Samagi Jana Balawegaya MPs Kavinda Jayawardena and Mujibur Rahuman accompanying Eranda Weliange have left for Geneva, Switzerland, to attend the 51st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which is set to officially commence tomorrow (12).
As of now, a group of activists who attended the GotaGoGama Aragalaya protest including Attorney at Law Nuwan Bopage are also in Geneva.
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The Auditor General has recognised ten public enterprises known for their loss incurring nature and recommended that they be restructured or privatised.
Accordingly, the government is expected to restructure the following public enterprises;
After President Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed office, he proposed that loss incurring public institutions be privatised and a new unit has also been established in this regard.
The unit is entrusted with identifying loss incurring bodies to be privatised.
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The importation of rice from India may be a problem in the near future following the neighbour country’s decision to restrict rice exports, the importers revealed, unravelling a risk of Sri Lanka losing rice exports amidst its worst economic crisis since independence.
Many essential food items including rice, lentils and b-onions are currently imported to Sri Lanka from India.
In addition to the export restrictions, Indian authorities have approved the imposition of a 20 per cent tax per kilo of rice.
Recently, India suspended the export of wheat flour leading to a limitless surge in the prices of wheat flour and bread. In some parts of the country, a loaf of bread is sold for Rs. 300. The Bakery Owners Association disclosed that over 300 bakeries were closed amidst the crisis.
However, the Trade Minister has a different opinion, going on saying that there is no shortage of wheat flour in the country and the prices of flour and bread, therefore, need not be increased.
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Brigadier Mahinda Ranasinghe, who served as the officer in charge of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s security, has been promoted to Major General.
Ranasinghe, who is a member of the Sri Lanka Army Special Forces, served as Rajapaksa’s bodyguard as the ex President fled the nation upon the July 09 uprising and the acquisition of the Presidential Secretariat and the President’s House.
He accompanied Rajapaksa and his wife as the two flew to the Maldives and also protected the family during their stay in Singapore and Thailand.
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President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to leave for the United Kingdom to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Second, the longest-serving monarch in Britain, who died on September 08.
Accordingly, the President will be leaving the country this next weekend and even now, the relevant affairs are being taken care of at the Sri Lankan High Commission in London.
Her Majesty’s funeral will take place on September 19 and the Sri Lankan President will leave for the UK the day before. Expecting to stay in the country for three days, Mr. Wickremesinghe is also in an attempt to meet a group of delegates of the British Government.
The President is scheduled to return to Sri Lanka on the 20th.
Meanwhile, the government has declared September 19 as a national day of mourning.
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The Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power has announced an additional USD 40 million in development assistance to help farmers purchase fertilizer and other vital agricultural inputs.
Accompanied by a delegation of four, Power arrived in Sri Lanka this morning (Sep 10) for a two-day official visit.She later engaged in a cordial discussion with farming communities in Ja-Ela area to talk about the issues faced by them.
Power is expected to call on Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe and political party leaders today (Sep 11) to discuss how to ride out Sri Lanka’s crisis situation.According to reports, Power also expects to meet with representatives of the private sector in Sri Lanka.
This assistance will support Sri Lankans as they come out of a political crisis and are still facing a severe economic and agricultural crisis, with consecutive failed agricultural seasons producing half of their usual output.
It was followed by year-on-year inflation that soared to above 60 percent and food price inflation climbing to 90 percent, since August of this year, USAID said.
These compounding effects have left households across the country struggling to meet essential needs as food insecurity continues to grow without end in sight.
Subject to Congressional approval, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will invest this money to provide farmers with fertilizer and other vital agricultural inputs.
This critical support, implemented through the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, comes just in time for maximum benefit to the upcoming “Maha” planting season.
It will benefit up to 1 million farmers in need of fertilizer across Sri Lanka, which includes 53,000 farmers in need of emergency cash assistance.
This announcement builds on USAID’s ongoing support since the complex emergency began, by strengthening ongoing programs in Sri Lanka,
This aid help to address the dire needs of the country’s most vulnerable and marginalized communities as they experience economic shocks, compounded by rising food, fuel, and fertilizer prices due to Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine.
USAID says it stands with the Sri Lankan people and is committed to providing this urgent support.
The U.S. Government will continue to explore ways to assist the country in meeting their immediate, medium, and long-term needs, and will continue ongoing efforts that boost sustainable economic growth, promote inclusivity, strengthen governance, and foster a free and prosperous Sri Lanka.
Following the tariff revisions on water and electricity and the tax surge, the price of chicken will have to be increased again, said All Ceylon Poultry Businessmen’s Association.
“Water and electricity tariffs are increasing from this month. The Poultry Industry consumes a lot of water and electricity. With these surges, VAT has also increased from 12 per cent to 15 per cent. A new security tax of 2.5 per cent has also been imposed. That can be an addition which results in an increase of about 7.5 per cent to the final product. Considering all the circumstances, there is a possibility of the price of chicken being increased depending on the increase in the production cost,” said Union President Ajith Gunasekara.
He added: “We will discuss the matter with the Minister on Monday, especially on how to remove the control price on eggs. Due to the control price on eggs, about 50 per cent of producers have left the industry by now. They even release egg-laying creatures to the market for meat. The Agriculture Minister has given us a discussion on this matter on Monday. Then we will inform the Ministry in this regard.”
Gunasekara also noted that nevertheless, the price of chicken and eggs can be slashed if the government intervenes and provides reliefs.
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Shocking details of how loss-making state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has over paid millions of rupees as commissions to its dealers without considering the stipulated official procedure have been revealed in a recent audit inspection report of the Auditor General’s Department.
With the aim of streamlining the payment of commission to dealers the Board of Directors has taken decision (Board paper No05/12/31) to change existing practice of paying 2.5 percent of the price per litre of fuel to 3 percent fixing upper and lower limits (upper and lower caps).
Accordingly the dealers commission has been increased with effect from 30-06- 2019 fixing the upper cap for 92 petrol as Rs 167 and lower cap Rs 117.
This means even if the price of 92 petrol is increased to over Rs.167 or decreased to below the limit of Rs117 the commission will remain unchanged as 3 percent, similarly for 95 petrol the upper cap was fixed at Rs 170 and lower cap Rs.128.
The price of fuel has been increased on 21- 06-2021 and the price of 92 petrol increased to Rs 157 from Rs 117 the previous price in 2019 and the 95 petrol to Rs. 184 which has gone up beyond the upper cap of Rs.170.
However the CPC has paid Rs 5.52 per litre of 95 petrol calculating 3 percent of Rs.184 although it should have been Rs.5.10.
The over payment of around Rs 4 billion had been paid during the period of 11-06-2021 to 15-07-2022, the Auditor General’s inspection report revealed.
According to this report the commissions of Rs.10.59 billion was paid to dealers in 2017,Rs. 13.54 billion in 2018 Rs.14.13 in 2019, Rs.12.40 billion in 2020, and Rs.14.48 billion in 2021.
When Petrol 92 was priced at Rs. 470 per litre, CPC paid Rs. 14.10 in commission per litre whereas, according to the fixed upper limit cap price, it should have only been Rs. 4.86.
The CPC has initiated action to recover this money from dealers in four installments by issuing circular on 10 -03- 2022 a top official of the CPC said.
He added that four dealers filed a petition at the Colombo District Court to find redress on the payment and Court issued an interim injunction restraining the payment to CPC and it was revoked on 15-07-2022.
The official noted that the court had also granted the approval to claim the overpaid commissions from all its dealers in Sri Lanka.
With this court order, The CPC will be able to recover Rs. 4.3 billion from roughly 700 fuel stations and save a minimum of Rs. 50 million on a daily basis.
The government has failed to allocate dollars required to pay for four fuel ships, reportedly an amount of US $ 150 million, sources said.
Among the four vessels are two diesel ships and one ship carrying crude oil which have already been stalled at the Colombo Port and tomorrow (12) another ship carrying petrol is set to sail.
Only a part of the amount due for one ship carrying diesel has been paid so far, according to sources.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had raised their objection to a proposal by the government for the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) to purchase dollars from the black market to settle the payments for the fuel stocks, in its claim of having enough money.
However, the CBSL’s promise of paying for these vessels from its financial sources has not been fulfilled to date, hence the latter problem.
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If the newly appointed state ministers fail to serve their duties properly, they should be removed within a period of six months, said State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage, responding to a query by radio channel.
The new State Minister said this condition should apply to her as well.
“There is a system in this country which has been practiced for a certain period of time. Just because State Minister are appointed, they cannot just sit at home, receive all the benefits and do nothing. Even I tell personally, that if I fail to serve my duty, if we fail to do something that is felt within six months, we should step back definitely. Otherwise, we should be removed. Because we take a responsibility in a country; a challenge. We should be prepared to face that challenge,” Gamage said.
She continued: “So, these ministries are given one by one to save this country through them. One who possesses a Cabinet Ministry cannot do everything. When a Cabinet Ministry is given, they can put forward a Cabinet paper. A Cabinet Minister has many heavy responsibilities. Accordingly, this should definitely be divided among the rest as responsibilities. That is why these duties are entrusted with; to continue this programme. Otherwise, even I personally say that I should be inspected. If I do not do my work, remove me and put someone who can.”
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