President Ranil Wickremesinghe made an exciting announcement during the 10th Environment Pioneer President’s Medal Awarding Ceremony 2020-2021, held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH).
He revealed that Sri Lanka would establish the world’s first international environmental university to bolster global efforts in tackling climate change.
The ceremony recognized the excellent service of teachers, schools, regional environmental officials, and offices, with 129 environmental pioneers being awarded Presidential Medals.
The Environment Pioneer President’s Medal is the highest accolade under the National Environment Pioneer President’s Medal, and the winners receive an additional 04 points in university entrance.
Aralagangwila Wilayaya National School was awarded as the best school, producing 14 Environment Pioneer President’s Medal winners, while the Central Provincial Office of the Central Environment Authority received the award for the best office, guiding the most significant number of Environment Pioneer President’s Medal winners (25).
The Environment Pioneer President’s Medal recipients took a group photo with President Wickremesinghe, who urged them to spread the message of environmental protection in schools as environmental pilots.
According to the Department of Meteorology, residents of Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-Western, and Southern provinces should anticipate occasional showers or thundershowers throughout the day. Moreover, some areas in Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces, as well as Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle, and Matara districts, may experience heavy showers exceeding 100 mm.
Northern and North-Central provinces, along with Trincomalee district, can expect several intervals of rainfall. Uva and Eastern provinces are also likely to encounter showers or thundershowers in various locations, primarily in the afternoon or during the night.
In addition to the rainfall, strong winds reaching speeds of approximately 40-45 kmph are anticipated along the western and southern coastal regions, as well as the western slopes of the central hills.
Given these weather conditions, the general public is strongly advised to take necessary precautions to minimize any potential damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers. Stay safe and stay informed.
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, left for Stockholm, Sweden this morning to attend the 02nd Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum, scheduled on 13 May, 2023. The Forum is organized under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in collaboration with the European External Action Service. The Foreign Ministers of the European Union and Indo-Pacific Region are expected to attend.
The Forum is Co-Chaired by Sweden Foreign Minister, Tobias Billstrom and High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Joseph Borrell.
Foreign Minister Sabry will Co-Chair the 01st Round Table Discussion under the theme of ‘Building more sustainable and inclusive prosperity together’, one of three Round Tables, of the Forum.
Minister Sabry will hold bilateral discussions with a number of participating Foreign Ministers including Foreign Ministers of Austria, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Netherlands, Romania and Sweden. The Minister is also scheduled to meet business community especially CEOs and senior officials of IT industry in Sweden.
Colombo (LNW): The Akam International Foundation, an initiative adopted to lobby various aspirations of the Tamil people around the world for the preservation of their language, art and culture, has been established on May 09, 2023 in Holborn, London, the UK.
AKAM aims the gradual progress in basic amenities, education and economic development of Eelam Tamils, the adopting of robust methods to address challenges faced by Tamil people in their country of residence, the connecting of Tamil youths globally; mentoring them and training them with the required technical knowledge to develop them into future leaders, and the discussing of the importance of moving forward together with other Tamil organisations with one purpose and one mind.
“All kinds of grassroots humanitarian organisations operating around the world will hopefully unite and work together with us with integrity and passion in supporting the Tamil speaking people in our homeland.. We will unite the Tamil youth through the AKAM Foundation around the world and run as a strong Tamil organisation with older and younger generations present,” the newly established AKAM Foundation said in a statement.
PMD: President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that Sri Lanka will not support any work that hinders the unity of Asia.
The President revealed this while participating in the ceremony held yesterday (10) afternoon to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, which is the first international conference hall, built in Asia.
The President pointed out that there are many differences between the Asian geopolitics and the politics of the Pacific region and that we should recognize those differences and work to preserve peace and stability. ASEAN plays an important role, and must ensure that ASEAN is further strengthened in the coming decades. The ASEAN outlook is one which also emphasizes the fact that while the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are two different, distinct oceans, they are interconnected now, that is of value, because the geopolitics the Indian Ocean is quite different from Asia Pacific. As far as we are concerned, we have been free of the great power rivalry so far. We should not allow that to come into the Indian Ocean, the President said.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized that in order to advance Sri Lanka as a country with a strong economy in the next decades, Sri Lanka can be taken forward by utilizing the non-aligned policy, the ‘Panchaseela’ and the Asian policy. Those general facts are still valid today and said that this Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall is a good example that can be pointed out regarding the unity of Asia.
A Coffee Table Book written on the history of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall was also presented to the President while a commemorative stamp worth Rs.25 was also issued to mark the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe further mentioned:
“We received this as a gift. I would also like to say that we should continue to maintain the unity in Asia. It should be remembered here that only the countries of the Indian Ocean have not experienced disharmony in the world power struggle.
With the ambition of becoming world powers, some groups have undermined the unity between the countries of the Pacific Ocean and dragged them into a state of war. We must work together to prevent this from happening to the Indian Ocean. I also emphasize that Sri Lanka will not support in any way, to break the unity of Asia.
Already we have a number of military bases around the horn of Africa. They came in when piracy was at its height. And as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, we are of the view that they should work with the African Union, which is responsible for the regional security of the African continent.”
Commemorative gifts were also given to the organizations that have generated more income to the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall from event and exhibition sectors during the past 50 years. The Book Publishers Association for the exhibition sector and the British Council for the event sector received commemorative gifts from the President.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Ministers Bandula Gunawardena, Vidura Wickramanayake, Minister of State Shantha Bandara, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka H.E. Ambassador Qi Zhenhong, Secretary of the Ministry of Mass Media Anusha Palpita, Secretary of the Ministry of Defence General Kamal Gunaratne (Retired), Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Army Commander Lt. Gen. Vikum Liyanage, Air Force Commander Air Vice Marshal Sudarshana Pathirana, Director and the CEO of the BMICH Sunil Dissanayake and other officials were present on this occasion.
Colombo (LNW): Today’s (11) exchange rates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) reveals further strengthening of the Sri Lanka Rupee against the US Dollar.
Accordingly, the buying price of the US Dollar is Rs. 308.67 and the selling price is Rs. 322.70.
Yesterday, these rates were respectively Rs. 310.90 and Rs. 323.80.
Colombo (LNW): The Finance Ministry is now strictly managing the Treasury cash flow to meet the recurrent expenditure amidst signs of some stability not by improving the economy, but with several tax increases and subsidy cuts that have further curtailed demand.
On account of these new revenue generation measures and 6 per cent expenditure cuts of ministry budgets, the government is to introduce a Financial Management Act (FMA) aimed at managing public finance and expenditure, a senior Treasury official disclosed.
With the expected tax adjustments, the Government is expecting a total income of Rs. 173 billion, but for the essential recurrent expenditure alone it requires Rs. 196 billion, resulting in a deficit of Rs. 23 billion for the month of March .
State salaries cost Rs.87.4 billion; pensions and income supplements (Samurdhi programme) were Rs.29.5 billion while other expenses were Rs. 10.8 billion.
The amount needed to service debts in March is Rs. 508 billion. Debt service was Rs 377.6 billion for January 2023 which has to be covered with borrowings from Treasury bills, bonds and a Central Bank provisional advance of Rs.100 billion, he revealed.
He said that the relevant bill is being finalized with the aim of improving the responsible fiscal management process when dealing with public finances and to take substantial decisions based on efficient resource utilization.
The FMA will strengthen transparent financial systems and effective performance management by giving freedom to officials to manage public finance efficiently and making them accountable for their responsible projects, he pointed out.
The new Act will provide provisions to introduce reforms and modernize the accounting and reporting standards and making public sector accountability as a mandatory requirement.
The new FMA is to be formulated in accordance with international standards in the implementation of national policies, strengthening physical sustainability and credibility, and providing an accurate and reliable perspective of the nation’s public finance, he added.
In a bid to bring in much needed fiscal discipline, the Government will introduce a new Public Financial Management Act (FMA) equipped with binding fiscal rules, which is set to come into effect with the budget 2025.
Although, the existing Financial Management Regulatory Act) has been in place for nearly three decades, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana pointed out that successive governments have never complied with the fiscal targets stipulated in the Act, which ultimately resulted in the current economic crisis.
The proposed FMA is set to include measures when the government could deviate from fiscal rules under extreme conditions in order to bring the public finances back to compliance.
“The Act provides for non-compliance with State’s financial rules only with the approval of parliament in extraordinary cases. However, the Act does not include provisions for deviating from those terms.
The Act does not specify the measures to be taken in the event that the set goals cannot be met in accordance with the provisions of the Act,” the Government Information Department said.
The proposed FMA is also a key condition of the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility.
The ICJ today welcomed the determination by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding the constitutionality of the private member’s bill entitled Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2023 whose stated objective is to repeal “provisions that make sexual orientation a punishable offence”. The Bill had been challenged by three petitioners who sought a determination by the Supreme Court that the Bill was inconsistent with provisions of the Constitution relating to Sovereignty, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy, and that it required the approval of a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the approval of the People at a referendum. Petitions in support of the Bill were also filed by a number of interveners, such as civil society organizations working to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sri Lanka, academics, and activists, including Professor Savitri Goonesekere who had previously served as a member of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, who had formerly been a United Nations Under Secretary General and the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict.
The Supreme Court in its 43-page determination, which was presented by the Speaker to Parliament on 9 May 2023, stated that neither the Bill as a whole nor any clause therein was inconsistent with any provision of the Constitution. The Supreme Court heavily relied on Indian and South African jurisprudence, among others, regarding decriminalization of consensual same-sex sexual relations, especially case-law focusing on the human rights to dignity, equality, equal protection of the law without discrimination, and privacy of the individual.
The Supreme Court was of the view that “the decriminalisation of sexual activity amongst consenting adults irrespective of their sexual orientation only furthers human dignity and as such this cannot be considered as being an offence that must be maintained in the statute book.”
“The Sri Lankan Supreme Court has rightly held that the human rights of LGBT persons would only be strengthened through the repeal of the two Victorian era provisions (for more information on this, see background section below) criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults, which is the objective of this proposed Amendment,” said Mandira Sharma, ICJ’s Senior International Legal Adviser.
The Supreme Court noted that none of the submissions made by the Petitioners, including that: “LGBT movements may promote their programmes in schools and impact free decision making of school children and give rise to Transgender Children”; that “the amendment would dilute Rule of Law and risk life and liberty of citizens”; and that “decriminalization would lead to an increase in number of persons infected with HIV and Aids”, was supported with proper evidence. Instead, with respect to each of these submissions, the Supreme Court found the very opposite had been proven. The Court went on to find that the abovementioned submissions by the petitioners were “fanciful hypotheses, and have no merit”.
The Court further noted that, “the provisions of the Bill would in fact ensure that all persons shall be equal before the law and be entitled to the equal protection of the law, irrespective of their sexual orientation, and that the Bill would, in fact, enhance their fundamental rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution and enable them to live in society with dignity.”
“The Supreme Court has firmly positioned itself in support of the human rights and dignity of those who have been marginalized for over a century, it is now time for the Parliament to show that it is equally capable and willing to uphold human rights and ensure compliance with Sri Lanka’s obligations under international human rights law,” Sharma added.
Background
Sections 365 and 365A of the Sri Lankan Penal Code of 1883 criminalize “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” and “acts of gross indecency”, respectively. Although the Penal Code does not provide a definition of these terms, both sections have been used to criminalize people simply on the basis of accusations of consensual same-sex sexual relations. Those convicted of these “crimes” face imprisonment from two to 10 years and a fine.
On 24 August 2022, Attorney at Law Premnath Dolawatte, a Member of Parliament representing the ruling party in Sri Lanka, handed over a private members bill to President Ranil Wickremasinghe to amend the Penal Code provisions that criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults. The President subsequently announced that the government would not take action to block the Bill.
A revised version of the Bill was gazetted on 23 March 2023. The Bill was presented to Parliament on 4 April 2023. With the determination by the Supreme Court regarding the Bill’s constitutionality, the Bill now requires a simple majority in Parliament to become law.
The special determination of the Supreme Court can be downloaded here.
Colombo (LNW): The Korean Government is currently making significant contributions to boost Sri Lanka’s economy by promoting Korean Investors to set up more factories in Sri Lanka enhancing innovative product manufacturing with an eye for environment conservation, finance ministry sources revealed.
As part of this effort, steps have been taken to establish 19 factories with advanced technical facilities in Sri Lanka in the first phase.
These factories are equipped with the latest technology and knowledge and are among Korea’s most profitable ones.
They are implemented by the SKDRF, whose President Lea is currently visiting Sri Lanka to oversee the project. In addition to these factories, there are plans to create 30,000 job opportunities in Korea for Sri Lankans by the end of 2023.
In a partnership initiative launched by SKDRF, these 19 factories and 30,000 job opportunities are part of a free investment initiative in collaboration between Korean industrialists and local businessmen.
However, there is an issue. The Sri Lankan Government is yet give its approval for the Initiative, despite Korea’s offer.
Various reasons have been cited for the delay, including demands from some parties for permission to start the factories, while others are focused on the job opportunities.
SKDRF President Lea said , Korea’s businessmen are now striving to lift the people of Sri Lanka out of economic pressure.
According to him the products manufactured by these Korean companies are to be sold under the “Made in Sri Lanka” label.
Additionally, the SKDRF plans to launch a modern housing project with welfare facilities for 1,000 impoverished families in Sri Lanka, but there has been no response from the Sri Lankan Government.
Cho Sung Lea, President of the South Korea Disaster Relief Foundation (SKDRF), has visited Sri Lanka 20 times over the past eight years to provide Sri Lanka with investment and employment opportunities from Korea. Lea has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as well.
Lea is determined to overcome any obstacles he faces. He pointed out that he had been bringing these opportunities to Sri Lanka over the past eight years without expecting any personal gain for Korea or himself.
Lea pointed out that Sri Lanka is yet to fully embrace the economic advantages offered by Korean businessmen in good faith; which is a form of diplomatic exchange between countries.
For these industries to be established in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Government needs to create the necessary legal framework.
However, there seems to be a lack of effort in this regard. On the other hand, the Korean Government has already established the necessary foundations for the projects.
Admitting that he is not well-versed in Sri Lankan law Lea suggested that those who wish to start Korean businesses in Sri Lanka will need to find solutions to any legal challenges they may encounter.
Korean businessmen typically do not invest in Sri Lanka as sole proprietorships. In Korea, regular citizens run businesses as opposed to Sri Lanka where the Government runs businesses. As a result, when Korean businessmen visit Sri Lanka, they often engage in joint ventures rather than starting individual businesses, according to Lea.
These businesses are not small-scale industries but large-scale factories. Among the products they manufacture are electric motorcycles, electric three-wheelers, and eco-friendly insecticides (These insecticides are not toxic to humans and have a fruity taste.
They are also eco-friendly and do not harm animals, except for crop-damaging pests. They can produce affordable solar panels- that can save electricity up to 70 percent, electrical plugs that are waterproof, cosmetic devices that are safe to use, and medicines made from cannabis leaves that can cure incurable diseases, according to him.
Colombo (LNW):The staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived in Sri Lanka today (May 11).
The IMF said this visit comes as part of the regular consultations between the global lender and the island nation, ahead of the first review mission later this year.
The delegates of the global lender will be staying in Sri Lanka until May 23. They are to call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe this morning soon after the arrival, according to Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.
According to an IMF statement, the Director of its Asia and Pacific Department, Krishna Srinivasan will be joining this visit from May 12-15.
They will review the progress of Sri Lanka’s economic reform program in several meetings to be held in Colombo by the end of the month, IMF sources conformed.
IMF team will look in to the progress made by the government in the implementation of the IMF sponsored economic reforms program including the whole issue of debt restructuring
Sri Lanka is fully committed to expedite all major socio economic reforms, fast-track the proper implementation and warp-up the debt restructuring by September this year.
The economy will be on a path to recovery from 2024 and the immediate next step in the process for Sri Lanka is to engage in good faith with all creditors and complete it before the first review, in September, sources disclosed.
The program itself is a very ambitious one, in terms of fiscal, monetary, governance and social safety net reforms.
It compels the government to diagnose governance and corruption issues in Sri Lanka as the first country in Asia to conduct a deep problem-solving iniative on this matter under of its commitments stipulated in the program.
Sri Lanka has gazetted a new anti-corruption bill on April 06 after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) unlocked the US$2.9 billion bail out loan which required the crisis-hit nation to address corruption vulnerabilities
The IMF staff team’s visit comes days after the first meeting of Sri Lanka’s official bilateral creditors committee, during which the island nation’s authorities formally presented a request for debt treatment. China, Saudi Arabia and Iran were in attendance as observers.
The committee, co-chaired by India, Japan and France, consists of 17 members and includes Paris Club creditors as well as other official bilateral creditors.
Last month, France, India and Japan unveiled a common platform for talks among bilateral creditors to co-ordinate restructuring of Sri Lanka’s debt.
Sri Lanka owes USD 7.1 billion to bilateral creditors, government data show, with USD 3 billion owed to China, followed by USD 2.4 billion to the Paris Club of creditor nations and USD 1.6 billion to India.
The government also needs to renegotiate more than USD 12 billion of debt in eurobonds with overseas private creditors, and USD 2.7 billion of other commercial loans.
The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program of the IMF approved by its executive board in March 2023 comes with strict conditionalities for economic reforms.
Sri Lankan authorities are now working closely with its creditors to coordinate and make swift progress towards the debt treatment that restores debt sustainability under the EFF program.
The next step for them is to make good faith efforts to reach a debt agreement with their creditors — private creditors, official creditors and so on. In terms of growth outlook itself, it had a contraction of 8.7 percent 2022.
The country’s growth is contracting at 3 percent in 2023 and then making a mild recovery. But the issue will be for Sri Lanka to implement the program well so that debt can be made sustainable, which is a big difference from previous programs, and the country can be put on the path to prosperity.
