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27% of Sri Lankans would emigrate if they could

Published

4 years ago

2021/11/17

About 27% of Sri Lankans would like to emigrate if they got opportunities, Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey (SLOTA) conducted by the Institute for Health Policy reveals.

The study authored by Dr. Ravi Rannan-Eliya said that of those who would like to emigrate, one in four had plans to do so.

“Comparisons with earlier years is difficult as the SLOTS survey is new, but comparison with earlier surveys, which used the same questions, implies that the number of Sri Lankans who want to emigrate has doubled during the last three to five years, and this can be taken as a reasonable indicator of potential emigration, both legal and undocumented from Sri Lanka once global travel restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19 are lifted”, the report says.

Given below are excerpts of the report: Men are more likely than women to want to emigrate if given the chance, but the groups expressing the greatest desire to emigrate are the youth (ages 18–29 years) and university graduates, around 1 in 2 of whom would like to emigrate if given the chance, and those in the Northern and Eastern provinces, around 2 in 5 of whom would like to emigrate if given the chance.

However, it should be noted that in terms of translating the desire to migrate into actual plans, the better-off and more educated are far more likely to have started preparations, demonstrating that personal resources are also a key factor enabling Sri Lankans to migrate.

“Since the youth are far more likely to want to emigrate, Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s point that it’s the youth who most want to emigrate does seem to be correct, but it doesn’t follow that this is because of disenchantment with the government. But voters’ disenchantment with how they voted in 2019 and 2020 is sizeable. Of respondents who said that they voted for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2019 (or the SLPP and SLFP in 2020), 1 in 3—referred to here as “disenchanted Gotabaya Rajapaksa voters”—did not choose President Rajapaksa when asked how they would vote if there was an election today. Some indicated other individuals, but most responded they would not vote or refused to answer, suggesting that much of the disenchantment with the government does not translate yet into support for the Opposition. It also suggests that the increased desire to migrate may reflect wider despair about the ability of the political system to offer change for the better.

When accounting for all factors in combination, only some have sizeable independent influence on the desire to emigrate. These include being youth, male, more educated, living in Northern and Eastern provinces and in urban areas, and being economically better-off. But amongst adults who voted for President Rajapaksa, the desire to emigrate is even more strongly influenced by being degree educated and being higher income, whilst disenchanted Rajapaksa voters are three times as likely as other Rajapaksa voters—referred here as “loyal Gotabaya Rajapaksa voters”— to desire to emigrate. This would confirm Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s second point that disenchantment with the government is pushing former supports to migrate, but it is the best educated and better-off Rajapaksa voters who are being pushed the most to migrate.

Pessimism about the economy and dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 response appear to be key drivers of disenchantment. Disenchanted Rajapaksa voters assess their own household economic situation not that differently to loyal Rajapaksa voters, with 66% reporting their household situation is worse than a year ago compared with 56% of loyal voters, which is little different to all adults (65%). However, disenchanted Rajapaksa voters are more pessimistic about prospects for the economy, with 66% saying they expect the economy to be worse in a year’s time, compared with only 59% of loyal voters, although they are less pessimistic than the overall public (72%). And this represents a complete collapse in public optimism from just prior to the 2019 Presidential Election, when 56% of Sri Lankans said that they expected the economy to be better in a year’s time.

Disenchanted Rajapaksa voters are also less satisfied than loyal voters with the government’s COVID-19 response. When asked how they assess the government’s response, only 47% assess it as good, much less than loyal voters (74%). They also favour much stronger control of COVID-19 in future. When asked how many COVID-19 deaths would be acceptable as the country lifts restrictions, almost half of disenchanted voters (46%) say that less than 100 deaths a year would be acceptable, compared with 77% of loyal voters who are willing to accept more deaths and two thirds of whom consider 1,000 deaths a year or more to be acceptable.

This preference of disenchanted Rajapaksa voters for greater control of the virus is reflected in other views. A composite index of preference for greater control of the virus, which combines responses to several other questions, shows that disenchanted voters favour much more control of the virus than loyal voters. On the issue of COVID-19 control, their views are in practice the same as those of the overall public and those who did not vote for President Rajapaksa, implying that the greater official tolerance of COVID-19 spread since early 2021 has cost the government significant support.

In summary, responses in the Sri Lanka Opinion Tracker Survey corroborate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s claim that there is a surge in Sri Lankans, especially the youth, trying to migrate, and they confirm that much of this is driven by disenchantment of voters with the government. They also indicate that much of this dissatisfaction is driven by pessimism about economic prospects and dissatisfaction with the COVID-19 response, in particular a preference for stronger control of COVID-19 versus just “living with the virus”. The only positive aspect of this for the government might be that many disenchanted Rajapaksa voters do not appear to have switched their support to other parties, but this might only be a matter of time. However, from a national perspective the increased pressures to emigrate by the youth and the most educated and affluent in society bodes badly for the country’s future economic and social prospects as global travel restrictions are lifted.

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Plans for 2026 on the journey towards a digital economy Under President’s review

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/21

Priyan

A discussion to review the progress of projects implemented under the Ministry of Digital Economy in 2025 and to examine new projects planned to be implemented under the 2026 budgetary allocations was held on Monday (19) morning at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of the Minister of Digital Economy, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Special attention was paid to the plans and progress of programmes to promote a cashless economy.

Accordingly, an extensive discussion was held on the progress of projects planned by the Government to promote a cashless economy in Sri Lanka, including the digitalisation of government institutions, promotion of QR transactions, establishment of a Cloud infrastructure centre, a national programme to provide high-speed broadband facilities, provision of single-window facilities, the digital identity card project and the project to digitalise payment of traffic spot fines.

Noting that much of the economic activity of rural communities remains in the informal sector, the President emphasised the need to formally document these activities and stressed that this is essential when formulating future economic and development plans.

The performance, progress and future plans of institutions under the Ministry of Digital Economy, including Sri Lanka CERT, the Data Protection Authority and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), were also reviewed.

The current status and new recruitments of the GovTech institution, established to implement the Government’s digitalisation programme, were also discussed.

Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Presidential Adviser on Digital Economy, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Senior Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage, Secretary to the Ministry of Digital Economy, Varuna Sri Dhanapala, senior officials of the Ministry and heads of institutions under the Ministry also participated in the discussion.

News

Power sector reforms: CEB trade unions threaten strike

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/21

Thilina Walpola

A simmering confrontation between the government and the powerful Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) trade unions intensified yesterday, with the latter signalling continued industrial action, even as authorities moved decisively to prevent any disruption to electricity supply.

The dispute centres on the government’s determination to restructure and unbundle the CEB under amendments to the Electricity Act, a reform drive officials describe as unavoidable to curb losses, strengthen governance and stabilise the national power sector. This has also been a long-standing demand of international donors, particularly the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Some 24 CEB unions, including powerful engineers’ and workers’ organisations, have rejected the move, warning that the proposed restructuring could weaken institutional coordination, undermine job security and eventually place additional pressure on consumers.

Union representatives said work-to-rule campaigns and other limited forms of industrial action would continue, despite electricity services being declared an essential service — a legal measure that effectively curtails full-scale strike action.

“These reforms are being imposed without proper consultation. Decisions taken in haste could have serious consequences for grid stability and public confidence,” a senior union official told The Island.

The government, however, has adopted a firm posture, cancelling all categories of leave for CEB staff and directing management to ensure uninterrupted operations across generation, transmission and distribution.

A senior official at the Power and Energy Ministry said the administration would not allow labour unrest to jeopardise electricity supply, stressing that energy security was central to economic recovery.

“Electricity is a critical public service. Any attempt to disrupt supply will be dealt with firmly,” the official said.

Engineers’ unions have separately cautioned that restructuring without a clearly articulated technical and regulatory framework could compromise long-term planning and system reliability, though they have stopped short of calling for an outright shutdown.

Despite ongoing discussions between union leaders, CEB management and government representatives, there is no indication of an early resolution, raising the prospect of a prolonged standoff at one of the country’s most strategically important state institutions.

The dispute unfolds amid Sri Lanka’s IMF-backed reform programme, under which state-owned enterprises — particularly in the energy sector — are under increasing pressure to reduce losses and ease the burden on public finances.

Analysts warn that sustained unrest at the CEB could complicate reform timelines and dent investor confidence, even as the government seeks to signal policy resolve.

A retired CEB top official said: “For now, while major strike action remains legally constrained, the confrontation has once again placed the power sector at the centre of national debate, with consumers and businesses watching closely for any fallout.”

By Ifham Nizam ✍️

News

Dumbara Prison being expanded to accommodate nearly 30,000

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/21

Thilina Walpola

Harshana

Of over 37,000 held in country’s prisons, nearly 27,000 are suspects

Dumbara Prison built to accommodate 699 persons is now being expanded to hold 2,900 persons. At the moment, Dumbara Prison holds 2,246 men and women – a staggering 1,547 individuals more than its maximum capacity. Of the 2,246 persons held there, 107 are females.

This was revealed when Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara responded to a query posed by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) lawmaker Chamindrani Kiriella, in Parliament yesterday (20).

The Kandy district SJB MP raised a spate of questions regarding the current status of prisons with the focus on how the NPP government intended to address the growing congestion within prisons.

The Minister explained that a major building project was now underway to expand Dumbara Prison, situated at Pallekelle, to accommodate 2,500 men and 400 women.

According to Attorney-at-Law Nanayakkara, the proposed Dumbara Prison complex would include 102 housing units for prison personnel.

The Parliament was told that the entire project would cost the taxpayer a staggering Rs 4.3 bn and that Engineering Consultants (Pvt.) Limited (ECL) was responsible for planning and supervision.

The project was progressing and by January 4, 2026, a substantial part of the complex had been built and 2146 inmates already accommodated.

The Minister said that the facility was to accommodate those who were previously held at Nuwara and Bogambara Prisons.

Of some 37,761 held at various prisons, about 27,000 were suspects, the Parliament was told.

MP Kiriella urged Minister Nanayakkara to consider an arrangement, similar to that of South Africa where those languishing in prisons, due to the inability to pay fines, received the required financial assistance from a special fund created for that purpose.

While appreciating the SJB’ers proposal, Minister Nanayakkara said that during 2025, 17,000 persons hadn’t been remanded as part of the government response to overcome overcrowding in prisons. They were being held under supervision, the Minister said.

Minister Nanayakkara said that the primary reason for the congestion was the significant number of those remanded on narcotics-related charges. Of the over 37,000 held in prisons about 30,000 were those who had been arrested on narcotics-related offences, the Minister said. According to the Minister, delay on the part of the Government Analyst’s Department in furnishing relevant reports had created a crisis and action was being taken to recruit 82 persons to that Department. The idea was to establish a system to secure GA reports within three months, the Minister said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando ✍️