President Ranil Wickremesinghe is scheduled to leave for the Philippines on the 26th. That is to participate in the 57th Congress of the Asian Development Bank which will be held in Manila from the 26th to the 30th.
Wickramasinghe will participate in the conference as the Minister of Finance.
Sri Lanka has the position of chairman of this year’s conference. That was according to a request made by the then Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake in 2016.
The conference was scheduled to be hosted by Sri Lanka in March, but due to the situation in the country, the then Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa asked the heads of the Asian Development Bank to postpone the conference.
According to that request, the 57th Congress was postponed and it was later decided to hold it in Manila, Philippines, hosted by Sri Lanka.
It is also reported that the President will ask Asian countries to support the debt restructuring program initiated by the Sri Lankan government.
Unless the polls are dramatically mistaken, on September 25th Italians will elect the most right-wing government in their country’s post-war history. A three-party alliance is expected to win more than 60% of the seats in parliament; the Brothers of Italy (fdi) looks set to dominate the trio, and its leader, Giorgia Meloni, to take over as prime minister.Listen to this story.
Liberals shudder. The fdi has its roots in neo-fascism. In speeches Ms Meloni hammers away at illegal immigrants and “woke ideology”. She told American conservatives earlier this year that “our whole identity is under attack”, and has accused the European Union of being complicit in ethnic “replacement”. She defends and admires Viktor Orban, Hungary’s populist prime minister. Ms Meloni’s elevation would follow the Sweden Democrats’ success last week in becoming that country’s second-largest party, with a probable say in the next government. Marine Le Pen in France took 41% of the vote in her race against Emmanuel Macron in April. All these are signs of a powerful shift in the European balance towards the nationalist hard right. Fed up with the failures of the established parties, voters are plumping for the untried and untested.
And liberals are not the only ones to worry. Flinty bankers fret that Ms Meloni will tangle with the eu, go soft on reform and lose control of Italy’s mountainous debt stock ($2.7trn, or over 150% of gdp). The fdi has no experience of government (it was founded in 2012, and took just 4% of the votes in the election of 2018), and its expected coalition will include the parties led by Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini, two untrustworthy men with a record of tricky relations with Brussels. Both have plenty of reasons to clash with Ms Meloni, who will have stolen a crown each thinks should be his. In a country that has had 30 prime ministers and more than twice that many governments since 1946, this is not a recipe for stability.
How anxious should these very different camps be? The risks are obvious. But there are also reasons to be cool-headed. First, consider social policy. fdi members are strongly committed to Catholic values, and many would like to turn the clock back. But Ms Meloni has clearly stated that she has no plans to strike down the law that permits abortion, which has been in place since 1978 and enjoys solid support; an attempt to repeal it was rejected in a referendum in 1981 by nearly 70% of those voting. Much the same is true for gay rights. Gay civil unions have been permitted since 2016 and, although there is no consensus favouring gay marriage, there is also no urge to scrap the partnerships. A crackdown on illegal migration is surely to be expected, but when Mr Salvini was last in government, between 2018 and 2019, he promised the same, only to find that the obligations of international law and eu rules imposed limits on what he could do.
The reality is that Italy is constrained in many ways, not least through the roles played by its indirectly elected president and the head of its constitutional court, a pair of impeccable centrists. Similar constraints will limit the amount of damage to the eu that Ms Meloni could cause, even if she wanted to. It is true that, like Mr Salvini, she has in the past talked about scrapping the euro or even leaving the bloc itself. But both of them have grasped that membership of the eu is popular in Italy, where 71% of people support the euro. Ms Meloni has already committed herself to follow the reform plan drawn up by her predecessors and approved by the European Commission, which comes with a handy €200bn ($198bn) or so of pandemic-recovery money. She does say she will seek some changes to it, but in agreement with the commission; good luck with that.
A bust-up would turn off the supply of money. It would also mean that Italy would become ineligible for support under the European Central Bank’s new bond-buying instrument. It would cause a crisis in the markets, and Ms Meloni knows it. Insiders say she is trying to find a reassuring banker to serve as her new finance minister and a respected pro-European to be her foreign minister. Reassurance is Ms Meloni’s mission, and in this she is different from Mr Salvini, an unreliable firebrand. The fact that she is the one who has risen to the top of the rightists’ pile is the best bit of news in a disquieting situation.
There is one more indubitable plus to Italy’s probable new prime minister. Unlike Mr Salvini and Mr Berlusconi, or indeed Ms Le Pen and Mr Orban, Ms Meloni is no fan of Vladimir Putin. Since the invasion of Ukraine, she has been a steadfast and strong voice of support for Ukraine and nato.
Nonetheless, Ms Meloni faces daunting odds. Italy’s economy is unproductive and hampered by structural, cultural and demographic problems. Since 2000, gdp per person has not grown—as it must if Italy is to deal with its stock of debt. Almost a quarter of young Italians are not in employment, education or training, by far the worst level in the eu. The eu-backed reform plan is meant to help correct this, but the turnaround will be long and slow, if it happens at all. It will need to be pushed for a decade or more, not the 17 months managed by Mario Draghi, the outgoing prime minister.
Is Ms Meloni the right person to do the pushing? Nothing in her speeches suggests that she understands the need for competitiveness. In fact, she favours sweeping nationalisation and protectionism, though she will be unable to achieve either.
Hope, but plan
What happens if the economy goes wrong? After years of interest rates being set at or below zero, the ecb raised them by 0.75 percentage points this month. Further increases are forecast for this year. If the going gets really tough, will Ms Meloni work calmly with the eu and the ecb, or flip to full populist mode, as Greece did a decade ago? An embattled leader, with Mr Salvini snapping at her heels, who tried to shore up her popularity by blaming the eu for Italy’s problems would be a very different prospect from the Ms Meloni on offer now. Yet here, too, is a sliver of comfort. Ms Meloni needs the eu because Italy cannot shoulder its debt without help from Brussels. Europe must calmly accept Italy’s democratic decision to elect Ms Meloni and help her succeed, while privately warning her how damaging to both Italy and the eu a falling-out would be.
The new constitution of the Football Sri Lanka(FSL) was passed today (September 22, 2022) by a majority of more than two-thirds in the special general meeting.
A new clause allocating three votes for a league instead of a single vote was passed with 48 votes in favor with none against. 13 members abstained from voting. All other new clauses were unanimously passed with 61 votes in favor.
This special Annual General Meeting meeting was held at the Wattala Pegasus Reef Hotel. The two representatives of the International Football Association and the representative of the Asian Football Confederation who are visiting the island to observe the draft constitution also participated in this meeting.
With the adoption of this new constitution, it has been decided to call the election of the Football Federation on October 2022 by getting a special directive from the Minister of Sports. A three-member selection committee consisting of two retired High Court judges and an administrative officer of the same rank has also been appointed for the election.
The celebration of the 92nd National Day of Saudi Arabia was organized yesterday (23) afternoon at the Colombo Shangri-La Hotel.
Prime Minister Dinesha Gunawardena, Speaker Mahinda Yapa, President’s Senior Advisor Sagala Ratnayake and many distinguished guests attended the event.
The special attention of this National Day event is that Bodu Bala Sena General Secretary Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thero has joined the event as a special guest. It is clear from the observation of social media that his presence, who has acted strongly on Muslim extremism and criticized Saudi organizations on several occasions, has caused many people to be surprised.
Its Chief Executive Officer Lecturer Dilantha Withanage, who had been away from the activities of the Bodu Bala Sena organization for several years, also participated in this National Day celebration along with Gnanasara Thero as a special guest.
The Bodu Bala Sena organization has come to the conclusion that with Saudi Crown Prince Salman adopting a moderate policy against Islamic extremism, the Saudi embassy departments are working with different attitudes.
Accordingly, several rounds of discussions were held recently between the Saudi ambassador officials and representatives of the Bodu Bala Sena organization led by Gnanasara Thera.
The report also states that Saudi diplomatic departments have asked Gnanasara Thero to take the lead in establishing Buddhist-Muslim friendship by studying Buddhist and Muslim problems internationally.
Sri Lanka is expecting a debt relief of 2.9 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund to get rid of the dollar crisis and debt crisis it is facing. Several rounds of discussions were held over the course of several months.
Reuters reports that the Central Bank is expecting that the relevant loan amount will be approved before the end of this year.
Reuters reports that in a discussion held by the officials of the Central Bank with the investors yesterday, opinions have been expressed in this regard.
Supreme Court grants “leave to proceed” in the FR petition challenging former President Maithripala Sirisena’s presidential pardon to Royal Park murder convict Jude Jayamaha.
Cabinet cancels coal tender awarded on 25th August: selected supplier has not furnished the performance bond, citing concerns over on-going litigation and payment risk due to debt default: Lanka Coal decides to activate last year’s tender to make procurements.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe allows previously-banned weed-killer Glyphosate to be used for all crops in the next Maha season in a bid to boost agricultural production.
Minister Dr Bandula Gunawardana says Sri Lanka Railways will sell scrap steel rails to earn foreign exchange amid a currency crisis.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe issues gazette declaring High Security Zones around Parliament, Supreme Court, High Court, Magistrate’s Court, Attorney General’s Dept, Presidential Secretariat, President’s House, Defence HQs and official residencies, PM’s Office, and Temple Trees.
Central Bank officials inform investors that IMF approval of USD 2.9 bn loan is likely by year-end: however, inner sources say Ministry of Finance and CB actually believe the earliest date of disbursement, if all goes well, would be 2nd Quarter of 2023.
Chinese Embassy says medicine worth RMB12.5mn (Rs.650mn) donated by China to Sri Lanka is on the way: also offers food and other humanitarian assistance valued at USD 400,000: requests PM Dinesh Gunawardena to provide a list of the country’s immediate requirements.
Japanese Ambassador says Japan will support debt restructuring “negotiation process” so that Sri Lanka can reach the final agreement with IMF: also says it intends to play “constructive role” with other creditor countries including China and India.
State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage proposes the growing of cannabis (ganja) and promoting it as an ayurvedic medicine: elaborates many new avenues to promote tourism.
Peradeniya University starts project to provide students with opportunities to work part-time: programme to provide for students from all 9 faculties to engage in work within the university itself.
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has issued an extraordinary gazette announcement, turning a significant area of Colombo into a high security zone.
According to this gazette announcement, the Parliament Complex and its surrounding area, the Presidential Secretariat, the Presidential Residence, the Prime Minister’s Office, Temple Trees, the Supreme Court complex including the Supreme Court, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court Complex, the Attorney General’s Department, the Army Headquarters, the Air Force Headquarters, the Navy Headquarters, the Police The headquarters, the offices of the Defense Secretary and the three armed forces commanders and their surrounding areas have been declared as high security zones.
The Secretary of Defense has been designated as the competent authority for the implementation of these orders and without the permission of the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police for the Western Province, no procession or public meeting of any kind can be held in the high security zones.
The lighting of firecrackers or other fireworks for any reason is strictly prohibited.
State Owned Enterprise Litro Gas Lanka has taken every possible step to restore supplies, and even reduced prices by containing costs and it has sufficient stocks to meet the demand till the end of this year, chairman of the company Muditha Peiris said.
He assured the public that the company will be continuing uninterrupted supply to the market following proper procurement procedure even with the difficulty in securing foreign exchange.
The latest term tender floated by Litro gas to procure 280000 MTs of LP Gas on July 25 in which the bids were closed on August 15 is still under technical evaluation by the by the Finance Ministry nominated Standard Cabinet Approved Procurement Committee (SCAPC) , he added
The decision of the committee will be made known to the company by Wednesday next week Mr. Peiris said adding that the tender procedure is being carried out properly and transparently.
14 companies picked up the bid documents, only OQ Trading of Oman and SIAM GAS of Singapore had submitted bids August 15 2022, he confirmed.
Although it has been 1 month since the technical bids were opened, Litro Gas is yet to open the Commercial Bids as evaluation of the 2 technical bids submitted has not yet been finalized by the Finance Ministry nominated SCAPC.
Generally the time frame required and to process a fresh tender and finalise the approval is around 3 months.
The present order of 100,000 MT supplied by OQ Trading is to be completed by November 2022 and Litro will have sufficient LPG supplies to meet the local demand till the end of the year, he disclosed.
He denied allegations of an attempt to call spot tenders to overcome the shortfall of LPG by delaying the ongoing tender process which would give an undue advantage to one supplier who is already in the delivery chain since it is logistically impossible for a new supplier to make quick deliveries that might be required in short notice.
A sum of US$27.5 million to $ 30 million is needed monthly to import LPG amidst the unwillingness of banking sector to open Standby Letter of Credit ( SBLC) and suppliers are reluctant to offer credit, a senior finance ministry official said.
Presently, the LPG is being imported mainly through 100 percent advance payments, he added
Ponzi scammers are exacerbating the existing economic misery of thousands of Sri Lankans by swindling their savings with fake crypto currency schemes; informed sources divulged
Details of a latest Crypto currency Ponzi (Pyramid) scam have been revealed recently following a complaint filed in a civil lawsuit by a disgruntled investor Sudath Ranjan Silva at Colombo Chief Magistrates Court.
More than 1000 Sri Lankans in one district alone reported loosing around Rs 8 billion in investments made in Sports Chain crypto currency platform founded by Zhang Kai a Chinese and Shamal Bandara, according to documents submitted to Sri Lankan Authorities.
Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Rathnayake on Tuesday 13 imposed a travel ban on five persons for allegedly defrauding massive amount of Rs.8 billion of investors in the fake Crypto Ponzi scheme called Sports Chain.
A separate complaint was made by several disgruntled investors to the Inspector General of Police claiming that around 8000 persons countrywide including doctors engineers and teachers have joined in the Sports Chain Society Sri Lanka, an investor of the scheme told the Business Times.
They have informed the IGP these investors have been duped by a fake crypto currency investment scheme which has swindled a sum of Rs.15 billion.
On its website, Sports Chain claimed this venture as a “highly profitable” and “anonymous” company with the goal of “becoming an ever-growing crypto currency used in the digital finance of the sports industry.
However he noted that he has done a fact check in internet website for tracking crypto assets, there was no “Sports Chain” crypto currency registered or trading in the market.
The Sports Chain mobile application is not available on Google Play or the App Store and has to be downloaded using a web link, he added.
To use the app, investors had to enter the transfer key of the partner who introduced the concept to them. Sports Chain called this a system of “building a partner network” and actually it was a Ponzi scheme, he explained
This company has conducted promotional campaigns several events and meetings for investors, sometimes at five-star hotels in Colombo motivating them to join the chain, he added.
The Central Bank has issued several warnings in the recent past to the public of the significant financial, operational, and legal, customer protection and security related risks posed by investments in Virtual Currencies s to the users as well as to the economy.
The public has also been informed that CB has not given any license or authorization to any entity or company to operate schemes involving VCs, including crypto currencies, and has not authorized any Initial Coin Offerings ICOs, mining operations or Virtual Currency Exchanges
The General Secretary of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna(SLPP), Member of Parliament Sagara Kariyawasam says that there is no agreement to give the chairmanship of the COPE and COPA Committee of the Parliament to the opposition.
Kariyawasam said,”We have two parliamentary committees. One is the Committee on Public Enterprises called COPE. And the Committee on Public Accounts called COPA. All the rules and regulations for running these two committees have been prepared through standing orders. But a member of the opposition has stated today that it was agreed to give the chairmanship of these committees to the opposition party, but it was not given.
He continued, “this kind of talk raises the question of whether there is a deliberate conspiracy to destroy the credibility of this honorable assembly and the people’s confidence in the democracy of this country. Because there is no mention of the appointment of chairmen from the opposition to the COP and COPA committees anywhere in these standing orders”.
Imtiaz Bakeer Markar (SJB) said ,” Bernard Soysa was an opposition member and chairman of the Accounts Committee for twenty years, and Handunnetti was there. The ruling party showed its genuineness by giving the presidency to the opposition”
Kariyawasam further continued,”We know Wijedasa Rajapaksa of the COP committee as a member of the ruling party as long as I can remember. Then there was Mr. Dew Gunasekara, a member of the ruling party. After that, during the Sirisena cabinet period, Sunil Handunnetti was appointed. But JVP was a participant in that first Sirisena cabinet, with the United National Party.”
” A ruling party member was appointed as the chairman of the COPE committee during the last government. In the history that we know, the position of chairman of the COP committee was given to a member of the ruling party and not to a member of the opposition.”
Sagara Kariyawasam said this while addressing the Parliament yesterday (22).
