It is reported that all trade unions of the Central Bank have started to ‘work to rule’ from today until further notice as the next phase against the unfair tax practice imposed to please the International Monetary Fund.
It is revealed that the central bank governor, who was very upset about this trade union action which was carried out with prior notice, has threatened to stop the SLTB service provided to the employees and suspend the welfare allowances such as allowances given during the festival periods.
It is reported that Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, the governor of the central bank, who is acting like this, has participated in foreign trips in addition to domestic trips and embezzled more than $10,000 for the past few months. Following a ‘double policy’, he gets two pensions and fattens his money.
Sri Lanka’s external sector performance has been resilient with high export earnings, decline in imports, lowests trade deficit, moderate foreign remittances and recovery in tourism in 2022.
Earnings from exports remained resilient during 2022 recording the highest ever exports, while expenditure on imports declined significantly in 2022, compared to 2021.
Merchandise trade deficit recorded the lowest in 2022, since 2010. Foreign investments in the government securities market and Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recorded a notable net inflow during 2022 compared to net outflow in 2021.
The recovery in earnings from tourism persisted in 2022 and marked a noticeable growth, although workers’ remittances moderated in 2022, compared to 2021.
Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves stood at an estimated US dollars 1.9 billion by the end of 2022, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said.
The bank disclosed that the gradual improvement in workers’ remittances, together with the revitalization of tourism, helped improve the external current account balance in recent months while easing excessive pressures in the domestic foreign exchange market.
As a result, the exchange rate has remained relatively stable, and recorded a marginal appreciation against the US dollar, thus far in 2023.
Gross official reserves were estimated at US dollars 1.9 billion as of end 2022, including the swap facility from the People’s Bank of China, equivalent to around US dollars 1.4 billion.
Workers’ remittances in 2022 amounted to US dollars 3,789 million, in comparison to US dollars 5,491 million in 2021, recording a decline of 31.0 per cent, though a notable recovery was witnessed during the latter part of the year.
Meanwhile, workers’ remittances increased to US dollars 476 million during December 2022, in comparison to US dollars 384 million in the previous month, recording the highest monthly remittances during 2022.
Total departures for foreign employment during 2022 were recorded at 299,934, contributed mainly by the unskilled (101,786), skilled (88,215) and domestic aid (73,781) categories.
Total departures for foreign employment were recorded at 23,407 during the month of December 2022.
A total of 719,978 tourist arrivals were recorded in 2022, compared to 194,495 arrivals in 2021, recording the highest tourist arrivals after 2019.
Tourist arrivals increased notably in December 2022 to 91,961, from 59,759 arrivals recorded in November 2022. Russia, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany remained the main source countries for tourist arrivals in December 2022.
Earnings from tourism are estimated at US dollars 1,136 million in 2022, compared to US dollars 507 million in 2021.
Earnings from tourism in the month of December 2022 are estimated at US dollars 127 million, in comparison to US dollars 81 million in the previous month and US dollars 233 million in the corresponding month in the previous year.
Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha as chief guest
Talavou Alailima, Chairman of SportUnleash, addressing the event
It was an unforgettable night for 15 of the most outstanding sportspersons in fifteen sports and the athletes of three outstanding sports performances for 2022. The SportUnleash School Sports Awards 2022, sponsored by SportUnleash, the organization which scientifically identifies the sports talent of children between the ages of 9 and 11, and organized by SPORTSINFO, was an event that made a profound impact on the landscape of the sports arena of Sri Lanka.
Making its debut as the first-ever annual national schools sports award ceremony in Sri Lanka, the event was held at the BMICH on Monday, 23rd January 2023. This brainchild of Thilan Rangana, the Chairman of SPORTSINFO, backed by the former National Record holder Talavou Alailima, Chairman of SportUnleash and founder of Power World Gyms, is the explosive partnership that brought to life this Sports Awards, which without a doubt will be a prized event for champion athletes each year.
The chief guest of the event was the Minister of Education, Hon. Susil Premajayantha who highlighted the timely need for a change in the country’s education system, stressing that it is paramount that a child’s education and sports should go hand in hand to build a healthier and more productive nation. The former Minister and present Member of Parliament, Hon. Eran Wickramaratne was the guest of honor for the event. Many heads of Sports Associations, Principles of leading schools, Sponsors of Sports, and Captains of business were also present.
“If we plan to impact the world in sports, then we must identify the sports talent of our children at an early age and support them throughout their school sports journey. These winners were the best of the best in 2022, and their sports talent has been proven for years; their resolve, determination, passion, and grit have been tested by fire to be the best in their sport for 2022. There is absolutely no doubt that these are the athletes who will bring honor to Sri Lanka in the next ten years. If there are athletes that a sponsor should back, it is these winners, as their investment will provide the best return for their brand and organization,” added Talavou Alailima.
Thilan Rangana of SPORTSINFO said that “for years, we have seen only a couple of sports recognizing their best athletes. However, I believe that if Sri Lankan sports is to achieve its potential, we must honor the performance of all school sports, as they are the cradle of our future National sports performances. Today we have achieved that vital milestone, and we will strive each year to make this event a special day for our future national champions so that they will never give up their sport but keep driving themselves to achieve their very best for Sri Lanka”.
For 2022, the following Athletes were awarded the Most Outstanding Award. ATHLETICS – Track events Nadun Kaveesha Bandara of Royal College, Colombo, and Ashmika Keshan Korala of Yoshida International School, Sapugaskanda, for Field Events. BATMINTON – Viren Nettasinghe of St. Peter’s College. BASKETBALL – G. G. Minoli Mariya Direkze of HFC Bambalapitiya. BOXING – Pasindu Umayanga Mihiran, Nalanda College. CHESS – L. M. Susal T de Silva, Nalanda College. CRICKET -Dunith Wellalage, St. Joseph’s College. KARATE – C. A. Tharuki Sashindi, Sapugaskanda Visaka Vidyalaya. NETBALL – Hiruni Heshani, HFC Kurunegala. ROWING – Shaylon Shayan Gunaratna, Asian International School. RUGBY – Dinupa Seneviratna, D. S. Senanayake College. SWIMMING – Ganga Seneviratne, Visaka Vidyalaya. TENNIS – Dinara de Silva, St Bridget’s Convent. VOLLEYBALL – Kavishka Madushanka, Rajasinghe Central College, Ruwanwella. WRESTLING – Nethmi Ahinsa Fernando, Welpalla Sangharathana Maha Vidyalaya, Giriulla. COACH – T. S. Suranga Kumara. SPORTING SCHOOL – Nalanda College.
The Jury Medals for Sports Excellence, headed by Co-Chairman Dr. Harsha Abeykoon and Rear Admiral Prof. Shemal Fernando, were awarded to Danindu Chirath Sellepperuma of Ananda College and Vishmi Gunaratne of Rathnawali Balika Vidyalaya, Gampaha for their noteworthy performance in cricket for 2022, and to Tharushi Karunarathne of A. Ratnayake MMV, Walala in Athletics.
The newly appointed Ambassador-designate of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Bahrain, Reethisri Wijeratne Mendis assumed duties at the Embassy of Sri Lanka on 30 January 2023.
Ambassador-designate Reethisri Wijeratne Mendis was warmly welcomed by the staff of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bahrain and commenced work with a simple ceremony. Traditional Sri Lankan cuisine of kiribath, kavum and kokis was served on the occasion.
Addressing the staff, the Ambassador-designate expressed her intention to work towards further strengthening the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Bahrain, building on the foundations of political, economic, cultural cooperation and people-to-people linkages.
Speaking on the vision and the policies of the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Government of Sri Lanka on economic recovery and development, the Ambassador-designate underscored the role of economic diplomacy played by the Embassy of Sri Lanka.
Ambassador-designate Wijeratne Mendis also emphasized the importance of optimizing the delivery of consular and welfare services to the Sri Lankan community in Bahrain, paying particular attention to the Sri Lankan migrant workers.
A member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service batch of 1996, Ambassador-designate Reethisri Wijeratne Mendis has previously served as the Addl. Secretary, Middle East and African Affairs, Consular and Overseas Sri Lankans (Actg) of the Foreign Ministry.
Rolf Blaser, MD & CEO of Baurs (right) exchanging the agreement with Jason Avanceña, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC
Seen here at the signing ceremony (L-R) are Gerard Mendis, Jason Avanceña- Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC, Rolf Blaser- MD & CEO of Baurs, and Patrick Pereira, VP of SLHGA
The Swiss Hotel Management Academy (SHMA) of A. Baur & Co. Pvt Ltd, which is licensed to deliver the VET (Vocational Education Training) by EHL Professional Diploma programme from the pioneer in hospitality education since 1893 with over 25,000 alumni worldwide and over 120 nationalities, École hôtelière de Lausanne, recently partnered with Nestlé Lanka PLC, as part of its private sector synergies aimed at upskilling young and rising talent in the sector.
The agreement was signed on December last year between Rolf Blaser, Managing Director & CEO of A. Baur & Co. Pvt Ltd (Baurs) and Jason Avanceña, Managing Director of Nestlé Lanka PLC in the presence of officials representing both Baurs and Nestle Lanka including senior delegates from Chefs Guild of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Hospitality Graduates Association’ (SLHGA).
As the largest food and beverage company in the world with an unwavering commitment and contribution towards healthier families, empowered communities and a greener Sri Lanka for over 115 years, Nestlé Lanka took the initiative to fully sponsor the prestigious VET Professional Diploma of EHL for participants within the industry enhancing their skills and qualifying them with the best hospitality certification available out there.
The primary objective of this private sector synergy is to equip many with a world class education from VET by EHL, building on their years of experience. The students were awarded scholarships on the 9th of January, following the registration and enrollment into the program, and the Diplomas programmes will be facilitated by EHL certified facilitators and industry veterans at SHMA.
‘We are excited about our partnership with Nestlé Lanka and the drive to equip our vibrant talent pool in the country with the necessary knowledge and skills from the world’s most sought-after hospitality education provider. This is the first of the many collaborations to come, and we are proud to be a part of such initiatives that will go on to uplift and showcase our diverse and international quality hospitality standards to the world,’ said Mr. Blaser.
Mr. Avanceña also highlighted the importance of the country’s hospitality sector and the challenges in the recent years, and the timely need to support future hoteliers and professionals in the food service industry, by collaborating with other organizations who share the similar vision and values.
The participants were exempted from the foundation level based on their previous industrial experiences and skills, allowing them direct enrolment to the Intermediate level, following the advanced diploma programme through an apprenticeship approach in their current workplace, which will be monitored and evaluated by SHMA.
The apprenticeship comprises an intense weekly 1-day theoretical and practical learning followed by a comprehensive 5-day ‘on-the-job’ training. SHMA is the first hospitality management institute in Sri Lanka to offer an apprenticeship model through the VET by EHL programmes and have signed up numerous partner hotels with many more joining.
EHL Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne is an ambassador for traditional Swiss hospitality and the world’s first hospitality management school that provides undergraduate and graduate programs at its campuses in Lausanne, Singapore and Chur-Passugg, as well as online learning solutions. The programs are based on the Swiss Competency Framework, one of the best education models in the world.
SHMA also recently established a private and public sector partnership with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) to localize and implement the RIESCO program in Sri Lanka through its Skills for Sustainable Growth (SSG) initiative. The SSG initiative which is aimed at supporting Sri Lanka’s hospitality and tourism industry will play an important role in minimizing the skills gap and uplifting the quality of education to attain the pinnacle of excellence, through numerous activities that will increase female participation, build a competent talent pool, enhance quality standards in par with global trends, and making the country among the best tourist destinations. This will also help take off the burden on the state and contribute to not just industry but the reputation and economy as well.
US Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland meets President Ranil Wickremesinghe: pledges US support for Sri Lanka’s recovery efforts: says US expects China to provide “credible assurances” to Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring: reports show loans of USD 2.5 bn was on the verge of being disbursed by China when Sri Lanka hurriedly announced a debt default on 12th April 2022.
Workers’ remittances in 2022 amounts to USD 3,789 mn, in comparison to USD 5,491 mn in 2021: records decline of 31.0%: recovery noted in latter part of the year, with remittances increasing to USD 476 mn during December 2022, in comparison to USD 384 mn in the previous month.
Mahaweli Authority says it is unable to release adequate volumes of water from reservoirs for the uninterrupted supply of electricity: reiterates only water required for the usual generation of electricity with the scheduled power cuts, can be supplied.
John Keells Holdings Chief Krishan Balendra urges Govt to expedite “privatisation”: says that was done by countries when faced with similar challenges to address structural and governance issues.
Govt says the IMF has informed that the Chinese 2-year debt moratorium was not adequate to proceed with the IMF programme and that the IMF insists on a “uniform programme” for all bilateral creditors: analysts say IMF is unreasonably withholding support even after almost all prior conditions demanded by them have been met: it’s now over 10 1/2 months since Sri Lanka approached the IMF.
Social activist and YouTuber Sepal Amarasinghe who is in remand custody for allegedly causing a disturbance among the Buddhist community by making insulting comments about the Sacred Tooth Relic, informs Court he is ready to make an apology over the statement in question.
Cabinet approves the conferment of the honorary title ‘Sri Lankabhimanya’ on Deshabandu Karu Jayasuriya: ‘Sri Lankabhimanya’ is the highest civil honour in Sri Lanka.
CPC and LIOC increase the price of Octane 92 Petrol by Rs.30 per litre: new prices – Petrol Rs.400, Diesel Rs.405, & Kerosene Rs.355: in March 2022, Petrol was Rs.177, Diesel Rs.121, & Kerosene Rs.87.
Rev. Fr. Cyril Gamini says the Catholic Church will boycott the 75th Independence Day celebrations on 4th February: also says Govt’s move to allocate Rs.200 mn for the event is a crime against the people and a huge waste.
Transparency International ranks Sri Lanka at the 101st place in it’s Corruption Perceptions Index of 2022 with a score of 36 out of 100: SL’s ranking is alongside Panama, Albania, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Ecuador, Peru & Thailand.
Colombo (LNW): In conjunction with the 75th Independence Day celebrations, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the Chief of the Armed Forces, awarded 77 senior officers of the Armed Forces with the prestigious ‘Vishishta Seva Vibushana’ (VSV) in recognition of their unblemished service. Held at the Kandy Presidential Residence.
At this ceremony, Chief of Staff General Shavendra Silva was appointed as the military officer who received the highest number of medals of honor in the history of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
The Vishishta Seva Vibushana Medal is a special award and is awarded only to officers holding the ranks of Lieutenant Colonel and above in the Army and the ranks of the Navy and Air Force with at least 25 years of continuous service.
General Silva currently holds 20 different medals of distinction.
Colombo (LNW): A meeting between new French Ambassador to Sri Lanka Jean-François Pactet and Public Security Minister Tiran Alles was held at the Public Security Ministry today (01).
The conversation paid attention to the diplomatic ties between the two countries and the means to strengthen them, where the French Ambassador pledged his full support.
The two also discussed measures to prevent Sri Lankans from entering the islands of France as illegal immigrants.
Pactet has agreed to support the arrangement of a training workshop for Sri Lankan Police officers, at the request of the Minister.
Sri Lanka’s proposed electricity price increase for the second time in five months by around 60 to 65 percent in accordance with the pricing formula has resulted in a tug of war due to the single handed protest of Public Utilities Commission chairman Janaka Rathnayake.
Following the power play between the Public Utilities Commission, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and the Power and Energy Ministry, the subject Minister Kanchana Wijesekera yesterday explained the current status of the sector surrounding the inability to provide continuous power supply during GCE Advanced Level examinations.
Citing five points via Twitter, he underscored the ground realities of the situation.As of 30 January, the Minister listed down the CEB’s outstanding amounts to key organisations which include; Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Rs. 112 billion, renewable energy suppliers Rs. 40 billion, rooftop solar providers Rs. 4 billion, private power plants Rs. 80 billion, monthly bank loans interest Rs. 10 billion and Rs. 35 billion for coal payments for February.
“The CEB drained available water resources for power generation to have no power cuts at the beginning of 2022 which resulted in 4-6 hour power cuts mid-year. Economic crisis, cash flow management issues and inefficiencies led to fuel shortages that made things worse,” he pointed out.
He also claimed that some politically motivated elements are working towards creating shortages in the fuel supply and further power supply shortages.
“Politically, the most difficult decision for a Government that is facing an election to take is tariff hikes and increase in taxes, which the Government has done,” he added.
Minister Wijesekera said during the time the Government is expediting the reforms needed to make CEB and CPC efficient and cut down on cost ─ it is a must to have cost-reflective pricing for both.
In addition, he noted that a clear plan for an uninterrupted power supply for 2023 has been submitted by CEB to PUCSL at end of 2022 and to other relevant authorities.
“The CPC pricing mechanism has made it financially stable to run its operations in the last few months without depending on the Central Bank and Treasury.
But with the continuous burden on CPC by CEB it will make it impossible for CPC to sustain and make payments timely for a continuous supply,” he explained.
Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), Janaka Rathnayake says that legal action will be initiated regarding the officials who have failed to implement a decision given by an independent commission.
Furthermore, Mr. Ratnayake highlighted that he needs only to carry out the duties of the commission independently with no political ties, adding that he receives the required support from the other members of the commission for that purpose.
“The CEB is going to obtain Rs. 100 billion from the people who have been stuck in economic issues, who are using 30-60 units of electricity, Mr. Ratnayake said, mentioning that it is an unfair process.
“We will proceed with the proposal that we have calculated in a fair manner. We will not give away this to CEB as requested”, he emphasized.
The PUCSL Chairman further emphasized that the independent commissions are there to properly manage and regulate these matters, but political interferences are being carried out in each and every activity.
