Month: November 2021

Guidelines to be followed from Nov. 16 to 30 issued

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Guidelines to be followed from Nov. 16 to 30 issued; public gatherings banned (Sheain Fernandopulle Daily Mirror 15th Nov 2021) Director General of Health Services Dr Asela Gunawardena has issued a set of guidelines effective from November 16 to 30 on public & work-related activities where several restrictions have been eased. According to the guidelines, public gatherings, meeting & events are prohibited until further notice unless prior approval is obtained from Director General of Health Services. In addition, several restrictions have been eased. Accordingly, gyms can be operated at 50…

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New Constitution needs to reflect Sri Lanka’s plurality

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New Constitution needs to reflect Sri Lanka’s plurality by Jehan Perera (The Island 16th November2021) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has informed Parliament that the draft constitution will be finalised by the end of the year. An expert committee to draft a new constitution was appointed in September last year, soon after the government won the general election with close to a 2/3 majority. In his inaugural address to the newly elected Parliament, on August 20, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that the government would replace the existing constitution and do away…

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A strategy for leftists and nationalists

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A strategy for leftists and nationalists by Uditha Devapriya- The Island Since at least 1977, nationalists and leftists have constantly been defining themselves against one another. The key years in which this gulf widened would be 1980 (the July strike), 1982 (the presidential election), 1983 (the anti-Tamil pogrom and the proscription of the Left), and 1987 (the Indo-Lanka Accord). What we see in those years is a middle-class abandoning the Left: partly on account of an ideological turnaround, but also, more crucially, on account of the different trajectories such ideologies…

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Emirates announces 2 more flights to CMB a week from today

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Emirates announces 2 more flights to CMB a week from today Emirates announced its operation of two additional flights a week to Colombo from today (15) to support the resurgence of Sri Lanka’s tourism industry as more key source markets relax travel restrictions. The award-winning Dubai-based global airline said the added frequencies will increase direct flights between Dubai and Colombo to 14 a week, taking Emirates’ weekly schedule to Sri Lanka’s commercial capital to 21 flights a week, with the daily flight between Colombo and Male. Effective today, Emirates flight…

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Sri Lanka budget 2022: key tax changes

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Sri Lanka budget 2022: key tax changes ECONOMYNEXT  (13-11-2021) Sri Lanka’s budget for 2022 has proposed new taxes after a value added tax cut in 2019 for ‘fiscal stimulus’ devastated state revenues, triggering money printing which has resulted in a balance of payments crisis. The budget proposed to raise revenues from a revised 1,556 billion rupees in 2021 (9.4 percent of GDP) to 2,284 billion rupees (12.3 percent of GDP) in 2022. Authorities hope to bring the deficit down from 1,826 billion rupees (11.1 percent of GDP) to 1,628 billion…

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Notes to the People: Should Sri Lanka Seek IMF Support?

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Notes to the People: Should Sri Lanka Seek IMF Support? By Sumanasiri Liyanage (Ceylon today 13-11-2021) The triple crises in Sri Lanka -the economic, the epidemiological, and the political- appear to be aggravating day by day. Although many countries suffered from a COVID-19 outbreak are slowly but gradually coming out of the economic crisis created by the pandemic, there are no signs of such a development in Sri Lanka.  The prices of all essential goods have rocketed. Farmers are still indecisive as to whether they cultivate or not for the…

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Basil’s Budget today

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Basil’s Budget today (Daily FT) 2022 Budget presentation at 2 p.m. in Parliament Second Reading vote on 22 Nov., final vote on 10 Dec. Simultaneous interpretation in sign language for first time Public Gallery to remain closed; diplomats, select invitees to attend Attendees at FM’s post-Budget presentation tea party, too, restricted Amidst internal and external challenges the Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa will present his maiden Budget to Parliament at 2 p.m. today. This will be the 76th budget of an independent Sri Lanka and the second budget of the Government…

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Government agrees to teachers’ salary demand

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Government agrees to teachers’ salary demand To pay salary hike in one go through Budget Stalin claims a drama played out at meeting Budget’s education allocation to exceed 6% for first time BY Buddhika Samaraweera(The Morning) Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has agreed to grant the salary increase recommended by the Cabinet Sub-Committee (SC) appointed to look into the teacher-principal salary anomaly issue in one go, through the budget proposal for the financial year 2022, according to the Teachers’ and Principals’ Trade Union Alliance (TPTUA). Representatives of the TPTUA met Prime…

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Shedding some light on the Yugadanavi deal

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Shedding some light on the Yugadanavi deal The good, the bad, and the ugly of the agreement between the Government and the US BY Sumudu Chamara (The Morning 11/11/2021) Sri Lanka is going through one of its toughest times in recent memory, and the ongoing pandemic has worsened the economic hardships that the country was dealing with before the pandemic. While the people are clearly sacrificing their comfort to face this difficult time, the Government is also seeking new ways to save and make money. According to the Government, the…

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The World Science Day for Peace and Development – 10th November

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The World Science Day for Peace and Development – 10th November (The Morning 9th Nov) Sri Lanka is a country that has produced a number of scientists, engineers, inventors and mathematicians, and persons like Dr. Ray Wijewardene, Dr. Sarath Gunapala and Prof. Neelika Malavige, among a number of others, have brought fame to the country during the past few decades. They have proved that science and technology, if embraced correctly, can not only bring commercial and scientific success, but can also help the growth and survival of the human race. [/caption]…

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