Sri Lanka’s health crisis: Can the President deliver for the people?

Someone in Sri Lanka, right now as I write, is distraught because a child, a parent or a loved one has died, is dying or is seriously....

The inglorious exit of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa known as Gotabaya or Gota Rajapaksa made a glorious entry to the pinnacle of political power through a grand victory at the presidential election held on 16 November 2019.

Sri Lankan debt crisis to get worse if IMF prescription is heeded

On July 1, Sri Lanka’s Parliament approved, through a majority 122-62 vote, a plan to restructure the government’s domestic debt, which totalled 15.4 trillion Sri Lankan rupees at the end of March 2023.

Deteriorating health services deaths among patients and exchange crisis

Just a few years ago, the health service in our country was among the best in the world. Our country provided free medical examination, hospitalisation, and medicines, not only to all of our citizens but even to foreign visitors irrespective of their wealth or social standing. The medicines provided were of high quality.

Who is afraid of the Mahavamsa?

A few weeks ago UNESCO inscribed the Mahavamsa onto its ‘Memory of the World (MoW) International Register for 2023. It was not exactly a declaration of the extensive chronicle as a ‘world heritage,’ although....

‘It can be done’ attitude needs promotion - EDITORIAL

Sri Lankans have a general attitude that this nation cannot be refined and made a developed country. This thinking or attitude surfaced when former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa- before stepping...

ANTI CORRUPTION Act

According to reports, several amendments are to be suggested and made at the Committee stage in Parliament on the 19th July, 2023. We, the public are unaware of these amendments.

Subsidies, wages, corruption and the financial meltdown - EDITORIAL

Our country is gradually pulling itself out of the financial crisis of yester-year. Even though the foreign debt restructing process is not complete, government has pushed ahead with the domestic debt restructuring....

Calculating the Loss to the EPF from Proposed DDR

Justice and good decision-making flows in part, from the discipline of public reasoning. The belief in democracy is anchored in the hope of harnessing the power of reasoned decision making that is openly....

sri Lanka railways: trains that drain the Treasury

An enduring feature of tourism in Sri Lanka has been the Westerners’ fascination with the Sri Lanka Railways (SLR). Foreigners go into raptures over SLR’s old-world carriages, its quaint British-era stations...

A year ago, twin revolutions within Aragalaya. Thank God, one lost!

A year ago, on July 9th, hundreds of thousands of Sri Lankans, dispossessed by the economic destruction unleashed by a government they elected not long ago, descended on the Capital, Colombo. They stormed the President’s House while President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was hurriedly evacuated to a waiting naval ship. Three days later, Rajapaksa resigned

Who are the culprits behind the economic crisis?

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena on Thursday named a 14-member Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) under the Chairmanship of MP Sagara Kariyawasam, the General Secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), to probe the country’s financial bankruptcy.

Reflecting… 40th Anniversary of ‘Black July’: Have We Truly Learned from History?

July 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of ‘Black July,’ acknowledged as the most horrific episode of ethnic violence in Sri Lanka. Around 300-450 lives were lost, more than 40,000 people were reduced to refugee....

Inflation is easing, but the poor are left behind - EDITORIAL

Economists, including the Governor of the Central Bank tell us that inflation is down. (When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; inflation corresponds to a reduction....

EDUCATION OF CHILDREN A MUST IN THE PERIPHERIES OF SRI LANKA

The Daily Mirror Editorial of March 18, 2023 said, “The Recent needs assessment by Save the Children show that 50 % of the families are struggling to support their children’s education and some children....

Black Tiger Day murder of Trinco District’s Golden Lord

Sri Lanka experienced its first suicide bomber attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on July 5, 1987.

Reviving dead local councils to kill democracy

The private member’s Bills presented in Parliament by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Parliamentarian Jayantha Ketagoda on July 5

The Spirit of cricket and regulating cricket

There’s a major noisy and over-excited reaction doing the rounds in cricketing circles in England. It is all over Jonny Bairstow’s stumping during the recently concluded second Ashes Test which England lost

Jenin: Resistance is not terrorism

Yet another terrorising experience for Palestinians ended on Wednesday after two days of Israeli military attacks on the Palestinian town of Jenin. Such attacks are increasingly being....

Free meals and the culture of hard work - EDITORIAL

Just a few days ago we read in the newspapers that the All Island Canteen Owners’ Association (AICOA) President had stated that no one should be given free meals and that those ‘demanding’ free...

Debt restructuring, corruption and our nation

Our country’s external debt obligations in 2022 exceed US$7 billion. But the country’s forex reserves as of March 2022 is just US$1.6 billion. In April, the country announced a default on all its foreign debt and said it would seek an IMF bailout.

Let’s Shield the EPF with the Instincts of Winston Churchill

The private sector workers of Sri Lanka are required by law to transfer 23% of their incomes to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) and the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) every month, towards their retirement savings. The EPF is managed by a special division within the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), and the Monetary Board of CBSL is tasked with overall stewardship of the Fund.

Naysayers of domestic debt restructuring: What is the alternative?

Parliament on Saturday approved a domestic debt restructuring program that would rework nearly half of the country’s US$ 42.1 billion domestic debt. The plan covered US$ 19.5 billion of Domestic debt in Treasury...

Challenges facing public sector reform in Sri Lanka

As public sector reform is one of the conditions for getting the IMF bailout, the Sri Lankan government is trying to figure out how...

Look into the sources of strength of criminals - EDITORIAL

The proverbial monkey planning to have permanent shelter amidst heavy rains and forgetting once the showers cease is always reminded....

‘Dingiri Dingaale’ The Tamil film song liked by many Sinhalese

This article focuses on the evergreen ‘Dingiri Dingaale’ song from the Tamil film ‘Anbu Engey?’ (Where is love?) that was first screened 65 years ago. Although a Tamil film song, the number was hugely popular among Sinhalese too. I have written about this song in my blog earlier.

Cannabis - another disaster

The government is planning to permit limited cultivation of Cannabis (Ganja) on state land especially for export on a “get rich quickly” system.

Letters to the Editor Political slogans against EPF, ETF

With the restructuring program, Governor of Central Bank and Government has confirmed that there is no impact for the existing members’ balances and assured to release the fund on claim by members. Also guaranteed 9% annual interest to be paid within next two years and decide the interest rate according to the investment returns of future years.

Palestinian lives matter - EDITORIAL

Since the violent birth of Israel on May 14, 1948, in what was originally the State of Palestine, ‘Brittanica’ estimates that of the number of Arabs displaced from their original homes, villages, and neighbourhoods during the period from December 1947 to January 1949 range from about 520,000 to about 1,000,000.

Dispossession by Domestic Debt Restructuring

The domestic debt restructuring plan announced by the Government last Wednesday and passed by parliament on Saturday, targets only one significant domestic financial asset, namely retirement funds. Far reaching changes to the future of working people’s lives are never a done deal, and much can change between the Government’s plan and what can be politically sustained as resistance mounts. Why did the Government target retirement funds,