May 23 (TM) In letters addressed to the Prez Rajapaksa, PM Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Bar Association of SL (BASL) has expressed concern that whilst the 21st Amendment will restore the provisions of the previous 19th Amendment to the Constitution as regards the Constitutional Council and the Independent Commissions, there are several vital provisions which were found in the 19th Amendment which are not incorporated into more..

May 24 (DM) The proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution which is the new avatar of the 19th Amendment was to be presented in the Cabinet on Monday (yesterday), the new Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe had told media on Saturday. That means the main provisions of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution is going to be scrapped for the second time. The 21st Amendment has been finalized by a committee headed by PM Ranil Wickremsinghe and comprised of more..

May 24 (DM) Last week, I wrote that the fate of the Ranil Wickremesinghe govt would be placed at the mercy of the SLPP, a Rajapaksa fiefdom and a grotesque caricature of the old SL politics before the Aragalaya. SLPP is now a discredited and spent force, yet still wields the overwhelming Parliamentary majority. Irony of this arrangement is that after Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced to resign as prime minister due to mass protests, he and the siblings would still rule by proxy. more..

May 24 (CT) Farmers are now breathing harder to start sowing and ploughing for Yala season in the light of a 40 per cent reduction in Maha season harvest. Farmers are quitting due to the terrible crisis caused by the severe scarcity in diesel and the govt’s failure to provide chemical fertiliser. On the other hand, Mahaweli Authority and the Agriculture Department are up in arms over giving chemical fertiliser & diesel to farmers for Yala. more..

May 24 (DM) One key issue highlighted by SL’s citizen protest movement is the crisis of the country’s representative democracy. It is at the core of the larger political and constitutional crisis. The continuing erosion of public trust in the elected Prez, the elected parliament, and the ministers has become a regular feature of SL’s current political crisis too. The inability of the individuals who populate the key institutions of govt to do much to restore public trust is making the ongoing more..

May 24 (CT) Some professionals, for the proposed new 2022 Budget, to transform from development to welfare, recommended by PM Ranil Wickremesinghe when he was in Opposition, have advised the Govt to increase public sector salaries by a record Rs 20,000 to tide over record high inflation and cost of living (CoL). But the danger in such a salary hike is that such an increase in turn may lead to demand-pull inflationary pressure, thereby negating the very purpose of more..

May 24 (TM) Organ transplantation is an integral part of the medical practice and the harvesting of necessary tissues is carried out during life and upon death. However, professionals need to be aware of what is happening right now within SL – a severe shortage of tissues and organs is prevailing in the country, as well as around the world. Being sensitive and knowledgeable may help a great deal to overcome this barrier, more..

May 24 (GV) As videos of helicopters taking off in the early hours of Tuesday May 10 appeared on social media, rumours swirled that some members of the Rajapaksa family had fled Colombo. While the destination of these helicopters was contested, by mid-morning crowds had begun to gather around the faux battlement entrance of the Navy base in Trincomalee. It was speculated that somewhere in the largest naval base in the country, former PM, Rajapaksa, and his family had found safety. more..

May 24 (TM) In the current context, the question on the minds of many, if not all, is simple, though the answer is not: What should Sri Lanka do to emerge from the crippling economic and political crisis it is experiencing? While new and innovative solutions are necessary to save the economy, one thing is clear – Sri Lanka must not repeat the mistakes of its past. The level of strength and stability of the incumbent Govt is a matter for debate, but to avoid disruptions in day-to-day affairs, more..

May 24 (CT) Harin Fernando, MP from SJB has now become a cabinet minister in the SLPP govt headed by Prez Rajapaksa. He has claimed that the reason for his change of mind and joining the Rajapakse govt is to save the country from its current political and economic crisis. Harin Fernando was an up-and-coming young MP in the SJB before joining the Rajapaksa regime. It is important to highlight Harin’s political position to find out whether his claim for joining Rajapakse regime is credible or not. more..

May 24 (FT) John Keells Holdings PLC has posted a phenomenal recovery in FY22 amidst challenging times initially with COVID-19 and later on with economic, political crisis and social unrest with a good fourth quarter despite the circumstances though bottom line got a sudden boost due to exchange gains following the sharp depreciation of the currency. JKH Group revenue rose by 71% to Rs. 218.07 billion while recurring Group EBITDA increased by 152% to Rs. 39.26 billion. more..

May 24 (FT) The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) has recommended several new provisions to be included in the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill to further enhance the powers of Parliament and reduce the powers of the Prez. The BASL has written to Prez Rajapaksa, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe and Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa with its proposals after pursuing the draft 21st Amendment. more..

May 24 (Island) This week marks the 50th anniversary of Sri Lanka becoming a republic. We observe the anniversary at a time when the large majority of our people are yearning for comprehensive constitutional reform – system change, as they put it. Many believe that, after the failure of the first and second republican constitutions, the time is right for the Third Republic. This article, in three parts, is based on a paper that I contributed to a collection of essays, titled, more..

May 24 (Island) The first phase of the campaign for ousting Prez Rajapaksa is over. It has only caused the resignation of PM Rajapaksa, and the appointment of UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as his successor. Prez continues to hold office. All the problems that drove the public to stage street protests remain unsolved; in fact, they have worsened, but there has been a let-up in the protest campaign. One sees only unorganised, sporadic protests in some parts of the country. more..

May 24 (FT) EDB Chairman Suresh de Mel insists boosting exports and celebrating exporters must be made a national priority, noting that it is the only sector generating a steady foreign exchange inflow to keep the economy afloat. “SL needs to make exports a national priority. The entire export workforce is contributing immensely to keep the economy steaming ahead by attracting scarce foreign exchange amidst more..

May 24 (FT) Lawyers Upali Gooneratne and M.M. Zuhair complete 50 years at the Bar having been enrolled as Advocates of the Supreme Court on 23 May 1972 before the then Chief Justice H.N.G. Fernando and Justice C.B. Walgampaya. Following the promulgation of the first Republican Constitution of Sri Lanka on 22 May 1972, Upali Gooneratne and M.M. Zuhair became the first and second lawyers respectively to take oaths as Advocates under the new Constitution. more..

May 24 (CI) Two wickets for 416 runs in 157 overs. These are the damning numbers of SL's spinners in the tour of Bangladesh so far. And Chris Silverwood, their new head coach, didn't mince words when he was asked to assess their performance. On Monday, SL had Bangladesh on the mat at 24 for 5, and then saw Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim add an unbroken 253-run stand that rescued the hosts. Spin accounted for 49 out of the 85 overs on the day, but none of the 4 bowlers could pick up a wicket. more..

May 24 (ST) Marking a milestone of 100-years of SL athleticism, Sri Lanka Athletics (SLA) released a heavy volume of precious recollection of book titled – 100-years of SL Athletics. The book, touching from then to now, features the most extraordinary feats to the most recent victories. Starting from the first-ever medal won by Sri Lankan, Duncan white, to the recent records, including what gripped the global headlines last August courtesy to Dinesh Priyantha, records features a wide-ranging collection more..

May 24 (PCB) After three days of intense practice and preparations at the Southend Club, Karachi, Pakistan and SL are ready for action with the first of the three T20Is set to be played tomorrow (Tuesday). Bismah Maroof-led Pakistan and Chamari Athapaththu-led Sri Lanka are eager to showcase their talent, skill and temperament in the shortest format of the game. All three matches will be played at the Southend Club which is in close proximity to Karachi’s Sea View Beach. more..

May 24 (TM) Newly sworn-in Minister of Labour & Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara announced his proposal of a slew of incentives for migrant workers, although CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe only recently expressed that incentives for migrant workers should not be provided at the expense of taxpayers. Under the proposed scheme, SL will provide vehicle permits to migrant workers who remit $100,000 more..

May 24 (FT) The Central Bank has imposed 100% cash margin on selected on-essential and non-urgent imports with immediate effect. It said the move is with a view to preserving the stability of the exchange rate and foreign currency liquidity in the banking system. The 100% non-interest bearing cash margin should be kept on the invoiced value of imports specified in Annex I, made under Documents against Acceptance (DA) and Documents against Payment (DP) terms. more..

May 24 (ST) The Central Bank (CB)’s noose on money laundering activities has gotten tighter in recent months so much so that now law firms are also quietly letting go of their PEPs (Politically Exposed Persons), following the lead of private banks, industry officials said. “Now the regulator’s scrutiny is 10 times more than what it was and in the current context it is becoming increasingly serious,” a compliance officer in a law firm told the Business Times on Wednesday. more..

May 24 (EN) SL’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) raised petrol price to a record 420 rupees a litre and auto diesel to an all-time high of 400 rupees on Tuesday in line with a new pricing formula that was approved by the cabinet, energy minister said. “Fuel Price will be revised from 3 am today. Fuel pricing formula that was approved by the cabinet was applied to revise prices,” Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said. more..

May 24 (ST) A mobile app and a 24-hour hotline will be introduced to inform people of the availability of gas in their areas. This decision was taken by the COPE on Friday to end growing protests demanding cooking gas. Litro Gas Chairman Vijitha Herath assured COPE that arrangements were being made to supply 80,000 cylinders daily to the market from yesterday onwards. He said the supply could be maintained for the next six days as two shipments of cooking gas–each amounting to 3500 more..

May 24 (Island) SriLankan Airlines’ USD 175 million govt-guaranteed 7% unsecured bonds due 25 June 2024 has been affirmed by Fitch Ratings at ‘C’ due to it being part of the debt moratorium announced by the govt on 12 April 2022, under the category of public sector entities’ external debt. Fitch also said that the affirmation followed the 19 May 2022 downgrade of SL’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘RD’ from ‘C’, and the downgrade of its foreign-currency bonds more..

May 24 (FT) PM Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday met with representatives from the Chambers of Commerce along with Treasury and Economic Advisers to discuss a new budget and future economic plans. During the meeting the PM pointed out that a new budget would be presented with significantly reduced capital expenditure and the money saved would be used for welfare programs. The PM further explained that with the war in Ukraine, the country is facing a food shortage more..

May 24 (DM) Colombo-based free market think tank Advocata Institute yesterday welcomed PM Ranil Wickeremesinghe’s recent statement that SriLankan Airlines should be privatised. SriLankan Airlines is one of the four largest loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the country. According to Advocata, the debt-ridden airline loses Rs.99 million a day. “At a time when SL has announced a sovereign debt default and when the govt has insufficient revenues to cover the salaries of more..

May 24 (EN) SL will see the worst economic contraction in its history, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinge said as the country reeled for a currency collapse from 200 to 370 to the US dollar and interest rates corrected to 25%. Sri Lanka is going through severe fuel shortages and power cuts after the credibility of a soft-peg was broken by mis-targeted interest rates in the course of targeting an output gap (printing money to boost growth). more..

May 24 (TM) JVP-led NPP MP Vijitha Herath claimed that IGP Chandana D. Wickramaratne had confirmed in a meeting between the JVP and IGP held yesterday that most of those arrested in connection with the violence that erupted islandwide on 9 and 10 May have no links or affiliation with the JVP. “According to reports received from the IGP and other officials, most of those arrested have no connection with the JVP. They are affiliated with other political parties. We pointed out that more..

May 24 (Island) Prez Rajapaksa yesterday swore in Senior Vice President of the SLFP Mahinda Amaraweera and Deputy Leader of the SLMC who entered Parliament on the SJB ticket, Ahamed Naseer Zainulabdeen, as members of his Cabinet-of-Ministers. Amaraweera received Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest portfolios whereas Zainulabdeen was given environment. They are among six newly-appointed members of the Cabinet. The four other ministers are Douglas Devananda more..

May 24 (Reuters) Sri Lanka has hired heavyweight financial and legal advisers Lazard and Clifford Chance as it prepares for the difficult task of renegotiating its debts, a trio of sources said. The move is the latest development in Sri Lanka’s worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948 and comes after the country was officially declared in default for the first time ever last week after it halted debt payments. more..

May 24 (FT) Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presented a draft 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill to Cabinet yesterday but final approval for it will be after party leaders study the Bill and give their feedback on the proposed legislation. Prez Rajapaksa had proposed that the draft be shared with all party leaders prior to final approval by cabinet. Bill was presented despite attempts by a group of SLPP MPs to block it from being presented yesterday to Cabinet. more..

May 24 (DM) Portraying how perverse it is for the migrant workers to expect for myriad benefits from the taxes paid by the resident Sri Lankans, CB Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said the migrants should neither expect nor must be entertained with such incentives associated with taxes, as it tantamounts to injustice meted out to those who pay taxes at home. Dr. Weerasinghe said he often hears calls from the migrant workers demanding for things like duty free car more..

May 24 (TM) Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawela yesterday ordered the Central Bank of SL (CBSL) to present to court the list of holders of the $ 500 million-worth International Sovereign Bonds (ISB) that matured on 18 Jan 2022, which was controversially repaid by the CBSL despite the critically low level of foreign currency reserves in its possession at the time. The order was issued by the Colombo Additional Magistrate more..

May 24 (FT) Over the spate of my consulting and writing, I am often lobbed questions about SL’s current plight and predicament. And so, I thought it would be fascinating to harvest some of the most intriguing questions and see what answers might be explored. Of course, no answer is definitive. These are hypotheses, grounded in experience of other crisis situations and extended experience with the dynamics of human and organisational behaviour, and benchmarking other countries. more..

May 24 (FT) A New Government is installed with the appointment of a new Prime Minister. There are conflicting interpretations of the new government. Having ignored them, if only the current disaster faced by Sri Lankans is reminisced, attention is drawn to an ever reverberating subject. It is the absence of National Policies (NPs). The author does not look at the theoretical aspects adequately and attempts to view the issue practically as a layman. In a democratic context, more..