News

SJB flays Prez for proroguing during worst-ever crisis

Published

4 years ago

2021/12/16

By Saman Indrajith

The President should not have prorogued Parliament and left the country, which is faced with the biggest ever economic crisis since independence, the main opposition SJB says.

Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s Office, in Colombo, yesterday, Chief Opposition Whip and Kandy District SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella said the President had been given powers by the Constitution to prorogue Parliament, but he should not have done so when the country was confronted with a crisis of this enormity.

“Given the severity of the crisis, the number of days of Parliament meeting should have been increased so that the MPs could discuss means and ways out of resolving this crisis. Parliament prorogation comes to us from the British Westminster tradition. During the period between 1940 and 1945 while World War II was prevailing, the British parliament was bombed 40 times by the Germans. Yet the British did not close their parliament. On some occasions during that period the British parliament met in a church nearby, because they needed to meet so often to discuss solutions for the crisis.

“When Parliament is prorogued, all committees stand dissolved except for three. Important committees including the COPE and COPA are dissolved. When the House meets again, we have to reappoint them anew and the government could delay that process too. This government has delayed for two years appointing a Sectoral Oversight committee introduced by the 19th Amendment. Whenever the matter is raised at the party leaders’ meeting, the Speaker does not respond.

“The COPA and COPE had been functioning well, exposing massive waste and corruption. For example, when the recent sugar scam had been exposed, the COPA asked for a report on the matter from the Treasury which duly submitted it to the committee so that everybody could learn that the loss of the scam was Rs 150,000 million. The committee chairman asked for a forensic audit report on the matter but even after months that report was not submitted. Now that investigation process would have to be started all over again.

“There is another issue of bringing a fertiliser ship from China. There is neither fertilizer nor money at the end of that deal. There is no committee to discuss this issue. The matter could be raised in the House but the government could evade it without giving a proper response. During the budget debate we raised many questions but none of them was answered by the government properly.

“There are reports that the government has commenced talks with New Delhi to obtain a loan of USD 1.4 billion to buy food, medicine and fuel. In return the government is going to give remaining oil tanks and some islands in the northern sea to India.

“Because of the prorogation around 1,500 motions and questions included in the Order Book would be dumped.

“The country is in a crisis. There is no collective responsibility in the Cabinet itself. We see ministers making their own statements and some have even opposed the government’s deals with foreign companies. Some Ministers even have issued affidavits against them. How a government could move forward in this manner?

“This government has no vision. For example, they created the fertilizer issue by expediting organic fertilizer use in the country which was promised in their manifesto to be done in 10 years. Later they attributed the failure to Covid-19. But everybody knows that the Covid-19 is not the cause of shortage of food, medicine, rising of the prices of essential goods, gas leak explosions etc.

“There is no price control. The rice prices are decided by the miller mafia. The government’s control of prices is the best indicator to show that it has lost control of the country.

“We think that the government should go for an election so that it could test the public opinion. Every democratic country holds an election every two years. We urge the government to hold the local government or provincial election soon.

“The media too should be blamed for the present crisis. It was the media that projected Gotabaya Rajapaksa as a super hero during the election campaign. For example, there was a press conference after Gotabaya Rajapaksa was named the SLPP Presidential candidate. He could not even answer some questions including those about the economy. He dodged and referred them to Mahinda Rajapaksa. The media should have highlighted that. They did not do so. If that happened in a presidential campaign in another country that candidate would have been forced to resign by people. How could one who cannot answer a question on the economy can run a country? What happened here is that the candidate got the chance to answer the question from someone else. That is similar to a contestant of the Sirasa Lakshapathi getting a lifeline. Now everybody sees the results and the media who covered that up too should be responsible for the present predicament the county is faced with,” Kiriella said.

Puttalam District SJB MP Hector Appuhamy also addressed the press.

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Business

Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum strengthens economic ties between Sri Lanka and Vietnam

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Marking a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the Sri Lanka– Vietnam Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum was successfully held on Friday (08) at the Hilton Colombo.

The Forum, jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, was held in parallel with the State Visit of President Tô Lâm of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The event was attended by President Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

The Forum underscored the importance of the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries and reflected the shared commitment to expanding economic cooperation.

The primary objective of the Forum was to further strengthen bilateral economic ties by focusing on key priorities including the expansion of trade, promotion of investment and enhancement of tourism cooperation. The event also provided an opportunity to explore new avenues of collaboration, strengthen business-to-business engagement and facilitate greater market access by bringing together senior government officials, entrepreneurs and industry leaders from both countries on a common platform.

During the Forum, direct air connectivity between Colombo and Ho Chi Minh City was officially launched. The new services, operated by Vietnam Airlines and VietJet Air, are expected to further strengthen relations between the two nations and their people.

Six Memoranda of Understanding covering key areas of cooperation were also signed during the Forum. In addition, a notable development was the establishment of the Sri Lanka–Vietnam Business Council under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Alongside the Forum, the Sri Lanka Export Development Board organised a business networking session, providing Sri Lankan and Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the opportunity to engage directly with one another. The event received strong participation from the private sectors of both countries, with businesses expressing keen interest in expanding trade and establishing resilient supply chains.

Representing Sri Lanka at the event were Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, Minister of Environment , Dr. Dhammika Patabendi, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development ,Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation, Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Deputy Minister of Tourism Ruwan Ranasinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development, K.A.Vimalenthirarajah, Chairman of the Export Development Board Mangala Wijesinghe along with several other dignitaries and officials.

Representing Vietnam were Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Organisation Commission , Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Politburo Member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Commission for Policies and Strategies , Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Politburo Member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Phan Van Giang, Politburo Member and Minister of Public Security, Luong Tam Quang and Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Le Hoai Trung, among others.

(PMD)

News

Accelerate projects related to resolving the public’s drinking water issues – President Instructs Officials

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to promptly identify and commence the projects required to resolve the drinking water issues that have become a major concern for the public.

The President also instructed officials to formulate plans with close attention to the current needs of the people, pointing out that the inability to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water has given rise to numerous problems affecting the public.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake made these remarks during a discussion held on Friday (08) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat with relevant officials to review the current status of national drinking water, community water supply and wastewater management projects, the progress and requirements of budget allocations, as well as future plans.

The President further instructed officials to submit a report indicating the projects that could be identified and commenced immediately, the required allocations and the expected completion dates. He stressed that financial constraints should not be treated as an obstacle and directed officials to prepare project plans and submit the necessary funding requests accordingly.

He also instructed that, rather than depending on foreign loans, greater attention should be given to completing projects as far as possible using domestic funds. In addition, he directed that staff required for project planning be recruited on contract basis.

The President also emphasised the importance of utilising capital expenditure allocations within the same year for the relevant projects. He pointed out that failure to do so would result in adverse consequences such as additional project costs, the loss of benefits from the funds already spent and the need to allocate capital provisions again in the following year for the same projects.

During the discussion, the President separately reviewed the projects being implemented and planned to resolve drinking water issues faced by people in the districts of Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Monaragala, Kandy, Gampola, Anuradhapura, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Ampara, Batticaloa and Polonnaruwa, along with the progress achieved and the issues that had arisen in implementing them.

Officials also informed the President that deteriorating main water pipelines had resulted in insufficient water capacity being supplied to residents in the Colombo District. They further presented plans to address these issues, while the President highlighted the need for close coordination and systematic planning between the Road Development Authority and the National Water Supply and Drainage Board in carrying out these activities.

The President also instructed officials to take steps to commence the Weli Oya Reservoir Project next year in order to support flood control and meet drinking water requirements in the Colombo District.

Attention was also drawn to the North Central Main Canal and North Western Canal projects. Reviewing the progress of projects being implemented to address the severe drinking water shortage faced by people in the areas of Welikanda, Medirigiriya and Lankapura, the President instructed officials to expedite the completion of projects that would not incur significant costs by using domestic funds.

The President further pointed out the importance of implementing all projects in a highly systematic and organised manner and ensuring that their benefits are delivered to the public. Although certain projects had been suspended midway due to priority being given to essential projects, he stressed that all projects were aimed at addressing the needs of the people and should therefore be carried out in a planned and methodical manner.

Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply Dr Susil Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena, Deputy Minister of Housing, Construction and Water Supply T.B. Sarath, Deputy Minister of Cooperative Development, Upali Samarasinghe, Members of Parliament including Samantha Ranasinghe, Nishantha Samaraweera, Sunil Biyanwila, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Shantha Padmakumara Subasinghe, Wasantha Piyathissa, Roshan Akmeemana, Ilan Kumaran, M. Jegadeeswaran, and S. Thilakanadan and Kandasamy Prabhu, Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Water Supply L.B. Kumudulal, Director General of the Department of National Budget Jude Nilukshan, Chairman of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board Engineer A.M.P.C.P. Bandara, Chairman of the Water Resources Board R.M.S. Bandara, Director General of the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka H.M.J.K. Herath and several other state officials were also present at the occasion.

(PMD)

News

President of Vietnam and delegation departs Sri Lanka

Published

6 hours ago

2026/05/9

Priyan

Tô Lâm, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and his delegation departed Sri Lanka on Friday (08) night from the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake, successfully concluding the State visit undertaken at the invitation of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

The visit by the Vietnamese President and the accompanying delegation further strengthened the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, while paving the way for numerous mutual benefits for the peoples of both countries.

This marked the first visit to Sri Lanka by a Vietnamese President in 15 years. The visit also comes at a significant moment as Sri Lanka continues its forward journey towards economic stability under the present Government.

Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Sunil Handunnetti, was present at the airport to bid farewell to the Vietnamese President and the delegation.

President’s Media Division (PMD)