The attention of the Foreign Ministry has been drawn to a news item appearing on the newsfirst.lk website titled “We purchased weapons from North Korea using Black Market Dollars’ – Minister Basil R” dated 31 January 2022.

The Foreign Ministry wishes to state that Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris has spoken in this regard with his Cabinet colleague, Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa who has categorically denied the comments attributed to him in the said news item.

The Foreign Ministry would appreciate it if this response is given the same prominence as the said news item.

Foreign Ministry
Colombo 01 February, 2022

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda stated that it is critically important to develop eight thrust areas in moving Sri Lanka- India relations from a transactional phase to a strategic phase, in keeping with the fourth pillar of the four pillar-cooperation package announced during the recent visit of the Sri Lankan Finance Minister to India.

High Commissioner Moragoda made these remarks at a virtual event organized by the Vivekananda International Foundation, a premier think tank based in New Delhi, 27 January to discuss his policy roadmap, the “Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India 2021/2023”.

At this virtual event, organized as part of a series of such events to bring the Integrated Country Strategy to the attention of the Delhi-based think tanks, High Commissioner Moragoda elaborated the importance of developing the thrust areas of petroleum, electricity, ports, tourism, ICT, exports, manufacturing and agriculture to elevate the Sri Lanka- India relationship to a strategic level as envisaged in the Integrated Country Strategy. In this context, he stressed the need to integrate the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farms and the Port of Trincomalee to the overall energy strategy of India with a view to making Trincomalee an energy hub, a move which he observed that would be beneficial to both countries.

At the beginning of the event the Integrated Country Strategy was introduced to the participants by Deputy High Commissioner Niluka Kadurugamuwa and the High Commissioner’s remarks were followed by a discussion that focused on many aspects of the bilateral relationship, including people to people contacts, connectivity, energy etc.

A large number of participants attended the virtual event. Former Ambassador of India to Iran Dinkar Srivastav, former Deputy Chief of the Army Staff Lt. General Ravi Sawhney and CEO of the Indian Ship Owners’ Association Anil Devli were also among the participants.

The session was moderated by the Vivekananda International Foundation’s Director Dr. Aravind Gupta.

Vivekananda International Foundation, an independent, non-partisan institution that promotes quality research and in-depth studies was founded in 2009 and the present National Security Advisor of India Ajit Doval was its founder Director. Its present Director Dr. Arvind Gupta was a former Deputy National Security Advisor of India.

High Commission of Sri Lanka
New Delhi
31 January 2022

According to the Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment (TRAC) 2021 publication which was unveiled today (Feb 1), companies in Sri Lanka have been deemed to be Moderately Transparent in corporate reporting.  The TRAC report is compiled by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL). 

The TRAC report assesses the top 75 Public Limited Companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange (as per market capitalization on 1st June 2021) on the level of transparency in the disclosure of information.  The assessment which is being conducted for the second consecutive year scores and ranks companies on three different thematic areas crucial to fighting and preventing corruption: reporting on anti-corruption programmes, transparency in company holdings and the disclosure of key financial information in domestic operations. 

The research found that companies on average are Moderately Transparent in corporate reporting, with a score of 6.93 out of 10, where 0 is the Least Transparent and 10 is Fully Transparent. The average score of 6.93 is slightly higher than the score obtained in the previous assessment (6.73) conducted in 2020. The 2020 TRAC report assessed 50 companies. 

John Keells Holdings, Commercial Bank of Ceylon and Dialog Axiata are the companies which recorded the highest overall scores in the assessment. John Keells Holdings PLC ranked 1st for the second consecutive year, being the only company to obtain the full overall score for transparency in disclosure practices. 

Companies were scored and ranked based on publicly available information pertaining to the company. Information was sourced from the latest Annual Reports (2020 or 2020/21) published by companies, company websites, and other publicly available company documents.  Each company’s individual scoresheet may be viewed at https://www.tisrilanka.org/trac2021/ .  

It is important to note that the TRAC report does not assess the implementation of companies’ anti-corruption policies or programmes. Therefore, a low score does not necessarily mean that a company does not have strong anti-corruption programmes nor does it indicate any wrongdoing on the part of the company. Likewise, while a high score may illustrate strong disclosure systems, it may not necessarily reflect operational and implementation success. 

The private sector in Sri Lanka is usually seen as an enabler of corruption. This notion is further exacerbated by the fact that there is no mandatory requirement for the private sector to publish information on their community contributions, corruption mitigation strategies or their organizational structures. Committing to be fully transparent in the disclosure of key information is an important step that demonstrates a company’s level of accountability and social responsibility, which is why the TRAC assessment aims to ascertain, recognize, guide and encourage transparency in corporate reporting. 

Executive Director of TISL, Nadishani Perera commenting on the report noted that “The report provides detailed recommendations for companies on how to improve their disclosure practices which would lead to better scores as well. The report also highlights the importance of regulatory change with recommendations to the government on amending the relevant laws and regulations. While congratulating the top ranked corporates as well as the most improved companies, we hope that all those assessed will use this as a catalyst for continued improvement, turning disclosure practices into operational norms.” 

With 32 more Covid related deaths confirmed by the Director General of Health Services yesterday (31) the death toll due to the Covid-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka has climbed up to 15,473.

The daily death toll due to the infection remained at a limit of 20 over the last weeks, but the recent surge indicates a growing risk of the pandemic.

What is the definition for a Banana Republic? A term used to describe countries plagued with a variety of problems, including a tyrannical or otherwise problematic government or government officials.Sri Lanka sadly is becoming a Banana Republic because it has a society which is divided into poor daily pay working class and a ruling-class – a new rich plutocracy . The country is struggling to find money to import oil . But all those elected representatives have motorcades where ever they go, some in Range Rovers , and they waste jet fuel for lavish independence day celebrations practices. This is at a time when the country is at its worst and faces a massive fuel Forex and power crisis . We are now begging for US Dollars from Bangladesh and Pakistan. For example Independence Avenue was newly carpeted overnight for Independence Day . What an utter waste of public funds. When several Roads in the heart of the city needs carpeting. Inflation is running at 14% and food inflation is at 25% .

The common Man finds it hard to even to get gas. Meanwhile the roads are blocked for independence day celebrations. Lights are switched on unnecessarily. So much was expected of President Gotabaya. Why is he allowing this madness? The country’s debts are partially due to the grandiose plans of Mahinda Rajapakse. The Mattale Airport, Hambantota Port , the communication tower. We could have easily done with out them. Why blame the leaders anyway? We elected them. So we deserve the government we get . So let us tighten our belts and happily watch whilst they party with public funds. Sadly, Sri Lanka has an ineffective opposition that cannot inspire any change .

Other than the JVPs Anura Kumara Dissanayake asking the public to vote for them in 2024, essentially to bring back the assets looted, which rightfully they say belong to the people of Sri Lanka and must be distributed among all citizens . A promised made by the previous government of Sirisena and Wickramasinghe, now happily in opposition. So at the end of the day when the cows come home to rest, it is only the people who can actually save themselves and their families from this unprecedented crisis. All we can say is – Happy Independence Day to all!

Adolf