Showers or thundershowers will occur at a few places in Sabaragamuwa Province and in Kandy, Nuwara-Eliya, Galle and Matara districts during the afternoon or night.
A few showers may occur in Eastern province and in Mullaitivu and Polonnaruwa districts.
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers
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Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest adventure travel company and a leader in responsible small group adventures recently announced the appointment of Anu (Anuruddha) Karunatilaka as its new Chief Technology Officer to lead the Australian headquartered company’s digital transformation strategy.
The company’s previous chief information officer role has been revamped and restructured, incorporating diverse learnings from Covid-19, to better reflect the company’s goals of capturing and delivering a seamless digital experience, improving resilience and relevancy, and aspiring to be the world’s first $1 billion adventure travel company.
Based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Anu will manage a global team and oversee the design, development, security, delivery, and management of technology across all functions of the business, ensuring that every process and decision taken is driven by a data-centered approach.
‘I look forward to working with the wider team to pave the way in implementing a well-defined, strong digital transformation strategy across borders and disciplines backed by rich data and insights to enable timely and optimum decision making in a fast-paced environment,’ said Anu.
‘We couldn’t be happier to have Anu leading our global technology team in his new role as the chief technology officer. His vast expertise and knowledge speak volumes and will be pivotal to go beyond than just customer convenience to attaining sustained brand intimacy and interaction,’ said Intrepid Travel CEO James Thornton.
Anu will travel regularly to Melbourne and other offices, including London and Toronto. Anu moved to Melbourne for his higher education at Monash University one year into his degree at Moratuwa, joining Intrepid in 2007 as a senior solutions architect and later becoming a software development manager. His love for travel and technology kept growing heaps and bounds.
Anu returned to Sri Lanka in 2011 with an ambitious plan to set up a global centre of excellence for Intrepid in Colombo, by not just providing careers to the people but also contributing to the nation’s growth and talent pool. This is truly a success story of giving back to one’s home country. Anu’s most recent role was as managing director for Asia.
With a career stint spanning over 15 years at Intrepid, Anu was instrumental in consolidating all of the company’s joint venture companies into one technology platform and took the lead in creating the Intrepid’s main operating system.
He was responsible for the rapid growth and expansion of Intrepid Colombo, which today has evolved into a center of excellence within Intrepid with a team of over 170 colleagues. Celebrating a decade of building the best travel company for the world, Intrepid Colombo was awarded the Great Place to Work Certification™ during May this year and was recently featured among 15 Best Workplaces for Women.
Intrepid is a certified Benefit Corporation (B Corp), independently verified to have the highest environmental, social and governance standards, balancing profit with purpose.
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AmSafe Bridport (Pvt) Limited Sri Lanka, the largest manufacturing facility of AmSafe Bridport was certified as a Great Place to Work by Great Place to Work® in Sri Lanka earlier this year. The company was also recognized as one of the 10 Best Workplaces in the Manufacturing and Production industry and further went on to be recognized as one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Sri Lanka as well.
In September 2022 AmSafe Bridport (Pvt) Ltd was recognized as one of the Best Workplaces for Women in Sri Lanka which is a true reflection of the company’s embedded culture. When female employees state the organizational environment is fair and fulfilling, it’s a strong indicator that the business maintains an even playing field for each and every employee without any bias.
AmSafe Bridport is the global leader in designing and manufacturing engineered innovative and customized textile solutions that withstand high dynamic stress loads for the safety and securement needs of the global aerospace and defence niche markets, with their client portfolio showcasing the aviation industry giants such as Boeing, Airbus and other major aircraft manufacturers and airlines of the world.
Hasitha Bandaranayake, the Manufacturing Manager who rose the ladder from an executive role, went onto comment that the company’s culture, initiatives and various nurturing programs enabled her to achieve the position she is at today, overseeing and managing a division that has the highest labor force. Sharing similar thoughts is Rishani Dissanayake who has been with the company for over 15 years, now serving as the Engineering Manager, a role that is traditionally or customarily dominated by a male. She further went onto say that the company’s culture and the already set examples within the organization encouraged her to apply for the position when it came up.
This equal opportunity is also seen in many employee categories across its various divisions. ‘AmSafe actively encourages everyone irrespective of gender or any other biases to take on bold and exciting new challenges we offer, provided that they possess the competencies to perform the task effectively. ‘We are proud to have many of our female employees rising up to the challenge and take up key managerial and leadership roles,’ said Chandani Ekanayake, General Manager at AmSafe Bridport Sri Lanka. She further said that all roles within an organization should be considered gender neutral which will enable competent employees of both genders to reach their true potential in any role they take upon and step beyond the boundaries set by the status quo, which is the culture we promote at AmSafe and a key factor in our success story.
Giving employees accountability and ownership over the years has enabled the company to spur and instill creative and innovative thinking and decision making, which is a key value that is deeply embedded into the company’s culture and norms. There are various initiatives and programs within AmSafe Bridport, including those that empower and enrich women through the provision of equal opportunities, learning and development opportunities, coaching and mentorship, health and wellbeing, counseling facilitation among others.
With a presence of over two decades in the country, AmSafe Bridport continues to expand, strengthening its growing workforce to cater to the increasing global demand, challenging the status quo and striking the balance on gender rights, and cultivating a culture of inclusivity and diversity across all parts and levels of the company.
Businessman Arjun Aloysius said Sri Lankan Members of Parliament should not be acting juvenile to conclude that every Singaporean company that invested in Sri Lanka belongs to him, in response to a recent allegation levelled by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Chaminda Wijesiri, who claimed that a certain project undertaken in Colombo was invested by a Singaporean company belonging to Aloysius.
Speaking exclusively to LNW, Aloysius emphasised that neither does he own the said company, nor is he wealthy enough to own all the Singaporean companies that invest in Sri Lanka.
MPs should not be hiding behind parliamentary privileges to publicly defame people, he went on, stressing that he would have filed defamatory charges against Wijesiri, had he made this false claim on a public platform outside the Chamber.
He also challenged the SJB MP to raise the legitimacy of his claims against him, in what Aloysius described as a ‘juvenile attempt’ to tarnish his image.
On a recent occasion, SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri speaking in Parliament alleged that Aloysius owns the Singaporean company that invested the Lotus Tower (Nelum Kuluna) project in Colombo.
MIAP
Admiral R Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Indian Navy arrived in Colombo on 12 December 2022 , on a four-day official visit to Sri Lanka, at the invitation of Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne, Commander of Sri Lanka Navy. Rear Admiral Priyantha Perera, Chief of Staff, Sri Lanka Navy warmly welcomed CNS on his arrival.
2. During the visit, CNS is scheduled to call on President H.E. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister H.E Dinesh Gunawardena and Minister of State for Defence Hon’ble Premitha Bandara Tennakoon. Other engagements include meetings with Defence Secretary, Chief of Defence Staff and Service Commanders. The Admiral will be the Chief Guest at the passing out parade of Naval and Maritime Academy, Trincomalee on 15 December 2022.
3. Indigenous Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri, a multi-role missile frigate of the Indian Navy is also scheduled to make port call at Colombo on 13 December 2022 to complement the visit of the Indian Navy chief. The ship would engage in training engagements with Sri Lanka Navy and participate in Maritime Partnership Exercises with Sri Lanka Navy.
4. It may be recalled that Indian Navy shared close interactions with Sri Lanka Navy during annual exercise SLINEX 21 in March 2022. Further, Indian Navy provided a maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka Air Force in August 2022 to augment its maritime capabilities. Indian Navy is also providing customised and specialised training to Sri Lanka Navy including in marine technology.
5. The visit of CNS symbolises strong relations and close cooperation between the two countries, with Sri Lanka being accorded the status of ‘Priority One’ partner by India. It would strengthen the existing bilateral maritime relations between the two countries and areas of common security concern and enhancing capacity and capability building initiatives towards ensuring peace in the region would be discussed during the visit. The visit is also indicative of the growing camaraderie and friendship between the two nations in line with India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
Colombo
13 December 2022
One of the main reasons behind the ongoing medicine shortage in the country is the malfunctioning of the software installed by the Ministry of Health of the Good Governance government for medical supplies, disclosed former Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne, speaking to Hiru TV, whilst making a shocking revelation of a recent attempt of defrauding Rs. 450 million received by the World Bank for the development of the software.
“There are three types of medicines. One is “lifesaving medicines.” There are 14 lifesaving medicines. Three are missing. You may have heard of the TNT pill, which is placed under the tongue in heart attack conditions. Now, if you get a heart attack today, you won’t be able to save yourself. And then there is the IV Set, which is a direct liquid injection given when there is no time to give pills. The lifesaving medicines are directly injected into the veins. The set is not available now. The third is saline. Now saline is even manufactured in Sri Lanka, isn’t it? I was the one who initiated the Saline Factory. Only a month’s stock is available there. Generally, there should be stocks sufficient for three months,” Senaratne said.
The former Health Minister added: “Two is “essential medicines.” These are not as vital as lifesaving, but are essential. What are they? A diabetes patient has to take their daily pill, which is not a lifesaving situation, but is a daily necessity. For blood pressure there is a daily pill. If you have renal disease, there is daily medication. These are the essential medicines. There are 636 of them, and 185 are missing. These claims are not made by me, these are said by the Medical Supplies Division.”
“Then there is “non-essential medicines,” under which there are 400 medicines and 190 have run out of stock,” the SJB MP went on. “These are data I received the night before the Budget Debate. According to them, 30 per cent of essential medicines is missing. 48 per cent of non-essential medicines is missing. This is not a problem related to dollars. Take a look at what the Additional Director of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Saman Ratnayake, said about the medicine shortage during a press conference. He said that delays in the importation process have contributed to the medicine shortage. This stands for the procurement procedure. The Treasury says that 90 per cent of the required amount of money has already been released to the Ministry.”
Dr. Senaratne further added: “Then, the College of Pharmacists is assigned to submit a report from the World Health Organisation. Because Sri Lanka has the required amount of money, and therefore, they cannot accept the claim that there are no medicines. So, they wish to know how the shortage occurred in the first place. The current procurement procedure existed even during my tenure. It had existed long before. This is not an unfamiliar procurement procedure, is it? So, listen, where is the software brought in for this purpose? The App is missing now. We had installed it at every hospital belonging to the Central Government. Then we had installed it at every base hospital belonging to the Provincial Councils. We had carried out this affair smoothly. This led to zero shortage of medicines. There was no such shortage since about 2017. Maybe for a day. This was because we installed the App. Our officials can observe through the App when will the stocks be running out. We maintained a three-month stock every day. Now the App is missing. It was lost not because of the current Minister. But what did the administration before him do? Now, because this App was so good, the World Bank had donated Rs. 450 million to the Health Ministry for the development of the App. (If the App works perfectly, more funds could’ve been obtained; we did during our time) During our time, I received funds amounting to Rs. 468 billion from the countries of the European Union to develop these hospitals. They do release money, if we work and there is a system to work. When Rs. 450 million was released for the development of that App, what did the previous regime do? They attempted to allocate that money – the whole portion of Rs. 450 million – for the establishment of a company in a matter of one day through one of their cronies. The Rs. 450 million grant was lost on the spot. It received to neither the government, nor that person. The money was withdrawn. Neither do we have the App now!”
MIAP
We earlier disclosed about an open letter issued strongly criticising a central bank governor by all trade unions last December 01 for the first time in the history of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the distribution of this letter took place with the intervention of about 200 central bank employees.
Now reports emerge that the CBSL has established a strict repressive action against this trade union action, considered of which the following letter has been sent by the HR Department of the CBSL to all the union leaders.
As shown in this letter, in relation to the letter jointly distributed by the CBSL unions, any employee who does not agree with the statements made by the aforementioned trade unions against the Governor should inform the Human Resources Department of the CBSL about their disagreement in writing on or before December 15, 2022.
It is also indicated through this letter that if the CBSL employees fail to produce such a written statement that they do not agree with the statements of those trade unions on or before December 15, 2022, each of those employees should be held accountable for those statements as well.
It is highly notable that this comes as the form of an open threat to Central Bank employees.
Based on the facts contained in this article, it is clear that the Governor of the CBSL is preparing to take disciplinary action against 75 trade union activists who have repeatedly reminded him of the mistakes committed during his tenure at the Central Bank.
In this background, all the CBSL employees are extremely upset and a huge wave of protests has now broken out in the central bank, sources disclosed.
Sources further indicate that a major professional explosion may occur in the Central Bank in the near future, and LNW will be all eyes, should the current Central Bank Governor be preparing for repressive measures.
Previous report:
Sri Lanka will adopt first-ever National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security with support of Japan and UN Women.
Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki and UN Women in Sri Lanka Head Ramaaya Salgado recently presented Sri Lanka’s first-ever National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) to State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasinghe.
“This action plan provides a clear road map to provide targeted support for women who have been affected by conflict and crises. Its adoption is a critical step forward in ensuring that no woman or girl is left behind in recovery efforts,” said State Minister of Women and Child Affairs Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasinghe.
As the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security goes into its 22nd year, its reach – both globally and regionally – has grown significantly, with an increasing number of countries formulating and implementing National Action Plans developed in consultation with G7 countries’ representatives in Sri Lanka including Japan, women’s groups and civil society.
With its own National Action Plan now ready for Cabinet adoption, Sri Lanka stands poised to join the number of states committed to implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda which calls for greater participation of women in peace building and recovery efforts.
Emphasizing this, UN Women Sri Lanka Head of Office Ramaaya Salgado noted, “Peace and development can only be sustainable when women have an equal seat at the table and when their voices are included in decisions that affect their lives.”
The National Action Plan is based on consultations in each of the 25 districts with women who were directly and indirectly affected by conflict, local government officials, and representatives from civil society and local activists.
It was developed with technical support from UN Women as part of a three-year joint partnership between the Government of Japan, the Government of Sri Lanka and UN Women on the ‘Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Sri Lanka’ funded by the Government of Japan.
Ambassador of Japan Mizukoshi emphasized, “The Government of Japan encourages the timely adoption of this National Action Plan by the Cabinet and hopes its implementation to ensure practical measures for protection and empowerment of women in Sri Lanka.”
The adoption of the National Action Plan will provide a key framework to address issues affecting women and girls in Sri Lanka, as it is very much relevant to how Sri Lanka adapts and responds to the crisis and its challenges.
The Cabinet has reportedly granted approval to strengthen legal provisions against sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual sexual bribery, and to include severe punishment for those found guilty of such acts.
The Cabinet approval was granted to a proposal presented by the Justice Minister.
Accordingly, the proposal suggests that the legal draftsman be instructed to prepare a bill to include articles in the Penal Code criminalising sexual assault and all forms of sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is recognised as a violation of fundamental human rights, which is categorically stated in Section 345 of the Penal Code.
The proposed bill also calls for introducing a new section to serve severe punishment for those committing sexual offences and also make sexual bribery an offence.
The move comes in following many reports of sexual violence and harassment in the country despite such legal provisions being already enacted.
MIAP
Public awareness in relation to defrauding individuals through scam calls, text messages, email messages and social media networks.
In recent times, a rapid increase in the number of complaints filed by aggrieved parties has been observed in relation to defrauding money from individuals by giving false information through fraudulent phone calls, text messages, e-mail messages and social media networks, promising to direct them to foreign employment or asking them to pay customs duties to receive parcels containing various valuable goods.
Therefore, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) hereby emphasizes to the public not to deposit money into the bank accounts of unknown parties or remit money through other means based on the above information, without proper verification.
Further, the scammers who engage in such practices, may request the following information from you in order to proceed with such transactions: • Personal Identification Number (PIN); • Card Verification Values (CVV) used to authenticate payment cards as stated on the back of the cards; • One-Time Passwords (OTP) used to authenticate transactions; • User IDs, Passwords and OTPs used in mobile banking/internet banking.
Therefore, the FIU further emphasizes to the public that such confidential information should not be shared with any third party and to be vigilant of such scams. Also, providing such details will surely make you/your family member/your close friend, a victim of a financial scam. If you receive these types of phone calls or text messages, please inform the FIU through 011-2477125 or 011-2477509.
The Central Bank has received information regarding several types of financial frauds and scams being operated through social media, and Internet-based applications. Recently, an increase of these types of scams has been observed.
Most of these scams are conducted through easy loan schemes that attract the public. During such fraudulent loan approval processes, the fraudsters lure the public to share confidential customer information such as their bank account numbers and the customer’s personal identification numbers.
The fraudsters then use such confidential information to access customer accounts and steal customers’ money.
The public is reminded to obtain real-time notification services, such as SMS alerts from their Banks or non-bank financial institutions such as finance companies, so that they would become aware of any fraudulent activity that takes place using their accounts, instantly.
The Central Bank strongly advises the public to be vigilant about these frauds and scams and not to share any confidential information, especially account usernames, passwords, PINs, OTPs or other information required for account verification, with anyone.
Such information must be used only by the customer who owns the account. Customers must also carefully read the terms and conditions of any financial product or service, before accepting them.
