Police Officers in Charge (OIC) who are serving more than three years at the same station will be given transfers, said Public Security Minister Tiran Alles, revealing that about 1,300 applications have already received upon the calling in of applications for new OICs.
The Minister added that 1090 eligible applicants have already been selected and will be appointed as Police OICs soon.
Alles promised that the appointment of OICs is not politically tampered with and that each officer will be appointed to the most suitable station based on their qualifications.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently in Mannar on an observation tour held discussions with government officials to establish a green hydrogen project, improved water management system, re-foresting projects, and to adding renewable energy potential to the main power grid in the Northern Province to mitigate the effects of global warming.
After observing the Tambapavani Wind Power Plant in Mannar today (20), the President issued these instructions during the discussion held with the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Renewable Energy Authority, to inspect its current progress and plans for the next ten years.
The President emphasized the importance of maximizing renewable energy projects and highlighted the importance of switching to green hydrogen projects, which is of great interest to the people.
President Wickremesinghe said that green hydrogen could be used for shipping. The Colombo, Hambantota, and Trincomalee ports will immediately be green ports. Introducing green hydrogen energy systems for fishing boats can bring about a unique change and can make a difference in the country’s economy and the northern economy.
The President also discussed the seawater desalination plant, which is under construction in the Northern Province. He noted that if climate change affects the water table, the water under the City Park can reduce. Therefore, in order to ensure the availability of water in the Northern Province, the construction of such plants, more tanks, mini hydro projects, and reforestation is vital. He instructed the officials to identify irrigation canals, which can be converted to mini hydro projects immediately to overcome the issues of global warming.
The identification and research of future technologies and methods in the energy sector with the support of the Moratuwa and Peradeniya universities were also discussed.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Douglas Devananda, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara, Northern Province Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah, State Minister of Rural Economy Kader Masthan, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake, Chairman of Ceylon Electricity Board, Chairman of Renewable Energy Authority, General Manager of Ceylon Electricity Board, Mannar District Secretary and government officials of the line institutions were present at this discussion.
Following the discussions, the President joined the inspection of the Thalaimannar Jetty and discussed with the Urban Development Authority, Wildlife Department, Central Environment Authority and Navy officials regarding the restoration and future use of the jetty under the Mannar Regional Development Plan.
Veteran Actor and Radio Broadcaster Alfred Perera has passed away yesterday (20) evening, at the age of 93.
Perera in his long-term service at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation earned the reputation of being an announcer and is best known as the creator and the opening narrator of the hit comedy show ‘Winoda Samaya.’
He also acted in a number of films and teledramas. Perera is also known to have served as a long-term translator for the Parliament of Sri Lanka and as the Person in Charge of the Sinhala Unit of the Filipino-based Veritas Radio.
Sri Lanka is in talks with the United Nations Development Programme and other agencies for a debt-for-nature swap programme, as the South Asian Island faces its worst economic crisis in decades.
The country is in the preliminary stages of structuring a deal, Anil Jasinghe, secretary to the Environment Ministry, said. The plan involves restoring a degraded eco-system in exchange for cancelling debt, he added. .
The nation’s creditors must be consulted once a value for earmarked systems are decided, Jasinghe said, adding that US$1 billion is a figure that’s being considered, although it’s too early to confirm.
Defaulted Sri Lankan dollar bonds due in 2027 jumped on the US dollar, the highest level since September, according to indicative pricing data collected by Bloomberg.
“Headlines that a domestic debt restructuring and debt-for-nature swap may be on the table have helped unlock some additional upside as bondholders position for the possibility of broader burden sharing across creditors,” said Patrick Curran, senior economist at research Tellimer Ltd.
A dearth of foreign currency in Sri Lanka drove up inflation at the fastest rate in Asia earlier this year, leading the country to default on its debt and run out of essentials including food and medicine.
While re-purposed funds from multilateral lenders and assistance from other nations have provided temporary relief, Sri Lanka is still struggling to pay for imports like fuel.
The issue of high indebtedness among developing countries has been a hot-button issue at COP27 climate talks happening in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
The solutions offered include debt payment suspension after an extreme weather event, debt swaps for nature protection, and concessionary funding for the energy transition.
As the talks draw to a close, the European Union has offered a climate-finance deal that would include a “mosaic” of funding options, including debt relief.
The depression lay centred at latitude 11.4N and longitude 84.6E about 540 km northeast of Jaffna over southwest Bay of Bengal, will gradually weaken and move northwestwardand it is very likely to move towards Tamilnadu-Puducherry coasts during next 24 hours, said the Department of Meteorology in a statement today (21).
Strong winds about (40-50) kmph can be expected at times over the Northern, North-Central and Eastern provinces.
A few showers will occur in Western and Southern coastal areas and in Northern province.
Mainly fair weather will prevail elsewhere over the country.
Marine Weather:
The depression lay centered at latitude 11.4N and longitude 84.6E about 540 km northeast of Jaffna over southwest Bay of Bengal, will gradually weaken and move northwestward. It is very likely to move towards Tamilnadu-Puducherry coasts during next 24 hours.Therefore, Naval and fishing communities are advised not to venture into the deep and shallow sea areas off the coast extending fromKankasanturai to Trincomalee via Mullaitivuand Southwest Bay of Bengal sea area for next 24 hours.
Condition of Rain:
Showers or thundershowers will occur at several places in sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Hambantota via Galle and Matara.
Winds:
Winds will be north-westerly and speed will be (25-35) kmph. Wind speed may increase up to (50-60) kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Kankasanturai to Trincomalee via Mullaitivu. Wind speed may increase up to 50 kmph at times in the sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Hambantota via Galle and Matara.
State of Sea:
The sea areas off the coast extending from Kankasanturai to Trincomalee via Mullaitivu will be rough at times. The sea areas off the coast extending from Colombo to Hambantota via Galle and Matara will be fairly rough at times. There is a possibility that near shore sea areas off the coast extending fromKankasanturai to Trincomalee via Mullaitivu may experience surges due to the effect of swell waves, having (2.0-3.0) m height.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe who is currently on an observation tour of Northern Province visited the Mannar District this morning (20).
The aim of this visit by the President was to investigate the problems faced by the people of Mannar and to discuss possible solutions to address these problems.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who visited Mannar city, inspected the renovation work being carried out on the Mannar Dutch Fort.
The President also visited Nadukuda fishing village and engaged in a cordial discussion with the fishing community, and inquired about the issues they face.
The Head of State was briefed about the issues faced by the residents of the small fishing village of Nadukuda and he assured them that prompt action would be taken to provide the necessary solutions.
The President also observed the area where the Mannar wind power plant is being constructed and looked into the future activities of the wind power plant. During his visit, he did not fail to engage with the people in the area and inquire into their wellbeing.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Douglas Devananda, Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara, Northern Province Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah, State Minister of Rural Economy Kader Masthan, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and a group of government officials accompanied the President.
People’s Bank recently entered into an agreement with the National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia to facilitate a novel remittance mechanism that enables efficient and convenient fund transfers from Russia to accounts in Sri Lanka.
This will auger well for the island nations efforts to over come the fore crisis and the resulting energy crisis, economic experts said.
The importance of Mir cards for Russians rose substantially this year after U.S. payments firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc suspended operations in Russia and their cards that were issued in Russia stopped working abroad, against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion and continuing war against Ukraine.
Cuba, South Korea, Turkey, Vietnam and a handful of former Soviet republics accept Mir, which means both “peace” and “world” in Russian, with others such as Iran intending to follow suit soon.
The boasting CB’s bold decision of refusal to accept this payment system at a time where the country is facing severe energy and forex crisis and only the SL tourism began to regain with Russian tourist tourist arrivals.
This is not auger well for financial assistance , investment and trade from Russia with Love, several analysts of foreign affairs said. However according to the Peoples Bank arrangement, beneficiaries in Sri Lanka, especially service providers, exporters etc. will be able to receive funds quickly and cost effectively.
Most importantly, Russian tourists will be able to remit funds to an account at People’s Bank in Sri Lanka prior to their visits, through the National Investment Industrial Bank in Russia without involvement of an intermediary bank.
Upon arrival in Sri Lanka, tourists will be issued Debit Cards which can be used to make payments seamlesslyfrom the remitted funds.
Sujeewa Rajapakse, Chairman of People’s Bank, said the introduction of this payment platform will be highly beneficial to Russian tourists visiting Sri Lanka to make hassle free payments during their tour.
Its network of 818 ATMs, 315 CDMs and 743 branches will allow them easy access across the island. We are delighted to enable this novel service which will also contribute towards growth of local tourism related businesses, he added.
Ranjith Kodituwakku, Chief Executive Officer/General Manager of People’s Bank, added, “People’s Bank will be able to offer this facility at significantly reduced banking charges for both tourists or any other party that want to remit funds to Sri Lanka.
A main objective of this collaboration is to increase inflow of valuable foreign exchange to Sri Lanka through a proper financial channel.
This initiative will contribute towards enhancing the foreign exchange position of the country while boosting the attractiveness of Sri Lanka as one of the best and rapidly emerging tourism destinations for Russian tourists.
US Analysts say Sri Lanka will miss December deadline and will have to wait till March’23 to secure IMF loan of USD 2.9 bn over 4 yrs in 8 tranches: also say that’s because China which holds USD 7 bn out of the total debt of USD 36 bn, has shown little interest in “restructuring” Sri Lanka’s debt.
Western-funded “Advocata Institute” in Colombo selected as recipient of USD 100,000 award granted by “Templeton Religion Trust”: Advocata has been regularly proposing privatisation and “debt restructuring”, and its key analysts have been leading the call for a debt default by Sri Lanka.
Former Finance Minister and SLPP National Organizer Basil Rajapaksa returns to Sri Lanka after a USA visit: large group of SLPP members including several senior MPs and former Cabinet Ministers, welcome him at the airport.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe says measures to strengthen the economy under a 5-year plan have been proposed in Budget 2023: asserts these have the potential to bring about a “transformative economic change” between 2023 and 2027.
CB Governor Dr Weerasinghe says Sri Lanka would not be in this situation if the economy had been managed by “knowledgeable” persons: analysts say Weerasinghe served as Senior Deputy Governor for over 9 years upto 2021: also say that, under his watch, from 2015 to 2019, ISBs of USD 10 bn (net) were issued at near 8% interest rates which led to the crisis.
Former Transport Secretary and top Economist Dr Lalithasiri Gunuruwan says Sri Lanka borrowed a staggering USD 4.4 bn in ISBs in 2019 which caused the economy to become vulnerable: at that time, Dr Indrajith Coomaraswamy was Governor and Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe was the Senior Deputy Governor.
Former Health Minister Dr Rajitha Senaratne says the Budget 2023 proposal to cultivate cannabis for export as medicine is a positive move: also says he submitted a Cabinet paper when he was the Health Minister to empower the Security Forces to do so.
Agriculture Ministry Secretary Gunadasa Samarasinghe approves Gazette lifting the 7-year ban on Glyphosate: Glyphosate is used for weed-control in crops such as rice, maize, tea, and rubber.
SLPP “independent” MP Professor G L Peiris says PM’s recently appointed National Delimitation Committee chaired by former Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya is illegitimate and lacks legal authority.
Legendary Cricketer Kumar Sangakkara’s wife Yehali “testifies” at the Bethany Christian Life Centre that her husband’s victories and achievements were due to God’s blessings: says credit for Kumar’s performances must be attributed to God.
The same move of ‘fixing’ the Sri Lankan Rupee against the US Dollar until March, 2022 by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) keeping the value below Rs. 300 under the approval of the Monetary Board, however, to meet public criticism, is being followed by its current administration, only at a higher price, and no one questions it, emphasised former CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, speaking to WION three days ago (17).
The former CBSL Governor made this remark as he was queried pertaining to the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka, the worst of its kind since independence, and the allegations of him being responsible.
Cabraal stressed that the decisions taken during his tenure as the Governor of the CBSL were moves authorised by the Monetary Board, and despite criticism, no one would have stepped forward to take the responsibility, had the Rupee been allowed to float amidst the ballooning debt as suggested by certain parties.
The CBSL’s policy of keeping the Sri Lankan Rupee at a fixed price was made during the tenure of his predecessor in September, 2021, Cabraal went on, adding that he maintained the policy until March, 2022 and that nonetheless they did resort to a policy change as demanded.
The CBSL operations for the past six months – from May 12, 2022 to date – under the watch of the current Governor have followed the principle of ‘fixing’ the Rupee against the US Dollar once again, only at a higher price, which is currently Rs. 371, and this does not meet the same criticism as he was subject to, the former Governor lamented.
Conclusively, Cabraal said he foresaw that letting the Rupee value float will not attract any influences, as it does not today, adding that the people should begin to understand the ‘wisdom’ behind the decisions made during his watch, compared to what is happening at the island nation’s monetary regulator today, thereby suggesting that he had committed himself to saving the country’s economy.
The government has taken prompt action to boost export crop sectors such as cinnamon, coconut and related products, dairy and establishment of 10 Agro-entrepreneurship villages.
It has announced plans shortly to ensure productive use of a vast extent of State-owned land especially to boost agri-exports.
Un the context President Ranil Wickremesinghe has assured immediate solutions to land, housing, health, irrigation, and agriculture-related issues in the Northern Province, the President’s Media Division (PMD) says.
The Head of State also stated that 08 committees would be appointed at the provincial level to resolve the land issues.
He pointed out that all the land-related issues in the North and South of the country would be resolved accordingly.
President and Finance Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said vast amount of land belonging to Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB), Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation (SPC), and Land Reform Commission (LRC) remains without being cultivated or productively utilized for a long time. This he said was due to various reasons such as legal issues, institutional conflicts, lack of capital.
“There are possibilities of productively using such lands for the betterment of the economy. Accordingly, a program will be devised to allow investors to productively utilize the land in a manner to increase both the production and exports,” he said.
The Government proposes to lease out large parcels of unutilized/unproductively used lands on a long-term basis to grow exportable crops. Further, a new law to facilitate the proposed agricultural land lease program will also be presented to Parliament, the President said.
Plans with regard to disposal of Government lands were also mentioned in the 2023 Budget. The President said although preliminary activities related to the disposal of government lands are carried out by District Secretaries/Government Agents through Divisional Secretaries/Additional Government Agents, at a later stage such duties were also allocated to Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority and the Land Reform Commission which were established for special requirements.
It is reported that there are occurrences of discrimination and malpractice as preliminary activities related to disposal of lands are done in various ways by the respective entities.
Therefore, as the special requirements have already been met, a program will be prepared during the next year to enable preliminary activities in relation to the disposal of all government lands including the disposal of lands under the above two institutions only by the Divisional Secretaries, the President said.
In the 2023 Budget several other measures were also announced to boost the agriculture sector. One was the proposal to establish a separate Department for the development of the cinnamon industry in the Karandeniya area where cinnamon cultivation is widespread.
To enhance coconut and related products fragmentation of coconut lands will be restricted to those with less than one acre in extent as opposed to 4 hectares as at present.
