Sugath Kulatunga To Hon (Prof.) Anil Jayantha FernandoMinister of Labour- minister@labourmin.gov.lk. Dear Sir, I give below the possible worker needs that I have gathered from AI sources for the reconstruction of Gaza which will commence in the near future. It would be expedient for Sri Lanka to send our workers to be employed in the […]

Sugath Kulatunga Prior to 1977 the country had an Island wide system of paddy stores for the storage of paddy purchased by the Paddy Marketing Board under the Guaranteed Price Scheme (GPS). This well run complex was disused by the UNP government in their frenzy for privatization. The stores network was given away to loyalists […]

Sugath Kulatunga Media reports that the Sri Lanka Gem and Jewellery Association (SLGJA) has called for urgent policy reforms to accelerate growth and restore global competitiveness within the sector, aiming to once again establish Sri Lanka as ‘Ratnadeepa’ – the Island of Gems – the Jewel of Asia. In this context it is relevant to […]

Sugath Kulatunga  Sri Lanka does not possess an abundance of physical resources for large-scale industrial development but is blessed with ample human resources. It is on this comparative advantage that the country has to develop its economy. Education is the driving force with which the optimal benefit could be derived from this rare advantage and […]

Sugath Kulatunga Flaunting with doctorates has become a passionate fashion leading to musrooming of bogus doctorates. Today one can buy a Doctorate on line. A report in the Indian media has shown that an original PhD thesis can be purchased in India for 50,000 Indian rupees (about £540), with payment in installments. https://thomaslancaster.co.uk/blog/can-you-really-buy-a-phd-online/ Even a […]

Sugath Kulatunga Sri Lanka Public Service (PS) is a massive organization with 1.3 million public servants in a ratio of 1to16 members of the population. It costs the government Around LKR 1 trillion annually on salaries and approximately LKR 300-400 billion annually on pensions. As a percentage of GDP Public sector expenditure represents about 10-15% […]

Sugath Kulatunga Some time back on a private members motion in the Parliament there was a debate on the damage done to the agricultural crops done by monkeys (Toque macaque}. There was unanimity across the party divide that crop damage by monkeys has increased very rapidly and now is in a crisis proportion. It was […]

Sugath Kulatunga The scarcities and prices of Rice and coconut, plus bad weather, hammer helpless consumers. An impending shortage of salt and another depression in the Bay of Bengal loom large. The opposition is making capital of this distressing situation to blame the government for the plight of the consumers, disregarding that the government assumed […]

Sugath Kulatunga Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has made an univocal statement that  Vocational education should be a respected choice, offering a clear pathway from school to higher education while contributing directly to the economy.” It is most encouraging to note that the government is considering ‘’ vocational education to be no longer be viewed […]

Sugath Kulatunga Thursday, November 7, 2024, ECONOMYNEXT reports that – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank signed an agreement to obtain and exchange information on investigations and prosecutions of Money Laundering (ML), Terrorist Financing (TF) and related crimes in Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) and of any persons connected with such bodies. The Central Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) […]

Sugath Kulatunga The former President, RW, placed four-time bombs on the political battlefield before he left. These are the Rs 25,000 salary increase to the public service, the connectivity with India, to commence repayment of foreign debts by 2028, and the full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. The salary bomb with a […]

Sugath Kulatunga Many political pundits claim that Aragalaya was the genesis of the present radical political transformation. This assertion denies credit to the NPP for their crusade at the grassroots level over a long period, educating the masses about the misdemeanors and inefficiency of the past governments. NPP also established dedicated cadres with the masses […]

Sugath Kulatunga Sunday Times of October 06, 2024 reports that the Govt. will carry on with Ranil’s Urumaya project. The report adds that the Land Commissioner has said President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has instructed that land distribution should continue. I only hope that this report is not correct. In November last year, I wrote on […]

Sugath Kulatunga The Government is due to have discussions with the IMF team which is now in the Island and later with the IMF management in Washington. This note is to emphasise that Sri Lanka is bound only by the Letter of Intent signed by the President and the Governor of the Central Bank. It […]

Sugath Kulatunga The 2024 Presidential election has spawned 39 candidates and at least 6 elaborate political manifestos. In the previous elections where the contest was mainly between candidates the manifestos were in essay form. But the current manifestos have followed the format of Project Justification presenting a vision, objectives, strategies and action plan, sometimes under […]

Sugath Kulatunga The President RW and the leader of the opposition in their political manifestos are making extravagant promises to the people to come into power. So do the other Presidential candidates who have not so far tasted power. We cannot judge them on performance while RW and Sajith could be judged on their past […]

Sugath Kulatunga Debt on ISBs continues to be the bugbear in the economy. It is on record that the Yahapalanaya regime borrowed on ISBs 12.4 billion US dollars at high rates of interest. The financial wizards of yahapalnaya claims that these high cost funds were used to settle loans taken by the Manida government. Accoding […]

Sugath Kulatunga The attention of readers with national interst is invted to the article on LBN by Dr.Sudath Gunasekera on the very important issue of the proposal to establish mono-ehnic villages in the Plantation sector. Relevant excerpts of the report are produced below. What is worse is that while this Government treats the natives in […]

Sugath Kulatunga It is pathetic to see a majority of SLPP MPs under the delusion that President RW has performed a miracle in saving this country from the economic debacle it faced and he is the only one who can continue the recovery.  What he has done is nothing but accepting the dictates of the […]

Sugath Kulatunga On the 18 th of December 18- 2022, I wrote on LBN that President Ranil Wickremesinghe was attempting to Grow More Food by statute. The President proposed to bring in new laws to ensure food security. It never happened and we are still importing eggs from India. I emphasized that what we should […]

Sugath Kulatunga Education system in Sri Lanka has not kept abreast with the needs of the country and the developments in the fast-developing countries in the rest of the world. Countries like South Korea and Taiwan revamped their education systems around1980 to meet the demands of their economies. We have not even taken notice of […]

Sugath Kulatunga Director General EDB 1979 to 1987 It is very encouraging that all political leaders are today admitting that the only way to resolve the economic crisis is to increase exports. It is a national tragedy that the same politicians did not actively support the export drive launched by the Export Development Board (EDB) […]

Sugath Kulatunga  I agree totally with my Senior colleague at Arunachalam Hall who on 24 February pointed out on the LBN the dangers of unbridled power enjoyed and abused by the Central Bank (CBSL). They relished this privilege even before the recent IMF inspired independence. It was the mandarins of the CBSL who controlled both […]

Sugath Kulatunga I am fortunate that I started my career in the public service in the Department of Agriculture the major government department most close to the lives of the ordinary people. Following the example of my colleague Garvin Karunaratne I wish to relate my experience in the Department, pointing out the difference in the […]

Sugath Kulatunga I have recently had a disappointing experience with my former department of Agriculture. Being aware of the acute protein malnutrition among our children and having read about the use of dried and powdered murunga leaves (which is around 25 % protein) as a protein supplement in the food of children in India. Murunga […]

 Sugath Kulatunga In spite of the bankruptcy of country and the accumulated external debt of 36 billion dollars at the end of 2023, the Governor of the Central Bank has the chutzpa to announce that foreign exchange (FE) can now be released to import vehicles. He has qualified this by stating that this has to […]

Sugath Kulatunga The present divestiture drive is ostensibly aimed at minimizing govt. expenditure on loss-making state owned enterprises and meeting certain IMF conditions. The ex-President should be applaude for taking firm stand on this burning issue. It would have been more welcomed if the policy of the SLPP was declared much earlier before the SOE […]

Sugath Kulatunga Founder Director General of the EDB I am delighted to see both the President RW and the leader of the opposition claiming that the only way to tackle the economic problems in the country and to develop the country is to make it export oriented. This message has become a manthra and is […]

Sugath Kulatunga Our Parliament is again beating the dead horse of the Easter bombings when the people are beating their breasts on the travails of living. The debate is all about a  Brains (the Maha Mola Karr- MMK) behind the horrible deed. What was his objective? Was it an evil political strategy to gain the […]

Sugath Kulatunga A strident cry we hear now from goverment politicians and economic pundits is that State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) must be privatized to make them efficient and profitable and ease the burden of losses to the state. Majority of them think that a wave of the majic wand of privatization will turn the white elephants to cash cows. Historically in Sri Lanka, SOEs have made a significant contribution to industrial development, […]