The National Election Commission’s proposed schedule for the 2023 Local Government Election has been approved by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court.
The National Election Commission is required by law to defend the right of the people to vote, the Supreme Court emphasized. The Supreme Court further emphasized that because the National Election Commission had previously committed to holding the Local Government Election in accordance with the Law, no directives were required in this case.
In a recent affidavit to the Supreme Court, Saman Sri Ratnayake, the commissioner general of the National Elections Commission, asked the court to urge the concerned factions to give all essential financial and other facilities for the Local Government Election.
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank needs greater independence is vital to overcome the present economic challenges but it should be given to competent, efficient, non arrogance and knowledgeable top management with positive minds, several economic experts said.
The island nation has been running fiscal deficits for decades and has recorded a primary budget surplus only four times since its independence in 1948. official monetary and financial institutions forum revealed.
This severe lack of fiscal discipline has been made possible by debt financing and monetary financing of government expenditure. This has had many consequences for the economy, not least that Sri Lanka has had consistently higher inflation than other countries in the region.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has independence to an extent. The finance minister cannot issue directions to the central bank and even the president cannot remove the governor at will.
However, the Treasury secretary is a voting member of the central bank’s monetary board, allowing the finance ministry to influence monetary policy-making.
Former US President Richard Nixon influenced the Federal Reserve chair to reverse an interest rate hike to help him win re-election in 1972.
This led to a decade of inflation in the US and a great deal of economic damage. Sri Lanka had a similar moment in 1959 when the country faced a balance of payments crisis.
Prime Minister Wijeyananda Dahanayake took responsibility for reducing interest rates in direct opposition to the advice of the central bank’s monetary board. The following decade saw a widening of current account deficits, leading to a foreign exchange crisis in the 1960s.
Sri Lanka brought in draft acts in 2004 and 2018 to make the central bank more independent by making the Treasury secretary a non-voting member of the monetary board. In both instances, it did not proceed due to a change in government.
In the face of its worst economic crisis after defaulting on its external debt last year, Sri Lanka needs financial discipline to move forward. The International Monetary Fund has termed Sri Lanka’s debt unsustainable.
Sri Lanka has a chronic problem of running large fiscal deficits and is seeking IMF assistance for the 17th time since achieving independence.
One of the conditions for obtaining the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility is achieving a primary budget surplus of 2.3% by 2025. Another key condition is greater central bank independence. An independent central bank can refuse monetary financing, forcing the government to have better fiscal discipline.
Decades of monetary financing and other factors have led to Sri Lanka having higher inflation when compared to the rest of the region.
With inflation under control, consumers will have greater spending power, which can allow for lower interest rates and create steady growth for Sri Lanka.
Without unconditional support from the central bank, the government can work on revenue-based fiscal consolidation as Sri Lanka has one of the lowest government revenue-to-gross domestic product ratios in the world. The IMF has advised the government to focus on this area.
An independent central bank can set its own monetary policy free from political considerations. Stable monetary policy will result in greater confidence in the currency and in the economy, which is essential if Sri Lanka is to grow itself out of this crisis.
Japanese giant Mitsubishi Corporation to wind up operations in Sri Lanka after 60 years: move causes big shock to private sector: Sri Lanka was one of Mitsubishi’s first overseas offices.
Trade unions of petroleum, ports, water supply, banking, electricity, health and education hold a massive demonstration jointly in Colombo: urge Govt to revoke the tax revisions.
Latest coal tender runs into problems with the Indonesian supplier: supplier said to request a change to a crucial term that Lanka Coal Company has deemed unacceptable say authoritative sources: dispute likely to cause delays in procuring crucial coal supplies beyond March.
Police inform Aluthkade Magistrate’s Court that the death of prominent businessman Dinesh Schaffter was caused by ingestion of cyanide: post-mortem examination report said to have also concluded that the injuries which have been caused by strangulation were not fatal.
Elections Commission said to have requested the Treasury to release Rs.770 mn for LG poll expenditure in February: President Ranil Wickremesinghe instructs Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana to only provide for essential Govt expenses in order to maintain public services until the revenue situation improves.
SJB MP and Economic Guru Harsha de Silva says the Govt would not be able to collect Rs.100 bn in PAYE tax, as envisaged: challenges President to explain how new PAYE tax revisions would add an extra Rs.100 bn to state revenue.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says the Cabinet insisted the country was bankrupt: also says the Govt can’t come out of the crisis by stifling economic activity; insists good diplomacy is needed to bring in FDI: complains that SMEs can’t operate at 30% interest rates.
IMF says its approval for the much-touted USD 2.9 bn loan to bail out Sri Lanka will depend on assurances on debt relief from its bilateral creditors: assures that as soon as adequate assurances are obtained and remaining conditions are met, the EFF can be presented to the IMF’s Board for approval: analysts say IMF negotiations have now entered 49th week: no funding from IMF or any other bilateral party during this period and economy contracting severely.
SriLankan Airlines to renew commercial operations to China in April 2023: thrice weekly service each to Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou planned.
Appeal Court extends interim order preventing the imposition of PAYE tax on salaries of judges till petition is supported.
SriLankan Airlines is to renew its commercial operations to China in the first week of April 2023, with a thrice weekly service each to Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou as China reopens its borders.
China was a leading source market for inbound tourism to Sri Lanka and one of SriLankan’s premier leisure traveler segments before the pandemic, and SriLankan is positioning for a strong comeback in China upon its return.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ashok Pathirage emphasizes that the global aviation industry is expected to make a full recovery from the pandemic downturn by next year.
As such, his airline’s plans align with the market forecasts. Along with China, the carrier is keen to boost its presence at the airports of another Asian counterpart, India, he said. .
There are high hopes for China-bound travel in 2023. Other East Asian regions, such as Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, finally relaxed restrictions in recent months. However, mainland China is still largely cut-off.
In previous years, SriLankan Airlines flew to the likes of Chengdu, Chongqing, and Kunming. More recently, it has prioritized routes to Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai. Regardless, activity has been limited due to the ongoing stringent travel restrictions within China.
SriLankan will launch passenger flights to Shanghai on 3 April 2023. Accordingly, flights will depart from Colombo to Shanghai every Monday, Thursday and Friday, and return from Shanghai to Colombo every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, respectively, the Airlines said.
Flights from Colombo to Beijing will also commence on 3 April 2023, and are scheduled to depart for Beijing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week. The return flights to Colombo will depart on the respective subsequent days.
SriLankan Airlines currently operates a weekly flight between Colombo and Guangzhou, and a second flight will be introduced on 4 March 2023.
Furthermore, SriLankan’s services to Guangzhou will become a thrice-weekly operation exactly a month later on 4 April 2023, with flights taking off from Colombo to Guangzhou every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The return flights from Guangzhou to Colombo will depart every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
With Chinese travelers eager to make up for lost time in globetrotting, SriLankan will be working closely with the local travel trade to reignite enthusiasm for Sri Lanka as a leisure destination in China.
In addition to specifically curated holiday packages and deals, SriLankan offers Chinese customers the convenience of paying via Alipay and WeChat Pay.
SriLankan Airlines has temporarily suspended its services between Sri Lanka and China from 10th March to 30th April 2020 due to market conditions driven by significant reduction in worldwide travel to and from China.
SriLankan Airlines continued to fly to China after many airlines suspended services or reduced frequencies, including four Chinese airlines that operate between Colombo and China.
The Government of China has also imposed restrictions on overseas travel of its own citizens.
Proposals to establish the National Policy Commission by way of a constitutionally established mechanism.
A discussion pertaining to the concept paper related to the proposed establishment of the National Policy Commission for the purpose of planning, implementing, monitoring and reviewing national policies and strategies aimed at transforming Sri Lanka into a sustainably developed nation by 2048 was held recently (07).
This discussion was held at the Sub Committee on Identifying the Priorities in Formulation of Short-, Medium- & Long-Term National Policies of the National Council chaired by Hon. Namal Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament.
The working committee for the establishment of the National Policy Commission chaired by the Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake has been established based on the recommendations of the National Council sub-committee. Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake and Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Anura Dissanayake presented the concept paper related to the commission to the sub-committee.
According to the concept paper, it is proposed to be established through a constitutional amendment as the highest-level official mechanism established to determine the country’s public policies. The functions of the Commission include policy formulation and policy guidance along with proper analysis, formulation of the National Development Policy Framework 2023 – 2048 through short-term, medium-term and long-term development planning, facilitating development planning and efficient allocation of resources by identifying the capacities and potentials of the public and private sectors, implementation of projects by identifying development areas based on current national priorities, implementation of regular regulatory and evaluation processes along with implementation of development plans, strengthening the implementation of inter-coordination processes between the institutional systems implemented at the national and provincial levels were discussed at the committee in length.
Accordingly, it is proposed to establish a commission bureau to fulfill the functions of the commission, and a steering committee is also to be established to fulfill its objectives. Moreover, The National Policy Commission is to act as a constitutionally established mechanism to provide necessary technical guidance and facilities to parliamentarians to enable Parliament to exercise its powers under Articles 04, 27 and 148 of the Constitution.
Furthermore, the Commission’s long-term policy plans include national policy and national infrastructure provision from 2023 – 2048 and medium-term policy plans for the following years and annual budget and annual provincial budget plans under state investment plans and sectoral development plans as well as short-term policy plans. Chairman of the Committee Hon. Namal Rajapaksa addressing the Committee said that he hopes to present this concept paper to the National Council very soon and take steps for the necessary future process.
Hon. Wajira Abeywardana, Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Anura Dissanayake, Professor Sampath Amaratunge, Professor Shirantha Heenkenda, Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne were present at the Committee meeting held.
A letter signed by 14 MPs has been handed over to the speaker Mr. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena asking him to immediately appoint a parliamentary selection committee to look into the role of the Sri Lanka Election Commission.
A group of back row MPs of the ruling party have forwarded this letter to the speaker requesting that the privileges of the members of parliament have been violated due to certain activities and that a selection committee should be appointed based on that fact.
It is stated that this letter has been addressed pointing out the appointment of the Election Commission consisting of five members on December 3, 2020 and their responsibility to Parliament under Article 1048 (3) of the Constitution.
Accordingly, it has been stated in the letter that the Election Commission has failed to report to the Parliament on the issues related to the local government polls, and that it is unable to satisfy itself with all the prerequisites for holding such an election.
It was reported in the letter that if the privileges of the members of Parliament have been violated due to the action of the Election Commission, the MPs have requested to look into the matter and make suitable recommendations.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Washington D.C. commemorated the 75th Independence Day celebrations on the 04 of February 2023, under the patronage of Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe.
In keeping with tradition, the celebrations began with hoisting of the National Flag by the Ambassador, followed by the singing of the National Anthem in the Sinhala Language, lighting of the traditional lamp and the observance of two minutes silence for those who sacrificed their lives on behalf of the motherland. The ceremony proceeded with the conduct of Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, and Christian religious observances.
The Buddhist religious observances were conducted by Ven. Maharagama Dhammasiri Nayaka Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Washington Buddhist Vihara, Washington D.C. and Chief Sangha Nayaka of North America, Ven. Katugastota Uparatana Nayaka Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Maryland Buddhist Vihara and Chief Judicial Sangha Nayaka of North America and Ven. Thalawe Damitha Bodhi Thero, Chief Incumbent of the Mahamevunawa Buddhist Meditation Centre, Washington D.C. Hindu observances were conducted by Swami Ragupathi Kurukkal, Islamic observances by Gaddafi Ismail and Christian observances by Reverend Monsignor John Paul Pedrera, First Secretary, Apostolic Nunciature, Washington D.C.
To mark the 75th Independence Day celebrations, messages from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Foreign Minister M.U.M. Ali Sabry were readon the occasion, along with a message from Ambassador Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, U.S. Department of State, who forwarded a video message congratulating the people of Sri Lanka on its Independence Day and for being resilient through all the hardships and turmoil that the people had to face over the years. He also recollected his first visit to Sri Lanka and how he will always remember the warmth of the people and the beauty and splendour of the country. Ambassador Lu, concluded by reiterating how the two nations share a special relationship and assured the support of the United States in Sri Lanka’s future and growth.
Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe, in his address, recalled that after 450 years of foreign domination and subjugation, Sri Lanka gained its independence in 1948. He said that the present is an opportunity for reflection of the 75 year journey since then. He added that we should focus on the positives as well as the negatives during this period. He recalled that for over 30 years of the 75-year period, Sri Lanka was combatting one of the worst forms of terrorism. In addition, he said, there were two youth insurrections that took place. There were many young lives lost and persons who disappeared or went missing. Sri Lanka has been called upon internationally to account for these persons.
The Ambassador also highlighted some of the positives. Sri Lanka was the first nation in South Asia to adopt an open economic model, invest consistently in universal health coverage and free education. Sri Lanka was a pioneer in some of these policy initiatives. These investments in the people were reflected in high levels of human development in advance of other countries in the region. He referred to levels of international support for Sri Lanka after the end of the conflict in 2009 and said that the country had missed an opportunity to achieve comprehensive reconciliation, peace and a sense of togetherness between different segments of the population.
Referring to the youth led protests of 2022, he said that there was a clear message being conveyed that the Government was ready to pay heed to. What was commented on was that there was no political, ethnic or religious division amongst the youth who demonstrated in favour of a system change. He also stated that the Government of President Wickremesinghe would take steps to accommodate the views of the youth in its efforts to promote unity in an effort to move forward together toward a better future.
What is necessary, Ambassador Samarasinghe added, is the acceptance that Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual nation and that all should strive to build a national identity free from prejudice and division. Recognition that our diversity is a source of strength that should be protected and nurtured is a prerequisite for advancement through achieving sustainable peace which will result in sustained development.
The Independence Day celebrations concluded with the playing of the National Anthem in the Tamil Language.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry met former Secretary General of the United Nations and President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Ban Ki-moon at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, 07 February 2023.
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry thanked Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his visit to Sri Lanka to strengthen cooperation between the Government of Sri Lanka and GGGI and to support Sri Lanka’s green growth aspirations. The Minister highlighted the importance of working together with the GGGI to gain expertise and enhance the capacity of stakeholders working towards the implementation of the government’s green initiatives related to environment and development. Minister Sabry invited the GGGI to organize a brainstorming session for officials of the stakeholder ministries engaged in reaching out to international green-blue financing and renewable energy projects.
Elaborating on GGGI’s active engagement with Sri Lanka Mr. Ban Ki-moon expressed his commitment to continue his support for President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sri Lanka’s efforts towards economic progress and environmental sustainability. He noted the current economic downturn and challenges faced by many countries including those in the developed world and the negative spillover on Sri Lanka. He expressed confidence that Sri Lanka will overcome the present economic challenges soon under the able leadership of the President and the government.
The former UNSG was accompanied by the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Santhush Woonjin Jeong, CEO of GGGI Dr. Frank Rijsberman, and officials of the GGGI office in Sri Lanka. Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane and senior officials of the Foreign Ministry were associated with the meeting.
Banki–Moon, formerUNSecretaryGeneral and Chair of the GlobalGreen Growth Institute discusses cooperation with Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Korea
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Korea Savitri Panabokke met with former UN Secretary General and President and Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute Ban Ki Moon on 1 February 2023 at the Ban Ki Moon Foundation in Seoul.
During the meeting, the President of the GGGI recalled his longstanding friendship and engagement with Sri Lanka over the years, as a diplomat and during his tenure as the UN Secretary General as well as in his present capacity in the GGGI. He also expressed his enthusiasm regarding his forthcoming official visit to Sri Lanka.
Ambassador Panabokke expressed appreciation for the GGGI’s initiatives in Sri Lanka and discussed future areas of co-operation relating to climate change and green growth.
Sri Lanka currently holds the Post of the Vice President of the GGGI Assembly and the Vice Chair of the Council of the GGGI.
Head of the International Cooperation Unit of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, Choi Sung-joo, Mr. Dave Kim, Head of the Governance Unit of GGGI and Ms. Sachini Dias, Second Secretary of the Embassy of Sri Lanka also participated in the meeting.
