By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The tabling of the proposed “Anti-Terrorism Bill” has been delayed, Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapaksa said.

Speaking to reporters, the Justice Minister noted that the bill was widely condemned across all social sectors in the country and was delayed subject to the requests made by the opposition and lawyers.

The controversial “Anti-Terrorism Bill” was purported to be a heinous weapon against democracy vesting an unimaginable power with the President and the State, which, according to some analysts, can label common citizens as ‘terrorists.’

The bill was presented in replacement to the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and was gazetted only to meet a severe backlash from a number of parties, including the Opposition, Civil Society, Activists and the International Community.

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) revealed that the bill was gazetted without adequate consultations with the relevant stakeholders, and according to some critics, it has been formulated in the government’s sole intention of repressing the dissent taking almost every public action evident during the ‘Aragalaya’ people’s protest which ousted Sri Lanka’s eighth Executive President Gotabaya Rajapaksa into account.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The government will firmly go ahead with Sri Lanka Telecom Group (SLT Group) restructuring process owing to its inefficiency, unproductivity and its less contribution for economic growth with massive overheads, although it has been considered as a profit making institution.   

The aim of the government is to restructure it making the National Telecom Provider as an efficient, transparent and accountable business enterprise capable of providing effective service delivery, finance ministry sources disclosed.  

This Telecom giant with 4,697 employees is currently operating with 21 trade unions and it has become a burden to the state with frequent workers protests and strikes making it difficult to the management navigate the public enterprise in a real profitable path.

It has failed to achieve the establishment objectives of ensuring the maximum return on public investment while making sure the optimum utilization of institutional resources as well as the ability to operate with commercially viable and independent from the government budget.

Sri Lanka Telecom’s profitability ratio is very much lover than its competitors operating in the country.

The average profitability ratio of SLT during past five years was around 6.52 percent where as the Dialog Axiata PLC,s Sri Lanka’s Leading Quad-Play Connectivity Provider maintains profitability ratio of 15.2 percent.  

Profitability ratios are a class of financial metrics that are used to assess a business’s ability to generate earnings relative to its revenue, operating costs, balance sheet assets, or shareholders’ equity over time, using data from a specific point in time.  

Restructuring of Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will be done by Public Enterprise Holding Company Limited without any political interference.  The company was set up following the model of Singapore and Malaysia to run state institutions, State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya revealed.

“This institution will decide on restructuring patterns of state owned enterprises and would consider total privatization, building up of private public partnership and deciding upon what strategically important  institutions should vested with the state sector,” the State Minister said.

“The total losses incurred by more than 400 state run institutions have been Rs. 322 billion and it is not possible to put the burden on running these institutions on the people,” he added.

Referring to SLT in particular, he said the number of landlines which the country had before privatization was 270,000 but the number of landlines have increased up to 10.2 million after the restructuring.

“The Government owns only a 49 percent stake of SLT at the moment and why make a fuss about it,” he questioned.

The Cabinet of Ministers’ approval had also been granted recently for the divestiture of several SOEs including SriLankan Airlines Ltd., Sri Lankan Catering Ltd., Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd., Canwill Holdings Private Ltd. (Grand Hyatt Colombo), Hotel Developers Lanka Ltd. (Hilton Hotel Colombo), Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. including Litro Gas Terminals (Pvt.) Ltd. and the Lanka Hospital Corporation PLC.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) concluded that the Supreme Court verdict on the Local Government Election has not violated any Parliament privileges, as suggested by certain Ruling Party MPs.

In a statement, the BASL emphasised that the Judiciary should be allowed to operate independently, free from external pressures, threats or any interference, for a vibrant democracy to exist.

It noted that it is the duty of all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the judiciary, adding that any interference in the judicial process sets a dangerous precedent, which must be strongly condemned.

01. Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena says the ballot papers used in the secret ballot to elect a MP to the Office of President on 20.07.2022 has been destroyed; adds the action was taken by the Parliament Secretary General following the procedure in terms of provisions of Section 18 of the said Act and with the approval of the Committee on Parliamentary Business.

02. A South Korean delegation led by Kim Byong Boo, CEO of “Hyundai Marine Company”, arrives in Sri Lanka to inspect the interview process and training related to the selection of Sri Lankan youth for South Korean jobs; asserts the Company expects to provide more job opportunities to SL youth in SK.

03. Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara says measures are being taken to obtain assets and liabilities statements from TU leaders who are yet to submit their declarations; adds TU leaders of government and semi-government institutions are required to submit their assets and liabilities statements according to the Declarations of Assets and Liabilities Act; laments no TU leader has provided such a statement so far.

04. The World Bank warns the Sri Lankan economy will continue to face significant challenges in 2023 and beyond: The baseline scenario projects the economy to contract by 4.3 per cent in 2023, following the contraction of 7.8 per cent in the previous year, as demand continues to be subdued, jobs and income losses intensify, and supply side constraints adversely affect production: WB stresses the restructuring of external debt and certain domestic debt will be needed to restore debt sustainability.

05. Emeritus Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda warns the proposed “Anti-Terrorism Bill” paves the way to label common citizens as terrorists; alleges that in order to implement the IMF requirements to solve the country’s economic crisis, the government has placed the burden on the poor and vulnerable, working and middle classes; laments the ruling elite wants to suppress the protests and demonstrations launched by the people, and the said bill is one of the undemocratic ways the government will follow to crack down on dissent.  

06. Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe says the Treasury can no longer tolerate the operation of loss incurring public bodies or ones that have failed to reach the expected targets; stresses 39 out of 52 public bodies of ‘strategic’ importance incur profits and 13 losses; laments the loss incurred by the said 13 amounts to Rs. 1,029 million, and the profit by the said 39 Rs. 218 billion; reveals the total loss per annum amounts to over Rs. 811 billion, and profit-making bodies have paid only Rs. 29 million as taxes required by the Treasury.

07. The Bar Association says the powers and the privileges of Parliament have not been violated by the Supreme Court order on the LG Polls; stresses the Supreme Court, being a sovereign body, should not be called upon to explain judicial orders to any other person or institution; calls for all governmental and other institutions to respect and observe the independence of the Judiciary, and any interference in the judicial process, sets a dangerous precedent.

08. ADB’s annual flagship economic publication, the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) April 2023, forecasts Sri Lanka’s economy to contract further in 2023 before it begins a gradual recovery in 2024, as the country navigates an unprecedented economic crisis: The economy contracted by 7.8 per cent in 2022 and is forecast to contract by 3 per cent in 2023 as it continues to grapple with the challenge of debt restructuring and balance of payments difficulties: Suggests reform measures, such as the reversal of the tax cuts of 2019, and the IMF’s EFF will support the country’s efforts to stabilise economy.  

09. CID’s Crime Branch submitting its final report on the case of underworld gangster Maddumage Lasantha Chandana Perera alias ‘Angoda Lokka’ to the Chief Judicial Magistrate court says he died due to cardiac arrest: Lokka was found dead in a rented house at Balaji Nagar near Cheran Ma Nagar in July, 2020.

10. Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) extends its exclusive global media rights partnership to broadcast Sri Lanka Cricket matches for the next four years until March 2027: From mid-April, the broadcaster will exclusively televise and livestream the senior men’s cricket matches hosted by SLC globally, except in Sri Lanka, where it has only pay television rights.

Sri Lanka High Commissioner to Australia Chitranganee Wagiswara called on Federal Parliamentarian, Cassandra Fernando.

The High Commissioner congratulated Cassandra Fernando, MP on being elected to the Federal Parliament last year and stated that Sri Lanka is happy and proud to have an Australian of Sri Lankan origin in the Australian Parliament.

High Commissioner Wagiswara and Cassandra Fernando discussed the present political and economic developments in Sri Lanka and exchanged views on Australia -Sri Lanka relations. They agreed to explore opportunities to enhance links between the two countries.

The High Commissioner was accompanied by Deputy High Commissioner Chamari Rodrigo.

Deputy High Commissioner of India, Mr. Vinod K Jacob participated in the Coordination Forum of Development Partners of Sri Lanka, chaired by Mr. Shehan Semasinghe, State Minister for Finance at the premises of the Treasury in Colombo on 4 April 2023. In his intervention, Mr. Vinod K Jacob welcomed the initiative of the Treasury and supported the proposal to convene such a Coordination Forum once in six months. He stated that India had steadfastly supported the people of Sri Lanka through the economic crisis as well as at the IMF and expressed hope that Sri Lanka will achieve early economic recovery. 

2.     Explaining the flagship development cooperation partnership between India and Sri Lanka, Deputy High Commissioner Jacob said that the engagement was based on the principles of South South cooperation between friendly neighbours. The projects are selected in line with the priorities of the Sri Lankan side and pertain to socio-economic sectors like the Indian Housing projects, 1990 Suwaseriya Ambulance, Kandyan Dancing Academy, SL UDI, fishery harbours, hospitals, schools and the like. The total development cooperation portfolio stands at USD 600 million and in the past 8 years, more than 20 projects have been completed. 

3.     Elaborating on the challenges faced, Deputy High Commissioner Jacob said that during the past few years import restrictions and capacity issues have impacted the pace of execution. Further, on some occasions lack of availability of local resources have been an impediment to progress. An unique characteristic of Indian projects are its reliance on Sri Lanka partners for supply of locally available and environmentally sustainable materials. India remains confident of jointly resolving these concerns with the Sri Lankan side.

Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera, has announced that the Sri Lankan government will be moving away from the distribution of fertilizer during the ‘Maha Season’, and instead providing financial allocations for farmers under a subsidy system. This decision comes as part of the government’s efforts to transition the distribution of fertilizer to the private sector.

During a recent press conference, Minister Amaraweera stated that the government will no longer be involved in fertilizer distribution activities, and instead, these activities will be handed over to the private sector. The goal of this move is to provide financial allocations as subsidies to facilitate farmers in purchasing the required fertilizers.

The Sri Lankan government had spent Rs. 6.5 billion on the distribution of urea and MOP fertilizer during the recent cultivation season, while Rs. 2 billion was spent on the distribution of TSP fertilizer during the Yala cultivation season.

Minister Amaraweera highlighted the purpose of this program is to provide financial allocations as subsidies to farmers. This will help to ensure that they have access to the fertilizers they need to grow crops successfully.

This announcement by the Minister of Agriculture comes as a significant development in the country’s agricultural sector. It is expected to promote greater private sector involvement in the distribution of fertilizer, while also improving the livelihoods of farmers.