Month: March 2023

President writes open letter to bilateral creditors with appeals and assurances

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President writes open letter to bilateral creditors with appeals and assurances Letter with clarifications aimed at providing comfort to all and enable SL to progress swiftly to next stage of the debt treatment negotiations Reiterates he is committed to stay the course, and says SL relies on creditors to do the right thing Woos all to maintain and even enlarge and strengthen official bilateral creditor coordination Says new era starts with full implementation of IMF-supported program and resolution of debt situation Commits to transparency and assures SL will not make any…

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IMF urged Anti-Corruption Bill gets Cabinet approval

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IMF urged Anti-Corruption Bill gets Cabinet approval (FT 15-03-2023) After years of long pursuit, the Anti-Corruption Bill ‒ a landmark piece of legislation defining measures to reduce corruption and vulnerabilities by improving fiscal transparency and public financial management was finally approved by the Cabinet of Ministers Monday to proceed with the next steps. The move is a result of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout package, amidst the ongoing economic crisis. Such a Bill was long overdue and should have ideally come as a result of…

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Opposition unites to demand LG Polls

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Local Government Elections and the Government’s attempt to prevent it. (The Morning 12-03-2023) Treasury Secy.’s absence at EC meeting criticised, EC asked for fresh date Secy. Siriwardana outlines four issues regarding attending EC’s meeting EC informed by Treasury Secy. that letter on funds passed on to Minister Dolawatte raises privileges issue against SC, Speaker requested to inquire The Election Commission (EC) last week decided on 25 April as the new date to conduct the Local Government (LG) Polls, in keeping with the Supreme Court’s recent and related order following a…

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RW Govt. gears up to finalise IMF deal

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RW Govt. gears up to finalise IMF deal (The Morning 12-03-2023) China’s latest assurance on SL debt restructuring brings IMF deal closer Govt.-India in agreement to extend $ 1 b credit line by a few months As Sri Lanka nears the one-year mark of last year’s Aragalaya people’s power protest campaign, the country’s economic revival seems to be finally on track with the appreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee and economic activities showing positive signs following news of the proposed International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal likely to be finalised this…

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Trinco Oil Farm- and related issues

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Trinco Oil Farm- and related issues (From The Island 8-03-2023)  New move on Trinco oil tank farm Having participated at the China Bay parade, President Wickremesinghe, accompanied by National Security Advisor and Chief of Presidential Staff, Sagala Ratnayake, and several others, including Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera, toured the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm, consisting originally of 100 tanks, situated in 827 acres of land. The tank No. 91, however, was destroyed in Japanese air attacks, launched by ship-borne bombers, and attack aircraft, during World War 11. President Wickremesinghe is…

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Semasinghe’s request on privilege issue raised over SC interim order on LG polls

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Semasinghe’s request on privilege issue raised over SC interim order on LG polls (Adaderana 10-03-2023) State Minister Shehan Semasinghe has requested the Deputy Speaker of Parliament to instruct relevant authorities not to act on the interim order issued by the Supreme Court regarding the 2023 Local Government polls until the inquiry carried out by the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges comes to an end. Furthermore, he also asked the letter sent to the Finance Minister by the Election Commission Chairman, to be referred to the Parliamentary Committee on Privileges. The state…

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IMF chief welcomes Sri Lanka’s progress in taking policy actions, securing creditor assurances

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IMF chief welcomes Sri Lanka’s progress in taking policy actions, securing creditor assurances (Adederana 8- 03-2023) The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the progress made by the Sri Lankan authorities in taking decisive policy actions and obtaining financial assurances from all major creditors including China, India and the Paris Club. In a statement, Kristalina Georgieva said she looks forward to presenting the IMG-supported program to the organization’s Executive Board on March 20. “The Extended Fund Facility (EFF) will support the authorities’ program of ambitious reforms,…

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Tamil parties in the North reject HRCSL’s ‘homegrown’ recommendations

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Tamil parties in the North reject HRCSL’s ‘homegrown’ recommendations The Morning (7-03-2023) TMTK’s Wiggy and TNA’s Sumanthiran say HRCSL has portrayed Northern demands inaccurately Responding to the recent recommendations made by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) that the Northern people are agreeable to an internal mechanism provided that the Truth Commission comprises members of competency and integrity, Tamil political parties in the Northern Province stated yesterday (6) that this does not fairly correspond to what the people in the North have been saying and noted that no…

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Indian fishermen issue: Permit talk gathers flak across the board

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Indian fishermen issue: Permit talk gathers flak across the board Move will violate sovereignty and affect all Sri Lankan fishermen: Annarasa Fisherfolk against this move, prepared to protest in the streets: NAFSO  A step back from progress made to resolve issue: Kadirgamar No decision taken to issue permits, only a proposal: Ministry  A proposal by the Government to permit Indian fishermen to fish in Sri Lankan waters has received widespread condemnation from Sri Lanka’s fishing community as well as from civil society groups.  The criticism comes as coastal fishermen, especially…

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Sri Lanka remains open to discussions with UNHRC – Sri Lanka’s UN envoy

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Sri Lanka remains open to discussions with UNHRC – Sri Lanka’s UN envoy Sri Lanka has once again expressed the country’s objection to resolution 51/1 adopted against the island nation by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in October last year. During a recent general meeting at the 52nd session of the UNHRC, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva Himalee Arunathilaka has noted that such resolutions are unhelpful to the people of Sri Lanka and will fail to serve the objective of promoting reconciliation…

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