Courtesy Adaderana

The targets laid out in Sri Lanka’s budget for 2024 will be challenging to meet, even with the economic recovery that we expect to continue next year, says Fitch Ratings. 

The fiscal deficit is set to be wider than our current forecast of 7.1% of GDP in 2024 in light of the new data, even after excluding bank recapitalisation costs, and the revenue/GDP ratio will be lower than we had assumed.

The government is targeting a budget deficit of 9.1% of GDP in 2024, wider than a revised estimate of 8.5% in 2023. However, without bank recapitalisation costs, the deficit in 2024 would be a narrower 7.6% of GDP. Excluding recapitalisation costs, the budget targets a primary surplus of 0.8% of GDP in 2024, against a deficit of 0.7% in 2023. However, including recapitalisation costs pushes the 2024 primary deficit target to 0.6% of GDP.

The primary surplus goal for 2024, excluding bank recapitalisation, is broadly in line with the 0.8% of GDP projected by the IMF in March when it approved Sri Lanka’s USD3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF). We also see the revenue target as relatively aligned. However, the government’s expenditure target for 2024, at 22.2% of GDP, is somewhat higher than the 19.7% the IMF had envisioned and well above the revised budget estimate of 18.7% for 2023.

The release of the next tranche of EFF financing, worth around USD330 million, will depend partly on the IMF’s assessment of Sri Lanka’s progress in securing financing assurances from official creditors. Fitch believes there has been some progress since March, but the timeline for a restructuring deal with official creditors remains unclear.

Fitch believes there are significant risks to the government’s revenue goal for 2024. Sri Lanka has a record of fiscal slippage, and revenue collection fell 29% short of target over 9M23. The authorities aim to raise revenue by almost 45% in 2024. This will be aided by a planned 3pp increase in the value-added tax to 18%, but the boost to revenue from inflation is set to weaken in 2024. We project consumer prices will rise by 8.7% on average in 2024, compared with 22.1% in 2023. The lift from economic growth, which Fitch projects at 3.3% in 2024, will also be modest.

Downside risks to revenue could be offset by lower-than-budgeted spending. We think the presidential election in late 2024 will incentivise the government to keep to its spending plans, which include a 14% increase in spending on salaries and wages. Nevertheless, if revenue falls short, there may be some room to trim capital expenditure, which amounts to almost 20% of total planned spending and is budgeted to rise 55% in 2024, excluding bank recapitalisation.

The government’s efforts to implement governance reform after a recent diagnostic study by the IMF may also support revenue collection. The budget proposes to establish a new revenue authority under the Ministry of Finance to improve tax collection, and a new investment law will look to establish a National Economic Commission to promote investment. However, it will take time to assess these bodies’ effectiveness.

Fitch rates Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘RD’ (Restricted Default). We may move the IDR out of ‘RD’ upon the sovereign’s completion of a commercial debt restructuring that we judge to have normalised the relationship with the international financial community. Sri Lanka’s post-default rating would depend upon our assessment of its credit profile. Fitch upgraded Sri Lanka’s Long-Term Local-Currency IDR to ‘CCC-’ in September, reflecting the completion of the local-currency portion of Sri Lanka’s domestic debt optimisation plan.

Source – Fitch Ratings

– Agencies 

By Sanjeewa Jayaweera Courtesy The Island

Until 1977, when Kerry Packer set up the World Series Cricket (WSC) tournament, Australia and England took turns to hold the mantle of being the world’s top test-playing team; during this period, the West Indies did, on occasions, challenge the order of supremacy but were never able to be consistently good. The Indians and Pakistanis were competitive when playing at home but could not defeat the Australians in Australia. All that changed in 1979 when the Australian and English Boards and the ICC made peace with Kerry Packer.

The West Indies team that emerged post the WSC were to dominate world cricket for nearly a decade and a half as they possessed a conveyor belt of fast bowlers and some brilliant batsmen. When playing in the WSC tournament, the West Indies team under Sir Clive Lloyd embraced all the traits required to be at the top of their game—attributes such as hard work, supreme fitness and playing as a team were added to their natural talent. They were an irresistible force that decimated opposition teams at home and away.

The Reasons for the Demise of West Indies Cricket

However, from around 1995, West Indies cricket has gone from bad to worse to pathetic and suffered the ultimate ignominy of not qualifying for the 50 overs World Cup in India that is currently being played. Initially, the decline was accepted and explained as a consequence of the retirement of some great players. For sure, all teams go through this cycle when several top performers retire more or less at the same time, and the newcomers need time to gain experience and confidence.

Despite the impatience of the supporters, it is generally accepted that the team will not perform at the same level during this rebuilding period. However, in the case of West Indies, even after nearly three decades of waiting, the team is a shadow of what it used to be, unable to compete with most other teams, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The team that produced some of the world’s best batsmen and bowlers are now struggling to beat even the minnows.

The purpose of highlighting the decline in West Indies cricket and its inability to regain its former glory days is to understand whether Sri Lanka cricket, too, is afflicted with the same malaise. Whilst our team never dominated the world stage as the West Indies did, it is not incorrect to say that we could hold our own, particularly when playing at home in both test and limited-overs cricket. We were also successful and competitive in limited-overs cricket, even when playing overseas, and our record at the 50-over World Cup tournaments between 1996 and 2011 (except 1999) was excellent. Even in the T20 format, we were champions once and runners-up twice.

During this era, between 1996 and 2015, Sri Lanka produced several outstanding cricketers who could have walked into any other team. What was particularly significant and impressive was that they were excellent in both the test and limited over formats. They were masters of their craft, could consistently compete at the highest level, and were household names even overseas.

In the case of the West Indies, the following have been identified as reasons for the decline in their performance.

· · Loss of interest and passion among the younger generation, who prefer other sports or entertainment

· Lack of unity and cohesion among the players from different islands and territoriesUndoubtedly, some of the above also contribute to the decline of Sri Lankan cricket.

Murali Blames the Cricketers and Not the Coaches

I recently watched a video interview of Murali, which was actually televised about four years ago. He was absolutely adamant that Sri Lanka cricket would not be as successful as in the previous 20 years and that the fault lay with the players and not the coaching staff. He said that he could not teach a bowler to bowl the doosra” nor for Sangakkara to teach a player how to bat other than help them with the mental side of the game.

I believe he meant that the players need to constantly work hard by practising to develop their game. Murali and Sanga would have undoubtedly spent countless hours perfecting their game. Despite the type of financial rewards on offer for the current crop of cricketers, there is a question mark whether most of them want to do the hard yards to be consistently excellent in their game.

Fitness and Kohli’s Example

When one considers how often our fast bowlers are injured, there is a valid question to pose on their commitment towards fitness. A team without their best fast bowlers should not expect to perform well, or when a bowler breaks down after bowling a few overs, the team is disadvantaged during the match.

One only needs to watch some of the videos on Virat Kohli to understand the endless hours he works out in the gym, the strict diet he adheres to, and hours of practice he puts in the nets to fine-tune his game. His fitness is a major contributory factor in him being a master of the chase in one-day matches where, for the most part, he eliminates the risky boundary shots as he is more than prepared to run the singles, the two and the threes until the finishing line is close. No wonder he has been a top player for over a decade.

The physique of Charitha Asalanka, a promising batsman, indicates that he needs to lose several kilos. I remember being enthralled by Avishka Fernando’s batting at the 2019 World Cup but also lamenting how overweight he was. Since then, he has not been a permanent national team member because of his excess weight. As to why players as young as Aslanka and Avishka struggle with their weight and fitness is a concern, and does it reflect the lack of desire to set high standards for themselves?

Humiliated by Pakistan at Home and Lessons not learnt

Not many gave much importance when our test team was humiliated by Pakistan in July 2023. We lost the test match by innings and 220 runs. Our bowlers could claim only four wickets whilst conceding over 550 runs, whilst, on the same docile pitch, our batters were bowled out in both innings for scores less than 200. That this demoralizing defeat suffered when playing at home should not have been forgotten. At least to me, the loss reflected the depths to which our cricket had sunk. As previously mentioned, in most teams, the core of the test batting lineup also makes up the core of the limited-overs batting, at least in the 50 overs game.

Atrocious Fielding and Do We Need a Consultant Coach

Our fielding has long been atrocious. We have not seen any improvement and have the worst record in terms of the number of catches dropped by a team in the World Cup. Many of the dropped catches have cost the team plenty of runs and have significantly contributed to some of the losses. Even our ground fielding is embarrassing, with players constantly fumbling and diving over.

Fielding requires good anticipation and athleticism, both of which are lacking among our players. In my view, it is a facet of the game that requires considerable practice where talent is not a prerequisite, and our poor performance can only be attributed to a lack of hard work.

The coaching staff have come in for severe criticism. Even the great Mahela Jayawardena has not been spared. The reason why the team requires a Head Coach and Consultant coach is inexplicable. As Murali stated, there is a limit to what a coach could achieve with international cricketers. In that context, a question needs to be posed on why there is so many support staff, although most teams seem to have embraced the concept of having specialized coaches for batting, bowling and fielding in addition to the Head Coach.

A Stink at the Sri Lanka Cricket Board

Ever since Ana Punchihewa was unceremoniously deposed soon after we won the World Cup in 1996, a group of people have got themselves elected to the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) through a less-than-desirable election process. It would not be wrong to say that most have not been interested in developing Sri Lanka cricket and have used their positions for financial gain and perks.

We certainly need to clean the stables and ensure that persons of proven integrity are appointed to SLC. It would be necessary to have a combination of former cricketers like Mahanama, Sangakkara, Mahela, Vass and a few good administrators from the private sector to be part of the Board.

We must ensure that the Minister of Sport (whoever it may be) has no authority over SLC. It is absolutely ludicrous that the Minister’s approval is needed to select players. It is quite amusing that 225 members of parliament have allocated a day to debate the current state of affairs of the SLC and propose remedial action when most of them have overseen the nation’s economic collapse over several decades. Talk about people throwing stones from glass houses.

Courtesy Ceylon Today

Among all the things the environmentally-conscious superhero, Chairman of the Central Environmental Authority, was supposed to protect, his bank account was not one of them.

He was caught red-handed in a dramatic arrest last week when he traded his green cape for what would have been some big bucks (and greener’ pastures) as he was accepting a bribe to the tune of Rs 10 million in return for illegally facilitating a permit for an individual.

The Chairman, who was arrested along with two others, had promised to facilitate an environmental clearance permit for refining the discarded fuel removed from ships. Fortunately, the businessman seeking an annual environmental licence for the project reported the shady deal to the Justice Minister and brought the whole matter to light.

Moreover, the CEA Chairman is said to have allegedly demanded seven million rupees initially, to issue the licence before adding a few more millions to the sum he was demanding when the businessman delayed bribing him. According to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, the other two suspects were arrested for aiding and abetting –  perhaps what he calls being eco-friendly – the Chairman.

Isn’t it quite ironic that he was calling for efforts to clean up the environment when he is a pollutant himself? What is unfortunate is, that such news of corrupt State officials is not surprising anymore and is almost expected. Every other day we hear some news or other to suggest or indicate how corrupt State officials are and the incredibly pathetic levels they go to, to ensure they exploit their positions and connections of power. Imagine the extremely sad situation our country is in when even those who are entrusted with safeguarding the environment, only look to, by hook or by crook, financially safeguard themselves.

This again boils down to why our system on the whole is failing so badly and why political appointments further jeopardise our future. This incident also highlights, once again, that such appointments will only disappoint the public because finding officials who truly serve with integrity is like finding a needle in a haystack. More often than not, political appointees end up doing no good to anyone and engage in many under-the-table deals to, of course, only benefit themselves and their cronies. Thus, inefficiency and corruption are inevitable in the departments they head. Moreover, the frequent changes in political leadership are bound to destabilise any sense of stability and continuity in policy implementation which endangers and nullifies work, time and money previously put into policy research and government initiatives.

No surprise, the public services in Sri Lanka are in an atrocious state of affairs because of officials like the Chairman in question. The public can hardly get anything done with due procedure in a reasonable time because officials down to the grassroots such as the Grama Niladhari also look to make money, even if it is in a few hundred rupees, just to carry out their job – nothing more.

Can you blame the public who resort to pulling strings to get a job done in a government institution because they just can’t seem to be successful after spending days and weeks in government offices being bounced around from department to department by competent workers, who it turns out, have no method to their madness! In the end, you’ve just wasted valuable hours of your life you’ll never get back for a job that is eventually magically done, without exaggeration, in five minutes and one phone call. 

Government decisions, wrong policymakers, corrupt institutions, unscrupulous officials, eroded public trust in government institutions and the present and future of the country, all come to a bottleneck – which further boils down to why we don’t feel safe in our own country. And that’s why it is unfair for the government to raise eyebrows and throw shade at the public who chose to leave seeking better opportunities elsewhere because they are not being served with all fairness. However, we will give it to you for holding these individuals accountable for their actions because, as we all have seen, it is not the easiest to hold individuals accountable in this land and sometimes it seems too much to ask even for heinous crimes committed – but in the bigger picture, there is so much to do and so little time.

චන්ද්‍රසේන පණ්ඩිතගේ විසිනි 

ගරු ජනාධිපතිතුමණි, ගරු අග්‍රාමාත්‍යතුමණි, පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්රිවරුණි,

, ස්වයංව නැගීසිටීමට වෙරදරණ, ජේෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ගේ ගැටළු වලට සාධාරණ පිලියමක් ලබාදෙන්න. .
ජීවිතයේ අවසාන භාගයේ දිවි ගමන ගෙවන ජේෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියා,වර්තමාන සමාජක්‍රමය තුල ඉතා අසීරු තත්වයකට ඇද වැටෙමින් සිටින බවත්, ඔවුන් සම්බන්ධව කිසිවෙකුගේ අවධානය යොමු නොවන බවත් ඔවුන්ගේ මතය වී ඇත.

එදා දුර දර්ශිව සිතා බලා සිය සැන්දෑ දිවිය නිදහසේ ගෙවීමේ අරමුණින් මුදල් එකතු කොට රාජ්‍ය බැංකුවලත්, පෞද්ගලික බැංකුවලත් ස්ථාවර ගිණුම් ආරම්භකර ඉන් ලැබෙන පොලියෙන්, දෛනික කටයුතු සිදුකරගෙන ගිය ඒ ජේෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ට, එදා 18% පොලියක් ලබාදුන් අතර අද එය 9% ක පොලි අනුපාතයක් සේ ගෙවීම නිසා,ඔවුන්ගේ ආදායම හරි අඩකින් කප්පාදු කර ඇති බව ඔබට පැහැදිලිවෙනු ඇත.

මේ ජේෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියා යනු අතීත ශ්‍රී ලංකාව අභිවෘද්ධිය සඳහා කටයුතු කල, වර්තමාන ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ අභිවෘධිය වෙනුවෙන් කටයුතු කරන පරපුරේ මව්පියන් වන අතර, ඔවුන් මේ සැන්දෑ කාලය තුලදී, මේ රටේ අනාගත පරපුර වෙන සිය මුනුබුරු මිනිබිරියන්ට රැකවරණය ලබා දෙමින් වර්තමාන පරපුරට සිය කාර්යන් නිදහසේ කරගෙන යාමට ඉඩ සැලසීමද මේ රටේ සංවර්ධනය වෙනුවෙන් ඉටුකරන කාර්යේම එක කොටසකි.

එබැවින්, අතීතයේදී රටේ සංවර්ධනයට දායකවූ, වර්තමානයේ ජාතික සංවර්ධනය උදෙසා පරපුරක් නිර්මාණය කර, ඒ කටයුතු කරගෙන යන වර්තමානයට ඉඩකඩ සලසමින් අනාගත පරපුරද සුරකමින් ගොඩනගන මේ ජේෂ්ඨ පුරවැසියන්ගේ ස්ථාවර තැන්පත් මුදල්  සඳහා ලබාදෙන, 18% සිට 9% දක්වාවූ අගයකට අඩුකළ ඒ පොලිය 21%ක අගයක් දක්වා ඉහල දමන ලෙස ගෞරවයෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටිමු.

ස්තුතියි. .

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena asked the Sri Lankan envoys to focus mainly on economic diplomacy as the country needs the cooperation of other countries for rapid economic progress of the country.
Addressing the 10 newly appointed Sri Lankan envoys at the Temple Trees today (Nov 13), he urged them to showcase Sri Lanka’s ability to interact with the rest of the world, take new initiatives to attract investments and joint ventures.
Our focus is to increase trade and investments. While engaging with host governments and premier business houses, leading investors and chambers of commerce and industry, you have to promote Sri Lanka as an attractive destination, not merely as a tourist destination but mainly as a place suitable for investment and trade, he said.
Sri Lanka can rapidly grow its own economy by closely engaging with other nations. It is also a pragmatic response to the shift in the world economy towards Asia, particularly the economic rise of China, India, and ASEAN,” he said.
The Prime Minister advised new envoys to interact with Sri Lankan expatriate organizations in host countries and important friends of Sri Lanka in those countries to build new network to promote bilateral ties. He stressed the need for strengthening ties with the Spanish speaking world, especially Latin American countries through accredited ambassadors of those countries.
The newly appointed Heads of Mission are Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne (Pakistan), Air Marshal Sudharshan Pathirana (Nepal), former Foreign Secretary Kshenuka Senewiratne (India), Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne (Cuba), Satyajit Rodrigo (Italy), Madurika Weninger (Egypt), Dharamapala Weerakkody (Bangladesh), Senerath Dissanayake (Singapore) and Chandana Weerasena (Belgium and the European Union). New High Commissioner to UK, Rohitha Bogollagama could not attend due to prior engagement,
MP Yadamini Gunawardena, Secretary to the President Anura Dissanayake, Advisor Sugeeswara Senadhira, Additional Secretary of Foreign Ministry Mohammad Jauhar and Director General Wijayanthi Edirisinghe were also present during the meeting.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

•     The procession of the Sacred Omniscient Relics of Deegawapiya Stupa and the Crest-Gem to the ancient Buddhist shrines in Kirama, Mulkirigala, Kasagala, Kataragama, Tissamaharama and Lunugamwehera.

The relics unearthed from the Deegawapiya site during the excavations and the Crest-Gem which are in exposition around the island to provide the devotees with an opportunity to pay their homage were brought to the ancient Buddhist shrines in the Ruhuna area.

The public veneration of the Sacred Omniscient Relics of Deegawapiya Stupa and the Crest-Gem commenced from Kelaniya Raja Maha Viharaya on November 30, 2023 coinciding with Nikini full moon poya day and it has been scheduled for the 150-day-long exposition for veneration of the island-wide devotees.

‘Deegawapiya’ graced by the Lord Buddha is renowned as one of the sacred ancient religious sites among the sixteen places of worship of the Buddhist devotees and the mega Stupa was built by King Saddhatissa, by depositing precious ‘Nail Relics’ of Lord Buddha. The Deegawapiya Stupa had been damaged due to various foreign invasions in the past and therefore, restoration works of the Stupa are presently underway to bring it back to its former glory.

Arrangements have been made for the exposition of these revered articles at the Siththam Gallena Rajamaha Viharaya, Kirama from November 15 morning to 17 morning, at Mulkirigala Rajamaha Viharaya from 17 to 18 evening, at Kasagala Rajamaha Viharaya from the evening on 18 to the morning on 21, at Katharagama Kiriwehera from morning on 21 to morning on 24, at Thissamaharama Viharaya from morning on 24 to morning on 27 and at Lunugamvehera Ancient Temple from morning on 27 to morning on 30. Hence, the devotees have the opportunity to support this meritorious act by making financial contributions to the restoration project while worshipping the Sacred Omniscient Relics and Crest-Gem of the Deegawapiya Stupa.

The restoration work is funded by the ‘Deegawapiya Aruna’ Fund which is generously supported by philanthropists. Your generous donations can be credited to the ‘Deegawapiya Aruna’ account at Bank of Ceylon, Taprobane Branch account number – 86860000. Further, devotees can contribute to the Deegawapiya restoration by paying Rs. 200.00 for a brick and Rs.1200.00 to complete cubic feet of the Stupa.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Captain Anand Mukundan who joined the mission as Defence Adviser (DA) to the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, called on the Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne at the Defence Ministry in Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte today (Nov 14).

Gen. Gunaratne warmly received the newly appointed DA on arrival and held a cordial discussion on matters that were mainly focused on a bilateral nature. On this occasion, the Defence Secretary extended his warm wishes to Capt. Mukundan on his recent appointment.

Military Liaison Officer of the Defence Ministry, Maj. Gen. Dhammika Welagedara was also present at the occasion.

Courtesy The Daily Mirror

COLOMBO (Daily Mirror) – The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) rebuked Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) for following weak processes in performing its activities.

It was highlighted that these weak processes had led to the current crisis in cricket.

COPE Chairman Ranjith Bandara made this observation after SLC was probed by the committee. 

MP Bandara made this declaration several times during the probe.

It was revealed that SLC officials have visited Australia to view the T20 World Cup matches without proper approval by the Minister in charge of sports. It was revealed by COPE Member Dayasiri Jayasekera during the meeting that the Ministry secretary has no right to approve the SLC officials visit to Australia.

Accordingly, it was decided to call former Secretary of Sports Amal Harsha de Silva before the COPE as the approval had been given by him.

SLC Chairman Shammi Silva accepted that some persons who were taken on the Australian tour were not his relatives.

SLC also accepted that a senior DIG was appointed as an advisor but no payments had been made. 

We did hire a DIG but we did not make any payments to him as he declined the offer,” the SLC Chairman said. 

However MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the situation is questionable as the DIG has declined the offer after a payment had been made.

The performance of the medical panel which attends to players was also questioned by COPE member Jayasekera who said injury of one player had been persistent for seven years and the panel had failed to attend to it. He then wanted chairman of the Selection Committee Promodaya Wickremesinghe to comment on the matter.

Wickramasinghe therefore accepted that injuries suffered by the players had led to the recent debacle at the World Cup this year. 

We have experts in various spheres of medicine in our medical panel,” SLC CEO Ashley de Silva replied.

COPE will summon SLC for three more days for a continuous probe starting from November 24 2023.

By YOHAN PERERA Courtesy The Daily Mirror

COLOMBO (Daily Mirror) – Those who are not fit to be MPs can be removed once the proposed Parliament Standards Bill is enacted, Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said yesterday.

The Minister came up with this remark after arguments flared up in the House after SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri raised a privilege issue on an allegation against him by MP Samanpriya Herath on an earlier date.

We will present the Standard Bill to Parliament soon, but before that Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardene will speak to party leaders on this. The Prime Minister will talk to the party leaders on the Bill and will make necessary amendments to it,” the Minister said.

Also courts have declared that the law which existed during the time of Lord Soulbury and its provisions for the expulsion of any MP from the House are still in force,” he added.

MP Wijesiri who raised the privilege issue said an indictment was issued against him for an assault.

“MP Hearth talked about an assault case but that was a case of political victimization. However, I must say that MP Herath had rented the MPs quarters given to him from the Madiwela MPs quarters. Also he said MP Hearth had entered a poultry farm which does not belong to him and had eaten the birds,” he said.

Prove your allegations. They are nothing but false,” he said.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardene also told MP Wijesiri that he will have to prove all the allegations he had made. 

MP Wijesiri earlier accused the Speaker for failing to take action on the harassment he had suffered in the hands of some officials in Parliament. He also accused those in his own party for failing to defend him.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Raids and Special Investigations Unit of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has sealed the storage facility owned by a leading sugar importer in Sri Lanka, for hoarding over 250 metric tonnes of sugar.

The relevant storage facility was sealed during a series of raids carried out by the CAA in the Peliyagoda and Grandpass areas on Tuesday (14 Nov.), the CAA reported.

Another wholesale distributor was also sealed off by the CAA during these raids, on account of hoarding 5 metric tonnes of sugar, for the purpose of selling the relevant stock of sugar for a higher price than that listed in the recently introduced Maximum Retail Price (MRP).

The investigating CAA officers had also taken measures to file a court case against the said wholesale distributor, on charges of selling sugar at prices higher than the MRP.

Courtesy Adaderana

The Supreme Court today (Nov.14) ruled that former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa and several others are responsible for the economic crisis that Sri Lanka is grappling with.

On that account, the country’s highest court’s judge bench determined that the three Rajapaksa brothers as well as former Central Bank governors Ajith Nivard Cabraal and Prof. W.D. Lakshman, former Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle, former Presidential Secretary P.B. Jayasundara and the Monetary Board members of the Central Bank have violated the fundamental rights of the people.

The ruling was delivered based on the majority view of the five-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya in respect of two fundamental rights (FR) petitions filed by the former head of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chandra Jayaratne and several others.

The petitioners had sought an investigation into the state officials responsible for the economic crisis.

Garvin Karunaratne

War is War where lands are conquered. People are essentially a disposable quantity. That is what we are seeing in Gaza, intense bombing reducing homes to rubble where the occupants are buried. People being displaced. That is Today’s civilized order to clear out Gaza for occupation!

We are also seeing the indomitable human spirit of people scraping the bombed rubble to unearth human beings carrying them, rushing them in ambulances to hospitals which are also being targeted. The people do this without fleeing for their safety.

Long ago, in the Nineteen Fifties I was in charge of the Southern Province of Sri Lanka for administering paddy purchases and rice milling. Purchasing paddy from producers only at a premium price , paying almost double the world market price, not like today when we buy from anyone from traders too: I had to visit cooperatives purchasing paddy to ensure that we purchased only from genuine producers. . On my visits to Galle, in the hinterland, I spotted people with Negroid kinky hair. I wondered how this came about. In those non internet days I pored over history books and found that the British rulers at that time had concentration camps in that area for Boer prisoners. Boers wee incarcerated in camps in South Sri Lanka!

Britain fought with Two Boer Republics, Boers were mercilessly killed, captured and sent to concentration camps all over. It is on record that British troops were ordered to destroy farms and slaughter cattle”. Finally the Boers surrendered in 1802. Pretoria of today is in this Boer area.

The European Counties and even their proxies- gangs of criminals marched on to the Americas, to South Asia and Africa and conquered. They started nibbling in various parts of Africa and started fighting among themselves. To stop this infighting the Chancellor of Germany Bismark summoned all countries including America and parcelled out Africa among the European countries. That was the Treaty of Berlin of 1884

In Egypt , it is on record that, Lord Salisbury advised Lord Cromer to starve out the enemy . The Army routinely utilized tactics which included offering no quarter to surrendering wounded troops as well as the destruction of towns, villages and food stores”…” the Battle of Firket on 7/6/1896 was conducted in an uncompromising manner as many of the opposition was only waiting for the opportunity to surrender and as they came out with hands in the air they were duly put in the bag. These practices were undertaken in masse in the final battle in Omduruman, which was not a battle but an execution.”(GWStevens: With Kitchener to Khartoum. 1999)

Turn to France that controlled Algeria from 1830. It is said that the conquest caused the death of 400,000 to 1.5 million people. 2 million Algerians ended in concentration camps.

India was not conquered by the British. It was the East India Company that conquered India and ruled it for around half a century till the Indians in the Army rebelled in 1857. This Mutiny killed some 800,000 . It is on record, that ”Apart from hanging mutineers, the British had some blown from cannons- sentenced rebels were tied over the mouths of canons and blown to pieces when the canons were fired” It was that gruesome! It ended with the British taking control of India from the East India Company.

Take Germany. The Germans took control of the East African countries of Tanzania, Ruwanda and Burundi. Tanzanians rebelled in the Maji Maji Rebellion in 1905 to 1907, when 300,000 people were killed to restore order. The German troops systematically wiped out villages and people”. It is on record that the German troops, systematically wiped out villages and fields.” Germany lost its colonies when it was defeated in the World War I, under the Treaty of Versailes.

Germany’s mass killings of Nigeria’s Heroro and nama people is dubbed the first genocide of the 20 th Century.”

Sri Lanka came under the Portuguese from around 1525, when they controlled parts of the Western coast. For around a hundred years there was constant warfare between the Sinhala rulers and the Portuguese. It was eternal warfare, where the Potuguese had to retreat to their forts and wait till reinforcements came through ships.The Portuguese had guns while the Sri Lankans fought with bows and arrows.

The Portuguese were conquered by the Dutch and the Dutch in turn by the British who conquered the entire country by 1815. In 1818, the Uva Wellassa people rebelled and the rebellion spread to around half of the country. The rebellion was quelled with massive force. Governor Brownrigg ordered Major General McDowell to kills every man woman and child in the Uva Wellassa Districts and destroy all tanks and everything – fruit bearing trees and cattle- It was a scorched earth policy. The tanks- water holding reservoirs that were ten destroyed have not been totally repaired even till today.

That is the CONQUEST of the CIVILIZED World that we are seeing with our eyes today in Gaza

And the historic result:

As HanzaAlavi says:

Colonial plunder permitted Britain to balance its resource deficits. For some 200 years a river of flood to this country from such places as Ireland, India and the Caribbean.”(The Guardian8/6/2009)

In the first eight years of the East India Company’s rule, 5.9 million pounds were extracted out of Bengal. Between 1757 and 1815 Pounds 100 million went from India to Britain.”(How the IMF Sabotaged Third World Development by Garvin Karunaratne

And Today it is the IMF that rules the Third World by imposing its Structural Adjustment Programme. Before 1977 Sri Lanka never had a foreign debt. The foreign debt of Sri Lanka, which was $56 billion when President Gotabhaya left, is far more today as we yet follow the IMF’s dictates. It is The Financial Missiles of the IMF that made sovereign countries indebted”.(Ibid) With countries becoming indebted comes in poverty and hunger, and hunger causes death.

Garvin Karunaratne.

13/11/2023

e-Con e-News

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!

e-Con e-News 05-11 November 2023

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An armed federal marshal was ordered to guard the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where that Hamilton ‘debt’ charade is also being played out between a ‘vulture fund’ and the governments of the US, England & France – to hoodwink Sri Lanka. The guard is not there to protect Sri Lankan interests. The Manhattan Court was host to a hearing on November 9 – set for a Friday, so as to be buried in the weekend news – involving the largest US bank JPMorgan Chase. JPMC is accused of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring – The Lolita Express. The plaintiffs say they were abused as minors to entrap top West Asian, Arab and Muslim leaders (and Israelis too?), who were all sextaped. ‘Both the New York Times & Wall Street Journal – the 2 newspapers previously active in reporting the case – have failed to share this latest intrigue with their readers’ (see ee Media, There’s a News Black-out on the Strange Doings in the JPMC / Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case in Manhattan).

     In an email dated Oct 24, 2023 to leaders of countries in West Asia, one of the girls abused (surnamed Ransome!) writes: ‘No matter how hard the US & Israeli Administration deflect that they indeed have broken the Geneva Convention and have been committing war crimes globally for decades… We all know that the material Epstein filmed for both governments has been used to broker deals in their favour for years.’

     ‘Another major Epstein tie to Israel was Epstein’s largest financial benefactor, Leslie Wexner, the former CEO of the retailing conglomerate that previously owned Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc, and numerous other retail chains… In 1998 Wall Street Journal reported that Wexner was part of the ‘Mega Group,’ a loosely organized club of 20 of the nation’s wealthiest & most influential Jewish businessmen’, their charitable interests often a cover for lobbying activities on behalf of Israel.’

     We wonder how this sexual bribery has worked to control Sri Lanka’s leaders to stay faithful to the colonials (all those manors in homonymous Kent!), prevent industrialization, and promote a fake garment ‘industry’. ee 10 August 2019 noted ‘Epstein funder Les Wexner, owner of Victoria’s Secret was linked to Brandix & MAS Holdings. Unsurprisingly, the Island story reporting this: ‘Brandix & MAS Holdings link to Epstein funder Les Wexner, owner of Victoria’s Secret’ has been erased (island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=113895).

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• Cricket & Gaza & Victoria’s Other Secrets – With all the hullabaloo about the Sri Lankan cricket team being instructed to lose vital matches to India, with charges that the International Cricket Council (originally conceived as the Imperial Cricket Council) ‘has now become the property of India’. Some add this merely reflects Sri Lanka itself becoming another slice of Gujerati (aka Gujju! Good Jew?) real-estate.

     As to why the emotional ups and downs of a country has been tied to another bookmaker’s circus, is obvious. It is not cricket being played. We are being played.

     The so-called Balfour Declaration, which declared England’s plan in 1917 for a Jewish homeland on Palestine’s lands, made us recall the Balfour of the Mahaweli boondoggle. Sri Lanka was anointed with Test Cricket Status in 1981 in exchange for an exorbitant Mahaveli Dam contract given to English multinational Balfour Beatty, whose chairman Don Holland, was an MCC board member, and English PM Margaret Thatcher’s chief fundraiser. Balfour Beatty insisted Sri Lanka’s water was not pure enough for their employees, and had to import English water (London wastewater reprocessed 7 times!). Add that to the so-called debts Sri Lanka supposedly owes! Don Holland was chair of England’s Overseas Projects Board (OPB), made up of traders and industrialists, which directed the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), that ran the Overseas Development Administration (see ee Aug 2023, Pt 3&4).

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• Professors Turn Kanganies – Maybe these English ‘overseas developers’ could tell us about these Sri Lankan workers paying enormous prices for visas, posing as students to qualify for greener (& icier) pastures abroad. Be forewarned. You may have to learn how to ‘spook the bots’. Earlier, such ‘students’ avoided going to classes at university so they could also work and earn, while cramming. To make them more dependent, universities now use an electronic online code, auto-generated when each student attends a lecture. An online site marks their attendance. Students can’t therefore share codes with anyone outside class because they have to do this physical register marking as well. Immigration officials apparently warn such ‘students’ via email, if they haven’t attended lectures. They then cancel visas and deport students (after stealing their fees). Students who do favors for their teachers (sexual as well as slave labor, where their research is stolen) may get perks such as jobs inside the university, and are also given connections to companies! It is no secret that many universities in the US, Canada, England & Europe have become solely dependent on this student-worker trafficking.

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• So what has brought us to this pass, where we are being forced to traffic workers and sell off vital lands, etc? Midst all this, the chief financial ‘Apache’ Indian agent also flew down to inspect strategic & mineral-rich Trincomalee and promote the Indo-SL FTA this week, while hailing ye olde ‘Buddhist connection’ and recalling 200 years of the colonial exploitation of Indian migrant workers brought to help rob the lands of Sinhale. They ignored the kangany role the colonial Indian government and their local sahibs have played in prolonging the plantation system, and instead want their merchants to target the ‘high-growth’ energy and pharmaceutical sectors.’ – not to develop Sri Lanka’s industries in those areas.

     Indian Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman joined the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce recent India-SL Business Summit in Colombo, calling for ‘a new economic model focused on export-led investment and tourism, and facilitating the private sector as the engine of growth’! Isn’t this exactly what was called, ‘colonialism’?

     Sitharaman was joined by Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bagley, Confederation of Indian Industry President Designate Sanjiv Puri, and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry President Subhrakant Panda, ’Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerate’ John Keells’ CEO and Ceylon Chamber Vice Chair Krishan Balendra, MAS Holdings Chair Mahesh Amalean and Brandix Apparel Ltd CEO Ashroff Omar and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chair Duminda Hulangamuwa – ‘industry leaders’ – who ‘echoed the Ceylon Chamber’s views on pursuing an export-led strategy, begging Sitharaman’s industrial bosses to ‘increase the quota on garments to India’ (see ee Sovereignty,  Ceylon Chamber leads private sector engagement at India-SL Business Summit).

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• This ee is therefore incited to reproduce ‘Advocata’s Privatisation Campaign: the Anti-Social Market Solution‘ by Dhanusha Pathirana, which demolishes (the arguments, at least, of) the well-greased privatization juggernaut. Pathirana points out that the US and England are lucky that US-funded Advocata never advised them when they were trying to industrialize! It is an irony that the vulture fund is named Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton, the foremost promulgator of US industrialization, notably quipped, ‘Don’t do as the English say, do as they do!’

     We also reproduce ‘Sri Lanka’s Debt Trap & the Vultures’ by English economist Michael Roberts. Roberts suggests the ‘vulture fund’ Hamilton Bank lawsuit against Sri Lanka is yet another tag-team ploy by the US, England and the EU to corner Sri Lanka. Roberts adds, commercial lenders control at least 50% of Sri Lanka’s debt. China has been demanding that these capitalist lenders including the World Bank and ADB etc also ‘restructure’ – which they refuse to do. The media happily ignores this demand. They prefer to smear all over us, John Bull’s dung about ‘China’s Debt Trap’. And the white-Black NGO choirs parrot the same hallelujah.

     Both Pathirana and Roberts deploy the most acute insights into Sri Lanka’s underdevelopment; perspectives rarely broadcast. Both however lament so-called ‘corruption’ as well. The issue is, if all our leaders are all brahmacharis, all we would do is keep prolonging disaster, and postponing nidahasa, if we do not industrialize.

     In a week that saw the so-called financial ‘entrepreneur’ Lalith Kotelawala pass into the next world in shady circumstances (nursed along by certain helpers). In such a system as this, almost everyone is corrupted, some of course way, way more than others. ee insists that such ‘corruption’ is the only alternative in a patronage-distribution system, where the dominating parasitic merchant and moneylender capital is blocked from transforming into industrial (machine making) capital by their multinational sponsors.

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• ee also gapes at Europe’s and possibly the world’s ‘most valuable tech company‘, ASML (aka Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography), the only manufacturer of the machines needed to make advanced computer chips. ‘This market monopoly rests on a Dutch tradition of knowledge and industrial policy’ (see ee Focus, The Tradition of Knowledge behind ASML – Samo Burja). The US is preventing China’s access to such technology. The ASML chief however laments China will figure how to make it themselves, and not buy their products: Physics is the same everywhere.’

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• ee continues our examination into how the solidarity of so-called ‘international’ unions (many funding local union initiatives) have been hijacked by the NATO agenda to protect their own control over industrialization and its more capital-intensive supply chains (see ee Focus, Indian Labor Legislation & Cross-border Solidarity in Historical Context). It concludes, not surprisingly, and rather gently, that ‘the colonial effort to regulate Indian labor and laborers… often served to privilege the economic interests of the English state, its employers, and/or its workers’.

     ee has also argued before that all these so-called UN and other US/EU initiatives about ‘decent work for women’ etc, are probes to grab certain sectors of workers for their own use.

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• Finally, with all this diversionary blather about damned cricket (a horrible waste of time?), we continue our look into the Communist Party of Sri Lanka’s Alternative Program, this time on ‘Sports & Physical Education’. The CPSL points out that games such as cricket and football arose during the industrial revolution in England, developing ‘the teamwork & excellence needed by modern industry’ – cricket for the wealthy and football for the working class. Though they forgot to add, rugby for the ‘human resource professionals’ to hone their skills at bashing workers’ heads. And then there’s tennis, swimming, ballet, golf, etc, for the wannabes who hope to seduce the ruling corpulent oligarchs while they try to diet. (see ee Focus)

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• Daily FT-ICCSL-SLID webinar on ‘Expectations from the Budget 2024’ – The Daily FT-SLID-ACCA and the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) webinar with Colombo MBA Association, CIMA, WCIC, AHRP, AAT, CSSL & CA SL had its keynotes plonked by Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chair MP (& Assembly of God vote recipient) Harsha de Silva, Ceylon Chamber President and Ernst & Young (EY)’s Duminda Hulangamuwa, SL Banks Association President & Standard Chartered Bank native CEO Bingumal Thewarathanthri. The panel included MP Premanath Dolawatta, SL United National Businesses Alliance Chairperson Tania Abeysundara, Unilever’s Hajar Alaffi, EY’s Women’s Chamber of Industry & Commerce (WCIC) Chair Anoji de Silva, Hotel Association’s Anura Lokuhetty, Institute of Chartered Accountants’ Sanjay Bandara, India-SL CEO Forum Secretary and Airtel’s Ashish Chandra, Talliance Director & SLASSCOM’s Ashique Ali, PwC’s Sujeewa Mudalige, and CAL Group’s Kanishke Mannakkara. Moderated by Management Consultant Talal Rafi and ICC’s & SLID’s Dinesh Weerakkody

(ee Economists, Daily FT-ICCSL-SLID webinar today on ‘Expectations from Budget 2024’)

Contents:

Dilrook Kannangara

Mahela is correct. It is the unpalatable truth. Team Sri Lanka did play the best available players. They performed at their actual capability level (albeit 11 runs short on their batting average) and crashed out of the tournament. Based on batting averages, the achievable total in 50 overs is 257 runs. However, within 50 overs they’d concede 274 runs to the opposition. That is how the team would perform at the optimum level on an average day’s play and the outcome would be a loss. Mahela is also correct that another 30 runs on average per match would have dramatically changed the outcome. SL Team batting average was 246 runs (adjusted for matches won before 50 overs). Another 30 runs would put it at 276 which edges out the number of runs conceded to the opposition by the bowling unit which is 274 runs.

Blaming Mahela is malicious and foolish. He did his best with available talent, sacrificed his higher earnings potential elsewhere for the country and accepted the challenge when other past cricketers shied away. I commend Mahela for his courage, honesty on the matter and his down to earth approach. Lankan cricket lovers must be reasonable in our expectations. A team that qualified to play for the World Cup at the last moment after beating minnows wasn’t expected to be ranked higher than teams that automatically qualified to play in the World Cup. They were there for a reason and SL had to battle it out with minnows for a reason.

Batting statistics based on Cricinfo.com download and calculations.

Highlighted players were not in the squad. It’s assumed each player will score their average and based on their strike rate the number of balls they take to get there can be calculated. When their runs are added the total is 257 runs subject to 300 balls for all.  Extras are excluded. On the other hand, the above averages and strike rates were accumulated by playing against minnows as well. They didn’t play for the World Cup. The exclusion of extras and the higher average and strike rate advantage of previous matches against minnows are assumed to be similar.

Bowling performance was also calculated based on their strike rate (balls per wicket) and the runs conceded based on the average. Bowlers were ranked on their wicket taking ability and economy rate. Matthews is assumed to bowl only 5 overs as it relates to reality. Based on their average performance subject to 10 overs’ limit they will concede 274 runs and take 9 wickets.

Bowling statistics based on Cricinfo.com download and calculations.

However, not all is bad news for the Sri Lankan team.

Sadeera and Asalanka individually have a better ODI strike rate and average (combined) than all Sri Lankan batsmen ever played. Nissanka and Avishka Fernando (didn’t play) also have very high potential.

In the bowling department Madushanka comes at the fourth best ever Sri Lankan bowler in terms of taking wickets at an acceptable average. Maheesh Theekshana and Wanidu also come on top.

These seven (7) players have potential and others can be replaced. The sooner they are replaced the better for future prospects.

Sri Lanka’s cricketing history shows the team is resilient. Early 1980s saw the sudden end to a number of cricketers with great potential over their South African tour. Politics also played a role in disrupting cricket. However, the team came together in 1996 to win the World Cup. They also came into the Final in 2007 and 2011 after a disastrous performance in 1999 and lukewarm performance in 2003. There is no need to dwell in the past. Move on and things will fall into place!

Sugath Kulatunga

Even the United Nations is obliged to respect the sovereignty of member nations and refrains from intervening in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction. However, this principle is not respected by the ICC which has considered that action taken under the Sports Law of Sri Lanka is political interference. Suspension of the SLBDC is the suspension of the country from participating in international events conducted under the ICC umbrella. Although it is a blatant affront to the country and is alleged to have taken at the instigation of the truant SLBDC, it is necessary to find a way out diplomatically. 

The accusation made by the ICC is that the Sri Laka government is unduly influencing the administration of the game by the SLBDC. Neither the ICC nor the SLBDC has indicated instances of specific interference done by the Minister in the administration of the SLBDC. 

Indian Cricket Board (BCCI)is the strongest and most influential member of the ICC and the next meeting of the ICC to consider further action is to be held in Allahabad. What Sri Lanka could do is to use the good offices of the Indian Government and persuade the Indian Board to intervene and resolve this problem. It would be useful for a delegation from Sri Lanka visit India and brief the Indian parties on the swindles and mismanagement of the present SLBDC and the compelling circumstance for their removal and the corrective steps proposed to be taken for the benefit of the game.

The following quote from https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/BCCI-monopoly-and-judicial-review/article62119580.ece shows that even BCCI is subject to Judicial supervision. 

in holding that the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India is bound by the rigours of public law, in a landmark judgment on January 22, may well have helped steer cricket administration in the country into a new age of greater accountability. In recent years, the BCCI has suffered an enormous loss of credibility. Its management has been riddled with several cases of egregious conflicts of interest. And the Indian Premier League, organised under the Board’s aegis, has become renowned for its wanton excesses. As a result, any trust that was reposed in the Board by the public has over the last decade been completely obliterated. Viewed intuitively, the Supreme Court’s intervention certainly seemed necessary to restore institutional integrity” to the management of cricket. Counter-arguments, however, abound.”

The Constitution of the BCCI had to be approved by the Supreme Court. It is unfortunate that we do not have Judicial Activism like in India.

It is also necessary that this issue is not made a political match.

Mehjabin Bhanu – Bangladeshi culuminst, security and strategic affairs analyst, teacher

On November 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina officially opened the Matarbari port channel and lay the foundation stone of the Matarbari deep sea port. There is a plan to build a deep-sea port on 1,031 acres of land in Matarbari, Maheshkhali upazila, Cox’s Bazar, close to the Bay of Bengal coast. The Japan Development Cooperation Agency (JICA) is involved in the port’s development. The entire cost comes to 8,956 crores. JICA is set to provide a loan worth Rs. 6,742 crores. The remaining funds will be used by the government of Bangladesh. Bangladesh will change as well as the southern area if the port opens. since it will serve as South Asia’s commercial hub.

Foreign trade is growing as the nation develops. For this reason, the country’s annual rate of increase in ship arrivals is growing at a rate of more than 11 percent. Should this trend continue, 14 million TEUS of containers will be handled in 2041, with 8 thousand two hundred ships. The ports that are currently in place simply cannot handle this volume of containers and ships. Furthermore, the nation’s seaports are not even deepwater ports. Large ships are therefore unable to dock at the port. The ‘Matarbari Port Development Project’ has been designated as a priority project by the government in order to provide deeper jetty facilities for ships.

In 2009, plans to construct a deep-water port at Sonadia Island in Cox’s Bazar and, subsequently, Pira at Patuakhali were also considered. But despite several attempts, it was not feasible for geopolitical reasons. They want to invest because the Japanese study suggested that the area might become a hub for energy. When Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina travelled to Japan in 2014, she offered to invest and showed interest in Maheshkhali’s energy production. Additionally, Matarbari contributed to the building of a coal-based, 1250 MW power plant. However, in order to accommodate large ships carrying coal, a channel or jetty is required. for which a channel measuring 14 km in length, 250 m in width, and 18.5 m in depth is built. According to JICA’s research, this channel could be used to construct a deep-sea port. Deep seaport construction has been underway ever since. which will be finished in December 2026 and will formally begin tomorrow.

The Matarbari deep sea port is slated to be constructed based on the Kashima port in Japan. However, it is 2.5 times larger than Kashima Port when it comes to construction. Through the building of channels, rather than the sea itself, the port will be connected to the sea. Building breakwater dams will stop the water from flowing and keep the channel from silting up. This port will be the first to be excavated in Bangladesh.

The Malacca Strait connects the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal. China and Japan place particular importance on the Bay of Bengal. Built around the Bay of Bengal will be the massive economic infrastructure that Japan has designated as part of the ‘Big B’ (Bay of Bengal Growth Belt). For this reason, Maheshkhali’s seaport at Matarbari will be crucial.

Feeder vessels shall have the ability to anchor in the 18.5-meter-deep channel following the opening of the deep-sea port. Time and money will be saved on goods transportation thanks to it. The deep port will hold 8,200 TEUS-capable container ships when it is fully operational. Businessmen from Bangladesh will then not have to wait for their goods to be imported and exported at ports in Singapore, Colombo, and Malaysia. Large ships that are currently sending goods to Europe or America have to wait at foreign ports. Travelling to America these days takes at least 45 days. By December 2026, the port will be fully operational, and it will take only 23 days for the goods to reach America. Importing and exporting goods is possible without requiring transit. in order to save the cost of transportation by roughly 30%.

Chittagong port is 34 nautical miles away from Matarbari deep sea port. It will take two to three hours for the ship. There are 112 kilometres by road. It will take two to two and a half hours here as well. 190 nautical miles separate Payra Port from Mongla Port. As a result, cargo can be quickly unloaded from the deep-water port at Matarbari and shipped by land or sea to other ports. Ships can dock at the Chittagong port jetty with a draught of only 9.5 metres. that has a capacity of 800–2400 TEUS containers. where 10,000 TEUS containers can be accommodated at Matarbari. which is eight thousand TEUS more capacity than Chittagong port for containers.

Since gaining its independence, Japan has been Bangladesh’s principal development partner. Big-B was started in 2014 by the governments of Bangladesh and Japan. Its primary hub was decided upon as Matarbari. For this reason, a variety of infrastructure projects, such as a coal power plant, an LMG terminal, and a special economic zone, are being built in order to establish a commercial port. A significant amount of foreign investment is anticipated. This deep-sea port will emerge as South Asia’s commercial hub due to its strategic location.

The seaport of Matarbari will be transformed into an industrial hub. Trade will grow. Numerous people will find work. Revenue will rise in response to increased import and export. The nation’s “blue economy,” which includes the extraction and use of gas, oil, and other marine resources, will expand opportunities. which will result in profound adjustments to the nation’s economic structure. This deep-sea port will mark a significant turning point in the nation’s transition from a developing to a developed state.

The economy as a whole will shift once the nation’s first deep sea port terminal is fully operational. This port is accessible to China, Myanmar, Bhutan, India, and Nepal. which Bangladesh will profit handsomely in foreign exchange. Two to three percent of the country’s economic growth will come from the port.

Building a deep-sea port has long been a dream of Bangladesh. Sheikh Hasina is the one who is making Desh Ratna a reality. This marks yet another significant turning point in the current administration’s development.

by A. Abdul Aziz, Press Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, Sri Lanka.

During his last Friday Sermon (10^th November 2023) delivered at ‘Masjid Mubarak’, Islamabad, Tilford, United Kingdom, Supreme Head (Khalifa) of the world wide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad speaks of ongoing injustices against Palestinians and warns of Allah’s punishment.

He urges Ahmadis to continue prayers for Palestinians. He added superpowers seem not to care for Palestinian lives and warns of Allah’s punishment!. His Holiness said,

I want to ask for prayers for the persecuted Palestinians again. Some non-Muslims and politicians have at least begun speaking up against this oppression, albeit fearfully.

In fact, some Jews have also distanced themselves from this action and asked the Israeli government why it is tarnishing their name. Nevertheless, faint voices have begun to be raised from others as well now.

Now they say they will stop the war for four hours a day – what they are calling a ‘pause’ – so that aid can reach the Palestinians.

Only Allah knows the extent to which they will uphold this and the extent of the cruelty they will inflict upon the Palestinians during the remaining 20 hours. Only Allah knows how many bombs they will drop.

Most superpowers and politicians are not giving any importance to Palestinian lives – they have their own vested interests.

Nevertheless, these people should remember that Allah gives respite for a limited time. And that this world is not the be-all and end-all – there is another life to come. Punishment can come in this world and in the next.

We must focus on prayers. May Allah help the oppressed Palestinians and grant them salvation from these cruelties.”

Source: Al Hakam – London.

Ministry of Defence  – Media Centre

Our armed forces need to be outfitted with the newest tools and technologies possible in this dynamic and unpredictable age of conflict.

Defence Secretary General Kamal Gunaratne made these remarks while attending as the Chief Guest of the membership certificate and identity card awarding ceremony of the College of Military Engineering and Technology, Sri Lanka (CMETSL) at the Defence Ministry in Sri Jayawardenepura, Kotte today (Nov 13).

The establishment of CMETSL is a brainchild of Gen. Gunaratne. It synergizes professional collaboration between tri forces by facilitating them to work under a common platform.

A selected group of officers representing the tri-forces were honoured to receive their membership certificate and identity card for CMETSL from the Defence Secretary.

Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage, Chief of Staff of Sri Lanka Navy Rear Admiral Jayantha Kularatne, President of CMETSL Rear Admiral (Dr) Ravi Ranasinghe, Vice Chancellor of General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University Rear Admiral Dammika Kumara and adviser to CMETSL Major General Renuka Rowel (retired) were present at the occasion.

Courtesy The Daily News

While delivering the Budget 2024 speech today President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that Presidential Election and the General Election would be held next year.

Courtesy PV Magazine 

Sri Lanka’s government-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is inviting applications for the development of 1 MW to 5 MW ground-mounted solar projects – totaling 70 MW – with 20-year power purchase agreements (PPA).

The Sri Lankan government’s CEB has kicked off a 70 MW ground-mounted solar tender in the South Asian country. According to recently published tender documents, the Sri Lankan-based projects will range from 1 MW to 5 MW and be developed on a 20-year build, own and operate (BOO) basis.

The projects will be connected to existing grid substations. These are the 1 MW (AC) Kurunagala grid substation; the 2 MW (AC) Ampara grid substation; the 2 MW (AC) Habanara grid substation; the 3 MW (AC) Veyangoda grid substation; the 5 MW (AC) Kosgama grid substation; and the 5 MW (AC) Pannala grid substation. Developers must procure 22-year lease agreements for 1.21 hectares per 1 MW of land.

Projects will be awarded 20-year PPAs with a maximum tariff of LKR 34.93/kWh ($0.11/kWh).

The project’s technical requirements are not specified in the tender documents.

Applications must include a feasibility study covering costs, technical details, and environmental and archaeological impact. Projects will be selected as part of the competitive bidding” process.

The plant’s commercial operation date is expected to be roughly two years after the letter of award is issued. Deadline for applications is Dec. 19, 2023.

This tender is the third launched in the country since October. Sri Lanka recorded 714 MW installed solar PV capacity at the end of 2022, according to the most recent data published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Courtesy Gulf Today

People walk along the Pettah Market in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ReuersSri Lanka’s government projected a lower-than-anticipated budget deficit for 2024 on Monday on the back of a significant jump in revenues which are crucial to keep its bailout programme from the International Monetary Fund afloat.

The government set a fiscal deficit target of Rs2.85 trillion Sri Lankan ($8.73 billion) in 2024, or 9.1 per cent of GDP, higher than the revised 8.5 per cent of GDP in the current year. The original target for this year was 7.9 per cent.

Next year’s deficit target, however, is smaller than the 12 per cent backed by the IMF, after the fund warned of revenue shortfalls when reviewing the country’s finances as part of the $2.9 billion bailout package.

The government also projected total tax revenue at Rs4.1 trillion for 2024, sharply higher than Rs2.85 trillion in the current year, with the biggest jump coming from the goods and services tax receipts, the budget document showed.

This is a budget to build the foundation of Sri Lanka’s recovery. We cannot continue as a people who depends on others,” President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is also the island nation’s finance minister, told the parliament.

To ensure that Sri Lanka does not collapse again we have to renew and recreate our economic and political systems.”

Sri Lanka’s economy contracted 7.8 per cent in 2022, forcing it to default on its foreign debt in its worst financial crisis since Independence in 1948.

Budget expenditure has been set at a record 6.98 trillion rupees in 2024, an increase of nearly 33 per cent compared to 2023, with capital expenditure more than doubling and 450 billion rupees reserved for bank recapitalisation.

The budget deficit is lower than anticipated but if we add the allocation for bank recapitalisation the deficit increases,” said Dimantha Mathew, head of research, First Capital Research.

The island will allocate Rs3 trillion to repay international sovereign bonds in 2024 after ongoing debt restructuring talks with bondholders are finalised, Wickremesinghe said, proposing to raise Sri Lanka’s debt ceiling by 3.45 trillion rupees to 7.35 trillion rupees.

The central bank expects growth of 3.3 per cent in 2024, when the country will hold presidential elections.

The cabinet had already approved raising Value Added Tax (VAT) by 3 per cent from Jan. 1 and broadening collection.

The government has projected a primary account deficit of 0.6 per cent of GDP, slightly smaller than 0.7 per cent in 2023, with the IMF requiring the nation to reach a primary surplus of 2.3 per cent by 2025 and reduce its debt to GDP to 95 per cent by 2032.

The debt to GDP ratio stood at 113.8 per cent as of end-December.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka’s consumer price inflation rate eased to 0.8 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in September from 2.1 per cent in August, the statistics department said.

The National Consumer Price Index captures broader retail price inflation and is released with a lag of 21 days every month.

Food prices fell 5.2 per cent in September after declining 5.4 per cent in August, from a year earlier, the Department of Census and Statistics said in a statement.

Prices for non-food items, however, climbed 5.9 per cent in September after rising 9 per cent year-on-year in August.

Sri Lanka experienced record high inflation after its economy was pummelled by the worst financial crisis in decades.

But since June, its inflation has come down sharply, partly due to the statistical base effect, but also helped by a stronger rupee currency, and improved harvests.

Sri Lanka’s sovereign dollar bonds fell more than 2 cents last week, Tradeweb data showed, after authorities from the island nation expressed serious reservations” about a debt restructuring proposal put forward by international bondholders.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a debt restructuring after defaulting last year during a punishing economic crisis. The November 2025 maturity fell at the quickest pace, losing 2.45 cents as of 0946 GMT, but most of the country’s sovereign dollar bonds had lost 2 cents or more.

International bondholders sent a proposal to the government on Oct. 2 on how to overhaul its $12 billion of Eurobonds that envisaged a write-down, or haircut, on both capital and interest as well as the issuance of a so-called macro linked bond.

The plan, which was widely seen as beneficial for the country’s bondholders, saw bond chalk up some healthy gains in recent days.

But Sri Lanka’s finance ministry said in a statement dated Oct. 18 that the country was not happy with proposal.

The authorities have already expressed to the bondholders’ their serious reservations about the construct of the macro-linked bonds proposed by the group,” it said in the statement.

Separately, Japan’s top currency diplomat said one more push was needed to resolve Sri Lanka’s debt problems.

RAJENDRA PRASAD MOHAPATRA Courtesy OdishaTV

Ranatunga’s comment came days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended SLC for excessive political interference.

Former Sri Lanka World Cup winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga has blamed BCCI secretary Jay Shah for running and ruining Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

Ranatunga’s comment came days after the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended SLC for excessive political interference.

Because of the connection between SLC officials and Jay Shah, they (the BCCI) are under the impression that they can trample and control SLC,” said Ranatunga during a recent interview.

Jay Shah is running Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC is being ruined because of pressure from Jay Shah. One man in India is ruining Sri Lankan cricket. He is only powerful because of his father, who is India’s home minister,” he added.

Notably, Ranatunga is a key figure in the middle of a power tussle within the SLC. Following the debacle in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023, Sri Lanka’s sports minister Roshan Ranasinghe had sacked SLC board and installed an interim committee headed by Ranatunga.

However, the decision was quashed by Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal. The Court also restored the officials pending further inquiry after SLC President Shammi Silva moved to the judiciary.

Courtesy Adaderana

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who delivered the 2024 Budget Speech in Parliament today (13), proposed to increase Sri Lanka’s borrowing limit by Rs. 3,450 billion.

As such, the borrowing limit for the next fiscal year will be raised from Rs. 3,900 billion to Rs. 7,350 billion.

Addressing the House, the Head of State explained that bank recapitalization and external debt restructuring will require the issuance of new debt instruments with longer maturities.

Therefore, budget allocations are needed to settle the existing debt and the borrowing limit needs to be increased, he added.

Courtesy Adaderana

In the budgetary allocations for the fiscal year of 2024, the Sri Lankan government has earmarked Rs. 3 trillion for the implementation of foreign debt restructuring and settlement of international sovereign bonds.

Delivering the 2024 Budget Speech in the parliament this afternoon, President Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke on the measures the island nation has taken to bounce back from the economic crisis.

Due to the space created by the debt restructuring process, the government was able to find resources for relief measures, the Head of State added.

https://youtu.be/mOLqKzdvMzI

He pointed out that under the debt restructuring supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Sri Lanka’s public debt as a percentage of GDP is expected to go down from 128% in 2022 to 95% in 2032.

After the completion of the debt restructuring process, the overall macroeconomic stability and the stability of the financial sector will be further strengthened. We have now been able to achieve significant progress in the debt restructuring process. Key aspects of domestic debt optimization are completed.

As part of the restructuring of International Sovereign Bonds under the External Debt Restructuring process, Sri Lanka’s net debt is reduced to its present value. USD denominated new financial instruments should be issued to settle existing international sovereign bonds. Accordingly, for the settlement of existing International Sovereign Bonds, budgetary allocations are required to record the transaction in the government book of accounts.”

Courtesy Adaderana

Minister of Sports Roshan Ranasinghe has filed a motion requesting the lifting of the stay order issued by the Court of Appeals preventing the operation of the seven-member Interim Committee appointed by him for the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the relevant gazette notification issued by him in this regard.

The motion including the objections related to the relevant stay order, has been filed before the Appeals Court through Attorney-at-Law G.G. Arulpragasam.

On November 07, the Court of Appeal issued 14-day stay orders preventing the operation of the seven-member Interim Committee appointed for the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the relevant gazette notification issued by Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe in this regard, after considering a writ petition filed by the Chairman of SLC Shammi Silva.

Accordingly, the court had issued three stay orders in total pertaining to the matter: the first to prevent the gazette issued by the Sports Minister appointing the interim committee for the SLC, the second to prevent the committee members chaired by Arjuna Ranatunga from acting in their respective positions and the third to prevent the respondents including the Sports Minister from interfering the activities of the petitioner and the other officials of cricket board.

Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe appointed a seven-member Interim Committee for Sri Lanka Cricket, chaired by World Cup-winning former Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga on November 06, 2023, under the authority granted to him by the Sports Law No 25 of 1973, while the previous board was also suspended.

SLC and the Selection Committee have been under fire after the national team’s recent repeated defeats, but backlash snowballed after India demolished the Lions to register a 302-run victory in ODI 33 of the ongoing ICC World Cup.

Meanwhile the chairman of the newly-appointed Interim Committee, Arjuna Ranatunga yesterday vowed to transform the country’s cricket into a game loved by the Sri Lankan audience once again and create a group of players who are passionate about the country.

Courtesy Hiru News

In a bid to enhance tax compliance and streamline the taxation process, Sri Lanka’s proposed 2024 Budget includes several stringent measures targeting individuals and entities that fall short in fulfilling their tax obligations. The outlined provisions aim to strengthen the tax system, improve clarity, and ensure the timely submission of required documentation. Here are key highlights from the tax-related proposals:

1. Prosecution for Non-Submission of Tax Returns:

A special penal provision is set to be introduced to prosecute individuals and entities failing to submit required tax returns and information as mandated by tax officials. This measure underscores the government’s commitment to enforcing tax compliance.

2. Clarity Enhancement in Specific Sections:
Amendments will be made to Section 18, 67, and 163 to enhance the clarity of these sections’ application. The move is aimed at reducing ambiguity in the interpretation and application of these tax-related provisions.

3. Strict Submission Deadlines for Documentary Evidence:

To expedite tax audits and administrative reviews, the proposed budget introduces strict timelines for the submission of documentary evidence. Failure to submit required documentation within a reasonable period (6 months from the original date of the call for evidence for cases in Sri Lanka and 9 months for others) will result in the exclusion of such evidence during hearings at the Tax Appeals Commission.

4. Mandatory Tax Identification Number (TIN) Submission:

The budget proposes making the submission of a copy of the Certificate of the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) mandatory for various transactions, including opening a bank current account, obtaining building plan approval, registering a motor vehicle, renewing a license, and registering land or titles to land. Guidelines for compliance will be issued by the Commissioner General.

5. Income Tax Treatment on Salary Arrears:

Effective January 1, 2024, the existing tax treatment on salary arrears will be revised to alleviate excessive tax liabilities for employees. The change seeks to provide relief to individuals receiving salary arrears and ensure a fair and balanced taxation approach.

6. Value Added Tax (VAT) Amendments:

Tax Invoice Format Specification: The Commissioner General will be empowered to specify the format of the tax invoice, introducing a standardized approach to documentation.

Uniform Return Filing Frequency: An amendment will define the expression “taxable period” in section 83 of the VAT Act, ensuring a uniform return filing frequency for all taxpayers.

VAT Rate Increase: A gazette notification will be issued to implement a VAT rate increase, effective from January 1, 2024.

Encouragement for POS Machines: Registered persons will be encouraged to utilize Point of Sale (POS) machines for automated invoicing and sales recording, supporting VAT collection for goods or services.

Courtesy Hiru News

In his capacity as the Minister of Finance, President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to unveil the much-anticipated 2024 Budget to the Parliament today, marking the country’s 78th Budget Speech.

Ranil Wickremesinghe, the President stated today (13) that the Cost-of-Living Allowance of Rs. 7,800 government employees are currently receiving shall be increase to Rs. 17,800 by Rs. 10,000 from January, 2024 while presenting the budget speech.

The President further stated that this allowance will be added to the monthly salary from the month of April and that steps will be taken to pay the balance accumulated from January to March 2024 in installments within a 6-month period, starting from October 2024.

The President further stated that the monthly Cost of Living Allowance of public pensioners will be increased to Rs. 6,025 by Rs. 2,500.

It was also stated that steps have been taken to establish four new universities considering the current trends for the technical sector.

Accordingly, steps have been taken to establish Seethawaka Science and Technology University (Lalith Athulathmudali Post Graduate Institute will be incorporated to this University), Kurunegala Technology University under the Kothalawala Defence University, Management and Technology University, International University of Climate Change.

The President arrived at the Parliament premises at around 11.30 this morning to deliver the budget speech. Thereafter, the President presented the budget speech for the year 2024 at around 12 noon. This was presented as the 78th budget speech of an independent Sri Lanka.

Following the presentation of the budget speech, the President, the Prime Minister and the Ministers and diplomats joined for lunch held in the Members dining room.

According to the Appropriation Act of 2024, the total government expenditure is approximately Rs. 7,833 billion out of which Rs. 3,861 billion have been allocated.

The Second Reading debate on the 2024 Budget will extend for seven days, from November 14 to 21, excluding Sundays. The key vote for the Second Reading is slated for November 21 at 6.00 p.m.

The subsequent committee stage debate is scheduled for an extensive 19 days, spanning from November 22 to December 13, excluding Sundays. The final decision on the Third Reading of the budget for the financial year 2024 is set to take place on December 13 at 6.00 p.m.

Sri Lanka’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2024 sets an ambitious goal of raising tax revenue by 47.1%, aiming to reach 3,820 billion rupees compared to this year’s estimated 2,596 billion rupees. The official government budget document highlights that the majority of the tax revenue is anticipated to come from taxes on goods and services.

The proposed budget outlines specific targets for different categories of tax revenue. Income tax is expected to see an increase, reaching 1,080 billion rupees compared to this year’s estimated 864 billion rupees. Levies on external trade are targeted to rise, aiming for 505 billion rupees compared to this year’s 854 billion rupees.

The government also aims to significantly boost the tax on goods and services, targeting 2,235 billion rupees compared to this year’s estimated 1,376 billion rupees.

The proposed budget reflects a strategic fiscal plan, emphasizing the importance of meeting international commitments and addressing economic challenges. The government’s focus on increasing tax revenue is expected to play a crucial role in steering the country towards financial stability and meeting the conditions set by international lending institutions.

Some key Points;

10,000 in cost of living expenses allowance of government employees.

Cost of living expenses allowance for pensioners will be increased by 2500.

The percentage deducted from salary for contribution to widow and orphan pension is increased to 8%.

Distress loans are being provided to all government employees as before.

Allocations to Aswasuma program as social security schemes are increased by three times.

The monthly allowance of 2000 rupees for senior citizens will be increased to 3000 rupees.

Arrangements are being made to provide credit facilities of 30 billion rupees for small and medium enterprises.

Municipal housing of the rental base for low income earners. The collection of rent from these families will be completely stopped. And full ownership of these houses is given to them.

In the year 2024, around 50,000 families will be given home ownership in Colombo. Land and housing rights are being fully given to the people. According to this system, about 70% of the country’s population become land and house owners eventually.

Arrangements are being made to provide land rights for the construction of houses for plantation community. An amount of 4 billion is allocated as a basic step here.

600 million rupees will be allocated for the Bhimsaviya program.

Allowance for disabled and kidney patients will be increased from 5000 to 7500 rupees.

An additional allocation of 55 billion allocated to be used to restart projects that were stopped due to the economic crisis Total allocation Rs. 1,260 billion.

10 billion rupees will be allocated for upgrading public facilities in hilly areas.

10 billion rupees will be allocated for the maintenance of dilapidated rural roads.

Steps to establish four new universities.

Steps to implement a comprehensive set of education reforms.

2 billion rupees will be allocated for the maintenance of bridges, roads damaged by natural calamitie

1 Badulla is given a cardiopulmonary resuscitation unit. 300 million rupees will be allocated.

Efforts are being made to bring medical research in Sri Lanka to the level of other countries. 75 million rupees will be allocated for its first phase.

A separate agency will be set up to formulate guidelines for procurement of medicines.

500 million rupees will be allocated for imparting English language literacy.

150 million rupees are being allocated to the Sri Lanka Foundation for training courses.

A credit system through commercial banks is suggested. Once you get a job, you will be able to repay the loan.

200 million rupees will be allocated for the development of freshwater fishing industry.

>Working to increase paddy production. 2500 million rupees will be allocated.<br /><br />1.5 billion will be allocated for the development of school and provincial cricket.

200 million will be used for the next year for the Kandy Buddhist Civilization Museum.

250 million rupees will be allocated for the construction of the Bandarawela Economic Centre.

450 million rupees will be allocated for the construction of Maha Vihara University.

Another 1000 million rupees will be allocated to speed up the payment of compensation for the missing persons.

Another 2500 million is being allocated for the Lower Malwatu Oya project.

500 million rupees are given for the development of Punarin city.

250 million rupees will be provided for basic work to provide a solution to the water problem in Jaffna.

Despite the end of the internal conflicts in the northern and eastern provinces, there are still places that have not been resettled. 2000 million rupees will be allocated for that this time.

Legislation is also introduced to empower women.

Proposals to invite local and foreign investment for the construction of railway station cities in the vicinity of big cities like Pettah, Galle, Matara, Anuradhapura, Jaffna.

700 million rupees will be allocated for the establishment of Janasabha secretariats.

2 billion rupees will be allocated for the basic works of Higurakgoda International Airport.

The work on the section of the Central Expressway from Kadawatha to Mirigama will be started jointly with China.

700 million rupees will be allocated for the establishment of Janasabha secretariats.

20% of the shares of the two state-owned banks to investors.

Increases borrowing limit from Rs 3900 billion to Rs 7350 billion.

Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement with India.

Pinnawala – Kithulgala Tourism Corridor – 750 million rupees will be allocated for the 03-year project.

600 acres of land beyond the Kothmale Reservoir will be allocated to establish an International Climate Change University.

Top Spin By Suni

Nov.11th 2023 

It has finally  happened and the axe has fallen on Sri Lanka Cricket confirming everyone’s fears including the President’s that the ICC will suspend Sri Lanka’s membership.

What an ignominious shame and what an insult to a country renowned for her cricketing prowess and  flair that  goes back decades and has a World Cup win in two formats and what a sad day it is for Sri Lanka Cricket regardless of the theoy that this was induced by some of the Cricket Administers on request which by itself is implausible given the facts leading upto the suspension.

“ ICC suspends Sri Lanka Cricket with immediate effect“ headlined the decision of The International Cricket Council Board which has suspended Sri Lanka Cricket’s membership of the ICC with immediate effect and splashed around the globe.

The internal affairs of Sri Lanka Cricket undoubtedly has been closely watched by the ICC and it  comes as no surprise that the axe has fallen as recent events within the SLC Administration were definitely questionable as has been in the recent past with corruption and misappropriation rife and integrity lacking in decisions made by the top administrators where it appeared to be“ a source of income and getting rich“ for some who appear to have robbed the coffers blind as had been in other areas of Sri Lanka`s Administration in recent times much to the chagrin of the Nation so what else is new! To add to this there has been Government interference, political cronyism and jingoism at an unprecedented level;which in all probabilities has been the last straw !! and who pays for it but the cricket loving Sri Lankan public undeservedly and the pride of a Nation that once held her head high in what was achieved as a foremost cricketing nation with an impressive cricketing past..

In a statement released on Friday night, the ICC  has said that Sri Lanka Cricket had breached its obligations as a member, in particular the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and without government interference.which really is putting it mildly as far worse is purported to have taken place behind closed doors which has also sadly led to the  demise of once glorious Sri Lanka Cricket per se having to bear international ridicule and insults from many quarters especially at the ongoing World Cup for which the administrators of Sri Lanka Cricket are truly and shamefully to blame.

The ICC Board which met Friday has determined that Sri Lanka Cricket is in serious breach of its obligations as a Member, in particular, the requirement to manage its affairs autonomously and ensure that there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and / or administration of cricket in Sri Lanka.

In its statement, the ICC said the conditions of the suspension will be decided by the ICC Board in due course.The ICC Board is set to meet on November 21, after which the future course of action is expected to be ratified and clarified.

Sri Lanka is scheduled to host the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup across January and February 2024. This has now been obviously put in abject jeopardy unless some favorable resolution is made by the ICC but appears unlikely.

The Sri Lanka  team have had little to be proud of at the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, winning just two of their nine matches and finishing with four points. They sit at No.8 in the points table with three more matches to be played in the league phase.

Whatever the outcome, this appears to be a body blow Sri Lanka Cricket will take a long time to recover from unless it convinces the ICC to revoke the suspension through viable means and prompt remedial action and all good wishes towards this.

Tilak S.Fernando

Everything in this world must come to an end. This happened to Gamini Weerakoon, Journalist and former Chief Editor of The Island,” Gamini Weerakoon, who passed away on 11 November 2023 peacefully after a brief illness. I saw it, the ‘Sunday Observer.’ With deep sadness, I announce the death of the Chief Editor, who passed on Tuesday, 11 November 2023. He is surviewed by his wife Rajitha, who is also a well-known journalist and one daughter.

He was an old boy of St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia. He began his journalistic career at the Sunday Observer five decades ago. There, he served as a News Editor.

When I was living in London as a student, and I had gone through a course in Journalism, in between my studies, the Chairman of the ‘Island’ Dr Sivali Ratwatte arrived in London. He was a friend of the High Commissioner at the time, Mr. Chandra Monerawala. I received a telephone call from Mr. Chanan Monerawala at about 4.30 p.m. I was not living far away from the High Commission. I immediately went to the High Commissioner’s room. Messrs. Prema Abeysekra (brother of Karunaratne Abeysekera) was with the Charman Dr Shivali Ratwatte and the High Commissioner. With the High Commissioner’s recommendation, Dr Shivali Ratwatte spoke to me and said, I say, we don’t have a London correspondent, and why not you write to us to the ‘Island’? This resulted from my writing a middle-page article for an Indian tabloid with a picture of Chandra Monerwala about the Independence Day celebration carrying the Buddha Statue. He was the first High Commissioner to approve a Pirith Ceremony throughout the night. Before that, it was a case of consuming alcohol and chattering going on. After some time, everyone departed. Mr Chandra Monerawala was the first High Commissioner to adopt the Pirith ceremony overnight. Dr Ratwatte wanted me to write about privatisation. I told him that I was not an economist either. Then Dr Ratwatte said why don’t you contact a few banks, get some data, and write to the Island.”

This was how I began to write to the ‘Island’. Gamini gave me a column as Letter from London”. I came to Sri Lanka on holiday, and we have become friends with him ever since. When he came to London once, I took him shopping after seeing a shirt in London. He said, Why should I pay extravagantly? I can buy the same shirt at a lesser cost!”

When he retired, he worked briefly for ‘The Sunday Leader, mainly on world politics ‘and contributed numerous articles for English Newspapers. He was well-known for his persuasive editorials and columns. He was kept at A.F. Raymond’s Funeral Parlour in Borella and cremated at the general cemetery at Borella on 12 Sunday at 2.30 pm.

God called you home, and you left us peaceful memories. Your talent and memories are still with us. Although we cannot see you personally, you are always at our side, giving sound advice when you were the editor-in-chief of ‘The Island’. I can always remember you and Dr. Sivalai Ratwatte gave me a hand in Journalism.

 May you be blessed with the triple Gem

Tilak S.Fernando

W. D. Lakshman, Professor Emeritus, University of Colombo

Asoka Bandarage is known for her unconventional approach in several of her publications on development which extensively draw case study material from Sri Lanka. Her examination of the current crisis in Sri Lanka also employs an innovative analytical approach, setting it apart from most existing studies on the subject. Her willingness to depart from convention in this exercise is commendable. Notably, emerging economies like Sri Lanka are increasingly finding themselves in turmoil during this era of neoliberalism. Bandarage’s book, therefore, is a must-read for those seeking alternative methodological stances and more comprehensive perspectives on the analysis of socio-economic crises in emerging economies.

The crisis that emerged in Sri Lanka in 2022 has turned out to be of unprecedented severity, leading the country to declare insolvency and debt default for the first time in its history. At the time of the declaration of insolvency, the government reached out to the IMF for a package of measures to resolve the crisis. At the time of writing, the country has been on an IMF package for about eight months. The IMF package has brought about some changes in the appearance of the crisis. However, many of the fundamental factors, viewed from a holistic angle, that led to the crisis appear to have been further aggravated by the solutions applied. The crisis continues to take its toll on the people in numerous ways.

Most available accounts, including that of the IMF, perceive this crisis as predominantly economic and financial in nature. However, what Sri Lanka is experiencing is a multi-faceted crisis characterized by diverse causes, consequences, and processes. It encompasses not only economic and financial dimensions but also social, nutritional, and health aspects, political and democratic failures, debt-related challenges, institutional and governance lacuna, bribery and corruption allegations, and ecological concerns. Each of these aspects interacts with the others in complex ways. The remedial measures taken by the government, according to the IMF-written policy package, addressing as they do only a restricted part of the problem, have now made the crisis a very real and pressing concern for the ordinary people in the country. Regrettably, many analysts, particularly economists and financial analysts, continue to emphasize the economic, financial, and debt-related aspects of the crisis, thus neglecting other important factors of grave relevance. Some analysts bring some history into consideration in explaining the crisis, but for many of them, the relevant history does not go beyond a few years in the immediate past. Furthermore, many accounts tend to view the crisis as a fundamentally Sri Lankan phenomenon, bringing into analysis only some international influences like fluctuations in oil prices or critical commodity scarcities in the world market, failing to recognize the critical influence of holistically viewed global developments as having pushed the country into this predicament.

In this context, Asoka Bandarage’s Crisis in Sri Lanka and the World (hereafter referred to as Crisis) stands out as a refreshing and much-needed addition to the body of literature addressing the Sri Lankan crisis of the 2020s. She provides a holistic viewpoint, highlighting the multifaceted nature of the crisis and tracing its origins back to Sri Lanka’s historical evolution from colonial times. The Crisis is perhaps the only comprehensive publication written from such a holistic approach so far.

The book commences with a conceptual overview in Chapter 1, where Bandarage combines different themes that she develops in further detail in subsequent chapters. She places particular emphasis on the historical origins of the crisis. In Chapter 2, she delves into the development of the plantation economy in Sri Lanka during the colonial era. The subsequent three chapters cover the early post-Independence period (Chapter 3: 1948-77), the early phase of the post-liberalization period (Chapter 4: 1977-2009), and the period immediately preceding the crisis of the early 2020s (Chapter 5: 2009-19). In this comprehensive historical analysis, Bandarage offers a bird’s-eye view of Sri Lanka’s key socio-political and economic trends over nearly two centuries and their evolving dynamics. She underscores the global influences, originating from diverse sources and with varying degrees of impact, on Sri Lanka’s domestic economy and its trajectory. Within this historical account, Chapters 4 and 5, which cover the closest influences on the early 2020s crisis, hold particular significance.

Chapter 5 delves into the evaluation of geopolitical rivalry, neocolonialism, and political destabilization, exploring the range of international factors influencing the crisis that emerged in the early 2020s. Influences from Chinese, Indian, and U.S. expansionism into the Indian Ocean region, and interventions from international organizations like the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR). Mainstream reviews of the 2020s crisis do rarely cover as extensive a terrain as this dealing with the international political economy of the Sri Lankan crisis. Bandarage thus brings in a fresh and innovative perspective, shedding light on uncharted terrain of profound relevance to the subject under consideration. Noteworthy in this regard, is her scrutiny of the contemporary influences of the United States, through diplomatic efforts, to secure agreements signed with Sri Lanka in respect of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact, the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA), and the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).

Chapter 6 encompasses various themes that both characterize and explain the crisis. A central factor is Sri Lanka’s excessive and unbridled debt, particularly its heavy borrowings through International Sovereign Bonds. Bandarage labels this as “debt colonialism” imposed on the country. She also draws attention to the extreme income inequality and widening disparities in the country resulting from decades of neoliberalism. The adverse impact of these factors has been exacerbated by the crippling effects of COVID-19 during 2020-21 and the political turmoil following the protest movement known as the “aragalaya” against the then incumbent regime. The events set in motion by these protests, culminating in the country’s submission to an IMF program, are well-documented. The rise, during this kerfuffle, of a political leader known for his extreme right-wing views, described by Bandarage as a “long-time US collaborator” (p. 82), to the all-powerful position of the country’s presidency enabled the seamless implementation of the IMF program with minimal resistance from the Sri Lankan government.

Bandarage concludes Chapter 6 by illustrating how the cumulative events led to Sri Lanka’s collapse, not only economically but also politically, socially, culturally, and psychologically. She paints a grim picture, stating, “Forces of global financial and corporate power are not leaving any room for the survival of a local economy or a national government that can meet the needs of its people. The multifaceted crisis is leading to the demise of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, turning the country into a mere shell of a state, wide open for more external political, economic, and military exploitation” (p. 198). The situation, no doubt, appears dire, but it is worth also noting that Sri Lanka has a history of resilience in overcoming challenges and emerging from crises.

Completing her holistic analysis, Bandarage explores the ecological dimension of the crisis in her final chapter, which has been used to examine ecological and collective alternatives to neoliberal globalization. This chapter hints at some underlying optimism she shares for Sri Lanka’s future. Bandarage seeks “collective and ecological alternatives to the globalized system underlying perennial socioeconomic, cultural, and political crises, war and refugee crises, leading us to an existential crisis” (p. 204). In alignment with Karl Polanyi’s viewpoint, she argues (pp. 207-8) that allowing the market mechanism to solely determine the fate of human beings and their natural environment would result in the destruction of society. Bandarage draws inspiration from the Middle Path in Buddhist philosophy, proposing it as a non-violent alternative to extremism of all kinds (p. 211). She advocates policies guided by the Middle Path philosophy to achieve the desired ecological and collective alternatives to neoliberal globalization.

Several essential themes developed in the Crisis pertaining to the economic, financial, and indebtedness aspects of the 2020s crisis in Sri Lanka merit attention. These themes resonate with my own thinking and published work and hold significance, as they are often disregarded by independent reviewers and government advisors, both domestic and international, including those from International Financial Institutions (IFIs).

One such theme investigates the influence of extreme socio-economic inequality on the 2020s crisis in Sri Lanka. Inequality has persisted in Sri Lanka since the establishment of mercantile capitalism, i.e., the early stages of the colonial plantation economy. After gaining independence from colonial rule, there were brief spells of dominance of social democratic policies that aimed to reduce inequality. The neoliberal regime introduced in 1977 has exacerbated income disparities offsetting the egalitarian trends of the preceding decade. This trend towards increasing inequality is a common feature of financialized global capitalism, particularly under neoliberal conditions. The super-rich oligarchy in society, often evading foreign exchange regulations and income and other tax rules, acted with detrimental effects on the country’s foreign exchange receipts and tax revenues, contributing to the foreign exchange and fiscal crises of the 2020s.

The rich trading classes (including large industry owners dependent heavily on imported inputs) and those engaged in the underground economy tend to maintain very large funds offshore. The changes in exchange control laws introduced in 2017 have facilitated these practices. Bandarage describes this behaviour as “plunder” by the country’s super-rich through “intentional, dodgy invoicing and stashing the foreign exchange earnings offshore” (p. 13). She refers to a total of US$ 36.833 billion as funds so kept illegally overseas. More recently, a cabinet minister in the incumbent government mentioned an even larger sum, $53.5 billion, held illegally overseas by Sri Lankan oligarchs (see Island, 24 August 2023). Either figure can be compared with the officially reported total foreign debt of $49.7 billion at the end of 2022 (Central Bank Annual Report, 2022, pp. 185-6). Furthermore, a significant part of the fiscal deficit issue, lying behind the huge public debt crisis, can be attributed to the non-payment of substantial volumes of tax dues by the wealthiest individuals in society. Tax avoidance and evasion are widely discussed topics. Rich mercantile classes avoid paying not only income tax but also the more revenue-generating indirect taxes of VAT, Import Duty, and Excise taxes.

The next point worth highlighting here is Sri Lanka’s well-known social democratic stance in respect of social policy matters – a matter already referred to briefly. This has been the case even during the post-1977 neoliberal period in matters pertaining to parts of production, trade, and finance. In this respect, the following statement of a leading political analyst is worth citing: ” … (T)he abiding democratic ethos of Sri Lanka (…) has never succumbed to dictatorship of the right or left, despite several civil wars. … This resilient electoral democracy has demonstrated a proclivity for social welfarism. Savage capitalism has never been sustainable here, nor has a foreign policy alien to the values of nonalignment” (Dayan Jayatilleka in the Island, Oct. 26, 2023). This social ethos came to be established in the Sri Lankan political economy from as early as the 1930s. In 1931, a semi-independent governance system was set up, with a legislature (State Council) elected by the people on universal adult franchise and a Board of Ministers, three-tenths of which comprised of elected State Council members. A strong and widespread left-wing political movement, led by a group of charismatic leaders committed to Marxist thinking and practice, developed in the country from this period onwards. The principal elements of the social democratic stance in social policy, which evolved from this period onwards, was maintained even during the post-1977 neoliberal period. Key aspects of this social democratic ethos include free education, free health services, and the use of consumer and producer subsidies to support the average consumers and small-scale farmers and producers. Although changes have been introduced over time, especially following IMF programs, the social democratic ethos remains robust. This is a main reason why conventional economic solutions failed to eliminate the dual deficits and debt issues in Sri Lanka. Out-of-the-box thinking is essential to devise mechanisms that the people can accept to address these economic challenges. The IMF Extended Fund Facility of March 2023 further illustrates the challenges of implementing a stabilization package defined and drafted without giving due care to socio-political peculiarities in Sri Lanka. Policy makers and their advisers are well advised to carefully read Bandarage’s Crisis in search perhaps of useful insights into how policy processes could be modified to achieve improved results.

W. D. Lakshman, Professor Emeritus, University of Colombo