A Group of eminent citizens with a real affection for the motherland has stepped in to restore good governance, maintaining peace, law and order and even going to the extent of exerting pressure on the present administration to abide by the constitution following democratic principles.
As an initial step towards this end, the People’s Convention on Good Governance will be held on Saturday 25 at the BMICH, with approximately 1600 delegates in attendance. All delegates are requested to be in their seats by 9.30 a.m. sharp.
People’s Convention for Good Governance Convener Richard de Zoysa said: “When the Central Bank of Sri Lanka could not make good our nation’s monthly international debt instalment, with economic collapse in the country.
The island nation has been dragged towards a well-nigh unstoppable downward journey to national bankruptcy, due to the many blunders made by our previous leaders and the then incumbent Head of State, with individuals, small groups and more vociferous gatherings.
They were endeavouring to make an impact and starting a trend of stepping out of their homes and openly protesting against power cuts, fuel and LP Gas shortages and of course the spiralling inflation rates, thus striving to uphold democracy and the rights of the people.
It was in this dark hour that the People’s Convention for Good Governance was born. Mr de Zoysa added.
The Trust set up for this purpose includes Dr. Walter Jayasinghe, Aeshea Jayasinghe, Dr. Sarath Seneviratne, Rashantha de Alwis Seneviratne, Richard de Zoysa, Visakha Tillekeratne, Dr. Palitha Kohona, Prof. Lakshman Watawala, Ishan Jalill, Selvi Sachchithanandhan and Jeevanthi Senanayake.
The Constitution allowed a defeated party leader to enter Parliament and ascend to the highest office of the land, plotted to perfection by a now rejected majority in Parliament.
Though democracy was not violated, the will and the needs of the masses were not exercised or considered in this process.
With all this piling up on us almost to desperation, it was obvious our country needed fresh leadership, with professional think tanks finding solutions to counter the present and to make resolute, well planned road maps for the future, hence the birth of the People’s Convention”, explained Zoysa.
Four forums on the Economy, Education reforms, Productivity and Exports and Ethnicity, represented by the best panellists available and moderated by experts will take place, with live telecasts including worldwide streaming, enabling maximum viewership.
Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, Shehara Parakrama, Dr. Tara de Mel, Prof. Rajiva Wijeysinha, Murtaza Jaferjee, Nahil Wijesuriya and Ishan Jalill will be present. Selvi Sachchithanandhan and Prof. Arjuna Parakrama have already confirmed to be a panellist or a moderator.
An address by Jayadeva Uyangoda, an authority of the post-Independence era right up to the present day, will clearly outline the debacle that has befallen us and why this took place.
Subsequent to the Q&A session, de Zoysa will unveil an initiative by Dr. Sarath Seneviratne M.D. that will alleviate poverty and assist helpless entrepreneurs who lack collateral to fund their SMEs.
The launch of ‘The Arise Sri Lanka Website’ and ‘Payment Gateway initiated by Dr. Sarath Seneviratne will be commissioned by the Guest of Honour Dr. Walter Jayasinghe and Aeshea Jayasinghe who will also be the Chief of Trustees and the Treasurer of the Trust respectively.
This trust will seek to be a charitable organisation where Dr. Seneviratne’s initiative mooted 15 years ago for the underprivileged, will see reality on this historic day.
People’s Convention on Good Governance convenes on Feb 25 at BMICH
Govt urges JICA to resume US$ 2.5 billion worth projects halted in economic crisis
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday urged the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to recommence all projects that are temporarily halted due to fiscal issues.
He made this request when JICA Director General for South Asia, Ito Teruyuki called on him on Monday (20). Teruyuki assured the Prime Minister that JICA projects would be resumed no sooner after the debt restructuring program is finalized by the International Monetary Fund.
US$ 2.5 billion worth 12 JICA projects have been temporarily halted due to the fiscal crisis. JICA delegation expressed satisfaction over the progress in debt restructuring plans, in which Japan also played a major role.
The Prime Minister thanked JICA Director General for the continuous assistance provided to Sri Lanka for several decades for water treatment, sewerage, sanitation and solid waste treatment projects in several cities and towns.
He also requested JICA to provide assistance in new areas such as renewable energy and electrification of public transport and railways.
Prime Minister Gunawardena also briefed the JICA delegation about the steps taken to improve transparency and accountability in project implementation by enacting required legizlations as recommended by the Committee appointed by the President.
He added that a Budget Act would be passed to ensure continuation of nationally important projects and policies despite change of governments in power.
Director General of the South Asia Department of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Teruyuki Ito said that Sri Lanka’s economic reform program is progressing positively and that Sri Lanka will be supported in the future through the programs of the International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
A discussion was held between the State Minister of Finance, Shehan Semasinghe and Teruyuki Ito recently.
The program; carried out by the government to restore the economic situation in this country, was discussed.
State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe explained the program further. The state minister pointed out that the reforms that should have been carried out over many years are now being carried out step by step. He commented on the oppressive situation in which the people are in with these reformations.
The state minister pointed out that the people are adapting to these reforms even though it is difficult. He said that the people have their trust on the economic stability of the country through the support of the International Monetary Fund.
IMF keeps faith on SL’s securing of all financing assurances to unlock funding
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has expressed the belief that Sri Lankan authorities secure financing assurances from all its bilateral creditors soon, so that the Fund’s Executive Board could give its nod to unlock the envisaged US$ 2.9 billion bailout package to support the crisis-hit economy, a top IMF official said.
Sri Lanka has already received clear and specific financing assurances from India and the Paris Club nations expressing their support to restructure the debt Sri Lanka owes to them. But China, which is Sri Lanka’s largest bilateral creditor, hasn’t been responding positively as expected.
The Exim Bank of China in a letter to Sri Lankan authorities offered a two-year moratorium on China’s debt to Sri Lanka, which however fell short of a fully-fledged financing assurance.
Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister this week said the country has completed all prior actions for the envisaged facility and implied that only China’s financing assurance remains an obstacle for Sri Lanka to unlock IMF funding.
“Sri Lankans are making every effort possible to get these assurances and as the IMF, we are at all levels helping them with that.
The best-case scenario is that we get these assurances and in which case we could go to the Board. I’m hopeful that we could get the kind of assurances we need from China, which will allow us to go to the Board in due course,” IMF Asia Pacific Head Krishna Srinivasan said.
There were news reports this week citing unnamed sources that IMF Executive Board may consider approving the bailout package for Sri Lanka even without China’s financing assurances.
However, Srinivasan downplayed those reports as speculation. Meanwhile, he said once Sri Lanka’s programme with the IMF is approved, there is time for the country to engage in good faith negotiations with its private creditors.
“Sri Lankan authorities have already started engaging with the private sector creditors very actively. Already, there is a letter from bond holders expressing support. Those negotiations will come into fruition after the programme is approved,” Srinivasan said.
According to World Bank estimates, Sri Lanka has an external debt burden of more than $52bn as of December. Of that, nearly 40 percent is owed to private creditors, including financial institutions, while the rest is owed to bilateral creditors where China (52 percent), Japan (19 percent) and India (12 percent) are the largest ones.
Locked out of international markets and unable to roll over its foreign currency debt, Sri Lanka now has to figure out how it will repay around $25 billion in principle and interest for its foreign currency debt over the next five years. Restructuring the debt is one option.
An injunction order issued against Maithripala Sirisena and Dayasiri Jayasekara!
Yesterday (21), the Colombo District Court issued an injunction against Sri Lanka Freedom Party Chairman, former President Maithripala Sirisena and Party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara, preventing the nomination of a new member to the Jaela Regional Council.
It was by the Colombo Chief District Judge Purnima Paranagamage after considering a case filed by the local council member Chamali Ann Suwanthi Perera.
This case was filed claiming that it is illegal to cancel the party membership without any notice and against the party constitution and unjustly and without disciplinary investigation.
Counsel Manjula Kalupahana, who appeared in the court on behalf of the complainant member of parliament, as advised by lawyer Ranjan Thilakaratne, told the court that the second defendant, Dayasiri Jayasekara, has not yet given the complainant a letter of cancellation of party membership.
She also mentioned that her client is aware that such a letter was issued from a news published in the Dinamina newspaper on the 14th. The lawyer also told the court that the front page of Dinamina newspaper, which published the news, will be marked as part of the case.
President presented with Sinhala and Tamil Font books on International Mother Language Day
The Department of Official Languages compiled two books, “Sinhala Fonts” and “Tamil Fonts”, which were presented to President Ranil Wickramasinghe at the Parliament premises (Feb-21) by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
This presentation was made in commemoration of International Mother Language Day, celebrated on February 21.
The Speaker and all Members of Parliament will also receive copies of these books.
State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan was also in attendance at the presentation.
Sri Lanka Original Narrative Summary: 22/02
- President Ranil Wickremasinghe says the new tax policy will act as the “saviour” to the nation: emphasizes there would have been no other way to bridge the huge budget deficit which was enlarging year by year: asserts that without such taxes, people will have to go back to being without fuel and suffer long power cuts.
- SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara files FR petition before the Supreme Court: claims the Fundamental Rights of people have been violated by Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardene and other respondents by the decision not to release money allocated for the LG Elections via the budget 2023.
- UNP Working Committee revokes membership of 1,137 Members who were elected to local authorities from the party ticket, but are supporting other parties.
- Opposition MPs hold placards and protest inside Parliament demanding Local Government elections: Speaker adjourns Parliament till 9.30 am today.
- President Ranil Wickremasinghe says the final IMF draft would be presented to Parliament after the country reaches the staff level agreement: also says politicians can then protest about it and even vote against it: challenges anyone to provide an alternative to the IMF bail-out plan and to say what country or donor organization Sri Lanka can go and ask for credit or a bail-out package.
- Social Media Activist Sepal Amarasingha apologises to the buddhist community over his remarks regarding the Temple of the Tooth Relic: based on such apology, Colombo Magistrates Court concludes the case.
- Census and Statistics Department “updates” the NCPI which is used to calculate inflation: says the change has been done “to reflect the change of costs of consumer items”: accordingly, the previous index reference period of “2013=100” revised to “2021=100” from January ’23.
- January 2023 inflation (as per the NCPI) drops to 53.2% from 59.2% in December ’22: down 6%: Food inflation in January ’23 was 53.6% and Non-food inflation 52.9%.
- Former Banker Faizal Salieh assumes duties as the new Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission with effect from 20 February 2023.
- Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr Bandula Gunawardena says that notwithstanding the Forex debt suspension in April ’22, the Govt has to repay foreign debt of USD 2,609 mn for the first 6 months of 2023 to the World Bank, ADB and other multilateral agencies: also says a further USD 709 mn SLDBs has to be repaid with USD 46 mn interest, which is repaid mostly through Rupee bonds.
The party membership of 1137 local government representatives suspended
The party has decided to suspend the party membership of 1137 local government representatives of the United National Party.
It is said that the working committee of that party has reached this decision unanimously.
It was also reported that their UNP party membership has been suspended due to their support for Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
Elections should not be postponed – MR(VIDEO)
Former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says that elections should be held on time and elections should not be postponed.
Mahinda Rajapaksa said this yesterday (21) while answering a question raised by journalists at the Parliament complex.
The current tax policy is not a normal tax policy, but a rescue operation – President
According to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the current tax policy in Sri Lanka is not a normal tax policy, but rather a rescue operation. He warned that if this process is disrupted, Sri Lanka will not be able to join the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program and may lose the opportunity to do business with foreign countries.
In addition to his comments on the tax policy, President Ranil Wickremesinghe also stated that the budget presented for the year 2023 in Sri Lanka is not an ordinary budget, but rather an operation to rescue the economy. The President highlighted that, apart from the Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce, no other party, person, or institution has submitted any proposals or alternatives to the IMF.
The President made these remarks while delivering the keynote speech at the Tax Forum 2023. The forum, held at the Kingsbury Hotel in Colombo (21) was organized to discuss the taxation policies introduced by the government in the 2023 budget.
The President also stated that once an agreement with the International Monetary Fund is reached, it will be presented to Parliament and it will have the option to pass or reject it. If the proposal is rejected, the relevant parties should submit alternative proposals to the International Monetary Fund.
Commenting on the debt restructuring process with the main creditors of Sri Lanka, the Paris Club, India and China, the President said that the Paris Club has guaranteed its financial support for Sri Lanka, and India is following its own method, but China has not expressed agreement about its method so far. However, President Ranil Wickremesinghe mentioned that their stand will be announced at the G-20 Finance Ministers’ meeting on the 23rd in Bangalore, India.
The Tax Forum 2023 was organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) while Chairman of SLIM Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala, Chairman Sri Lanka Chartered Institute of Personnel Management Ken Vijayakumar, Chairman of Sri Lanka Institute of Chartered Accountants (Faculty of Taxation) Tishan Subasingha and Deputy Commissioner General of Tax Policy and International Affairs N M. M. Miffly joined the panel discussion on the tax policy.
President’s Senior Adviser on Climate Change Mr. Ruwan Wijewardene also participated in this event.
Ambassador of Sri Lanka presents credentials to the President of the Republic of Indonesia
Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage presented credentials to President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo on 20 February 2023 at the Istana Merdeka, the Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
During the brief media interaction, prior to the presentation of credentials, Ambassador Jayanath Colombage highlighted the longstanding bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the political, economic and defence spheres since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1952. The Ambassador recalled the Bandung Conference, the first large-scale Afro- Asian Conference which Indonesia and Sri Lanka jointly organized in 1955, and resulted in the formation of the Non Aligned Movement. He also mentioned that the people of the two countries share civilizational, cultural and religious links which dates back several centuries.
Ambassador Jayanath Colombage highlighted that Sri Lanka and Indonesia are strategically important in maritime trade in the modern era. He stressed the importance of developing more connectivity between the two countries not only for the well-being of Indonesia and Sri Lanka but also for the whole world.
Ambassador Jayanath Colombage was previously Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies in Sri Lanka. He has served in the Sri Lanka Navy for a period of 36 years and was a former Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Jakarta
21 February 2023