By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s bilateral debt restructuring process has been continued with creditors of China, India and the Paris club separately while treating all bilateral lenders alike, finance ministry sources divulged.

Sri Lanka is discussing its bilateral debt restructuring process separately with China, but Beijing will be treated equally as the other bilateral lenders, a high ranking official of the ministry said.

Sri Lanka owes US $7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, with $3 billion owed to China, $2.4 billion to the Paris Club and $1.6 billion to India, according to finance ministry official data.

The ministry official said “Chinese creditors are not in favor with participation in discussions at a common platform. ‘But they are negotiating as bilateral creditors, with the knowledge of the parameters of the negotiation”

China was the top lender to Sri Lanka’s post-war infrastructure development. During 2010-2016, it accounted for 37 percent of the total external borrowing.

Sri Lanka borrowed $5.9 billion from China for infrastructure development during this period and more than half of these loans from China came through unsolicited proposals for public funded infrastructure projects avoiding the normal competitive procurement process.

China has lent through directly from the Chinese government, from its two policy banks China exim bank and through the Chinese Development Bank.

China is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor. As of June 2022, it accounted for over 21 percent of Sri Lanka’s total outstanding debt amounting to $8.5 billion.

According to finance ministry sources, majority of Sri Lanka’s borrowings from China are from the policy banks in the form of overseas development assistance (aid, concessional loans and interest-free loans) and official assistance (loans with interest at market rates or higher than market rates).

China EXIM bank has lent around $4.3 billion to Sri Lanka. These lendings have largely been project-specific.

It has also contributed to some mega projects—such as Hambantota Port, Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, and the Lotus Tower.

On the other hand, CDB has lent around $3.0 billion to Sri Lanka. The bank began investing in Sri Lanka only in 2011, but its funds were limited in scope and extent.

In Sri Lanka, CDB focuses on refinancing loans, rather than project-specific funding, mainly serving as a balance of payment supporter.

In 2018, CDB offered Sri Lanka a funding facility of $1 billion. Similar facilities of $500 million and $700 million in 2020 and 2021.

As signs of economic distress grew in 2022, Sri Lanka sought an assistance of $4 billion from China—this included a fresh loan of $1 billion, a credit line of $1.5 billion, and resuming of a currency swap worth$1.5 billion.

However, these requests were not materialized except currency swap worth$1.5 due to a series of differences between China and Sri Lanka and Colombo since late-2021, such as a tussle over the fertilizer issue, the cancellation of a Chinese solar project in Northern Sri Lanka.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Government will be expediting the implementation of Sri Lanka’s first Information and Cyber Security Strategy with a partnership-based approach to protect cyberspace from multinational cyber threats, Technology Ministry sources disclosed.

Defense Cyber Commands’ bill and a separate bill on cyber security laws outside the defense purview are to be presented in parliament to enact it soon with the aim of, combating terrorist groups and criminals using cyber space and electronic communication for anti-social activities.

.The Defense Cyber Commands Bill covers all sectors related to electronic communication to protect national security interests, a senior official of the ministry said.

He noted that this bill will also deal with the present armed forces and police cyber protection units and the second draft bill, will strengthen the institutional structure to handle with cyber protection with the setting up of the Data Protection Authority.

The bill was passed without a vote after a raft of amendments was made to the original version.

Sri Lanka will introduce new cyber security legislation in 2023 and also unveil a framework for a digital economy State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath said.

According to the state minister, the proposed cybersecurity act, which has been on the cards for some years now and subjected to repeated delays, is aimed at protecting personal data and will also serve the wider national security interest.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as Minister of Technology, has introduced a new framework for digitalization with a view to turning Sri Lanka into a digital economy,

“The state minister also dismissed concerns that the proposed cybersecurity act could curb media freedom, not unlike the proposed broadcast regulatory commission.

In August 2022, Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers approved a proposal by President Ranil Wickrememsinghe to implement an ‘Information and Cyber Security policy’ in all state bodies listed under public authorities.

The policy, formulated by the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) in line with the Information and Cyber Security strategy 2019-2023, was given approval to be implemented in all public authorities listed in the Right to Information Act No 12 of 2016.

A cabinet statement said though there is a trend of state owned enterprises (SOEs) being digitalized, there is a threat to information and the security of data due to outdated technology and a shortage of qualified staff to supervise systems.

Other objectives include the “introduction of legal provisions required for protecting infrastructure facilities related to decisive and essential information within the country, prevention of risk activities that affect the cyber security as well as creating a formal cyber protected environment within the country.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):The implementation status of 71 per cent of the highest value expenditure proposals in Interim Budget 2022 – with an allocation of LKR 46.8 billion – remains unknown, Verité Research said.

Verité Research has been tracking the progress of budget promises since 2017, and Interim Budget 2022 has the largest proportion of proposals for which information was not provided. On average, information was not disclosed to assess progress of 38 per cent of the expenditure proposals between 2017-2021.

For most of the Interim Budget 2022 proposals, no information was provided by the government agencies, even for requests made under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This has been a continuing trend since 2017.

The Interim Budget 2022 assessment tracked 24 expenditure proposals made in the budget speech, with a total allocation of LKR 50.5 billion. Information received was sufficient to assess the progress of seven proposals, and the assessment revealed that only one proposal had been fulfilled as of 31 December 2022.

The National Budget Department (NBD) of the Ministry of Finance is responsible for budget implementation but is not fully aware of the agencies responsible for the implementation of proposals.

For example, the agencies identified by the NBD as being responsible for implementation claimed they are not responsible for the implementation of 17 out of the 24 proposals tracked.

This indicates one of two possibilities: 1) the NBD, which is responsible for the estimation and appropriation of public finance resources, is unaware who the implementing agencies are or 2) the agencies are not aware that they are responsible for the implementation of these proposals.

Both possibilities raise serious concerns about the accountability of the government in delivering promises made by the Minister of Finance in his budget speech in Parliament.

The Interim Budget 2022 was presented at a crucial juncture in Sri Lanka’s history, where the country was mired in an economic crisis unlike any it has faced since independence.

The budget strived to provide hope by promising to lay the foundation to change the economic trajectory of the country.

These findings raise doubts as to whether Sri Lanka can genuinely expect a sustainable change in its economic trajectory without addressing the core problem that led to the crisis; lack of transparency and accountability in how the government manages the public funds.

The importance of enhancing fiscal transparency to reduce corruption vulnerabilities and restore long-term economic and political stability has been highlighted in Sri Lanka’s commitments with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Colombo (LNW): Senior Professor Nilanthi Renuka De Silva has been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya.

The new appointment was made by President Ranil Wickremesinghe and will be in effect from August 24, 2023, for a period of three years.

Colombo (LNW): President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Minister of Defence has issued an extraordinary gazette declaration lifting the ban that was imposed on five Islamic organisations since the Easter Sunday massacre in 2019.

These organisations are;

• The United Thowheeth Jama’ath (UTJ),
• Ceylon Thowheeth Jama’ath (CTJ),
• Sri Lanka Thowheeth Jama’ath (SLTJ),
• All Ceylon Thowheeth Jama’ath (ACTJ), and
• Jamiyathul Ansaari Sunnathul Mohomadiya (JSM) has been lifted.

These organisations were authorised to be proscribed along with six more in 2021 by former Attorney General Dappula De Livera, following the occurrence of the massacre.

Colombo (LNW): Former Convenor of the Inter-University Students’ Federation (IUSF) Wasantha Mudalige has been arrested by the Kuruduwatta Police a short while ago.

He was arrested near the Borella Cemetery, and the Police claimed that they were in possession of a warrant to make an arrest.

Mudalige is currently being held under the custody of the Kurunduwatta Police.

Colombo (LNW): The Colombo Lotus Tower plans to launch a new bungee jumping programme by December this year, Daily Mirror reported quoting its Head of Management Prasad Samarasinghe.

This will reportedly be the world’s highest bungee jumping event, and will be initiated as per a contract entered by the Colombo Lotus Tower and Singapore Go Bungy Company.

The two companies signed the contract to start bungee jumping for the first time in Sri Lanka.

The initial launch was schedule for August this year, but was delayed since the management found that some upgrading had to be done to the ski ramp, along with certain changes in the plan from the company’s end, Samarasinghe revealed.

Bungee jumping being introduced to Sri Lanka is expected to boost the tourism industry in the crisis-hit island nation.