The Power and Energy Ministry has suspended the licences of three fuel tanker trucks effective immediately over illegal distribution of fuel.

The decision to suspend the licences was taken following a probe into the allegation pending conclusion.

Recent Social Media reports raised controversy revealing fuel being distributed to cans (bullies) during transportation.

MIAP

A special discussion is due to be held between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the MP Group of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) tomorrow (20).

The meeting is set to focus on the current fuel crisis, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution and the future initiatives of the government and will held tomorrow at 5 pm at the President’s House.

MIAP

Whilst Sri Lanka’s major creditors have still not got together to discuss debt restructuring, as part of the effort to draw a clear line under a debt crisis that spurred South Asia’s first default in 100 years, the Governor who has got this habit of blabbing to the media. Now he has said If Sri Lanka had gone earlier to the IMF we would not be in this mess.

This is nothing new. Opposition said so several times. This is a direct attack on the head of state. Whilst we all agree that mismanagement was clearly on the part of the president, and he was the root cause of this unprecedented crisis. He was badly advised. This type of statements is unwarranted.

Anyway what was Nandalal doing in the Central Bank as no 2 ? Daydreaming? Could he produce a document that shows he was advocating for the IMF? CBSL withdrew from the IMF program way back as 2020. Nandalal was too busy at that time working out his pension of Rs 750,000 per month. So he did not want to rock the boat.Worse than going to the IMF, was the south Asian tea producer defaulting on a paltry $78 Million USD in 2022, shutting Sri Lanka out of the capital markets.

Sri Lanka now seeks relief on its more than $ 55 billion of external debt (Zimbabwe was only $ 17 billion) to get its borrowing under control. Sri Lanka will soon hold its first meeting with its international creditors — which include a plethora of Chinese , Japanese and Indian institutions , Western banks, sovereign bilateral lenders and multilateral institutions. Sri Lanka needs to urgently reach a staff-level agreement on a $5 billion three-year extended credit facility with the IMF and needs to finish bilateral negotiations to secure the funding.

Nandalal other than spreading doom and gloom by increasing interest rates and going for a soft default (invented by Nandalal) he has not raised one Dollar to ease the situation . That is expected of a CBSL Governor. Instead he has focused on curbing the private sector and issuing statements, politicizing the institution further. Analysts say that Nandalal is not man for a crisis, he may be good they say in times when the country is stable. The country needs a people and business friendly Governor who can be innovative within the four walls of the CBSL.

Not a man who spells doom and gloom continuously. Unfortunately the President does not understand this and he will only make matters worse for Sri Lanka. Since he has now come back from the shadows to run the government.

Adolf

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has already solved many burning problems in the country and the people therefore should be patient till he solves the rest, said Chairman of the United National Party (UNP) Vajira Abeywardena, speaking to a briefing in Galle yesterday (18).

Accordingly, the Prime Minister as of this moment has been able to provide successful solutions to the fertiliser problem as well as the shortage of essential commodities, Abeywardena revealed, adding that Wickremesinghe has adopted measures to receive the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and to ensure food security as well.

Both the political parties and the people should be supporting the programme implemented by the Prime Minister and the rest of the problems can also be solved should they act with patience, he added.

MIAP

Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa addressing a meeting held in the Opposition Leader’s Office yesterday (18) urged the government to stop this repressive system leading three-wheeler drivers to suffer in fuel queues 24 hours a day, the people to suffer inside vehicles, to starve, the innocent to die in the queues and by falling from trains and adopt an administration committed to the problems.

The rulers’ continuity of a journey failed to understand the pain and pressure of the people suffering in the queues must be stopped immediately, the Opposition Leader emphasised, calling on the government to allow the parents who are suffering from not being able to feed their children’s hunger and the students who have lost their education at schools and universities to settle in this country.

The government led by the President and the Prime Minister which has delivered frustration and suffering to twenty two million people in this country has repeatedly proved their incompetence and failure, Premadasa noted, suggesting that what the government does on the other hand is taking revenge on the people.

MIAP

The Parliamentary Consultative Committee held a meeting on the current situation in Sri Lanka yesterday (18), under the patronage of Indian Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

Tweeting, the Indian Foreign Affairs Minister noted that a good discussion held in a positive atmosphere on various issues and India’s role.

He added that unanimous support on the need to stand with Sri Lanka in this difficult time.

MIAP

Jagath Samantha, a brother of former Minister and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Sanath Nishantha assaulted a person in plain sight yesterday (17), in his latest strike following a number of public assaults committed earlier.

Samantha assaulted a person at a fuel station in Arachchikattuwa waiting for fuel and the event has been caught on a CCTV nearby.

The victim alleged that Samantha assaulted him posing death threats that they will ‘not issue fuel to JVPers.’

The Ruling Party MP’s brother had previously been arrested by the Police on a number of similar occasions.

MIAP

A tense situation reportedly occurred near a fuel station at Vishvamadu, Mullaitivu last (18) night, due to a heated exchange between the residents and a group of military men.

To control the situation, the Military opened fired in the air and two people were taken into military custody and later handed over to the Police.

Several people were reportedly injured during the event and the Puthukkudiyiruppu Police are conducting further investigations.

MIAP