Amidst the impending threat of Typhoon Khanun, the Sri Lankan Scout Contingent, taking part in the 25th World Scout Jamboree hosted in the Republic of Korea, has been successfully evacuated from the Saemangeum Jamboree site. This preemptive measure was undertaken on August 8, given the forecasted landfall of the typhoon in the Republic of Korea on August 9.

Ensuring the safety and well-being of the scouts, the contingent was relocated to Dangkook University in Cheonan, situated on the outskirts of Seoul. The Sri Lankan scouts have now safely settled into their new accommodations and are reported to be in good health. Despite the circumstances, certain activities and programs are set to continue at their new location.

In a coordinated effort, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Republic of Korea is in close communication with both the management of the Sri Lankan scout contingent and the relevant South Korean authorities. This collaboration aims to guarantee the ongoing safety and welfare of all Sri Lankan scouts participating in the Jamboree, prioritizing their security throughout the weather-related challenges.

“Aswesuma” Program Applies Complex and Arbitrary Targeting, Leaving Millions in Limbo

By Sarah Saadoun

Last month, Sri Lanka’s electricity company cut power to Shanti’s home in a town near Colombo, where she lives with her sixteen-year-old son. Shanthi lost her job last year during a severe economic crisis still roiling the country, and now earns 300 rupees (US$0.95) per day – around half her previous wages – as a domestic cleaner.

The crisis, which led to the government defaulting on its debt, also triggered soaring inflation, including for food, and Shanthi and her son began relying on her employers and relatives to eat. At the same time, in late 2022, her monthly electricity bills started to rapidly increase, more than doubling in a few months, leaving her unable to pay her bills. Now she and her son sleep in the living room of her mother’s apartment, where her brother and his two sons already live.

The Sri Lankan government raised electricity tariffs in August 2022 and February 2023 as part of a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to secure a $3 billion loan. It also doubled value-added taxes and phased out fuel subsidies, contributing to a spike in prices. The IMF programacknowledges the risks these measures pose but says they are necessary to improve the government’s finances and that “all program measures are mindful of the need to protect the most vulnerable.” Specifically, the program requires the government to overhaul the country’s cash transfer program, called Samurdhi, and allocate a minimum amount of funding to four cash transfer programs.

But this overhaul, implemented with the support of the World Bank, has made a bad situation worse for Shanthi and thousands of other families. In July, she didn’t receive her usual monthly benefit of 3,000 rupees ($9.50) from Samurdhi and was told to reapply for a new program, called Aswesuma, which she did but she has yet to receive a response. The minister of finance has said this week the government will begin to review the 968,000 appeals and 17,500 objections it received for Aswesuma.

Research has shown that programs like Aswesuma that target people based on economic status are prone to errors, arbitrary cut offs, corruption, and social mistrust. Instead, governments should establish universal systems not tied to economic status that provide income support to everyone at critical moments throughout their lives.

For Shanthi, the stakes could not be higher. “I became completely destitute…. Sometimes I feel it’s impossible to live.”

During a meeting with students from Girls’ High School Kandy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his strong commitment to increasing women’s representation in politics through reformative changes.

The President highlighted his dedication to achieving a significant level of women’s participation in politics and emphasized the need for specific reforms to facilitate this objective. The President made these remarks today (08) in response to a question raised by one of the visiting students from Girls’ High School Kandy, representing the Student Parliament.

As part of their tour, over 100 female students visited various governmental institutions, including the Sri Lankan Parliament, Colombo’s port city, the President’s House, and the Presidential Secretariat. The students also had the opportunity to engage in a friendly meeting with the President at the main auditorium of the Presidential Secretariat.

During the meeting, President Ranil Wickremesinghe provided the students with valuable insights into the history, structure, and pivotal role of the Presidential Secretariat as the primary decision-making institution in the country’s governance. The President also addressed questions raised by the students.

President Wickremesinghe also emphasized the importance of providing students studying arts subjects with opportunities to explore other fields such as science and mathematics for higher education. He believes that such interdisciplinary learning will enable them to contribute effectively to the future development of Sri Lanka, with a vision towards becoming a developed nation by 2048.

This visit by Girls’ High School Kandy students marked the initial phase of a program initiated to open the Presidential Secretariat to school children. During their visit, the students had the chance to acquire new skills and gain valuable experiences.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka Central Bank has made a major move to accelerate digital financial inclusion—bringing even the smallest of transactions into the formal banking system—is one of the key outcomes of Sri Lanka’s first National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).

The NFIS is a multi-stakeholder effort led by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, with technical and financial assistance from IFC, under the IFC-DFAT Women in Work program.

The basis of the strategy was the result of a national survey that assessed the level of financial inclusion in the country.

The findings of the survey, which took a gender-sensitive approach, revealed that 62 percent of women were aware of making financial transactions through mobile phones. However, a little less than one-third claimed they were comfortable making mobile transactions.

The survey also highlighted a similar trend in payment cards. While ownership of credit and debit cards is slowly increasing, Sri Lanka essentially remains a cash economy, with only 38 percent of the population at ease using debit cards

With the aim of creating awareness on this strategy ,the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Launched the dedicated Web Portal of the Regional Development Department (RDD Web Portal) on 04.08.2023, signifying its strategic orientation towards financial inclusion initiatives.

RDD Web Portal was developed with the financial assistance of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a longstanding partner of the Central Bank, in promoting financial inclusion since 2018.

This latest initiative is part of the overall National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) for Sri

Lanka – in which, IFC played a significant role to make financial services more accessible, efficient, and affordable for all households and businesses in the country, Central bank said.

The Central Bank under its new legislation is now vested with the responsibility of promoting financial inclusion,

Hence launching of the Web Portal marks an important step towards promoting financial inclusiveness in the country and is expected to facilitate all stakeholders of the country through dissemination of information on the financial inclusion efforts of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

RDD Web Portal provides an interactive experience to its users with a user-friendly interface and

equipped with financial literacy materials and tools i.e. publications, Training-of-Trainers (ToT) modules, quizzes and games to enhance financial knowledge, attitude, and behavior of users supporting to make informed and rational financial decisions.

This portal is expected to act as a shared platform for all stakeholders to access information and collaborate in their financial literacy initiatives. This will complement the upcoming Financial Literacy Roadmap for Sri Lanka, to be implemented from 2024.

As part of a comprehensive plan to modernize Sri Lanka’s public passenger transport service, the Ministry of Transport is taking significant steps to streamline the system and improve overall efficiency, according to President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s vision for the future. Accordingly, by 2048, electric buses will be integrated into the public transport fleet, aligning with global sustainability goals. The Ministry aims to initiate the necessary groundwork for this transformation in the coming months.

To enhance the convenience and reliability of the public transport system, GPS tracking and E-Ticketing facilities will be introduced. Passengers will benefit from accurate real-time information, while operators will have access to improved management systems.  Also, a comprehensive national transport policy will be introduced to address long-standing challenges and issues within the public transport sector. This policy will pave the way for a more coordinated and efficient transportation network.

A high-level discussion, chaired by Minister of Transport, Highways, and Mass Media Bandula Gunawardena and officials including State Minister for Transport Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Secretary to the President Saman Ekanayake, and Secretary of the Ministry of Transport Priyantha Mayadunne, was held at the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (07) to deliberate on these measures. 

During the discussion, the participants focused on resolving existing management problems and inefficiencies that passengers and bus owners face in the public transport sector. They emphasized the importance of utilizing modern technology to create a high-quality driven and efficient passenger transport system.

Minister of Transport, Mr. Bandula Gunawardena, emphasized the significance of the proposed E-ticketing system in addressing issues related to the purchase of passenger tickets. He further stated that the Ministry of Finance has approved the implementation of this system, signifying a positive step towards improving the efficiency and convenience of ticketing in the public transport sector.

State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna highlighted that seven National Bus Associations have expressed their agreement to this initiative, and further consultations will be held at the provincial level.

The Minister of State also instructed to appoint 09 representatives in relation to the 9 provinces and inform the National Transport Commission to implement this program.

Additionally, the integration of GPS technology and E-ticketing services will be a vital criterion in the future in granting transports licenses for buses, ensuring a technologically advanced and efficient transport network.

The discussion also included plans for integrating the Kottawa Bus Stand and Makumbura Multimodal Passenger Transport Centre to enhance interconnectivity.

Mr. Shashi Welgama, Chairman of the National Transport Commission, and officials from the Provincial Road Passenger Transport Authorities actively participated in this fruitful discussion, reaffirming their commitment to improving the public transport sector.

President’s Media Division (PMD)

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):Sri Lanka will launch its report ‘Medium and Long-term Strategy for Indo-Japanese Collaboration to Support the Economic Transformation of Sri Lanka’ on 10 August 2023 in New Delhi.

Pathfinder Foundation has devised this stretegy in partnership with two prominent think tanks based in New Delhi, namely, NatStrat and Vivekananda International Foundation, and the Confederation of Indian Industry

The event will take place in a hybrid format and expects to draw around 200 participants both physically and virtually, aiming to create greater awareness of the report.

It will explore potential investment opportunities in Sri Lanka and interact with relevant Indian stakeholders who wish to identify concrete projects and financing modalities on priority sectors as identified in the report.

Pathfinder delegation to the event will be led by Chairman Bernard Goonetilleke, and Executive Director Dr. Dayaratna Silva,

Board of Investment and Sustainable Energy Authority of Sri Lanka will be represented by Executive Director Prasanjith Wijayatilake and Director General J.M. Athula respectively, .

The Foundation launched the Report in Colombo in late March in the presence of Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry, High Commissioner of India Gopal Baglay and Ambassador of Japan Mizukoshi Hideaki. Later, the report will be presented to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The report focuses on four priority areas for collaboration with India and Japan..

One of the areas is Low-carbon power generation, focusing on LNG and grid connectivity between India and Sri Lanka and the other is , the Development of Trincomalee as an energy hub.

The 4th area is the people-to-people contacts which covers tourism, education, training and skills development.

The report’s New Delhi launch follows an 18-member high-powered Indian delegation’s visit to the island to look at investment opportunities in the country.

The team visited Jaffna, Mannar, and Trincomalee and ended their tour on 4 August with a visit to the Pathfinder Foundation for a briefing session.

The report ‘Medium and Long-term Strategy for Indo-Japanese Collaboration to Support the Economic Transformation of Sri Lanka’ can be read on the web section of https://pathfinderfoundation.org/publications

In a significant move aimed at curbing money laundering, terrorism financing, and illicit activities, the Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval to the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Policy for the years 2023 to 2028.

The Cabinet Paper outlining this pivotal policy was presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who holds the portfolio of Finance, Economic Stabilization, and National Policies Minister.

This decision by the Cabinet sets the stage for the execution of strategic action plans, which delineate the responsibilities of respective institutions. These plans are designed to address identified vulnerabilities and enhance Sri Lanka’s capabilities in the prevention of money laundering and the combatting of terrorism financing.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an intergovernmental entity that establishes global benchmarks to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, has put forth 40 recommendations intended for adoption by all nations.

In line with this framework, the Asia Pacific Regional Group on Money Laundering, an arm of the FATF, is actively evaluating Sri Lanka’s adherence to these recommendations. A crucial development is the imminent commencement of the third mutual evaluation of Sri Lanka by the Asia Pacific Regional Group on Money Laundering, scheduled to commence in March 2025. This evaluation process will provide a comprehensive assessment of Sri Lanka’s progress and compliance in this critical domain.

In an official announcement, the US Embassy in Colombo has revealed that Richard Nephew, the US State Department Coordinator on Global Anti-Corruption, is embarking on a formal visit to Colombo from August 08 to 09.

The delegation accompanying Nephew on this important visit includes Dylan Aikens, the Anti-Corruption Analyst for the US Department of State, according to a statement released by the embassy.

During his time in Colombo, Nephew is slated to engage with a range of stakeholders, encompassing government officials, opposition figures, representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), members of the private sector, and advocates from civil society.

The primary focus of his visit centers around gaining a comprehensive understanding of the ongoing efforts to combat corruption within the country. Moreover, Nephew’s discussions will extend to evaluating the prevailing political and economic circumstances in Sri Lanka. Additionally, the visit seeks to foster discussions about potential avenues for future collaboration between the two nations.

As Nephew and his team undertake these meetings, they aim to lay the groundwork for mutual understanding and collaborative endeavors aimed at addressing corruption and promoting transparency.