The Committee on Public Enterprises (CoPE) has decided to obtain an oath from officials summoned to the Committee. The decision was made during the special CoPE meeting held today (21).

Accordingly, from thereon all officials entering CoPE will be subject to an oath on their testimonies at the Committee.

Chairman of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) M.M.C Ferdinando who attended the CoPE on June 10 subsequently withdrew a statement he had made regarding the President, leading to controversy.

It is in this backdrop has the CoPE made the above decision.

The CEB Chairman has been summoned to appear before the Committee on June 23, based on the letter he had submitted to the Committee on June 11. CoPE Chief Charitha Herath noted that a decision regarding the withdrawal of Ferdinando’s comments about the President from the Committee report will be made thereafter.

MIAP

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held discussions with the Deputy Ambassador of China, H.E. Hu Wei, this morning (21).

During the discussions the Prime Minister re-iterated Sri Lanka’s adherence to the “One China Policy”. He also stated that Sri Lanka was looking forward to discussing the debt restructuring with China.

The Chinese Deputy Ambassador inquired about Sri Lanka’s food security programs and re-assured the Prime Minister that China would be donating rice to Sri Lanka to help ease the food crisis.

Prime Minister’s Media Division
21st June 2022

Dhammika Perera will be sworn in as a Member of Parliament tomorrow (22).

The ex Business Mogul is also set to be sworn in as a Minister tomorrow.

MIAP

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has become a total pain and and impediment for; firstly, business survival and secondly for Business recovery.

Several business groups told LNW that a Deputy Governor Mrs Fernando and the Governor Weerasinghe are totally negative to any private sector suggested solutions. They have become like the Sri Lankan police service. They have no
sense of the magnitude of the problems faced by the small companies and individually owned businesses. Because they get their salary and perks, come what may and as a result they have no care attitude towards the public. Getting them to even smile is a Herculean task. At least that they must learn to SMILE since their salaries and perks are paid for by the tax payers of the country a
businessman noted.

One businessman told the writer that; why should the Governor (Benz S Class) and his deputies (Audi) be given such expensive cars etc when the Central Bank has firstly made the country Bankrupt and secondly has no foreign exchange to even pay for the petrol and gas. It is better to shut down the Central Bank down at least the country will be saved of Billions, until better times. During the East Asian financial Crisis. It was the Central Banks that were in the forefront raising funds through other Central Banks and helping businesses to recover. Instead our Central Bank wants businesses to shut down and start fresh again.

What about the millions employed and their livelihoods? The President who has no understanding of business or economy must at least now ask the Central Bank to give solutions like he shouted one year ago to the current Governor for not giving solutions to the economic problems. The so call central bank governing board is
packed with people way past their prime. Surely Sri Lanka has young capable people? If the current team of the Central Bank led by Weerasinghe that cannot even raise emergency foreign funds for the country or assist the private sector to recover is allowed continue without any supervision the Prime Minister and his so
called recovery plans will never see the light of day. Also the petrol queues will extend further and Gas will be a pipe dream.

Adolf

The Supreme Court has rejected the five fundamental rights (FR) petitions filed against the appointment of Dhammika Perera as a National List MP of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) without hearing them.

The declaration was made as the petitions were taken up before the Bench comprising Justices Priyantha Jayawardena, Yasantha Kodagoda and Anil Obeysekara for a second round today (21).

Declaring the verdict, Chairman Justice Jayawardena noted that the petitions will be rejected without being heard as per the majority vote of the Bench.

MIAP

The ship carrying a consignment of urea fertiliser required for the Yala Season is due to arrive in the island on July 06, revealed Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, speaking to the briefing held on announcing Cabinet decisions today (21).

Accordingly, 65,000 metric tonnes of urea fertiliser will be received under the Indian credit line, he noted.

Fertiliser arriving from Oman to India will be unloaded on Sri Lnaka, and the Minister added that these stocks will be packaged and handed over to the farmers as soon as possible.

MIAP

Crisis-hit Sri Lanka on Tuesday reduced to 21 the minimum age at which women can go abroad for work and earn much-needed dollars for the bankrupt economy.

Colombo imposed age restrictions on women working overseas in 2013 after a 17-year-old Sri Lankan nanny was beheaded in Saudi Arabia over the death of a child in her care.

Following outrage over the execution, only women older than 23 were allowed to go abroad, while for Saudi Arabia the minimum age was set at 25.

But with Sri Lanka in its worst economic crisis since independence, the government on Tuesday eased the rules, including for Saudi Arabia.

“The cabinet of ministers approved the decision to lower the minimum age to 21 years for all countries given the need to increase foreign employment opportunities,” spokesman Bandula Gunawardana told reporters.

Remittances from Sri Lankans working abroad have long been a key source of foreign exchange for the country, bringing in around $7 billion per year.

This number dived during the coronavirus pandemic to $5.4 billion in 2021 and was forecast to drop under $3.5 billion this year because of the economic crisis.

More than 1.6 million people from the nation of 22 million work abroad, mainly in the Middle East.

The South Asian country’s foreign currency reserves are so low that the government has restricted imports even of essentials including food, fuel and medicine.

Economic Times

The Court of Appeal today (21) denied the writ petition filed by former Minister Johnston Fernando demanding an enjoining order barring his arrest.

Fernando was accused of escalating the unrest occurred on May 09 where a brutal assault was launched on peaceful demonstrations held in Galleface and in front of Temple Trees by pro-Rajapaksa protesters, and several complaints were lodged in the Police against the Ruling Party MP.

Knowing the probability of being arrested, Fernando lodged a writ before the Appeal Court demanding an enjoining order barring any arrest.

MIAP

The Supreme Court has ruled that some of the clauses in the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution to be unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court’s interpretation on the 21A was tabled in Parliament and presented by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court has ruled that the provisions in question must be passed via a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a referendum.

MIAP

The Parliament affairs will be held only today (21) and tomorrow (22) due to the ongoing fuel crisis.

The decision was made when the Parliament working committee was convened this afternoon.

Accordingly, the convening of Parliament will be postponed indefinitely after tomorrow’s session. The date of reconvening will be announced later.

MIAP