Dr. Rohantha Abeysekara has been appointed as the new General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).
CEB Chairman M.C.C. Ferdinando handed over the appointment letter to Abeysekara this evening (25).
Dr. Susantha Perera, who was recently appointed as acting General Manager of the CEB, was ousted from his position due to the ongoing trade union action taken by the Engineers Association of the CEB.
MIAP
The damage by the government’s decision on organic farming affected not only the paddy farmer but also the entire field of Agriculture, said Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Chaminda Wijesiri, speaking to a briefing held in Colombo today (25).
Accordingly, all affected by this decision should be entitled to compensations, the MP noted.
The government should be catering to self-criticism against the foolish decisions it has taken regarding organic farming in order to address the food crisis in the country, he added, warning that further deterioration may occur if agriculture experts are continuously being disregarded and continued to work on advice on organic farming from medical officers.
It has been 12 years since the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda who worked as a journalist.
His wife, Sandhya Ekneligoda, has made great efforts to bring to justice the truth about his disappearance and has made great sacrifices to do so. But she has not stopped that fight yet.
Today, 12 years after the disappearance of her husband, she had conducted a Viradam Pooja at the Modara Kovil.
Media Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said that ministers and parliamentarians have to make great sacrifices at this juncture as policymakers to manage the current power crisis.
He was speaking at a media briefing today (25).
The Minister said that if one 25 watt light bulb could be switched off during the peak five hours of the afternoon, 140 megawatts could be saved.
Alahapperuma also said that air conditioners have been activated in some offices unnecessarily and according to electrical experts those should be kept at 26 degrees Celsius.
He further emphasized that the government MPs and ministers should make the greatest sacrifice at this moment and set that example as policymakers.
Eranga Kudahewa, a committee member of the Ceylon Electricity Board’s Electrical Engineers’ Association, told the media today (25) that the decision to suspend power had been changed after a discussion with the President yesterday. Accordingly, there will be no power cuts and they say that they can supply power for the demand.
The Ceylon Electricity Board, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Finance, and the Governor of the Central Bank have participated in the discussion.
As a result of these discussions, it has been agreed to transfer part of the fuel stock provided by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation for the Yugadanavi Power Plant to the Sapugaskanda and Barge Mounted Power Plant.
Accordingly, the Sapugaskanda power plant has already received 750 metric tons of diesel and the Barge power plant has received about 900 metric tons of fuel, said Kudahewa.
He said that in the current scenario, the generation of thermal power plants will not be able to meet the demand as the shortage will be reduced.
It is learned that there is a possibility of adding the Norochcholai power plant to the system by the 29th and the power crisis will be resolved to some extent, he said.
Senior DIG Ajith Rohana has been re-appointed as the Police Media Spokesman. That is in addition to the current police media spokesman Nihal Thalduwa. Accordingly, Ajith Rohana will act as the Senior Police Spokesman.
This appointment is effective from today.
Ajith Rohana has been appointed to the post of Police Media Spokesman on two previous occasions.
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) yesterday sought permission from the Public Utilities Commission to cut off power for a period of 2 to 9 hours daily. It is to be decided today whether it will be allowed or not.
The Chairman of the Commission Janaka Ratnayake stated at a media briefing yesterday that permission will be granted for the power cut after inspecting the condition of the power plants.
He pointed out that the failure to build power plants for several years to meet future electricity demand was a major reason for the current power crisis, adding that the commission had been warning the government about this since 2016. However, he says they failed to heed those warnings.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Public Utilities Commission urges the people to use electricity as sparingly as possible. He also points out that power outages can be minimized if the use of high capacity appliances such as air conditioners and fans is limited as much as possible.
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued Rules making it mandatory for hotel service providers to accept payments from person’s resident outside Sri Lanka, only in foreign exchange.
These Rules are published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2263/41 dated 21 January 2022.
With the issuance of the Rules, hotel service providers registered with and licensed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority are required to accept payments for services rendered to person’s resident outside Sri Lanka only in foreign exchange, Central Bank announced
The authority should deposit such foreign currency into a Business Foreign Currency Account of the hotel service provider or sell to a licensed bank within three business days.
Credit payments should be transferred into a Business Foreign Currency Account of the hotel service provider, in the event such a person resident outside Sri Lanka makes payments using an Electronic Fund Transfer Card (Credit Card, Debit Card, Travel Card, etc.), it said.
At the same time, hotel service providers may accept payments in Sri Lanka Rupees from persons resident outside Sri Lanka provided they submit original documentary evidence to prove that such Sri Lanka Rupees represent the foreign currency brought into Sri Lanka and converted through a licensed bank or an authorized money changer
Udaya Gammanpila, Minister of Energy says that the diesel and petrol ships that were agreed to be paid yesterday will have enough fuel for a very limited number of days, even though a fuel tanker arrives in Sri Lanka every week.
“The Governor of the Central Bank has agreed to provide the required dollars to the two ships currently in the middle of the sea”
Question – How long does that fuel last?
“Very limited number of days. There’s diesel sufficient for 8 days and the amount of petrol will be enough for 6 days. A diesel ship and a petrol tanker arrive every week. That’s why there’s always a ship in the middle of the sea. That’s not always the same ship. One ship will be released and it will take another two or three days to release the next ship. ”
Q. Minister, what about the power cuts then?
“I don’t know whether there will be power cuts or not. The Minister of Power and Energy is the authority ”
Q. Many power plants have stopped now because of the lack of fuel?
“We supply fuel according to a plan. The President also accepted it. There was a mistake in their plans. According to their plans, we provided fuel, but there had been something wrong with those plans. That is why those power plants have had to be shut down ”
inister Udaya Gammanpila was speaking to the media after leaving a meeting chaired by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday (24).
It is reported that the National Organizer of the SLPP, Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa has instructed the party to prepare for the general elections in 2023.
Sources said that a meeting of the local government representatives of the SLPP was held at Temple Trees recently under the chairmanship of Basil Rajapaksa.
The term of office of the Local Government Representatives elected in the 2018 Local Government Elections was scheduled to expire on January 10, 2022 and in terms of the powers of the Local Government Act, the Government has extended it till March 19, 2023 by an Extraordinary Gazette Notification. Accordingly, the local government elections have to be called before March 19, 2023.
However, sources say that Basil Rajapaksa has instructed his party’s representatives in the Pradeshiya Sabhas and Municipal Councils to prepare for a general election before the local government elections.
At first glance, holding a general election in 2023 may seem like a more advanced political ploy on the part of the government.
Local government elections are the ‘village elections’. Also, the local government elections are held according to the divisional system. The then ruling United National Party (UNP) also suffered a major defeat in the 2018 local government elections.
Accordingly, considering the current situation in the country, if the local government elections are held early in 2023, the SLPP will also have to suffer a significant setback. If such a setback occurs, it will inevitably create a huge setback in the presidential election which will be held a year later.
However, if the general election is held before the local government election, it will be a national-level election and the SLFP will have an advantage. Especially in a situation where the opposition is deeply divided, their ability to challenge the government is still limited. Although the people are in a state of frustration due to the current economic crisis in the country, an environment has not yet been created in the country that could lead to a change of government.
Therefore, holding the general election earlier than 2024 is more of a tactical move on the part of the government than a test of the country’s electoral conduct in a one-off presidential election. It also has a high probability of success depending on the behavior of the voters in our country.
