H.O.S Withanage serving as an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Police Communication Division was arrested by the Police Special Investigation Unit for producing a counterfeit English diploma during an interview for ASPs and remanded upon being produced before the Fort Magistrate.
However, the suspect was released and reinstated in duty without being subjugated to any suspension of duty in a matter of two days, correspondents revealed.
Had a Police officer of any title below committed such an act, he would have been suspended of service by now. Why two laws operate in the same government body?
50 per cent of all private buses will operate from tomorrow (20) revealed Chairman of the Ceylon Private Bus Owners Association Gemunu Wijeratne.
As the Energy Minister agreed to provide diesel for private buses continuously through SLTB depots, steps will be taken to operate more than 10,000 private buses, he revealed.
Wijeratne also noted that private bus operations will be increased up to 70 per cent within this week and urged the public to use public transport services instead of motor vehicles and motorbikes.
Sources closer to state-owned LITRO Gas denied the allegation levelled by Nagananda Kodithuwakku talking to a YouTube Channel that a great tender fraud was committed at the state-owned gas company, stating that his comments come in in a low-level attempt to accomplish political goals by fabricating a news from a false part of a popular story.
The sources on the condition of anonymity explained that an international tender was launched for the purchase of 280,000 metric tonnes of gas for LITRO for 2022 – 2023 and that its lowest bid, which was ended on 16/03/2022, was tendered to SIAM Gas for a shipping cost of US $ 96 per metric tonne, adding that this was already public record and there is no evidence to suggest that Kodithuwakku had researched and found anything new.
Accordingly, Kodithuwakku is promoting false propaganda, knowingly or unknowingly, they added.
Kodithuwakku, who reveals only the date of the letter sent to SIAM on May 03, 2022 with the approval of the Cabinet, either does not know the entire contents of the letter or deliberately conceals the rest of the letter for his own purpose, the sources alleged.
Kodithuwakku conceals the facts that there is a shortage of gas in the current Sri Lankan market, LITRO had requested the Supplier (SIAM) to to provide 15,000 metric tonnes of gas for June considering the tender bid price being only US$ 96 per metric tonne as an emergency, as it takes some time to prepare standby letters of credit (SBLC) for the security of the Supplier, and the request was rejected outright by SIAM and urged on May 09, 2022 that a SBLC of US$ 30 million be issued via an international bank and that the gas could not be supplied until the issuance of such a LC, sources further disclosed to LNW.
They went on saying that Kodithuwakku has deliberately ignored the fact that LITRO is currently unable to provide a LC amounting to US$ 30 million due to the current crisis facing the country.
Replying to a letter from the state-owned gas company sent on May 03, 2022 requesting the supply of 15,000 metric tonnes of gas, SIAM responded on May 30, 2022 that such a consignment cannot be provided under this volatile situation and that they are able to provide 6,600 metric tonnes ten days after the issuance of a SBLC via a bank and that such an offer could be made for US$ 112 per metric tonne, not US$ 96.
In the backdrop, the second lowest bidder Oman Trading (OQ Trading) called for an emergency purchase of 15,000 metric tonnes of gas and they stated that at least 100,000 metric tonnes of gas should be purchased at a rate of US$ 129 per metric tonne. The rate was similar to the price they had initially offered for the tender.
The state treasury failed to provide them with SBLC due to the growing gas crisis locally and the inability of the lowest bidder SIAM to supply enough gas and worsening the situation, SIAM set out to offer conflicting prices. In the backdrop, the Sri Lanka LP gas market became a burning spot and the then LITRO Chairman Vijitha Herath sent a letter to the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2020 requesting financial assistance to obtain gas from OQ Trading in this emergency.
The Cabinet meeting held on 08/06/2022 accordingly concluded that SIAM would be the lowest bidder, but the government could not issue an SBLC in the event of a a recession and neither the bank nor the Treasury would be able to provide such facilities, urging the SIAM tender to be called off.
The Cabinet also directed that a new tender be issued expeditiously and that measures be taken to implement the procurement procedure on a more favourable basis considering the economic situation. It directed the relevant parties to obtain gas from OQ Trading, the second lowest bidder, for these urgent public needs and to meet those needs by working on favourable agreements on a more favourable credit basis amidst the economic challenges.
Therefore, Kodithuwakku ought to understand that it was an emergency purchase, not a preliminary tender, and that SIAM’s withdrawal was not due to commissions but because the GOSL was unable to issue SBLC on behalf of the company, the LITRO sources further pointed out.
They also alleged that Kodithuwakku is in an attempt to provoke unrest among the people by equating the gas price to that of LAUGFS, Rs. 6800, against the backdrop where current LITRO Chairman Muditha Peiris has pledged that the price of a domestic LITRO gas cylinder will not exceed Rs. 5,200.
‘Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), the Quad an informal strategic forum comprising four nations, namely — United States of America (USA), India, Australia and Japan has stepped in to prevent the impending economic explosion in Sri Lanka.
Quad has taken this initiative as its one of the primary objectives is to work for a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
The Chairman of the United States Committee on Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez has written to Quad members to encourage them to take a more proactive role in addressing Sri Lanka’s political and economic crisis as it continues to develop as a functional part of the Indo-Pacific architecture.
The letter was addressed to the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S.Jaishanker, Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Hayashi Yohimasa and Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong.
“The launch of the 13-nation Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will be a step forward for all four members of the Quad participating in deepening economic integration between like-minded allies and partners in the region Robert Menendez said.
There remains strong bipartisan and bicameral support in the US congress for the Quad. But there is more the Quad can do and should do in the Indian Ocean neighbourhood, starting with Sri Lanka,” Menendez said in the letter.
The letter said the Quad countries can lead the way in working to avoid an economic explosion in Sri Lanka that could spark a humanitarian crisis with wider, destabilising, regional impacts.
“Under the Rajapaksa’s, Sri Lanka has been left on the brink of financial ruin and humanitarian catastrophe. Mahinda Rajapaksa led this country straight into a Chinese debt trap and then his brother, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, failed to make the prudent economic steps necessary to avoid a default on its sovereign debt, he claimed.
Today, Sri Lankans of all backgrounds are rising to make clear that it is time for a change,” he said.
Menendez said that New Delhi has taken a proactive role in providing loans and humanitarian assistance to the Sri Lankan Government to avoid a meltdown, further mentioning that Washington is preparing long-term economic support.
“Tokyo is providing food assistance to the Sri Lankan people. These are all positive steps, but there is more that can be done by the Quad, including mobilising additional humanitarian assistance, providing badly needed fuel and offering technical support and advice in the areas of financial accounting, health, food security and macroeconomic policy.
Through the new Quad Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Mechanism (HADR), Tokyo and Canberra can play a bigger role and demonstrate that the Quad is capable of tackling challenges across the entire breadth of the Indo-Pacific region,” it mentioned.
Menendez said that on the diplomatic front, all four Quad nations must stand together this year at the United Nations Human Rights Council when the body receives the High Commissioner’s report on war crimes committed during Sri Lanka’s civil war.
The World Bank (WB) expects Sri Lanka’s economy to shrink by 7.8 percent in the year 2022, a grim outlook, due to the country battling with severe shortages in electricity, food and fuel.
As the economic crisis, due to poor management of the economy, resulted in foreign reserves to dip to historic low levels, the WB said the island nation would only be able to move towards a positive growth trajectory in 2024, where the economy is forecasted to expand by one percent. In 2023, the economy is expected to contract by 3.7 percent.
“A balance of payments crisis and the cessation of external debt repayments in Sri Lanka have significantly deteriorated growth prospects, which are highly uncertain and subject to significant downside risks,” said the WB in its Global Economic Prospects report released this month.
“The country faces severe economic difficulties and rising policy uncertainty—with the ongoing electricity blackouts and an inability to import sufficient essentials, including food and energy,” it added.
The WB cautioned that the economic growth contraction can be worse, if the relevant authorities delay the actions required in debt restructuring efforts and restoring macroeconomic stability. The former is critical to commence the process of fiscal rehabilitation, the agency said.
The WB also expressed concerns on the sky-rocketing food prices and its impact on the poor, who spend a substantial proportion of their income on food. The food prices, as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), rose by 57.4 percent year-on-year in May.
The WB also expressed concerns on the sky-rocketing food prices and its impact on the poor, who spend a substantial proportion of their income on food. The food prices, as measured by the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI), rose by 57.4 percent year-on-year in May.
According to the United Nations, nearly five million people or 22 percent of the Sri Lankan population are estimated to have become food insecure, due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country.
It noted that the additional increases in global commodity prices may put further upward pressure on food inflation, which is already high, eroding real incomes and reducing consumption.
Region wise, growth in South Asia is projected to moderate to 6.8 and 5.8 percent in 2022 and 2023, as the momentum of the recovery wanes and the war in Ukraine undermines external demand and erodes real incomes through higher food and energy prices.
“The region is particularly vulnerable to the impact of higher food prices, with food accounting for 43 percent of the consumption basket on average, compared to 33 percent across EMDEs,” the WB said.
The weakening net exports and eroded consumer demand amid higher prices are expected to remain a significant drag on activity, the former reducing growth in 2022 by two percentage points.
As the recovery from the pandemic recession matures, growth will be supported by private consumption, which is projected to contribute about four percentage points a year to GDP growth over 2022-24.
The contribution to growth from government consumption will peak in 2022 and wane thereafter as fiscal support is withdrawn, the WB said.
Seven out of every ten Sri Lanka families who are facing a number of crises have been forced to limit their daily food consumption, observed the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).
The UN-led Fund revealed that some families limit the number of meals they consume each day or face declining nutritional intake.
In the backdrop, the number of children suffering from malnutrition is rapidly growing and the country has ranked seventh in the World and second in the Region for child malnutrition, said the UNICEF Country Spokesman. The current crisis in the country has also contributed to the situation, they added.
A number of international bodies, including the World Food Programme (WFP) are already paying close attention to Sri Lankans living in poverty and initiating relief programmes for them.
The export earnings in Sri Lanka’s clothing sector for the June to August period are set to fall by 20-25 percent, with the sector likely to miss the US $ 6 billion export target for the year, as the country’s political and economic crisis continues unabated.
Sri Lanka’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) Secretary General Yohan Lawrence said that in terms of the value, this is “nearly a loss of US $ 125 million per month for the next three months”.
A loss of buyers’ confidence in the industry because of the “political instability” is a real risk, he said.
With apparel accounting for on average 40 percent of Sri Lanka’s total export revenue, there is an urgent need to maintain buyers’ confidence in the industry adding “the perceived threat to the sector” has been very damaging.
Moreover, the lack of a steady supply of energy is affecting small to medium-scale apparel makers although Sri Lanka’s large apparel manufacturers have managed to continue production because they “have been among the most effective adopters of renewable energy technology, particularly solar energy”.
Lawrence is urging the government to “secure bridge financing” immediately until there is a definite timeline on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.
Lawrence said JAAF is pressing the government to “immediately commence discussions with credible policy and industry experts towards rapid development of a practical, apolitical ‘Roadmap for Sri Lanka’s Economic Recovery’”.
While there are ongoing efforts to get bilateral funding, “it is nowhere near enough”, he said adding, “This is a very real problem”, that needs sorting.
With foreign reserves down to almost nothing, imports have come to a near standstill.
He said, the supply of imported raw materials needed for the apparel export sector has so far continued to flow.
This is because the sector has been allowed to use money from export earnings to buy raw material inputs, he claimed.
“So, we have been using part of our inward remittances [export revenue] as outward remittances to buy the raw materials we need and the balance of the money will be converted to local currency,” Lawrence added
Attorney-at-Law Harsha Amarasekara has succeeded Dhammika Perera as the Chairman of Vallibel One Group, effective from June 16, 2022.
A board member of Vallibel One Group, Amarasekara is an experienced legal professional who specialises in Commercial Law, Business Law, Securities Law, Banking Law and Intellectual Property Law, as well as Arbitration and National Crisis.
Amarasekara currently serves as the Chairman of the Sampath Bank and several leading business bodies valued by the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) including CIC Holdings PLC, Swisstech (Ceylon) PLC, Vallibel Power Eratna PLC, Expolanka Holdings PLC, Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC, Royal Ceramics Lanka PLC, Ambian Capital PLC and Amaya Leisure PLC.
He also serves as the the Chairman of the CIC Agri Business (Pvt) Ltd. and the Swisstech Aluminium Lmited. Amarasekara also served as the Director of Amana Bank PLC from its inception until his retirement in February 2020.
Dhammika Perera, founder and former Vallibel One Group, resigned from all his posts, including the board of directors of all his companies, as he became a National List MP of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).
