President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the importance of having increased defence allocations as the country is looking at an economy that will be highly competitive and export-oriented.
Acknowledging that there may be questions raised as to why the government is focusing so much on the armed forces, and why the government is looking at Defence 2030, he said that if not the country will not have a future. “None of us want the armed forces to go to war or to fight anywhere. That is not what we have to do to defend the country. But we are living in a different world from what we were born into. When we were born, there was no tussle for the Indian Ocean. At one stage, no one wanted it. Today it is not so. If we are to survive, the skills, the security skills, Strategic Studies, all that has to be utilized,” he added.
The President noted that the country cannot have an export-oriented industry unless it has the freedom of navigation. If goods cannot be moved around, and the freedom of navigation is interrupted, what will happen, he questioned? “We have seen in 2021 what happened when people could not move out of our country and the goods could not be transported either by land or by sea.”
The President highlighted the significance of preparing the armed forces to face future threats while addressing the General Convocation of the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) yesterday evening. He noted that the security skills and strategic skills of the armed forces should be utilized, if the country wants to survive.
President Wickremesinghe stated that the country’s future depends on its ability to get goods across under situations where the environment we are in will not be one controlled by us. “The actions of other people will impact us in Sri Lanka so we have to use political skills, our diplomatic skills and our military skills to ensure that our right of navigation, the right to come into Sri Lanka and go by sea and by air is not interrupted in any way. So, all these three skills are necessary. That is why if you are building a country you must also look at the future,” he emphasized.
Accordingly, the President commended the KDU for having attained their mark in the civilian streams, where he noted that many prefer to enter the KDU rather than a normal university. To carry that forward, the President said that he had instructed the Ministry of Finance and the Secretary of Defence to look at starting another campus of the KDU mainly for civil subjects, in Kurunegala.
He explained that the reason for selecting Kurunegala was because that was the constituency that was represented by Sir John Kotelawala in 1931. Hence, he said that it is appropriate that the people of Kurunegala should get the benefit and the Treasury had already been instructed to set aside monies to upgrade the hospital in Kurunegala to a teaching hospital as well.
This, he noted will make Wayamba one of the two districts in Sri Lanka where there is more than one teaching hospital which is good for the people. “But more than the civilian studies, we also have to look at the future, the future of our country, the future of our security and what role the university is going to play there. I have noted that the KDU has increased their endeavours to ensure that middle-level officers and senior-level officers also receive postgraduate education, either through this institution or the National Defense College (NDC) where many other one-star officers and two-star officers also benefit from it. That is necessary. We should go further. One of the objectives of the Defence University is to ensure that the top leadership and the middle leadership are all educated and their level of leadership is increased so that you have one of the best Military Leaderships in the region.”
The President stressed that this is a task that has to be fulfilled.
State Minister of Defence Premitha Bandara Tennakoon, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha, Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne, Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Commanders of the Tri-Forces, IGP, Chancellor General Gerard Hector de Silva (Retired) and Vice Chancellor Major General Milinda Peiris were present on this occasion.
ICC Chief Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle and ICC Elite Panel Umpire Kumara Dharmasena are due to officiate as Match Referee and on-field umpire at today’s T20 Cricket World Cup Final between Pakistan and England at the MCG, Australia.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa says a SJB administration would establish an “independent body” to take action against those who stole public funds.
T-Bond auction for Rs.130 bn on 11th November yields only Rs.49 bn: 2-Yr Bonds – Rs.50 bn offered, Rs.9 bn accepted at 33.01%: 5-Yr Bonds – Rs.40 bn offered, no acceptances: 10-Yr Bonds – Rs.40 bn offered, full sum accepted at 30.86%: local debt vulnerability at critical levels.
DG Pensions Jagath Dias admits delay in releasing funds for the payment of gratuity to retiring government employees: says large number of persons in a waiting list.
Central Bank says market value of listed equity portfolio of EPF at end December 2021 was Rs.112 bn, against cost of Rs.84 bn: unrealized gain – Rs.28 bn: dividends & capital gains – Rs.4.7 bn: “unlisted” equity portfolio – Rs.9.6 bn which yielded dividends of Rs.2.5 bn from 2019 to 2021.
JVP Trade Union Leader Wasantha Samarasinghe once again warns EPF officials against investing workers’ savings in Govt Securities when issuer is rated in “default” category: says nearly Rs.3,500 bn is invested in Govt Securities which now carry a major default risk.
Finance Ministry says IMF and World Bank have agreed to provide “technical assistance” to strengthen Sri Lanka’s financial system.
Former State Minister & CB Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal publishes book titled “Amidst Economic Hit-men”: exposes conspiracy to bankrupt and subjugate nation: alleges “bankruptcy” was announced by few persons without required approvals: reveals details of “pipeline of inflows” of USD 10.7 bn at the time of announcing the default.
CID records statement from Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera in relation to investigation into alleged financial fraud committed by businessperson Thilini Priyamali.
Wildlife Dept DG Chandana Sooriyabandara says there are not enough wildlife officials to respond to emergency calls from villages raided by wild elephants regularly: laments there are only about 1,000 wildlife officials.
Renowned street artist Banksy has unveiled his latest artwork in an Instagram post – a mural in the liberated Ukrainian town of Borodianka.
The artwork shows a female gymnast balancing on a pile of rubble on the side of a building damaged by Russian strikes.
The graffiti artist posted three images of the piece Friday on social media, with a simple caption reading “Borodyanka, Ukraine,” using an alternative spelling for the town’s name.
Speculation had been mounting that Banksy was in the war-torn country after a series of murals appeared in Borodianka, located about 35 miles northwest of the capital, Kyiv.
Borodianka was hit particularly hard by Russian airstrikes in the first few weeks of the conflict.Ed Ram/Getty Images
One artwork, not officially claimed by the artist, depicted a man being flipped during a judo match with a little boy.
Another showed two children using a metal tank trap as a seesaw.
Borodianka was hit particularly hard by Russian airstrikes at the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February, with many buildings reduced to piles of rubble by long-range attacks.
It was home to 13,000 people before the war, but most fled after Russia’s invasion. What was left of Borodianka, after intense shelling and devastating strikes, was then occupied by Russian forces, who moved in on February 28.
A mural not officially claimed by Banksy shows a man being flipped during a judo match with a boy. Ed Ram/Getty Images
The town came back into Ukrainian control on April 1, and returning residents found their houses ransacked and shops pillaged with windows broken and contents stolen.
The letter “V” – a symbol used by Russia’s Eastern Military district in concert with the letter “Z,” an emblem for Moscow’s so-called “special military operation” – was found painted on buildings, vehicles and checkpoints.
The town has since been the focus of reconstruction efforts, with several tower blocks demolished as a result of damage caused by the fighting.
The food insecurity in Sri Lanka widely and rather disgustingly denied by the authorities but is a malignant truth has unravelled yet another shocking story, as we investigated into the depths of low-income families as part of our corporate social responsibility operations, following reports on school children being victims of malnutrition in many parts of the island nation as a result of the worst economic meltdown it suffers from since independence.
Despite ignorance exhibited by many individuals of the Government, the current Administration has launched certain initiatives on providing a meal to children studying in schools with economic difficulties, whilst philanthropists of the Private Sector too have contributed to the cause at various capacities.
During our involvement in one of the CSR projects of the same nature backed by the Private Sector, a business figure on the condition of anonymity unravelled a shocking story, one that is too hard to believe that we have decided to lay it down in his own words;
“The principal of one of the schools which we provide food to called us and told us a story. I’m still in the process of believing what he just said. The principal asked us whether we can increase the volume of the food package provided to them a little. When I asked why, he said that many children eat only half of the rice pack provided to them and take the rest home to feed their mothers who are starving. So, he asked if we could increase the volume of the food package provided. We’ve heard enough stories of parents who’re letting themselves starve so they can feed their children. But now a situation has arisen in the country where the scenario has taken the other way round. When I looked into it, it does happen in some places. This is the actual situation of the country. All I have to ask is whether those who should be held accountable for this tragedy are sleeping.”
Listening to his words, the shock that spread across our spines was so immense that even the very moment in which this report is being written is shaky to handle the keyboard.
More than six hundred thousand workers in the Construction Sector have already lost their jobs. The figure nears one million, according to some sources. A considerable proportion of the small and medium-scale enterprises are being closed amidst the recession, making the roaming on the road the only option they are left with. In the backdrop, starvation has become a malignancy spread across the rural zone to almost an incurable level.
We urge everyone who is capable of finding solutions to the food insecurity in Sri Lanka to provide food and drinks to the schools and pre-schools of children from low-income families in their respective areas, for child malnutrition is not something to be easily overlooked, but is a devastating tragedy.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) issued a press release on 9th November to inform the public of its latest publication “Recent Economic Developments.” The press release in its published format is given below at the end of this article.
Seeing the press release, I could not believe the pathetic situation that skills on research and publication at the CBSL have now reached after 72 years of its research operations.
Internal process of research findings and presentation in the CBSL
1. The general habit of the CBSL staff is to do research and present findings in a consistent and clear manner so that issues are rightly detected and implementable policy solutions are recommended. As all levels of supervisory layer up to the Governor are highly attentive and meticulous, the research staff irrespective of their language skills find painful and heartening times in getting their research reports cleared for submission to the next layer. Almost all reports go to the Governor who finally decides their fate. Getting a report cleared and accepted with marginal comments is a nightmare.
2. During the last two decades of my service in the CBSL, I painstakingly guided the staff to present their research findings in point form in maximum 2-4 pages with short paras and sentences under sub-headings supported by precise text tables along with detailed information given in the Annex for further reference. This is by no means an easy task unless relevant officials are fully conversant in both the subject under research and meaningful writing.
3. In instances of draft report owners not responding in an effective and prompt manner, I redrafted those in my computer to ensure timely and productive delivery of the underlying work to enable me to escape from allegation of the delay at my point. Further, comments made on margins of the reports caused hostile office environment. I overwhelmingly refused to sign reports for submission to the Governor or Monetary Board unless they are cleared by me well in advance.
4. The idea behind this approach of reporting is to ensure prompt implementation of correct public policies appropriate at particular times. As the CBSL is a public institution, implementation of any policy requires a research report with findings and recommendations specific to the subject/issue without any ambiguity submitted by the line staff because public decision-making by a single official on his hunch on the subject is not considered prudent and accountable in good public governance.
5. This is of utmost importance unlike in private affairs as public officials should stay prepared to establish the rationale and authority for public policies in documents in the event they are reviewed by Parliament or Audit or Judiciary. In certain instances, even series of even formally edited reports are produced for inquiry to frame various charges on fraud and irregularities against officials for personal revenge whereas some draft reports are leaked out to the media in order to create public issues despite the confidentiality of such documents. As such, drafting officers have a habit of keeping all drafts in the file for their safeguard in the event public issues are raised on the subject even when all have agreed. That is why some senior officials and even Monetary Board Members are now seen passing the blame to former Governors for ex-post issues raised on some policies. Therefore, the public accountability of all contents and words in research and policy reports is very high although the integrity of officials at different layers is difficult to be ensured.
6. Therefore, I used to advise all layers of officials that reports in fact were their public service products which would be of no use if they were not accepted by policy level officials. The main reason for the rejection of reports is the poor quality of findings and presentation, i.e., junk reports, not acceptable for policymaking, given immense risks confronted with public policymaking.
7. However, the attitude of most officials at research levels, especially of those who are conversant in managing the language, is that supervisory officials should accept whatever reports they submit at their convenience and, therefore, their duties are over as soon as the report is submitted. Therefore, reports are written for themselves and not for sale to their clients.
8. As staff performance assessment in public institutions is not easy, the authorities find extremely difficult to ensure the delivery of relevant public duties in a useful and timely manner. The present economic crisis is largely due to this kind of non-active work environment in public institutions.
9. The CBSL press release mentioned above along with many other press releases recently published invoked me to feel that CBSL research staff have gone back to their usual luxury of research and reporting, despite the existence of long supervisory layer from the Head of Department to the Governor. It appears that whatever reports coming from drafting researchers go unattended as they are.
10. This could well be the reason why the economy and general public have been compelled to confront the present economic crisis and bankruptcies due to the failure of the CBSL to implement policies of its mandate, primarily public debt, interest rates, foreign currency reserve and exchange rate as required in the Monetary Law Act.
Some comments on the CBSL press release
Therefore, I invite the readers to evaluate the research and policymaking ability of the present CBSL just from the quality of this press release. A few points are given below to help the readers.
The whole press release is one paragraph of three pages containing a wide range of contents presented in long sentences plus one page of graphical presentation. Therefore, no reader will have any interest even to commence reading. Therefore, the objective of CBSL in publishing this press release is questionable.
It appears that the writer has just copied the first three paragraphs and the graphical presentation given in the first four pages of the underlying Publication and pasted them in the press notice in the way he/she wished without any guidance by supervisory layer up to the Governor. The first paragraph in the Publication is also one and half pages long, all words in bold italic.
The diversity of contents given in the paragraph is so vast that key findings of the research publication cannot be figured out. As the coverage of this publication is limited to highlights of economic developments of 2022 and prospects for 2023, it is not difficult to present key findings in less than 10 points.
I am not sure any reader will understand the research findings depicted in the graphical presentation other than enjoying the artistic value.
Any report on economic developments should be presented in three major areas, i.e., key outcomes of economic activities, underlying reasons and supporting policy actions, irrespective of the target group. Its purpose should be to educate the public on the reality of the economy and to stimulate them to deliver their part as the economy is a result of acts of the general public and not of the CBSL or the government. However, even professional economists will not benefit from this other than picking of recent economic numbers. Further, the public have a very good underdoing of recent economic developments through their struggle for living and, therefore, the CBSL may not be able to make the public believe of artificial findings as usual, other than the political leadership looking for rosy stories.
I paste below first four sentences of the press release (and the Publication) and invite the readers to try to understand them.
The Sri Lankan economy, which faced extreme headwinds and heightened uncertainties during the first half of 2022, has shown signs of stability in the second half of the year thus far, helped by the myriad of multifaceted policy interventions undertaken to steer the economy to transition towards a path of stable and sustainable growth over the medium term. Although the economy was on a recovery path subsequent to the abating of the COVID-19 pandemic, its progress was muted by the culmination of the entrenched twin deficits in the government budget and external current account. Hence, the growth momentum observed towards the end of 2021 dissipated rapidly and the real economy fell into a contraction during the first half of 2022, driven by the spillover effects of the unprecedented economic crisis felt across several sectors, owing to fuel shortages, power outages, widespread scarcity of key imported raw materials and other essentials, and the soaring cost of production, among other factors. The steady rise in inflation to historically high levels since the beginning of the year has hollowed out household purchasing power.
I just wish to comment on words “shown signs of stability in the second half of the year thus far…”
This is technically incorrect as signs of stability cannot be expected until the economy recovers back to pre-crisis living standards and then prevails around or grows from that level. Therefore, stability does not mean the stay of the bankrupt/collapsed economy from further bankruptcy.
However, the stability duties mandated to the CBSL are economic and price stability and financial system stability with a view to encouraging and promoting the development of productive resources of Sri Lanka. Therefore, it is unlawful for the CBSL to comment on signs of any other kind of stability it prefers.
Everybody knows that the CBSL has lost its stability mandate as people just struggle to live through the economic crisis without any signs of getting it eased and without any convincing policy programme other than expectations on complicated IMF loan and external debt restructuring.
Final Comment
The press release as well as the Publication expose the CBSL to huge public accountability risks due to the poor clarity and diverse interpretability of the contents. The willful attempt to mislead the public on the present economic crisis, outcomes and policy actions will be a serious concern that can be challenged for judicial review of the public accountability of the relevant CBSL officials who drafted and approved these contents.
P Samarasiri
Former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Sri Lanka
(Former Director of Bank Supervision, Assistant Governor, Secretary to the Monetary Board and Compliance Officer of the Central Bank, Former Chairman of the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Board and Credit Information Bureau, Former Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka, Former Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Author of 10 Economics and Banking Books and a large number of articles publish.
The author holds BA Hons in Economics from University of Colombo, MA in Economics from University of Kansas, USA, and international training exposures in economic management and financial system regulation)
CBSL Press Release
The Sri Lankan economy, which faced extreme headwinds and heightened uncertainties during the first half of 2022, has shown signs of stability in the second half of the year thus far, helped by the myriad of multifaceted policy interventions undertaken to steer the economy to transition towards a path of stable and sustainable growth over the medium term. Although the economy was on a recovery path subsequent to the abating of the COVID-19 pandemic, its progress was muted by the culmination of the entrenched twin deficits in the government budget and external current account. Hence, the growth momentum observed towards the end of 2021 dissipated rapidly and the real economy fell into a contraction during the first half of 2022, driven by the spillover effects of the unprecedented economic crisis felt across several sectors, owing to fuel shortages, power outages, widespread scarcity of key imported raw materials and other essentials, and the soaring cost of production, among other factors. The steady rise in inflation to historically high levels since the beginning of the year has hollowed out household purchasing power. This anomalous rise in inflation stemmed from domestic and global supply side disruptions, the undertaking of long overdue adjustments in administrative prices, the sharp depreciation of the Sri Lanka rupee against the USD, and the release of pentup demand pressures emanating from the lagged impact of monetary accommodation in the recent past. Moreover, the expansionary fiscal policy with the low tax regime introduced in late 2019 fuelled inflation, not only by directly enhancing aggregate demand but also by necessitating monetary financing to bridge the expanding budget deficit amidst the lack of access to international capital markets following the rating downgrades. The monetary tightening efforts, which commenced in August 2021, accelerated thus far in 2022 to avoid possible de-anchoring of inflationary expectations and arrest lingering demand driven pressures. Supported by these measures and the easing of supply side pressures, inflation commenced moderating along the envisaged disinflation path in October 2022. Meanwhile, the passthrough of monetary tightening measures coupled with persistently tight money market liquidity conditions led to sharp upward adjustments in market interest rates resulting in a substantial decline in private sector credit. Nevertheless, net credit to the Government by the banking system expanded notably amidst low government revenue and limited access to foreign financing sources. The growth of broad money supply (M2b), once adjusted for the impact of the depreciation of the rupee, has registered a deceleration from its peak in April 2022 driven mainly by the contraction in private sector credit and the decline in net foreign assets of the banking system. During the year, servicing of external debt became increasingly challenging, given the lack of access to international markets due to consecutive sovereign downgrades and the bunching of large foreign debt service payments amidst lacklustre foreign exchange inflows. With due consideration to these challenging circumstances, the Government announced a standstill on external debt servicing on account of bilateral and commercial loans for an interim period commencing from 12 April 2022. In the period thereafter, with the intention of helping the economy to transit to a stable and more sustainable footing, the Government embarked on a reform programme through the introduction of a slew of measures to increase both tax and non-tax revenue, while continuing its drive to further rationalise expenditure through the curtailment of non-urgent capital expenditure and recurrent expenditure. Further the Government opted to seek financial assistance from the IMF by way of an EFF arrangement. However, the overstretched fiscal position, which is already weighed down by soaring levels of debt, offered little fiscal leeway to undertake measures that could catalyse the economic recovery process. The external sector also continued to grapple with heightened challenges amidst the dearth of liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange market. Despite the subduing of import demand and the announcement of the debt standstill, modest inflows to the current and financial accounts were insufficient to tame pressures on the exchange rate. The external current account deficit widened in the first half of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. The trade deficit narrowed due to the moderation in imports driven mainly by import control measures, lack of availability of foreign exchange in the market, depreciation of the exchange rate, tighter monetary conditions and the robust export performance. Tourism earnings recorded some turnaround, while workers’ remittances remained subdued despite recording some revival in recent months. The heightened pressures on the exchange rate necessitated a measured adjustment, which was allowed on 07 March 2022. However, the sparse liquidity conditions in the domestic foreign exchange market and adverse market perceptions caused a sharper than expected depreciation of the exchange rate. With a view to curtailing excessive and speculative volatilities in the intraday exchange rate, the Central Bank commenced providing guidance to the market by announcing a middle rate and a variation margin of the interbank weighted average spot exchange rate from 13 May 2022. This enabled restoring stability in the exchange rate to a greater extent and minimising the gap between official and grey market exchange 3 rates. The engagement with the IMF on a macroeconomic adjustment programme progressed on many fronts, with a staff level agreement for an EFF being reached in early September 2022. The debt restructuring process has also reached an advanced stage. The economic issues in Sri Lanka are encapsulated in deeply entrenched structural weaknesses that are a culmination of the lack of policymakers’ commitment to undertaking holistic and efficacious reforms over the long run. The IMFEFF programme will provide an opportunity to embark on much needed and long neglected structural adjustments in a more structured and timely manner, which will be instrumental in shaping the economy to progress on a trajectory of greater stability and sustained growth. Nevertheless, the expected near term recovery of the economy is fraught with many challenges due to the unprecedented scale of the crisis that the economy is facing and uncertainties on several fronts which may require swift policy actions as circumstances evolve. In the midst of significant economic challenges on the domestic front, the economy will also have to grapple with global uncertainties emanating from monetary policy tightening measures adopted by major central banks in response to surging inflation, the spillover effects of geopolitical tensions and thereby a looming global recession, which will make the external environment less conducive for economic recovery. Considering the progress that has been made thus far in relation to the IMF-EFF programme and debt restructuring negotiations, and the reforms that have already been undertaken and those that are to be implemented in the period ahead, the economy is expected to transition onto the path to recovery from the latter part of 2023. Nevertheless, this will hinge on policymakers’ unwavering commitment to implementing policy reforms in a timely, holistic, and efficacious manner while ensuring that such commitment remains unhampered by political and election cycles. This is imperative to prevent any oscillations of national policies in the crucial period ahead in order to strengthen the economy’s resilience to external shocks, thereby ensuring its unwavering progress over the medium term.
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) says a water supply cut of 08 hours and 30 minutes will be imposed to several areas on Sunday (13).
Starting from 08.30 am in the morning, water supply will be disrupted for a period of 08 and a half hours and will be restored at 05.00 pm on the same day.
Accordingly, water supply will be disrupted for the following areas;
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) instructed to implement the recommendations made by the Auditor General regarding the purchase of coal for the period 2022-2025 for the Lakvijaya Coal Plant in Norochcholai.
The Committee discussed the unique circumstances that existed at the time of calling for tenders for the purchase of coal and also paid attention to the views presented by the officials.
The Auditor General discussed at length the weaknesses in the implementation of the procurement process that had been pointed out in his report, and all the members of the committee agreed to table a full report on these discussed matters in Parliament.
Accordingly, the COPE ordered to implement the recommendations presented in the Auditor General’s report in the same way.
The order was made when the Committee on Public Enterprises met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Prof. Ranjith Bandara to examine the special audit report submitted on September 30, 2022 regarding the evaluation of the procurement process for the purchase of coal for the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant in Norochcholai for the period of 2022-2025.
The Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Energy, the Chairman of the Procurement Committee, the Chairman of the Lanka Coal Company (pvt) Ltd and the Chairman of the Technical Evaluation Committee were summoned to this meeting.
Accordingly, 8 recommendations for future implementation were presented in the Auditor General’s report.
1. Ensuring proper fulfillment of responsibility of all parties connected with the coal procurement process in accordance with Procurement Guidelines approved by the Government and the necessity of taking appropriate steps against parties deviating from such responsibilities, are emphasized.
2. Without any prejudice to the objectives mentioned in paragraph 1.2 of the Guidelines, attention should be drawn on maximizing competition by relaxing the process of registering bidders to an acceptable level so as to safeguard basic 107 requirements including financial viability, experience, quality of supply and adequate legal obligations of the suppliers.
3. In making amendments to the bidding documents, such amendments should be made without prejudice to relevant confirmations and obligations and after confirming the legality thereof. Furthermore, responsibility should be taken to amend other sections and agreements of the bidding documents to adapt to those amendments.
After inviting bids, every possibility of making significant amendments for the bidding documents should be avoided. In the amendments made later on to the documents, action should be taken to allow all bidders a reasonable period to adjust to such amendments.
4. In the procurement of coal, action should be taken to prepare and approve the duly completed Procurement Plan in terms of the Procurement Guidelines, adapt accordingly and to draw attention towards the possibility of obtaining prior agreement on financial provisions so as to confirm timely supply of coal.
5. In case of procurement from a gathering of more suppliers, the legal personality of such a gathering should be confirmed and bidding documents and agreements should be strengthened so as to confirm the capability thereof and confirm timely receipt of quality coal stocks.
6. In determining the composite indexes relating to procurement of coal, action should be taken for timely re-consideration of regional indexes used for preparation of the said indexes so as to gain maximum economic benefits to the Government.
7. Approval had been granted by the Cabinet Decision dated 22 September 2022 to commence procurement activities by providing opportunities as well for suppliers registered already to participate in procurements while adhering to the open international procurement process.
For those riveted by the drama of politics in Washington, dc, candidates for state-level posts are often regarded as minor characters, upstaged by congressional stars. The reality is different. Individuals and parties who won power within states on November 8th will matter even more than usual if, as the final tallies are expected to show, Washington descends into partisan semi-paralysis for the next two years.
There were 36 governor’s races. The star performance was by Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. A red wave may not have engulfed the whole country, but it swept the Sunshine State. Mr DeSantis trounced his Democratic rival, Charlie Crist, by around 20 points. In 2018 Mr DeSantis won by a paltry 32,000 votes (0.4 points).
His victory in South Florida was especially noteworthy. Miami-Dade County voted Republican for the first time since 2002. Hispanics, who had not supported Mr DeSantis in his first gubernatorial bid, connected this time with his outspoken style and his support for parental say in the school curriculum and opposition to shutdowns of businesses during covid. His adept handling of Hurricane Ian, a destructive and deadly hurricane that hit Florida in September, also won him broad support.
Mr DeSantis’s victory says a lot about a changing Florida and carries national significance too. As more Americans have moved to Florida, Republican registration has shot up. Since March 2020 roughly 400,000 people have relocated from other states and registered to vote in Florida: nearly half of them are Republicans, double the share who registered as Democrats. Mr DeSantis’s big win will serve as proof of his broad appeal as he prepares a run for president, pitting him against Donald Trump, who helped him win office originally but now snidely suggests he is willing to “tell you things about him that won’t be very flattering”.
A big question is whether Mr DeSantis will continue to push to the right to brandish his reputation as a conservative populist or soften his approach in preparation for a national run. Susan MacManus, of the University of South Florida, predicts that Mr DeSantis and the Florida legislature will be “more cautious” about taking on divisive social issues and will focus instead in the coming year on “three e’s”—education, the economy and the environment—which are winning issues with voters.
Whichever direction Mr DeSantis goes, he will be closely watched. He is likely to spar frequently with President Joe Biden, as well as with another governor who won re-election by a large margin, Gavin Newsom in California. Mr Newsom is also mulling a presidential run and will use his next term to position California as a leading incubator of Democratic policies on the environment, labour law and more.
One more antagonist with Mr Biden in his sights will be Ken Paxton, Texas’s attorney-general, who also won re-election. As the top law-enforcement officer in Texas since 2015, he has been indicted on federal securities-fraud charges and is reportedly under investigation by the fbi for abusing his office to help a campaign donor. (He denies wrongdoing.) Republican voters have remained indifferent to his ethical scandals. Mr Paxton has delighted in throwing sticks in the spokes of Mr Biden’s presidency, while greasing the wheels of Donald Trump’s. He will eagerly sue the White House over policies that Mr Biden tries to advance via executive order in the face of a divided Congress, predicts Mark Jones of Rice University in Houston.
State legislatures will play a strong role as either allies or foils of leaders in Washington, dc. Much as Democrats did better than some predicted in contests for the House and Senate, they also enjoyed some notable victories in races for state legislatures. In Michigan they flipped both legislative chambers, taking total control of state government (with the successful re-election of Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer) for the first time in almost 40 years. In Minnesota, which until election day was one of the last remaining divided state legislatures in the country, Democrats flipped the state Senate, so will also have full control of both chambers and the governor’s office.
Control of statehouses will matter especially in the years ahead as states press forward with policies on abortion, the environment and energy. As politicians in Washington, dc, wrangle over spending, government shutdowns and other issues, it will be “in even more areas of policy that the federal government isn’t acting where states are going to have to fill the void”, predicts Chris Warshaw, of George Washington University, co-author of the book “Dynamic Democracy”.
It will also carry big consequences for future elections. In December the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case concerning the “independent state legislature theory”, which would give near-total control to state legislatures (and not governors or state courts) in how to conduct elections in the future. This has heightened the urgency of ensuring that state legislatures are controlled by people who will act ethically in election certification, says Daniel Squadron, a former state legislator who runs the States Project, a Democratic “super pac”. The stakes in states could not be higher.
The prices of auto diesel and kerosene will be increased with effect from midnight yesterday (11), the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) announced.
Accordingly, the price of auto diesel will be increased by Rs. 15 per litre to be sold for Rs. 430, and kerosene, Rs. 25 per litre, for Rs. 365.
Meanwhile, the price of petrol will remain unchanged, the announcement added.
The Government yesterday announced that the import tax on ethanol used for manufacturing disinfectant liquids, reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been increased to its previous levels amidst accusations of irregularities in ethanol imports.
“With this move, the Government expects to collect tax revenue of Rs. 1.6 billion,” State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.
How ever the government has drawn special attention to the quantity of ethanol imported for use in Sri Lanka and the lack of proper regulation of importing institutions.
The Import and Export Control Department officials were instructed to submit a report to the Committee within two weeks containing the procedure for issuing licenses for the importation of ethanol into the country by various companies, information on each of these companies, and the quantity of ethanol imported by those companies.
At the height of COVID-19 pandemic, ethanol was imported to the country in large volumes to manufacture disinfectant liquids. Accordingly, the import tax on ethanol was reduced on two occasions on 30 April and 9 June 2020.
Separately, the Government has decided to raise the tax on toddy from Rs. 25 per litre to Rs. 50 per litre.
Justifying the move, State Minister Siyambalapitiya said the tax was hiked once again as the vendors did not pass on the reduced tax benefit to the consumers.
The Committee on Public Accounts recently (08) drew special attention to the quantity of ethanol imported for use in Sri Lanka and the lack of proper regulation of importing institutions.
The government also inquired into the issuance of licenses for the importation of vehicles and spare parts to Sri Lanka.
Although it had previously instructed to take the necessary steps to formulate a proper procedure in coordination with the Department of Motor Traffic, but no action had been taken in this regard.
It has been revealed that the lack of proper coordination with the Direct Liaison Institutions such as the Excise Department, the Department of Motor Traffic and the Sri Lanka Customs is very problematic in conducting the activities of the Department and was instructed to take the necessary steps to do computer networking immediately.
To this end, the importance of liaising with institutions such as the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission was also emphasized.
