Monday 22nd December, 2025

Maan Pharmaceuticals Ltd., the manufacturer of Ondansetron, which has been withdrawn from hospitals here pending a probe, is reported to have asked the Sri Lankan health authorities to have the drug tested by an internationally accredited laboratory. The use of nine other Maan products too has been suspended in Sri Lanka over quality concerns. Maan’s reaction has come as no surprise; all companies ardently defend their products. However, its concerns should be heeded. The National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) and the Ministry of Health ought to furnish irrefutable evidence in support of their decision to suspend the use of the drugs at issue. The manner in which the NMRA has carried out its duties and functions, especially granting approval for drugs and investigating complaints of their quality, over the years, does not inspire public trust.

The subtext of what has been reported of the Maan’s letter to the Sri Lankan health authorities is worth taking note of. It can be argued that in corporate newspeak, Maan has questioned the competence of the NMRA to test its products. As Maan would have us believe that its products meet international standards, it should be asked to state whether it has gained access to stringent regulatory destinations, such as the US and EU, and, if not, why.

It is being argued in some quarters that the degradation of pharmaceuticals can happen due to improper storage and transport. Maan’s aforesaid letter reportedly has reference to drug storage here. There are allegations that the Sri Lankan health authorities leave imported drugs in freight containers under inappropriate conditions for extended periods. However, the phials of Ondansetron which were tested at the Kandy National Hospital and found to be affected by microbial contamination had been stored properly and their seals were intact, according to media reports, quoting doctors. Thus, the contamination of the drug points to issues in manufacturing and packaging rather than storage and transport.

Meanwhile, a news item in this newspaper today reveals the pivotal importance the pharmaceutical industry has assumed in the Indian economy; India’s pharmaceutical exports have crossed USD 30 billion. Therefore, some critics of the Indian pharmaceutical products are of the view that India will do everything in its power to protect the interests of its drug companies, including Maan. But the fact remains that India itself has cracked down on some of its pharmaceutical companies involved in scandals. It severely dealt with the Indian companies that manufactured contaminated cough syrups which killed 66 children in Gambia in 2022 and 22 children in India in September 2025.

In the greed-driven corporate world, profits take precedence over human life, and there is hardly anything that Big Pharma spares in pursuing profit maximisation. As we pointed out in a previous comment, the World Health Organization has revealed that at least one in 10 medical products in low-and middle-income countries fails to meet quality standards or is falsified. This shows the enormity of the problem of fake and substandard drugs. Hence the need for robust mechanisms to protect patients.

All issues related to substandard and falsified drugs and their adverse effects in this country boil down to the failure of successive governments to address multiple problems pertaining to drug regulation and testing and find long-term solutions. Flaws in regulatory oversight and the absence of proper testing facilities have helped corrupt politicians and bureaucrats enrich themselves by turning this country into a dumping ground for poor-quality and fake medicines. Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa himself has said that not all drugs approved by the NMRA undergo rigorous testing, and thorough tests are conducted on drugs only when there are complaints about their quality.

Most of all, the NMRA has to be cleansed, as a national priority. Its history is replete with numerous scandals, including allegations of corrupt drug registrations, data manipulation, issues with substandard and fake medicines leading to patient deaths prompting investigations, suspensions, legal action, and internal turmoil with officials resigning amidst claims of threats and cover-ups.

Saturday 20th December, 2025

Disciplinary action has reportedly been taken against several police officers for their alleged failure to conduct a proper investigation into a recent accident caused by NPP MP Asoka Ranwala in Sapugaskanda. This move, we believe, has the trappings of a diversionary tactic. The police would have incurred the wrath of the government if they had conducted a breathalyzer test on Ranwala and produced him before a Judicial Medical Officer immediately after the crash where an infant, his mother and grandmother were injured.

Ranwala was subjected to a blood alcohol test more than 12 hours after the accident, according to media reports. The police would not have dragged their feet of their own volition. They were obviously made to do what they did. The law applies equally only to ordinary people. Will the police top brass explain why no disciplinary action was taken against the police officers who unashamedly sided with a group of JVP members involved in grabbing an office of the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) in Yakkala in September 2025. After turning a blind eye to that blatant transgression, the police provided security to the JVP members who were forcibly occupying the FSP office. Thankfully, a judicial intervention made them leave the place. The current rulers claim they have not placed themselves above the law, unlike their predecessors. A wag says they have placed the law below them instead!

Having made a mockery of its much-advertised commitment to upholding the rule of law by intervening to prevent Ranwala from undergoing an alcohol test immediately after the aforesaid accident, the government is making attempts at face-saving. Curiously, blood samples obtained from Ranwala have been sent to the Government Analyst for testing! The government seems to have a very low opinion of the intelligence of the public, who voted for it overwhelmingly, expecting a ‘system change’.

It is being argued in some quarters that the disciplinary inquiry against the police officers has been scripted, and the charges against them will be dropped when the issue fizzles out. This argument is not without some merit, but there is a possibility of the government going to the extent of trying to clear its name at the expense of the police officers concerned if push comes to shove.

Successive governments have scapegoated police personnel and other state employees to safeguard their interests, and the incumbent administration is no exception; it has already sought to shift the blame for its failure to mitigate the impact of Cyclone Ditwah to the Meteorological Department, which, it has claimed, did not warn it about the extreme weather events fairly in advance. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament on Thursday that the government had muzzled some senior officials of the Meteorological Department.

Some leaders of the incumbent government are bound to face legal action for their commissions and omissions when they lose power, and the state officials pandering to their whims and fancies will have to do likewise.

The public officials who are at the beck and call of politicians and carry out illegal orders should realise that they run the risk of being left without anyone to turn to in case they have to face legal action for their transgressions. Their ruthlessly self-seeking political masters will not scruple to sacrifice them.

Friday 19th December, 2025

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa has accused the government of interfering with the ongoing disaster relief programmes. Speaking in Parliament, on Thursday, he produced what he described as documentary proof to support his claim that disaster victims were required to have their applications for compensation endorsed by the heads of the Prajashakthi committees controlled by the JVP apparatchiks. Several other Opposition MPs have levelled the same allegation against the government in Parliament.

Two trade unions representing the Grama Niladharis have complained of political interference with their work, and even threatened to pull out of the disaster relief programmes unless they are allowed to carry out their duties and functions, free from political pressure.

Sri Lanka United Grama Niladhari Association (SLUGNA) President Nandana Ranasinghe told the media on 08 December that JVP/NPP politicians and their supporters were meddling with the disaster relief programmes at all levels and even obstructing the Grama Niladharis (GNs). He claimed that the political authority had sent letters to the District and Divisional Secretaries, directing them to appoint JVP/NPP members to the state-run welfare centres. SLUGNA Secretary Jagath Chandralal said state officials had been directed to obtain approval from the government members of the Prajashakthi committees for carrying out relief work. A few days later, addressing the media, Convenor of the Sri Lanka Grama Niladhari Association Sumith Kodikara also made a number of similar allegations. He said the NPP politicians were arbitrarily helping their supporters obtain Rs. 25,000 each as compensation. He stressed that only the disaster victims had to be paid compensation, and never had disaster relief programmes been politicised in that manner. These allegations are shocking enough to warrant probes, as we said in a previous comment.

Initially, the government denied the involvement of its Prajashakthi members in the process of selecting disaster relief beneficiaries, but now it allows them to work alongside state officials openly. This is an instance of the arrogance of power, which became the undoing of several previous governments, especially the ones led by the UNP and the SLPP. Minister K. D. Lal Kantha has gone on record as claiming that the Prajashakthi functionaries too should have a say in relief provision!

Funds the government is distributing among disaster victims belong to the state, and therefore no political party must be allowed to influence or control their disbursement. One can argue that it is prima facie unlawful for anyone other than authorised public officials to get involved in the process of distributing state funds as disaster relief. The Opposition should find out whether there is any legal provision for the involvement of the Prajashakthi functionaries in relief distribution or whether they are committing a transgression.

The government is apparently labouring under the mistaken belief that it can use disaster relief to shore up its approval rating as well as electoral prospects in view of the next election––the Provincial Council polls which it is coming under increasing pressure to hold next year. Political interference with disaster relief only exasperates the public beyond measure. A large number of disaster victims have held protests in several areas, claiming that they have been overlooked.

The JVP/NPP, which came to power promising to depoliticise the state institutions and revitalise the public service, should be ashamed of having stooped so low as to politicise the process of providing disaster relief. Politicians have a sense of shame only when they are out of power.

If the JVP/NPP leaders are wise, they will learn from the predicament of the Rajapaksas, who had to pay a heavy price for testing the patience of the public. The latter had to head for the hills with angry people in close pursuit. Now that the people have successfully got rid of a bunch of failed rulers, they may take to the streets again if their patience runs out. The government would do well to follow the established procedures in carrying out disaster relief programmes, without subjugating them to its political agenda and undermining their integrity.