Colombo (LNW): The no confidence motion filed against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella will be taken into debate on September 06, 07 and 08, as per a decision by the Committee on Parliamentary Businesses chaired by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, announced Parliament Secretary General Kushani Rohanadeera.
Parliament is scheduled to meet from Tuesday the 5th to Friday the 8th of the coming week and each day, time 9.30 am – 10.30 am has been allotted for Questions for Oral Answers.
Tuesday, the 5th September the debate on the Ayurveda (Amendment) Bill (second reading) is scheduled to be held from 10.30 am to 5.00 pm. Subsequently, the Private Member’s Bills Sri Balabhivurdhi Wardhana Samitiya (Incorporation) Bill and Samadhi Community Development Foundation Bill, will be taken for second reading. Then from 5.00 pm to 5.30 pm, the Motion at the Adjournment Time by the government will be debated.
Wednesday, the 6th September Order under the Foreign Exchange Act published in the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2338/40 and the Regulations published in Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2341/38 under the Import and Export (Control) Act have been scheduled to be approved without debate at around 10. 30 a.m.
Thereafter, no-confidence motion against the Health Minister will be taken up for debate till 5.30pm.
It was decided to hold this debate for the second and third days on Thursday, September 7 and Friday, September 8 from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm, Mrs. Rohanadeera noted, adding that the vote on the no- confidence motion is scheduled to be held on the 8th at 5.30 pm.
Colombo (LNW): China’s plan to rescue Sri Lanka from economic crisis in 2022 has ben shattered following the declaration of bankruptcy by the Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe, national organization collective claim.
Dr. Wasantha Bandara, a frontline member of the organization noted that China’s loan assistance in the pipeline at the time of announcing pre-emptive debt default has been vanished to thin air by the disruptive action of the CB.
He accused Weerasinghe of aiding and abetting measures taken by the then government as the deputy governor of the CB to raise over US$12 billion via the issuance of International Sovereign Bonds during the period of 2015-2019.
Former CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal stated that inflows of USD 3.8 bn materialised during his tenure of just over 6-1/2 months. He added that China has pledged $4 billlion and it was in the pipe line.
He also says not a single dollar used to “defend” rupee, USD 1.8 bn provided for essential imports, USD 2.0 bn provided to ensure state banks’ solvency, USD 3.1 bn in debt settled in time, and USD 10.7 bn in pipe-line of inflows arranged before the announcement of pre-emptive debt dafult.
Dr. Wasantha Bandara accused Weerasinghe for encouraging the then government authorities’ toenact new foreign exchange act No12 of 2017 which has helped Sri Lanka’s businesses involved in the exports and imports trade in plundering US$53 billion.
They have plundered US$ 36.833 billion (Rs 13.246 trillion) over nine years through intentional, dodgy invoicing, and stashing the foreign exchange earnings offshore and this amount has incresed to $53 billion now. .
Importers and exporters intentionally falsify the declared value of goods on invoices filed with Sri Lanka Customs, to make an average of US$ 4.093 billion (Rs 1.471 trillion) evaporate every year, an extensive investigation by Washington, DC-based Global Financial Integrity has revealed.
The state can size the savings and fixed deposits of high net worth tax defaulters while cut down their bond repayments equivalent to their massive tax evasion money amounting to RS 904 billion by 2023 according Inland Revenue department data.
Such bond holders are getting high interest rates for their investments and therefore the present value of the tax evasion money would be around Rs 2 billion by now.
The government would be able to save three times of the amount expected from the restructure of EPF and ETF by this massive tax recovery process and seizing the saving and fixed deposit accounts of tax evaders.
Colombo (LNW): The High Commission of India yesterday (01) stated that Indian Defence Minister Shri Ranjith Singh’s visit to Sri Lanka scheduled for September 02 – 03 has been deferred, and fresh dates, therefore, will be announced later.
The Indian Defence Minister’s arrival in Sri Lanka is centred on holding discussions related to bilateral defence ties between the two nations.
During his visit, Singh is expected to visit his Sri Lankan counterpart, President and Defence Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Premier Dinesh Gunawardena.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s merchandise trade deficit widened in July 2023 due to the combined impact of relatively low export earnings and high import expenditure, compared to July 2022, Central Bank announced.
However, cumulative trade deficit during January-July 2023 remained significantly low, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
The deficit in the merchandise trade account increased in July 2023 to US dollars 367 million, compared to US dollars 122 million recorded in July 2022.
The trade account during January to July 2023 narrowed to US dollars 2,657 million from US dollars 3,628 million recorded over the same period in 2022, driven by lower imports, CB divulged.
Earnings from merchandise exports declined by 12.4 per cent in July 2023, over the corresponding month in 2022, to US dollars 1,020 million.
The decline in earnings from industrial exports, including garments, associated with slowing external demand mainly contributed to this contraction in export earnings in July 2023, compared to a year earlier.
However, earnings from exports in July 2023 increased compared to June 2023. Cumulative export earnings during January to July 2023 also declined by 10.3 per cent over the same period in the last year, amounting to US dollars 6,891 million, CB disclosed
Workers’ remittances increased notably to US dollars 541 million in July 2023 in comparison to US dollars 279 million in July 2022.
Meanwhile, based on provisional data, total departures for foreign employment during January to July 2023 and departures in July 2023 amounted to 171,015 and 24,578, respectively. Total annual departures for foreign employment in 2022 was 311,056.
Tourist arrivals increased to 143,039 in July 2023, compared to 100,388 arrivals recorded in June 2023.
Meanwhile, the cumulative tourist arrivals during January-July 2023 amounted to 767,913, compared to 458,670 arrivals recorded during the corresponding period in 2022.
Earnings from tourism in July 2023 were estimated at US dollars 219 million, in comparison to US dollars 123 million in the previous month and US dollars 85 million in the corresponding month in the previous year.
Consequently, earnings from tourism during January-July 2023 amounted to US dollars 1,094 million, compared to US dollars 765 million in corresponding period in 2022.
India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France were the main source countries for tourist arrivals during this period.
Foreign investment in the government securities market recorded a net outflow of US dollars 38 million in July 2023 despite a cumulative net inflow of US dollars 388 million during January to July2023.
Meanwhile, foreign inflows to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), including both primary and secondary market transactions, recorded a net inflow of US dollars 9 million during January-July 2023.
Gross official reserves increased to US dollars 3.8 billion by end July 2023, compared to US dollars 1.8 billion recorded as at end July 2022.
Central Bank supplied US dollars 13 million to the domestic foreign exchange market on net basis during the month. Overall, It has purchased more than US dollars 2.0 billion, on gross basis, during January-July 2023.
Colombo (LNW): The United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka launched its latest report on vulnerability titled “Understanding Multidimensional Vulnerabilities: Impact on People of Sri Lanka for the first time.
The releasing of the report on Friday by the UNDP has exposed the enefficency of the state authorities specially the failure of the Census and Statistics Department to conduct such a comprehensive survey on the plight of vulnerable community in the island facing economic crisis.
This UNDP report presents findings from the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) derived from the National Citizen Survey 2022-2023 initiated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka.
It was administered with the objective of capturing a wide picture of vulnerabilities experienced by Sri Lankans during the economic downturn.
Debt, a lack of education, and the ability to adapt to disasters are factors that make most people feel vulnerable, said the new report, released on Friday 01 of September by the UNDP and the University of Oxford’s Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
The report was presented to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa ata ceremony in Colombo in the presence of Ms Azusa Kubota, Dr Sabina Alkire ( Director -Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), University of Oxford), several other dignitaries.
Mr. Premadsa noted that a social security programme cannot be implanted without a proper survey on vulnerable community and thiswas the reason for the present confution and puverty ridden community agitation against the state devised” asvesuma” relief programme.
In the wake of releasing the , Multidimensional Vulnerabilities: Impact on People of Sri Lanka survey report by the UNDP has exposed the inefficiency and lethargic attitude of the Census and Statistics Department which has still not released the the Household Income and Expenditure (HIE) Survey 2022 since 2019.
The Department conducts this Survey (HIES) once in every three years to measure the levels and changes in living conditions of the people.
Data collected from this survey is used to observe the consumption patterns to compute various other socioeconomic indicators such a poverty price indices etc.
Generally the survey is conducted over a period of 12 months time to capture seasonal variations. The general sample size is 25000 housing units to facilitate the information be given up to district level.
.Sri Lanka’s average monthly household income was estimated at Rs. 76,414 prior to the country’s economy fell deep into a recession and incomes deteriorated in the two years of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, according to Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) data.
However the monthly report on house hold income is still to be updated, informed official sources said.
However the UNDP report demonstrates the overlapping challenges faced by Sri Lanka’s population and weaves together a novel set of indicators to capture vulnerabilities beyond traditional income-based measures.
The index includes twelve indicators grouped under three dimensions: education, health and disasters, and living standards. Indicator selection was based on consultations with key stakeholders, including a technical advisory panel.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s large-scale infrastructure projects have been mired with allegations ranging from corruption, procurement malpractices, unreasonably high costs and negligence of negative environmental impacts. Loans undertaken to fund these projects during the past two decades have also contributed significantly to Sri Lanka’s debt burden.
Lack of transparency is a key enabler of many of the problems associated with infrastructure investments in Sri Lanka.
The Right to Information (RTI) Act, brought into effect in 2016, attempted to change this by enabling public access to vital government information and empowering citizens to hold the government accountable.
Disclosure of public procurement contracts through an online fiscal transparency platform to reduce opportunities for corruption is also a commitment Sri Lanka has made with the IMF.
Yet, the assessment revealed that a significant share of critical information important to improving infrastructure governance, such as project approvals and clearances and project procurement and contracts, remain hidden from the public.
The government’s continued lack of transparency surrounding infrastructure projects therefore begs the question as to whether the government will continue to carry out its business behind closed doors, defying legal mandates.
Despite the Right to Information (RTI) Act’s proactive disclosure requirement, only 18% and 25% of information required to be disclosed on large-scale infrastructure projects were proactively disclosed online in 2022 and 2023 respectively, according to Verité Research.
Moreover, the information, when available online, was mostly available in English – even though the RTI Act mandates disclosure in Sinhala and Tamil, with English required only if feasible. In 2022, 18% of the information was available in English, but only 5% in Sinhala and 4% in Tamil.
This trend continued in 2023, where 25% was available in English, with only 8% in Sinhala and 8% in Tamil.
These findings are contained in Infrastructure Watch, a trilingual dashboard housed under Verité Research’s publicfinance.lk platform. It tracked government compliance with the RTI Act’s proactive disclosure requirements for 60 projects worth LKR 1.08 trillion in 2022, and 60 projects worth LKR 2.54 trillion in 2023.
The 2023 assessment’s 60 projects comprised of 37 old projects from the 2022 assessment that were ongoing, as well as 23 new projects.
The assessment period for the 60 projects in 2022 was January – April 2022 and for 60 projects in 2023 was January – April 2023. The assessment considered only the proactive disclosure of information on the websites of the responsible Ministries and line-agencies.
Section 9 of the RTI Act No. 12 of 2016 mandates the Minister responsible for an infrastructure project to disclose project information.
The information should be proactively disclosed for foreign and locally funded projects exceeding USD 100,000 and LKR 500,000 respectively, at least three months prior to commencement. The disclosures are to be made under 5 broad categories: project details, rationale and beneficiaries, budget and financial details, approvals and clearances, and procurements and contracts.
Colombo (LNW): Showers will occur at times in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and Northwestern provinces, and heavy showers about 100mm are likely at some places in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces and in Galle and Matara districts, announced the Department of Meteorology in its daily weather forecast toady (02).
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in Eastern and Uva province and in Vavuniya and Mullaitivu districts during the evening or night, the statement aded.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
Fairly strong winds about (40-45) kmph can be expected at times in western slopes of the central hills, western, Northwestern and Sabaragamuwa provinces.
Marine Weather:
Condition of Rain:
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Hambantota via Colombo, Galle and Matara.
Winds:
Winds will be South-westerly and speed will be (30-40) kmph. Wind speed may increase up to (50-60)kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota and from Puttalam to Kankasanthurai via Mannar. Wind speed may increase up to 50kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Galle via Colombo.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coast extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota and from Puttalam to Kankasanthurai via Mannar will be rough at times. The sea areas off the coast extending from Puttalam to Galle via Colombo will be fairly rough at times. Temporarily strong gusty winds and very rough seas can be expected during thundershowers. Increase of swell wave heights(about 2.0 –2.5m) can be expected in the sea areasoff the coast extending from Galle to Pottuvil via Hambantota.
Colombo (LNW): The Police and other responsible authorities should focus their attention on the growing rate of organised crimes and murders in the country, and prompt action, therefore, should be taken to curb them, emphasised the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) in a statement.
Highlighting issues related to the law enforcement authorities involving problematic situations leading to the weakening of public security in Sri Lanka, the NMSJ urged the relevant parties to take immediate action to prevent such situation from occurring in the future.
Full Statement:
The National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) would like to emphasise that the Police and other responsible authorities should focus their attention on the growing rate of organised crimes and murders in the country.
The number of murders reported in different parts of the island in the last few months alone is sufficient for anyone to understand the need for immediate action to prevent such. It is the duty of the responsible institutions to review the steps taken by the Police and their progress at the earliest possible.
The reasons that have led to the occurrence of these types of crimes in the recent past should be investigated and remedial measures should be taken immediately. We also believe that there is a special responsibility to the National Police Commission (NPC) including its Chairman.
We have come to know that the appointment of officers in charge (OICs) of certain Police Stations has been done on the recommendations of politicians, and, in some cases, their family members. It is clear that such situations have led to the weakening of public security in the country, so we hope that the NPC would take steps to prevent such situations from occurring in the future.
Sunil Jayasekara General Secretary National Movement for Social Justice 01.09.2023
Asian Development Bank approves a USD 350mn loan to SL to provide “budget support for economic stabilization”: accordingly, the bulk of these funds would be utilised to pay govt servants salaries & pensions and interest, and not to fund any revenue-generating capital project.
Bangladesh Bank says SL has paid back another USD 100mn of the USD 200mn it borrowed 2 years ago, thereby increasing the total repayments to USD 150mn: expresses hope the balance will be repaid by September: previously, SL had announced that a part of the credit line from India had also been “settled” immediately after receiving the 1st trance from IMF: analysts say these “settlements-in-full” to selected bilateral creditors is likely to have an impact on the overall debt restructuring effort of the Govt.
Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh’s visit to SL scheduled for 2 & 3 September, deferred: the purpose of the visit was earlier announced as “to review bilateral defence ties”: India had previously raised security concerns with the SL govt over the Chinese ship ShiYan 6’s planned docking at the ports of SL from 26 October.
Indian Naval Ship “Delhi” docks at the Colombo port and welcomed by the SL Navy: the vessel is a 163-metre long Destroyer manned by a crew of 450 and commanded by Captain Abhishek Kumar.
An organisation called “The Civil Society Collective for Democracy” says recent statements from the President, Speaker & some MPs who are attempting to undermine judicial independence are “deeply troubling”: also says the recent acts of intimidation targeting members of the Election Commission and Public Utilities Commission are examples of the disabling environment: asserts the citizens’ sovereign right to vote has been infringed by using financial constraints as an excuse.
A collective of 80 Trade Unions write to the IMF to express their concerns about the ongoing Domestic Debt Restructuring process affecting the most vulnerable and marginalised citizens of the country: also say the people are now feeling the brunt of the IMF’s agreement with the Govt.
The core objectives of the visit of US Senator Chris Van Hollen (Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on State & Foreign Operations) is reported as being to promote “enhanced security cooperation, deepening economic ties, collaborative initiatives to address climate change, and the advancement of democracy & human rights”.
Central Bank’s “money printing” increases by Rs.33 bn this week to fund the significant shortfall in the subscription for the week’s Treasury Bills issue: analysts point out the Central Bank will be precluded from doing so after the Speaker confirms the passage of the new Central Bank Act which has already been passed by Parliament.
IGP C D Wickramaratne says steps will be taken to resolve concerns regarding traffic offences being video recorded by the traffic police and then released to the media: the IGP was responding to concerns raised by the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Public Security surrounding the ethicality of the release of such videos to the media.
Sri Lanka’s victory over Bangladesh in their tournament opener in the ongoing Asia Cup, marks the record for their longest winning streak of 11 consecutive victories in one-day internationals: this winning streak is due to their prowess in bowling, as they have dismissed their opponents for the 11th successive game.
