issue of hazardous trees aged 30 to 35 years and older within the city of Colombo. President’s Chief of Staff, Sagala Ratnayake, has directed her to take action in this regard. A special discussion involving tree experts is scheduled for Monday, October 9, with the participation of specialists from Peradeniya Botanical Gardens, the Forest Conservator General, and tree specialists.

The decision comes in the wake of a tragic accident that occurred on October 6, where an ancient banyan (nuga) tree on Duplication Road near the Liberty Roundabout in Kollupitiya fell onto a Sri Lanka Transport Board bus, resulting in the deaths of five individuals.

Commissioner Jayawardena emphasized the urgency of removing such dangerous trees from Colombo’s urban landscape, with the forthcoming discussion marking a significant step in this direction. She also revealed plans to seek assistance from the Air Force in the process of cutting and removing these trees.

Additionally, Jayawardena disclosed that she had held discussions with the Secretary of the Ministry of Wildlife, Forest Resources Conservation, requesting a comprehensive report on trees at risk of collapsing.

In response to the recent accident, Jayawardena highlighted the proactive measures taken by the Colombo Municipality. A dedicated 24-hour unit has been established to address the removal and control of hazardous trees. Collaboration with the fire brigade ensures the safe removal of such trees, with a focus on carefully “balancing” them to prevent accidents during the process.

Jayawardena cited a recent incident on Kannangara Mawatha, near Vihara Maha Devi Park, where prompt action prevented a tree from falling onto the road. The Municipal Council plans to intensify its tree inspections on the upcoming Monday to enhance safety within the city.

Starting today (October 7th), the upgraded motor vehicle revenue licence system, eRL2.0, designed to streamline the process of obtaining or renewing revenue licences, will go into effect, according to State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath.

During a press conference held in Colombo, Herath explained that this program will be implemented across all provinces except for the Western Province.

The new system will enable individuals to conveniently obtain new revenue licences online, from the comfort of their own homes.

Furthermore, the State Minister disclosed that efforts are in progress to digitize the payment systems of all state institutions by March 31, 2024.

A former commando, suspected to be linked to a recent shooting incident in Thalangama, has been fatally shot in a confrontation with the Police Special Task Force (STF), as reported by the STF.

The incident occurred in Hanwella, and it is believed that the deceased individual was a wanted suspect in connection with a shooting that occurred in Thalangama on August 25th. During the incident in Thalangama, two unidentified men riding a motorcycle had opened fire on a 44-year-old man on Robert Gunawardena Mawatha before quickly fleeing the scene.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Chair of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy & Transport, MP  Nalaka Bandara Kottegoa, has requested that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) conduct a probe into the frequent delays in flights observed recently.

Kottegoda recommended that the matter be probed in the context of whether there exists an organised scheme, deliberately causing delays in flight in a bid to hamper Sri Lankas rising tourist economy.

Kottegoda discussed the matter at a meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy & Transport held in parliament on Wednesday (04 Oct.).

He highlighted that the constant delay in flights is concerning, especially at a time where Sri Lanka is seeing a peak Ii nth number of tourist arrival, despite various challenged including the economic crisis.

Officials representing the CAA present at the meeting explained that such an occurrence may be likely, given the fact that there are many trade unions within the ambit of SriLankan Airlines,

Thus, Kottegoda urged for all relevant parties to work towards resolving the matter, emphasising that they should not leave room for the matter to escalate further.

Meanwhile the Government is to scrap the monopoly given to SriLankan Airlines for flights operating between Colombo and some international destinations.

Minister of Ports and Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva disclosed that he had a discussion with international airline operators and requested them to expand operations between Colombo and global destinations.

He said that he offered airlines to operate direct flights to destinations from Colombo earlier granted only to SriLankan Airlines.

The Minister said the offer was made to ensure tourism was not affected by the crisis at SriLankan Airlines.

Sri Lanka’s flag carrier, SriLankan Airlines, is responding to recent allegations of poor working conditions, long flight delays, and cancellations. The Airline Pilot’s Guild of Sri Lanka (ALPGSL) slammed the carrier’s management team on Sunday, calling on them to address the concerns.

The association also highlighted that the pilots it represents have been depleted due to low staffing numbers, but SriLankan indicated that it has enough crew to operate its scheduled flights.

Additionally, the airline noted that less than 60 pilots have resigned compared to Guild’s claim of 70 resignations.

In a statement, SriLankan said it has been operating with a smaller fleet amid the Guild’s concerns.

“SriLankan Airlines has been managing with a reduced fleet of 15 as opposed to the intended 18 aircraft over the last two months, which has unfortunately impacted the airline’s flight schedule and on-time performance. The good news is that this situation is expected to ease off by mid-July 2023.”

While not responding directly to the problems outlined by the ALPGSL, the carrier explained that it forecasted a shortage of aircraft, but “several unforeseen events,” such as annual ‘C’ checks on aircraft and engine supply scarcities, ultimately exacerbated the situation.

The completion of the checks has been prolonged “due to the unavailability of components locally,” while engines for its Airbus A320neo aircraft have been in short supply around the globe, reportedly grounding over 300 aircraft.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): In a bid to strengthen consumer rights and streamline the grievance reprisal process, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a comprehensive program presented by the Trade, Commerce and Food Security Minister Nalin Fernando.

At the heart of this endeavour is the establishment of a National Operations Centre, a dedicated hub tasked with coordinating and executing special raids through a collaborative effort.

The initiative aims to significantly reduce the time and effort invested in investigating customer complaints and making decisions on them.

Its key components include educational initiatives targeting both consumers and producers, with a focus on instilling awareness about consumer rights and promoting fair trade practices.

“This will be a pivotal shift towards decentralised investigation processes, bringing the resolution of complaints to the district level for increased efficiency.

The joint program is poised to revolutionise the enforcement of consumer protection measures,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena said at the post-Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Legal provisions have been reinforced within the framework of the Consumer Affairs Authority Act No. 9 of 2003, empowering the Consumer Affairs Authority to intervene and address consumer complaints.

Concurrently, the Department of Measurement, Standards, and Services, instituted by the Measurement Units, Standards, and Services Act No. 35 of 1995, will join forces with the Consumer Affairs Authority to conduct market raids aimed at safeguarding consumer rights.

“With a concerted effort to educate and empower both consumers and producers, the initiative embodies a forward-looking approach to fair and transparent trade practices, ultimately fostering a more equitable marketplace for all stakeholders involved,” he added

Parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) raised questions regarding the responsibility of the Consumer Affairs Authority.

The committee was of the opinion that although the main responsibility of the Authority is to protect consumer rights through empowering consumers, streamlining trade and good promotions, the Authority is not working according to that vision.

Accordingly, the Committee recommended the Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Food Security to report to COPE on how the Consumer Affairs Authority can deal with the protection of consumer rights.

The Authority was also told to prepare a program that goes beyond traditional price control to control commodity prices.

The committee’s attention was particularly focused on the current egg price control. Thus, instructions were given for the two Secretaries to the Ministries of Trade and Agriculture to coordinate with the relevant officials to prepare a price formula to determine the price of an egg.

The consumer affairs authority was also instructed to act promptly to appoint a permanent Director General. It was disclosed that there has only been an Acting Director General appointed for many years now. 

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives Denis Chaibi, stated that massive investments or public expenditure for the infrastructure for recharging sites are needed for the formation of electrical vehicles in the island nation.

He was addressing the Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA), Stakeholder Breakfast Forum at the Hilton Colombo Residencies in Colombo recently.   

HR addressed the forum on topics such as the role of the automobile industry in Europe, the relationship between governments and the automobile industry, the infrastructure required for electric vehicles and more.

Mr. Chaibi said, “The biggest challenge for EVs is the massive investment required for the grid to be able to receive and redistribute renewable energy and to be able to support charging stations.

“The best recharging stations take about 20 minutes to charge a vehicle to 80%, so even if you have a large recharging station with say 20 charging points, it will take 20 cars, for 20 minutes.

In terms of electric cars in Sri Lanka, we must look at regulation, enforcement, profit for both manufacturer and the state, and infrastructure,” he claimed.

Finding more sources of renewable energy should be feasible, as Sri Lanka is blessed with mountains, rains, wind, sun, and tides, and with an investment of 15 to 20 billion dollars could be carbon neutral in a few years, he added.

Charaka Perera, Chairman of the Ceylon Motor Traders Association addressed the gathering and highlighted a host of topics such as the hardships faced by the motor industry, the structured proposal by CMTA to lift the suspension on vehicle imports, Electric Vehicles (EV), and more.

During his address, Mr. Perera said, “While some of the countries who have also agreed to COP26 targets have far better EV infra-structure than Sri Lanka, none of them have set their targets for 100% passenger EVs for the immediate term.

He said “his indicates that all of them understand the impracticality of achieving 100% passenger EVs even within a span of five years”.

In a startling revelation, Sri Lanka’s motor traders have raised serious concerns on the government’s decision to impose a zero customs tariff on the CIF value to import electric vehicles with power up to 500 kW or Plug In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PEHV) up to 3000CC in semi-knockdown (SKD) form for local assembly.

This was proposed in a cabinet memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Investment promotion and in addition to it, a proposal has been made to grant this facility for a minimum investment of US$50 million by companies with the approval of Board of Investment (BOI) or new companies entering into such agreements.

This move has been made by the government authorities with ulterior motives for the benefit of a leading company in vehicle import and assembly business in Sri Lanka, frontline members of the Vehicle Importers Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL) alleged.

Sri Lanka has reported a marginal decrease in workers’ remittances in September 2023 compared to the previous month of August 2023. Official figures indicate that remittances received in September amounted to USD 482.4 million, whereas in August 2023, the inflows reached USD 499.2 million.

Despite this month-to-month decline, the cumulative figure for the period of January to September 2023 shows a positive trend, with total remittances amounting to USD 4,345.1 million. This marks a substantial increase of 68.8% when compared to the corresponding period in 2022, reflecting sustained growth in remittance inflows during the year.