PMD: President Ranil Wickremesinghe instructed the relevant officials to amend the existing ordinances regarding lands to suit the current development needs.
The President also informed to appoint a suitable committee to speed up the work.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued these instructions during a discussion held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (10) evening, on amending the provisions of the ordinances of land management institutions and introducing new regulations.
Pointing out that the land policies brought during the colonial period are still being implemented in the country, the President also said that the ordinances brought at different times related to land use are not in line with the development needs of the time.
It was also discussed at length about the preparation of a new National Land Policy by removing the existing obstacles in providing land for development activities.
The President instructed the officials to resolve the issues of the lands under the Provincial Councils through a Land Commission.
The President also instructed the officers to identify the details of the land owners in the Grama Niladhari Divisions and the amount of land that is currently utilized and the amount of land that has not been utilized and prepare a report at Divisional Secretariat levels.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe informed the officers to take steps to redistribute among the public the lands acquired for Government purposes but not yet utilized, and in the future to acquire lands for Government purposes by paying the market value of the respective lands.
In order to avoid the delay in the works of the Survey Department and the Valuation Department, the President also instructed to take steps to fill the vacancies in those departments promptly.
Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to the President on National Security Mr Sagala Ratnayake, Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Mr. K.D.N. Ranjith Asoka, Secretary to the Ministry of Tourism & Lands Mr. H.M.B.P. Herath, Secretary to the Ministry Of Wildlife & Forest Resources Conservation Mrs. R.M.C.M. Herath, Secretary to the Ministry of Irrigation U.D.C Jayalal, Secretary to the Ministry of Plantation Industries Mr. Janaka Dharmakeerthi and other Government officials were present at this discussion.
Colombo (LNW): The deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into the cyclonic storm “Mocha” and it laid centred near 11.2°N and 88.1°E at 05.30 a.m. today (11), the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology said in a new warning issued today (11).
The depression is very likely to move north-northwestwards and gradually intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by midnight today, and thereafter expected to recurve gradually from north-northwestwards from Friday (12) morning and intensify further into a very severe cyclonic storm around Friday evening over the central Bay of Bengal, the advisory issued by the Centre said.
The system is likely to weaken slightly from May 14 and cross southeast Bangladesh and north Myanmar coasts around the forenoon of May 14, the statement added, warning that the due to this occurrence, wind speeds will be (50-60) kmph and can increase up to 70-80 kmph in sea areas bounded by 03N – 20N and 85E – 100E during the next 24 hours.
The situation may worsen with heavy showers or thundershowers, and very rough sees can be expected in the sea areas, it added.
Colombo (LNW): Resisting the challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic, luxury passenger ships are back on the waters. As the cruise liner season kicks off in Sri Lanka, tourism looks at how the industry is innovating to stay on an even enthusiasm.
The new gateway to Sri Lanka the Hambantota International Port is bow attracting cruise ships by the dozen.
Several cruise liners flying foreign flags have already confirmed that they will call on the new port in the coming two years (2023-2025).
Since the end of last year cruise liners are continuing calling at the Colombo Port and the wave has turned towards the newly constructed port in the South as well.
Two cruise ships, MS Europa 2 and MS Azamara Quest visited Hambantota International Port (HIP) on Tuesday (9th).
More than 900 passengers disembarked to visit popular tourist destinations in the South. Amongst the sights were the Yala National Park, Udawalawe National Park, Bundala National Park, Kataragama Devalaya and the Mulkirigala Temple.
The visitors also had the opportunity to take a tour of the city of Hambantota and visited Shangri-La’s Hambantota Golf Resort & Spa.
“We are happy to welcome these two cruise ships back. Azamara Quest visited us in December last year and Europa 2 called at the port in 2019.
We are pleased to note that we are entering the cruise ship circuit and this would mean more vessels calling at the Hambantota International Port this year.
The facilities for passengers and crew have been upgraded with duty-free shopping also available within the port premises.
Hambantota International Port which is situated in a lush green environment, has been recognized as one of the cleanest ports in the world.” says Tissa Wickramasinghe, COO, Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG).
Seventeen cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka this year with Queen Mary 2, one of the largest and popular ships, Colombo’s harbor master said, as the island nation is looking for alternative avenues to boost its faltered tourism sector.
The new wave if cruise tourism is expected to bring thousands of high end tourists with higher spending capacity after two years. The island nation saw a record high 54 ships in 2019, rising from the previous year’s 42, Nimal Siripala de Silva, Colombo Port Harbor Master said.
“The 2019 was one of the best years and in 2020 there were more than 60 scheduled vessels to call but with COVID pandemic all hell broke loose”, he claimed
Fourteen cruise ships are scheduled to call up in -May this year and another three arriving in Colombo in November, when the peak tourism season begins.
Cruise tourism cycle begins in Sri Lanka from October to May with a dip during the monsoon seasons.
“This year more ships could schedule, so far these are the confirmed ones now,” he said.adding that This also generates income for the port and the prices are charged according to the size of the vessel.
Silva said the first medium sized-cruise vessel, 229 meters long, generated about 14,000 dollars for docking in the port for a day.
Colombo (LNW): The Police have released an official statement on the incident occurred in Koswatta, Thalangama yesterday (10), where ‘Aragalaya’ activist Piyath Nikeshala was assaulted by a group of assailants allegedly led by SLPP former Deputy Mayor of Kaduwela Chandika Abeyratne.
As Nikeshala was hospitalised, the ex Deputy Mayor was arrested by the Police and the social media activist thereafter.
The Police said an investigation has been launched based on a complaint claiming that the social media activist had been injured during a clash between two parties on Samagi Mawatha in Koswatte, Thalangama.
Nikeshala claimed that a group of assailants led by the ex Deputy Mayor had arrived in two vehicles and had assaulted him and damaged his vehicle.
A video footage streamed on Social Media reveals the activist being beaten, the ex Deputy Mayor appear on the scene, and a man holding a reaping-hook-like sharp object damage his car.
Nikeshala was admitted to the Thalangama Hospital with injuries, and the Police said that the activist has been transferred to the Colombo National Hospital for further treatment.
An arrest on Nikeshala was also made following a complaint by Abeyratne the ex SLPP Deputy Mayor, who was receiving treatment at the Mulleriyawa Hospital.
The two are currently under the observation of the Police.
Piyath Nikeshala was a prominent figure in the ‘Aragalaya’ people’s movement in 2022.
Colombo (LNW): Deputy Chairman of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Imran Khwaja has arrived in Sri Lanka to probe the alleged political interference in the administration of the Sri Lankan game of Cricket.
Khwaja is also a member of the three-member committee appointed by the ICC to probe into the alleged political interference in Sri Lanka Cricket.
During his visit, Mr. Khwaja is expected to conduct a fact finding mission pertaining to the said mandate, and as of now has held discussions with Shammi Silva, President of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), and the Exexutive Committee of the SLC.
The ICC Deputy Chief has reportedly inquired about issues faced by Sri Lanka Cricket involving the alleged political interference and the impact it supposedly has on administration.
Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union said the 24-hour token strike initiated by the union was called off last (10) night.
The strike action was commenced on May 09 midnight over the government’s move of offering to appoint a Deputy General Manager (Commercial) who has a corruption record behind him, the union pointed out.
During the period of the token strike, over 40 trains, including long-distance and office trains were cancelled, and most of the ticket counters were closed.
Colombo (LNW): Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) assured that the stability of the country’s banking system will be safeguarded and the public deposits will be protected despite any proposed domestic debt optimisation pending conduction.
The CBSL Chief’s comments come in amidst numerous speculations that Sri Lanka’s banking system is collapsing due to the economic crisis, the worst suffered by the island nation since independence.
Weerasinghe assured that the safety of the public deposits will be guaranteed as “they have always been maintaining.”
“We will ensure any kind of domestic debt optimisation, we will ensure safeguard of the baking system stability as well as the protection of the public deposits,” he added.
The CBSL Chief went on: “I just want to make that statement. And also I think if you can see yesterday Sri Lanka Baking Association also confirmed on the basis of assurances we have given.
I think what is most important is the inflation, now which is coming down faster than we expected. With that we also see interest rates from the peak easing down especially after we announced the complete debt restructuring process we think specially the market interest rates will come down faster so that we are hoping in the second half, interest rates would be normalized in line with the inflation expectations prediction which is a single digit towards the end of the fourth quarter this year.”
He made these remarks during a public lecture on “State of the Economy: Challenges and Outlook as Reflected in the Central Bank Annual Report – 2022.”
Colombo (LNW): The Appeal Court yesterday (10) extended its interim order barring the arrest and recording of a statement from ex Attorney General Dappula De Livera over a comment he had allegedly made on the 2019 Easter Sunday Carnage until June 22, 2023.
The interim order was extended yesterday as the petition filed on behalf of the ex AG was taken up for consideration.
Livera dragged himself into controversy by a comment he had allegedly made suggesting that “there was a grand conspiracy with regard to the 2019 April attacks,” over which the Justice Minister directed the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) to issue summons to the ex AG to collect a statement, calling the comment problematic.
In his defence, Livera claims that the Police are not vested with powers to question his activities during his time in Office, calling it a violation of the privileges given to an AG.
The government has withdrawn its draft Anti Terrorist law (ATA), but only temporarily. The Minister of Justice has said that he has decided to provide more time for proposals for reform to be submitted to it.
There have been a very large number of statements and protests made against the draft law from a wide swathe of society including the Bar Association, civil society organisations, trade unions and highest ranking religious clergy. The main cause of opposition to it has been its sweeping over-breadth which will enable the government to suppress public protests that are recognized as being democratic and legitimate the world over.
The problem of governments that seek to use the law or break it to protect their power and positions is not peculiar to Sri Lanka. It can be seen in other countries as dissimilar culturally and politically from Sri Lanka as Pakistan and Israel. They are at different levels of development with Israel being at the higher end. Increasingly it seems that for the preservation of democracy, people have to play a direct role. Citizens are taking to the streets non-violently to protect their fundamental right to speak, to be heard and also to be heeded in circumstances of great upheaval where the larger public feel that their wellbeing is of little consequence and is easily compromised.
In Pakistan, the government has refused to hold elections, defied the Supreme Court and now arrested the opposition leader, Imran Khan, on corruption charges. Over the past eighteen weeks, Israel has been witnessing mass protests like we once experienced and joined in Sri Lanka to protest against our sudden impoverishment and lack of accountability of our government that had wrecked the economy but continued to stay in power. Tens of thousands of people, largely secular, middle-class Israelis, have regularly joined mass protests against the plan. It is a sign of a democracy that its people feel they can come out on the streets to protest against their government.
Like we once had in Sri Lanka, tens of thousands of people have been protesting on the streets of Israeli cities. The Netanyahu government has the majority in parliament and has the power to pass laws that the protestors believe would undermine their democracy. The right to protest, even against the decisions of a majority, is a fundamental human right that is protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which Pakistan, Israel and Sri Lanka have all signed up to. So far the Israeli government has not infringed on that right to public protest.
The main problem with the draft Anti-Terrorist Act in Sri Lanka is that it widens the range of offenses to include the people’s democratic right to protest and even criminalize it. Power to the police, military and coast guards had been increased extensively in the process. The draft law is intended to give the government additional power to quell public protests including trade union action by claiming that such acts of protest threaten the stability of the government and economy and are the equivalent of terrorism. This was the position that the government took in suppressing the Aragayala last year.
According to the World Bank, Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic crisis is estimated to have doubled the poverty rate from 13.1 percent to 25 percent and it is projected to remain above 25 percent for the next few years due to the multiple risks to households’ livelihoods. “The crisis reversed years of gains in poverty reduction and human capital development,” the update said, noting that the crisis had added an additional 2.5 million poor people.
In these circumstances, there are bound to be public protests and trade union action in the coming months for which the government is preparing the Anti-Terrorism Act. The government that destroyed the Aragalaya in a matter of days by utilizing the security forces and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, despite protests by the Bar Association, civil society organizations, trade unions and religious clergy, is unlikely to pay heed to their proposals for reform of the draft Anti-Terrorism Act.
Although the government has invited interested parties to make submissions pertaining to the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill till May 31, it is unlikely that the government will be serious in listening to domestic parties, such as the Bar Association, civil society organizations, trade unions and religious clergy. Unlike in Israel’s democratic polity where people’s peaceful opposition is holding the government at bay, in Sri Lanka it will be international pressure such as the risk of losing the EU’s GSP Plus economic concession that will make the difference.
Jehan Perera is Executive Director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka (NPC) which works in all parts of the country with networks of partner NGOs and inter-religious groups. NPC focuses on building public support for a political solution to the ethnic conflict.
Colombo (LNW): The SAMURDHI allowance will be given to categories recognised as economically challenged from July 01, 2023, announced the Welfare Benefits Board.
These benefits can be obtained through any bank recognised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the Board said.
The survey to identify those eligible for SAMURDHI benefits ended on April 31 and is currently being checked by a committee consisting of divisional secretaries.
Accordingly, the SAMURDHI allowance will be given to four categories;
