Sep 6 (AD) Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe says the govt will proceed to enact the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution avoiding a referendum. However, the enactment of the constitutional amendment will adhere to the proposed variations in the determination by the Supreme Court, he said further. Announcing the SC’s determination on the draft constitutional amendment in the parliament this morning, more..

Sep 6 (EN) Stocks slipped for the first time in six sessions from more than five month high on profit taking amid investors awaited for some clues for positive sentiments. The market saw a net foreign outflow of 103.9 million rupees on Tuesday, reversing a 15 straight day foreign buying. The bourse has seen a net foreign inflow of 1.74 billion rupees so far this year after 3.24 billion rupees of net inflow in15 consecutive sessions through Monday amid positive sentiment over an IMF deal. more..

Sep 6 (FT) SL Inbound Tour Operators Association has taken a bold decision to participate at the Int'l French Travel Mart (IFTM) Top Resa in Paris, to increase the visibility of the destination and appeal to a wider global audience ahead of the winter season. This is the first time since the inception of IFTM that Sri Lanka Tourism is not participating. With France continuing to grow as a key source market for SL, SLAITO has decided to participate at the IFTM with an eight-member team more..

Sep 6 (EN) SL can consider increasing fuel quotas for full time threewheeler (tuktuk) drivers who register themselves at their local police stations, Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said. Responding to questions posed by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa in parliament, Wijesekara said that initial steps have been taken to increase the five-litres-per-week fuel quota issued to threewheeler drivers who have installed more..

Sep 6 (CT) All Ceylon Bakery Owners Association (ACBOA) said more than 2,000 bakeries were forced to shut down due to rapid increases in ingredients needed for bakery products. Addressing the media, yesterday (5) after a meeting with Minister of Trade, Commerce and Food Safety, Nalin Fernando, ACBOA President N.K. Jayawardena noted that although the value of the dollar has gone down, the fact that it’s not being applied to the prices of wheat flour creates a huge crisis. more..

Sep 6 (TM) The All-Ceylon Filling Station Owners’ Association (ACFSOA) said that 300-400 fuelling stations islandwide have to be temporarily closed on any given day, as fuel is not supplied to them on a daily basis, and because the amount of fuel supplied to most of the fuelling stations is not enough to meet the demand. Speaking to the media, ACFSOA President Kumar Rajapakshe said: “On a given day, 300-400 filling stations are kept closed, as fuel is not supplied to them daily. more..

Sep 6 (AD) Cabinet has green-lighted the proposal tabled by the PM to implement the recommendations of the committee looking into the possibility of granting 05 years of leave to govt employees. PM Dinesh Gunawardena had tabled the proposal in his capacity as Minister of Public Administration, Home Affairs & Provincial Council. In June 2022, a seven-member committee was appointed for this purpose and the said panel was tasked with submitting its report to Cabinet more..

Sep 6 (DM) The proposed Social Security Contribution Levy would further burden the people as it would result in further increase of the Value Added Tax (VAT) to 20%, NPP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake said. He told Parliament that the levy which was proposed in the interim budget was expected to charge a 2.5% tax on turnover in addition to the 15% VAT. The MP said the new Social Security Contribution Levy would be charged on turnover during import, export, more..

Sep 6 (TM) Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, PCs, and LG is expecting a circular to be issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies pertaining to the recent reduction of the age of compulsory/mandatory retirement to 60 years, where around 2,000 public servants more than last year are set to retire this year. According to sources who spoke to The Morning, more..

Sep 6 (TM) SL should not make details of the Staff-Level Agreement (SLA) reached with the IMF public, as it will be disadvantageous to the country in its debt restructuring talks with International Sovereign Bond (ISB) holders and bilateral lenders, stated LIRNEasia Chairman Prof. Rohan Samarajiva. He said that the SLA with the IMF should not be made public, as the country is still negotiating with relevant parties regarding its debt, and added that the SLA is just one step in the negotiations. more..

Sep 6 (TM) The Welfare Benefit Board (WBB) under the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies is to introduce a quick response (QR) code-based system to identify those who are in need of actual financial assistance given the prevailing economic crisis in the country. Speaking at a media briefing, WBB Chairman B. Wijayaratne said that the WBB has commenced a programme to identify those who are eligible to receive the welfare benefits provided by the WBB for 2022. more..

Sep 6 (TM) The Ministry of Agriculture is preparing to request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to formulate a programme to resolve the issue over the sum of $ 6.9 million which was paid to Qingdao Seawin Biotech Group Company Ltd. in China for a shipment of organic fertiliser that was rejected by SL over reports of contamination. This follows the Auditor General (AG) recommending in a special report that more..

Sep 6 (DM) The staff level agreement which was signed with the International Monetary (Fund) has not been presented to the Cabinet as yet, leader of the House Susil Premajayantha said today. He told this in Parliament in response to a question by MP Anura Priyadarshana Yapa whether the IMF satff level agreement was presented to the Cabinet before signing it. The MP said at least a nominal approval should have been obtained before signing such an agreement. more..

Sep 6 (DM) Claiming that there had been no malpractice in connection with the import of Chinese organic fertilizer shipment, former minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said today everything connected to the import had been done in accordance with the instructions of the Attorney General. He told Parliament that the AG had only instructed to take legal action against the Chinese Company. He said international tenders had been called, a bond of USD 50 million was signed more..

Sep 7 (DM) Hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, rampant corruption, rising oil prices and economic mismanagement under previous govts, our country is in the throes of its worst economic crisis since it became independent from Britain in 1948. And, the worst is yet to come from the looks of it... Recently the Bakers’ Association announced that with the increased price of wheat flour in the market, they would be forced to raise the price of a loaf of bread. The new price for a simple loaf of bread more..

Sep 7 (DM) Recently, I had a long chat with a SL colleague whose work I not only admire, but who is also someone with an unblemished work ethic. He had returned to SL when the Aragalaya (protests) erupted in earnest after being forced into exile. He spent over four months reporting on the protests and their impact. “This was something completely different. This was not like reporting the war. However intense and dangerous that coverage was there was always that sense we could more..

Sep 7 (CT) Over 125 SL Tamil refugees have been stranded on the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia since Oct 2021, which is some 1,786 km from Colombo, seeking asylum in Europe as crisis-hit SL tries to seek int'l assistance to revive its economy and reduce its debt burden. They claimed to be torture victims and young children in the group now stationed in Diego Garcia; a British Indian Ocean Territory island and the largest of more..

Sep 7 (CT) The social media warriors who were up in arms against the destruction in and around the Wilpattu Forest Reserve over the years seem to have now turned a blind eye to the continuing catastrophe. With the order made by the Court of Appeal for MP Rishad Bathiudeen to bear the entire cost to carry out a tree planting programme north of the Wilpattu Forest Reserve, when the case filed against illegal forest clearing was taken up, there was most inevitably a sense of relief more..

Sep 7 (GV) “Son, this bag belonged to my daughter. I use her bag to try and find her. This bag contains all the documents. It’s now very old and has started to tear in many places. But I do not have the heart to change it. How do I throw away her bag, son?” “I have many bags, son. But for how long can I use this one bag? How many places have we been to? How many protests have we organized amid threats? The bag usually gets damaged or gets torn off me during those times. more..

Sep 7 (TM) Former Prez Rajapaksa’s return to SL, after his resignation and departure in July, is making national headlines, with both opposition to and support for him. Speculation is rife that he would be given some position within the SLPP and may even be allowed to enter the Parliament through the SLPP National List. This is in a context where several Governing Party members have reportedly stated that Rajapaksa deserves more..

Sep 7 (TM) At a time when the importance of streamlining and expediting the functions of the public sector is being widely discussed, the Govt has appointed a committee to review the project offices and project management units set up to implement or facilitate various projects of the Govt, as per the interim Budget proposal for 2022. The committee has been tasked with examining whether the work carried out through the project offices and project management units can be accomplished more..

Sep 7 (Island) This comment is not about the popular Broadway musical comedy of yore by the above title. It is on something that we find even more hilarious—our not-so-honourable MPs’ ludicrous efforts to protest their innocence vis-à-vis serious allegations of dereliction of duty, malpractices, etc., against them. They have had the discerning public in stitches, again! SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella has taken the CB to task for what he calls its failure to inform Parliament that the country was bankrupt. more..

Sep 7 (DM) A weekly paper said on Sunday that the Govt of SL (GoSL) is to revive an earlier proposal to set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to address the long-standing issues of rights violations, alleged war crimes and ethnic reconciliation. While the proposal is reasonable, there are serious doubts as to whether the intention behind it is serious and genuine and, if implemented, whether the TRC will meet its objectives. The timing of the decision leads one to suspect that more..

Sep 7 (ST) National Shooting Sport Federation of SL (NSSF) will inaugurate its latest fully-fledged 10 lane electronic target shooting range in Kohuwela, with the upcoming NSSF Youth and Junior Air Rifle and Air Pistol Championship 2022. Amalgamated dual contest will begin on Sept 9 and will go on until Sept 13 with well over 100 participants expected to compete. TNSSF conducted a competition earlier this year at the Kohuwela Shooting Range, which then had four lanes with electronic targets. more..

Sep 7 (CI) SL all but secured a place in the Asia Cup final through a thrilling win with one ball to spare against India, who came close again but couldn't beat the Dubai curse on sides batting first. Since the start of 2020, Hong Kong and Scotland remain the only international teams to have lost when chasing at this ground. Only an India defeat to Afghanistan can now jeopardise SL's progress to the final. India were left needing more..

Sep 7 (Island) The Public Utilities Commission of SL (PUCSL) altered the CEB’s proposed prices and price structure, then amended its own proposal, and announced higher electricity prices, to be effective from 10 August 2022. Neither the CEB nor the PUCSL presented, to customers, the actual cost of supplying electricity to them; they simply pulled figures from their respective hats and called them proposed tariffs and ‘alternative proposals’ and, finally, the approved tariffs. more..

Sep 7 (Island) Sri Lanka Under-19 suffered their first defeat on their tour of England when they lost the first one-dayer in the last over at New Road, Worcester on Monday. In a game affected by rain, Sri Lanka’s innings was cut short in the 48th over when they had reached 248 for nine and England were set a revised target of 172 in 24 overs. The hosts lost seven wickets to get there with Jamal Richards who looks like Jofra Archer sealing the win with a boundary in the last over. more..

Sep 7 (FT) The Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday approved to re-introduce the National Agency for Public-Private Partnership (NAPPP), which was discontinued about two years ago. This was also an immediate response to the interim Budget proposal announced last week, where the Government allocated Rs. 250 million for the implementation of the agency. The key objectives of the agency are to identify the difficulties and complexities faced by investors more..

Sep 7 (ST) If you go to the Dept of Imports and Exports Control at Hemas Building in Fort these days, you would most probably find scores of representatives of private sector companies trying to fill forms or talk to a harried official on importing toilet paper or computer parts! The stress is actually not on the department officials but the private sector representatives who have to go from pillar to post, trying to convince an official to give them a special licence to import any of the recently-banned more..

Sep 7 (FT) The plunge in imports persisted in July YoY though marginally higher month-on-month with the Central Bank linking the downturn to a host of measures adopted to curb the outflow of foreign exchange. In July imports amounted to $ 1.28 billion, down by 25% YoY but slightly higher in comparison to $ 1.22 billion in June. Expenditure on imports in first 7 months of 2022 was down by 3.5% to $ 11.3 b. more..

Sep 7 (EN) SL has to maintain radio silence on domestic bond re-structuring as part of the process now followed under the IMF to reduce the debt to sustainable levels, CB Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said. SL in April 2022 did not include domestic debt when the country defaulted after the biggest currency crisis in the history of the central bank and two year of liquidity injections to suppress interest rates led to a loss of all its foreign reserves and also borrowed reserves. more..

Sep 7 (CT) Sri Lanka were given a mini scare by Malaysia before they sealed a dramatic 55-53 win in their first game of round 2 at the ongoing Asian Netball Championship 2022 at the OCBC Arena, Singapore yesterday. Into the early exchange Malaysia were slow to get off the blocks and Sri Lanka took full advantage, going into the 1st quarter with a narrow 15 to 13. The initial minutes were tentative as each team tried to find their feet, with both connecting well with their shooters. more..

Sep 7 (Island) The govt yesterday decided to put off the Social Security Contribution Bill when the JVP and the SJB, in Parliament opposed it vehemently. The Social Security Contribution Levy Bill had been listed for the second reading debate, and Parliament sources said that the party leaders had agreed to pass the Bill with several other regulations, without debate to save time for another debate, listed for the day, more..

Sep 7 (FT) Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has approved the Gazette with regulations under the Import and Export (Control) Act permitting the importation of glyphosate. The regulations enacted under the Import and Export (Control) Act No. 1 of 1969 regarding the permission to import glyphosate, which is used as a weed killer for the plantation sector, were recently considered in the Committee on Public Finance. After a long discussion, Committee approved importation. more..

Sep 7 (FT) Four more countries — Netherlands, Belgium, Canada & NZ eased the travel advisories imposed against SL, extending a much-needed boost to the triple-hit tourism industry. Considering the latest developments, respective govts have recommended its citizens maintain a high level of vigilance when travelling in SL and avoid any gatherings at all times, cautioning and social tensions remain uncertain. They also cautioned on possible short supplies of fuel and medicines more..