Mar 23 (CT) It may not be appropriate to attribute a country�s downfall to a single aspect such as elitism. There are often many complex, complicated and interrelated factors that contribute to a country�s success or failure, including inter alia, economic conditions, political stability, social factors, and natural disasters. The intention is to shed light on the nature of elitism that is predominant but less spoken and its influence on decision making for many predicaments Sri Lanka has faced. more..

Mar 23 (Island) IMF is ready to help SL tackle its economic crisis, Prez has told Parliament. This is good news. But is SL ready to help others help it? Its bilateral creditors are united in trying to assist it in restructuring its staggering debt, and rebuilding its economy, we are told but, sadly, the domestic stakeholders, especially politicians, are at daggers drawn, and their clashes will only erode the confidence of prospective investors, and put paid to efforts being made to revive the economy. more..

Mar 23 (TM) SL is currently in what he would term an interval in hell, says Economist, Attorney-at-Law, and Uni of Colombo Dept of Economics Senior Lecturer Dr. Shanuka Senarath. �This is just the tip of the iceberg; all the problems are still under the carpet,� he asserted. Commenting on the anticipated IMF bailout, he asserted that the $ 2.9 billion assistance package was hardly any financial gain, but noted that working with more..

Mar 23 (TM) Amidst protests against tax hikes and the Govt�s conduct, teachers too took to the streets during the past few months expressing concerns about the stability and dignity of their profession, and also in support of other protests that are ongoing. However, a new development that attracted attention this week is likely to add to the teachers� plight. Referring to a letter issued by Presidential Secretariat dissolving the Teacher Transfer Board (TTB), SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa stated more..

Mar 23 (CT) The persistent controversies surrounding egg imports from India on the basis that it is of low quality should most definitely be investigated to avoid a future catastrophe. Gone are the days when eggs were freely available and affordable, and the availability of eggs now varies according to the prices set for them. This issue has severely impacted the bakery sector, considering that most of their products are made with eggs. Following the Maximum Retail Price for eggs more..

Mar 23 (Island) SL�s cricketers in New Zealand are kicking themselves having lost the Test series 2-0 and spoiling an excellent campaign in the World Test Championship where they beat some formidable teams. In Christchurch they were beaten by the barest of margins in the last ball of the game while in Wellington their batting technique was flawed unable to handle the short ball. It was pathetic to see seasoned campaigners having chinks in their techniques tackling something so essential more..

Mar 23 (GV) Countries never learn from others� mistakes, they only learn from their own. SL is an exception: we don�t even learn from our folly. Apparently neither does the IMF. SL�s 17th IMF programme is set to be approved on March 20. Is it welcome? Yes. Will it break SL�s reform-regress-run to the IMF crisis cycle? Probably not. All reforms undertaken over the past half year to win IMF board approval are reversible. None of them constitute entrenched changes in economic policy or more..

Mar 23 (CNBC) IMF has finally approved a $3 billion bailout for SL, paving the way for the country to restructure its debt and for the economy to improve in 2024. South Asian country is grappling with its worst financial crisis in decades and the IMF�s decision will allow an immediate disbursement of a $333 million loan over four years. Sri Lanka has been hit hard by catastrophic economic and humanitarian crisis, more..

Mar 23 (FT) Women�s Chamber of Industry and Commerce on 15 March conducted one of its annual flagship properties � The Women Leadership Forum, a full day program which kept the audience enthralled and inspired. In line with the IWD theme of the year Embrace Equity the Forum was aptly themed Empowered Women, Empower SL. �We have tried to create a program capturing very relevant topics in an interesting and meaningful manner. It is our mission to create more..

Mar 23 (FT) Lanka Impact Investing Network (LIIN) has announced the successful launch of Awakasha.net, a one-stop digital platform designed to promote inclusive entrepreneurship among underprivileged communities in SL. It was officially launched on 21 March 2023, at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo. The platform is an initiative under the Platform for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (PIE) project, powered by World Uni Service of Canada (WUSC) & Global Affairs Canada (GAC). more..

Mar 23 (ST) Wildlife Conservation Dept has launched a house-to-house programme to educate villagers and officers of regional govt institutions in areas affected by the human-elephant conflict (HEC). Programme is being conducted in North Central, Central, Uva, North Western and Northern Provinces, according to a statement. The awareness programme is being conducted with the participation of officials and community leaders in areas most vulnerable to elephant attacks. more..

Mar 23 (FT) Meta, formerly known as the Facebook company, has been working with Sri Lanka�s Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) and other partners in Sri Lanka to support the economic and digital empowerment of women. On 15 March, ICTA, Meta, and Ministry of Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment, hosted a national forum to celebrate the achievements of SL women entrepreneurs who are using digital platforms for business. more..

Mar 23 (TM) Noting that there is a problem as to how far it is ethical for the Govt Printing Dept to withhold the ballot papers related to 17 districts which have already been printed, the Election Commission (EC) stated that if those ballot papers are provided, the postal voting pertaining to the LG election can be held in the relevant districts. EC Chairman, Nimal Punchihewa said: �Dept has printed ballot papers related to 17 districts. more..

Mar 23 (Island) Govt�s plans for reviving the economy show signs of working out for the time being. Long-awaited IMF loan is about to be granted. This would enable the govt to access other loans to tide over the current economic difficulties. The challenge will be to ensure that both the old loans and new ones will be repayable. To this end the govt has begun to implement its new tax policy which increases the tax burden significantly on income earners who can barely make more..

Mar 23 (Island) Technical Certificates of Completion for 64 out of 74 plots of the Port City Colombo SEZ have been received by the Commission, a Colombo Port City Economic Commission semi-annual progress report for FY 2022 notes. "The Colombo Port City Economic Commission, Single Window Investment Facilitator authorised to assist investors, businesses, and residents in conducting their activities seamlessly and efficiently in Port City Colombo, is pleased to release more..

Mar 23 (Island) JJB declared that it would soon file a fundamental rights application against restrictions imposed on retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha for appearing on its political stage. Attorney Harshana Nanayakkara questioned the rationale behind blacklisting a decorated pilot of the 09 Mi 24 attack helicopter squadron for publicly declaring his joining a growing organisation consisting of retired military officers. more..

Mar 23 (SO) Creating maritime history in Sri Lanka, a totally locally funded boat builder, Dhanusha Marine Exports (Pvt) Ltd, has launched construction of the biggest fishing vessel in Sri Lanka for export to the African continent. The total value of this would be around USD 100 million. This boat is equipped with communication and navigational tools, a cooling system, a blast freezer, a generator, solar panels, a chilled bath, and a bait hold to preserve the quality of the fish caught, more..

Mar 23 (NR) Business travel expenses have increased by 75% in local currency terms in Colombo, in 2022 compared to the year before. The substantial increase primarily stemmed from high inflation and currency depreciation, since some costs associated with business travel � such as hotel accommodation � are typically incurred in US dollars by foreign business travellers. This was identified in a research conducted by ECA International, the world�s leading provider more..

Mar 23 (TM) Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe said that he agrees with all the constitutional amendments announced by FIFA. Minister made this comment in response to a question raised by a journalist during the press conference. Ranasinghe said that a committee has been appointed to commence discussions with the international federation regarding the ban on international football in the country and that he and other officials are attempting to get the ban lifted. more..

Mar 23 (TM) Emphasising that they have always acted as per the Constitution, the Election Commission (EC) stated that they are therefore not worried about the recent complaint made by a group of Govt MPs that their privileges have been violated due to the activities of the EC. A letter signed by 14 SLPP Govt MPs including Milan Jayathilake, Sahan Withana, Sudarshana Denipitiya, Kokila Gunawardena, Thissa Kuttiarachchi, and Upul Rajapaksha had recently been handed over more..

Mar 23 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe revealed that fuel prices will be revised monthly based on the 2018 formula implemented when he was the PM. �Fuel prices will be determined based on the 2018 Price Formula. The adjustment will take place once a month to cover the cost. Therefore, determination of fuel prices will be bereft of politicisation,� Prez told Parliament in his special address following the receipt of IMF more..

Mar 23 (TM) All Ceylon Egg Producers� Association General Secretary H.M.B.R. Alahakoon said that imported eggs will pose a risk of bird flu entering the country as well as giving rise to the risk of Salmonella contamination. Alahakoon said that importing eggs from India will be harmful to domestic egg production as there is a high risk of various diseases spreading in the country. �Almost all the diseases related to our industry have come from India. In 1980s, infectious bursal disease, more..

Mar 23 (Island) CEBEU and other CEB trade unions dismissed speculation that they would resort to unofficial load shedding or unofficial power cuts due to the breakdown of the Unit Three of the Norochcholai Power Plant Complex. Senior Trade Unionist cum Convener of the Lanka Viduli Bala Sevaka Sangamaya, Ranjan Jayalal said that if the Board had such a plan to go for power shedding they would have done it by now. He said that the CEB had released Rs. 600 million for more..

Mar 23 (TM) The matter of the alleged violation of Parliamentary privileges raised by SLPP Govt MP Premnath C. Dolawatte, who claimed that the privileges of MPs and Parliament have been violated through the recent interim order issued by the Supreme Court (SC) with regard to funds allocated for elections, has been referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Ethics and Privileges. Dolawatte had raised a privileges-related issue with regard to the interim order issued by the SC more..

Mar 23 (DM) SL is expected to introduce a property tax and a gift and inheritance tax by the beginning of 2025, under the IMF programme. In particular, we will introduce a nationwide real property tax and adjust the system of transfers between the central and provincial govts. We will also introduce a gift and inheritance tax with a tax-free allowance and minimal exemptions, IMF programme documents made public this week said. Preparatory work for these tax reforms will commence by more..

Mar 23 (EN) Sri Lanka may have to pay interest of 4% and additional surcharges on an EFF loan from the IMF, State Minister of Finance, Ranjith Siyamabalapitiya has said. �This is a loan approval, that we have gotten for the eighth time and we may even have to pay interest of 4% for this loan we have taken,� Minister told parliament. Sri Lanka is getting an EFF loan of US$ 2.9 billion or 2.286 billion Special Drawing Rights. more..

Mar 23 (FT) Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday told Parliament that amending the existing tax mechanism is under consideration and will be presented to the IMF in the first review of $ 2.9 billion EFF program in June this year. The Govt and the IMF will review the programme every six months. The first review will take place in June. �We have already focused our attention on amending the existing tax mechanism. The Treasury is already in the process of preparing amended proposals. more..

Mar 23 (EN) President Ranil Wickremesinghe criticized the opposition parties for propagating misinformation about a $3 billion IMF deal and their actions in a way to delay the bailout package from the global lender. Wickremesinghe�s criticism came a day after the island nation secured the $3 billion IMF loan after a brief delay amid implementation of some hard structural reforms. �Some tried to make the country totally dysfunctional before the IMF took the decision regarding our country,� more..

Mar 23 (FT) Reinforced by the fruition of his conviction Prez Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday urged the Opposition to unite by shedding political differences to embark on a new journey from crisis to prosperity with reforms and $ 7 billion funding support from the IMF and other donors. �I request the Opposition to join this effort of building the country. Leave your personal political aspirations aside. Think of empowering the country more..

Mar 23 (SLN) SL Navy conducted a special operation to chase away Indian poaching trawlers from SL waters this morning. The operation led to the seizure of 02 Indian trawlers with 12 Indian nationals poaching in SL waters off Analaitivu and Kovilan, Jaffna. Navy continues to conduct regular patrols and operations in SL waters to curb illegal fishing practices of foreign fishing trawlers. As an extension of these operations, Northern Naval Command deployed Fast Attack Craft of more..

Mar 23 (FT) In a statement after the discussion on SL by the Executive Board, IMF�s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva released a statement which said, among other things, that �Institutions and governance frameworks require deep reforms. In SL, a republic which constitutionally enshrines the people�s sovereignty, who should decide on whether and which deep reforms of�governance frameworks, are required? Obviously the sovereign people. But who will actually decide at a time more..

Mar 23 (FT) IMF Board approved a 48-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of SDR 2.286 billion (about $ 3 billion) to support SL�s economic policies and reforms. SL Govt and business elite have welcomed the approval of the 17th IMF program, despite the failures of every one of the previous deals and the negative impact they had on the poor and vulnerable people of the country. Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the IMF issued more..

Mar 23 (EN) Govt of Japan has provided US$ 1.6 million to UN Women in support of humanitarian assistance for women affected by socioeconomic hardships in SL. The fund duration is between Feb 2023 and Dec 2023 under a project named Empowering women in crisis. Program aims to support at least 1,200 women including their children who have faced sexual and gender-based violence and will support 500 women-led micro-enterprises at risk of collapse and over 2,000 individuals more..

Mar 23 (AD) Election Commission says the postal voting of the 2023 LG polls will not go ahead as planned. The postal voting was scheduled to be held from March 28 to March 31. Decision was reached at a meeting held with the secretaries of the political parties vying for the LG polls. Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake said the election body is expected to reach a decision on the LG poll date after more..

Mar 23 (TM) The court has ordered the CID to record and submit statements from the Controller General of Immigration and Emigration and the Commissioner General of the Department for Registration of Persons on certain matters pertaining to the citizenship of State Minister Diana Gamage. Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis issued this order today (23) following the consideration of facts presented by the CID and the attorneys who appeared on behalf of the aggrieved party. more..