Colombo (LNW): Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa denied any involvement with Pastor Jerome Fernando, a self proclaimed ‘Prophet of God’ and the leading advocate for the Glorious Church of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwean Pastor Uebert Angel, who is best described as the ‘Godfather’ of the modern prophetic movement and implicated in fraud, money laundering and racketeering in a series of crimes, saying that he had met the two only on one occasion during his tenure as the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Religious Affairs.
Pastor Fernando is currently being probed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and is expected to be arrested over certain controversial public statements he had allegedly made instigating religious disharmony.
The ex President emphasised that as the then Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Religious Affairs, it was his duty to give priority to meet with religious heads as well as those connected to religious establishments as ‘part of a goodwill gesture’ and in order to see what issues they faced, according to a report by Daily Mirror.
Rajapaksa also called out against any derogatory remarks made by Pastor Fernando against religions and stressed that there was no room for communal disharmony or hatred in Sri Lanka.
“I strongly condemn remarks made by any individuals who attempt to cause communal disharmony in Sri Lanka especially when we fought hard as a nation to bring in unity and end all divisions,” Daily Mirror quoted Rajapaksa.
“It was a cordial meeting during which both the Pastors conducted a small prayer meeting with me and my wife. Since it was an official meeting, the pictures were released to the media. I have met Pastor Jerome and Uebert Angel only during that instance and have held no other meetings with them nor do I have any personal connections with either,” the ex President added.
Meanwhile, Fernando who is currently under the radar of the CID said in his Instagram that he will return to Sri Lanka on Sunday (21).
The self-proclaimed prophet added that he was presently travelling on a pre-scheduled official matters pertaining to the ministry.
Colombo (LNW): Three of four counts of sexual assault charged against Sri Lankan Cricketer Dhanushka Gunathilaka have been dropped by Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney, Australia.
Gunathilaka was accused of sexually assaulting a woman whom he is said to have met online in her residence.
The Sri Lankan Cricketer was arrested at his T20 World Cup team’s hotel in Sydney last year with four counts of unconsented sexual intercourse.
Prosecutor Hugh Buddin appearing for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told the court that one charge had been certified but the remaining three counts had been withdrawn.
Magistrate Clare Farnan, accordingly, dismissed the counts.
Solicitor appearing for Gunathilaka Alen Sahinovic said the parties were yet to have a case conference and asked for the matter to return to court on July 13, 2023, adding that he expects it to proceed to committal on that date.
Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department one of the three state revenue collection agencies is till to recover the total arrears of taxes, penalties and interest due to the state tax office by December 31, 2022 as a result of using faulty RAMIS and Legacy systems is Rs. 904 billion, the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) revealed .
The corrupted official front liners who were behind the introduction of the RAMIS system and played out tax payers money safeguarding billionaire businessmen are still spearheading treasury operations aiding and abetting corrupt practices , several IRD officials said.
It was disclosed that an amount of Rs. 163 billion has been identified as income that can be collected without any legal concern and that Rs. 740 billion has been identified as income that has been temporarily suspended due to certain reasons.
The Auditor General also pointed out that this amount has been identified as the total arrears of tax to be collected under both RAMIS and Legacy systems and there was a discussion at length about not collecting the revenue due that could be collected off this tax arrears.
COPA Chairman State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna, recommended that a report be given to COPA with dates containing information on how to collect the tax arrears identified as chargeable income which can be collected at least in installments.
The Chairman also recommended that a separate report should be given on the total outstanding tax amount of 904 billion rupees and the report should state in detail how taxes have been evaded and the reasons for such.
The Commission on Public Accounts (COPA) recently made several proposals regarding the Inland Revenue Department’s tax collection system.
According to COPA, the department’s Revenue Administration Management Information System, or RAMIS for short, currently doesn’t function properly. The proposals suggest that RAMIS would need to be updated properly in order to improve the IRD’s efficiency.
Back in 2014, the IRD under the Ministry of Finance, invested Rs 10 billion towards building RAMIS.
The idea was to modernize and improve the tax collection process. However, it’s now revealed that the system doesn’t operate as intended, despite the fact that “more money has already been spent to strengthen this system,” according to COPA Chairman.
The IRD officials’ claim that RAMIS would need to be updated following the 2017 Inland Revenue Act as RAMIS was implemented in 2014.
However, back in 2018, the IRD stated the system was being updated to include the 2017 act. The officials further mentioned that they are unable to provide contractual information as per the terms and conditions of the agreement with the company that built RAMIS, a Singaporean firm.
Further, since the agreement is technically between the two governments, “intervention of the
Prior to RAMIS, Sri Lanka’s taxation system was only partially automated and it was one riddled with issues, according to the then Senior Commissioner of Inland Revenue.
RAMIS was built as part of an agreement between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance and NCS, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Singtel.
A customized version of Singapore’s own IRAS application, the arrangement also included “change management and transformation” training sessions for IRD staff as part of the implementation process.
Colombo (LNW): With 16 Covid related fatalities and 170 new infections reported over the last 20 days, the total number of Covid cases confirmed stands at 672,317 and the death toll at 16,856, revealed the Epidemiology Unit.
According to health authorities, a majority of the recently deceased were above the age 70, among whom some were vaccinated and some were not. All 16 victims had been suffering from chronic diseases, they added.
The highest number of deaths, 03, within the last 20-day period was recorded on May 07, and the highest number of single-day cases, 13, were reported on May 06 and 16, according to official reports.
Colombo (LNW): President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake under the directives of President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued a special gazette notification declaring the supply of electricity and all related services, the supply or distribution of petroleum products and fuel, and health services as essential services.
This is but one of a series of similar declarations previously by the President essentialising these services, and the latest declaration will be in effect from Wednesday (17).
The gazette was issued in accordance with the powers vested in the President under Section 2 of the Essential Public Services Act No. 61 of 1979.
Colombo (LNW): The World Rugby Council has suspended Sri Lanka Rugby from World Rugby member with immediate effect, in what a statement by the sport’s highest authority described as a response to the concerns about the governance of the island’s rugby sport and a breach of the World Rugby bye-laws pertaining to political interference.
The ousting of Sri Lanka Rugby from its membership at World Rugby was mentioned in a statement by the World Rugby Council, which further details that the Council and Asia Rugby agreed that the two would work together with all stakeholders to ensure the least possible disruption of rugby in Sri Lanka.
“The immediate priority is to work with all of the relevant stakeholders to resolve the governance issues. A resolution of these issues will enable Sri Lankan athletes and officials to participate in upcoming matches and tournaments in Asia,” the statement read.
Sri Lanka Rugby was recently subject to controversy over alleged irregularities at the governance of the body and political interference. As critics continued to urge that this issue be resolved immediately, the Council responded that World Rugby will work together with Asia Rugby and other stakeholders to “put in place a programme of meetings to be held in Sri Lanka to resolve the current impasse.”
Full statement:
“In response to concerns about the governance of Sri Lanka Rugby and a breach of the World Rugby Bye-Laws relating to political interference, the World Rugby Council has suspended Sri Lanka Rugby from World Rugby membership with immediate effect.
The World Rugby Council and Asia Rugby agreed that the international federation and regional association would work together with all stakeholders to ensure the least possible disruption of rugby in Sri Lanka.
The immediate priority is to work with all of the relevant stakeholders to resolve the governance issues. A resolution of these issues will enable Sri Lankan athletes and officials to participate in upcoming matches and tournaments in Asia.
World Rugby and Asia Rugby will urgently work with all stakeholders to put in place a programme of meetings to be held in Sri Lanka to hopefully resolve the current impasse.”
PMD: President Ranil Wickremesinghe, during a meeting with Ministry Secretaries and Provincial Chief Secretaries, expressed confidence that the proper implementation of the government’s policy program would lead to economic prosperity surpassing the goals set by the International Monetary Fund.
He stressed the need for collective effort to address the concerns raised by the youth regarding the country’s economy and their future. The President emphasized the importance of restructuring state-owned companies to ensure a prosperous economy and urged ministry secretaries to support the government’s policy program rather than protecting companies under their jurisdictions.
He also highlighted the forthcoming regulations on capital expenditure and projects of Provincial Councils, with decisions on power distribution at the local level expected within the next few months.
The meeting covered the progress of budget proposals, the performance of ministry secretaries, and discussions on public enterprise reconciliation, public service management, and the economy.
Detailed deliberations were held on law amendments related to policy changes in the interim budget and the 2023 budget presented in Parliament, as well as bills associated with obligations to the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.
Following is the full context of the President’s speech;
As the President, I acknowledge that every ministry shares responsibility for the economic bankruptcy our country faces today. In the past, ministries were tasked with allocating funds for various activities, but unfortunately, this often led to the squandering of people’s hard-earned money. It is understandable that the youth are questioning the state of our nation, and it is our duty as politicians and administrative officials to provide them with answers.
While we cannot change what has already transpired, we have the power to reverse this situation. In the past, our government has successfully rebuilt the economy, such as in 1977 when we took over and revitalized the country, and again in 2001 when we led the government and achieved a rapid economic recovery by 2004.
With the proper implementation of our current program, we have the potential to surpass the goals set by the International Monetary Fund and achieve remarkable progress.
One of our key objectives is the restructuring of public corporations, particularly the main company that oversees them. We will carefully assess these entities and retain some under government control, while allowing private companies to acquire the remaining shares. It is crucial that we receive maximum support in this endeavour to ensure the effective restructuring of these companies.
Regarding youth development, the functions of the Youth Service Council, the National Apprenticeship Board, and the Vocational Training Authority may be merged for greater efficiency. Additionally, we propose that the Vocational Training Centres, which are spread across the islands, be placed under the supervision of the Provincial Councils.
Hence, it is essential for each ministry to determine how to implement the government’s policies. I anticipate reviewing the progress made in a month’s time.
We must also introduce new regulations concerning capital expenditure and capital projects of the Provincial Councils. Simultaneously, decisions pertaining to devolving power at the grassroots level must be expedited within the coming months. Let us swiftly address these matters.
In terms of education, our initial plan was to grant authority to the Provincial Councils. However, circumstances have unfolded differently. Similarly, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Provincial Council share responsibilities in the agricultural sector. We should consider transferring these powers to the Provincial Councils. There is no requirement that mandates these powers to remain solely under the National Ministry. By granting such authority, the National Ministry can effectively coordinate with the Provincial Councils.
At present, we have around 30 ministries. Let us maintain this number and avoid further expansion. The amalgamation of the local government and state administration into one ministry is a positive development. Similarly, we have successfully unified irrigation and canal management. By the end of next year, we should strive to bring plantation industries and agriculture under one ministry.
Moreover, I propose that international trade and foreign affairs be consolidated. This restructuring process should commence promptly, and we have the capacity to complete several activities by next year.
Our first priority is the implementation of the International Monetary Fund’s proposals. We cannot evade this responsibility and must move forward accordingly. By adhering to these proposals, we can establish economic stability. Subsequently, we need to focus on repaying the loan. This necessitates embarking on a rapid development program, with a targeted completion date of 2048.
It is undeniable that every ministry shares responsibility for the current state of our country’s economic affairs. We must acknowledge that allocating funds to certain activities in the past has resulted in the misuse of public funds. It is only fair for the youth to question what has transpired.
Presidential Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Mr Sagala Ratnayake, President’s Secretary Mr Saman Ekanayake, Presidential Senior Adviser on Economic Affairs Dr. R.H.S. Samaratunga, and Cabinet Secretary Mr W.M.D.J. Fernando were also present.
Colombo (LNW): The heat index is once again expected to increase up to ‘caution’ level at some places in Northern, North-Central, Northwestern and Eastern provinces and Moneragala and Hambantota district, the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology said.
The Centre urges the public to stay hydrated and check up on the elderly, the sick and children.
Meanwhile, showers or thundershowers will occur at a few places in Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Northwestern and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara and Mullaitivu districts during the evening or night, and a few showers may occur in Western and Northwestern coastal areas and in Jaffna district during the morning too, the Department said in its daily weather forecast today (18).
General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimise damages caused by temporary localised strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe says the proper implementation of the government’s policy programme would lead to economic prosperity surpassing the goals set by the IMF; stresses the need for collective efforts to address the concerns raised by the youth regarding the country’s economy and their future; asserts they can rectify the mistakes of the past.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe once again declares the supply of electricity, the supply or distribution of petroleum products and fuel, and health services as essential services via special gazette: Previously, the President had made multiple announcements from August 2022 to February 2023 declaring these services essential.
A Parliament statement reads the Atomic Energy Board of Sri Lanka said that the country’s first nuclear power plant can be built by 2032 with technical support from Russia: The announcement made at the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Energy and Transport.
The government prints another Rs. 189 billion to “pay its debts” on May 15: Under CBSL Governor Weerasinghe, “money printing” so far has been a staggering amount of Rs. 1,061 billion, more than one trillion rupees in just over one year: Analysts point out this amount had to be printed without even having to pay for the foreign debt due to bilateral and private creditors and after increasing taxes by 200%; warn of severe economic collapse.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe appoints three new provincial governors: Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena Governor of Uva; P.S.M. Charles Governor of North; Senthil Thondaman Governor of East.
Pastor Jerome Fernando, who calls himself the ‘Prophet of God’ and is a leading advocate for the Glorious Church of Colombo, Sri Lanka, says he will return to Sri Lanka on Sunday: Fernando is currently under a CID probe over his comments allegedly instigating religious disharmony: Ex President Mahinda Rajapaksa denies allegations of having ties with either Fernando or Zimbabwean Pastor Uebert Angel, the ‘Godfather’ of the modern prophetic movement, but acknowledges that Fernando met him once during his tenure as the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Religious Affairs.
The World Rugby Council suspends Sri Lanka Rugby from World Rugby membership with immediate effect, in response to concerns about the governance of the SLR and a breach of the World Rugby by-laws relating to political interference.
Senior Consultant Physician at the IDH Dr. Ananda Wijewickrama says irrespective of the speculations that the dengue epidemic could strike by June, Sri Lanka had already reached the epidemic threshold; adds the worst is yet to come; warns it is imperative that people should be cautious and take prompt steps to prevent mosquito bites.
Labour and Foreign Employment Minister Manusha Nanayakkara says neither the IMF nor any other organisation instructed to amend the labour laws, and therefore, no document has been prepared on labour law reforms; adds the Ministry is seeking public views related to the amendment of labour laws before going to the media and commenting on the revision of labour laws.
Three of four charges against SL Cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka relating to the alleged sexual assault of a woman dropped by Downing Centre Local Court, Sydney, Australia: Prosecutor for the Director of Public Prosecutions tells the court that one charge certified but the remaining three counts of sexual intercourse without consent withdrawn.
Colombo (LNW):Sri Lanka’s construction sector was badly hit by the current economic crisis exploring the possibility of finding overseas building construction contracts in a bigway.
There are ample opportunities abroad. For this, the Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB) has requested the EDB to communicate with the Central Bank and facilitate cross border guarantees and capital expenditure.
There are ample opportunities abroad. For this, the CIOB has requested the EDB to communicate with the Central Bank and facilitate cross border guarantees and capital expenditure.
CIOB has also requested that our overseas embassies should find opportunities in their respective countries and help Sri Lankans to gain work. Appointing a business attaché for this purpose may be necessary.
Sri Lanka faces the unemployment of 650,000 direct workers (many being from the poorest classes of society) and copious small, medium and large contractors to face bankruptcy, which includes over 4000 SME sector contractors and about 50 major contractors have reached standstill.
CIOB has also requested that our overseas embassies should find opportunities in their respective countries and help Sri Lankans to gain work. Appointing a business attaché for this purpose may be necessary.
Sri Lanka faces the unemployment of 650,000 direct workers (many being from the poorest classes of society) and copious small, medium and large contractors to face bankruptcy, which includes over 4000 SME sector contractors and about 50 major contractors have reached standstill.
Sri Lanka’s construction sector is in a deep crisis as contractors are in owed 150 billion rupees in arrears on work carried out for the state, head of National Construction Association of Sri Lanka (NCASL) said amid slowing business in construction after the country’s economic crisis.
Sri Lanka has temporarily halted imports of building materials in its latest list of over 300 items from August 23 until further notice.
Some industrial machinery including metalworking machinery, packing machines and ball bearings have are in the list.
“Even though many projects were started during the previous government, due to not being able to complete the payments, the whole construction industry is in a great financial crisis,”Susantha Liyanaarachchi told reporters
The crisis is mainly because of unsettled due payments by the government to construction contractors amounting up to 150 billion rupees, he said.
Sri Lanka’s construction sector was badly hit by the current economic crisis exploring the possibility of finding overseas building construction contracts in a bigway.
There are ample opportunities abroad. For this, the CIOB has requested the EDB to communicate with the Central Bank and facilitate cross border guarantees and capital expenditure.
CIOB has also requested that our overseas embassies should find opportunities in their respective countries and help Sri Lankans to gain work. Appointing a business attaché for this purpose may be necessary.
Sri Lanka faces the unemployment of 650,000 direct workers (many being from the poorest classes of society) and copious small, medium and large contractors to face bankruptcy, which includes over 4000 SME sector contractors and about 50 major contractors have reached standstill.Chairman and Reviving of Construction Industry.
