News
‘Crises endemic, reflect overall failure of ministers’
Wijeyadasa, Vidura slam Cabinet
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Blaming the Cabinet of Ministers for a spate of serious crises, State Minister Vidura Wickremanayake says there is absolutely no point in a Cabinet reshuffle.
The Cabinet of Ministers has failed the country, the Kalutara District lawmaker said, urging the government to take tangible measures or face the consequences. The former SLFPer contested the last parliamentary election on the SLPP ticket.
The State Minister said so when The Island asked the outspoken Parliamentarian to explain his recent call for change of strategy due to the pathetic performance of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Responding to The Island queries, the only son of one-time Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said that the country wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state if cabinet ministers accomplished what was expected of them. Instead, the cabinet was the cause of turmoil today, MP Wickremanayake said, explaining how flawed decisions taken without proper consultations, advice in line with overall national policies weakened the government.
Asked whether his frank opinion as regards the performance of the cabinet of ministers received criticism from colleagues in the government, MP Wickremanayake said that how could anyone refuse to accept the truth. According to the State Minister, the cabinet was part of the executive therefore it was responsible for implementing decisions taken by the government.
In terms of the Constitution the President heads the cabinet.
State Minister Wickremanayake said that the failure on the part of the cabinet had caused irreparable damage to the two year old administration. “One or two more wrong decisions will be catastrophic,” MP Wickremanayake said.
State Minister Wickremanayake has questioned the standing of the cabinet of ministers at a time ministers Vasudeva Nanayakkara, Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila have challenged the integrity of the rest of the cabinet ministers over the controversial Yugadanavi deal. The case is now before the Supreme Court.
Former cabinet minister and SLPP Colombo District MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakse asserted that the current crisis should be examined against the backdrop of the enactment of the 20th Amendment in Oct 2020 at the expense of the 19th Amendment.
Acknowledging State Minister Wickremanayake’s strong criticism of the cabinet of ministers, lawmaker Rajapakse emphasized that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa couldn’t absolve himself of responsibility as he chaired the cabinet. The 20th Amendment was meant to strengthen the hands of the President, the former Justice Minister said, the cabinet couldn’t be faulted leaving the President out.
MP Rajapakse voted for the controversial amendment after having strongly criticized it. State Minister Wickremanayake, too, voted for the 20th Amendment.
Former BASL President Rajapakse said that the incumbent dispensation had caused so much turmoil in the administrative and political setups, every sector was in deepening turmoil. Ruination of the agro sector was a glaring case of an example, MP Rajapakse said, adding that the hasty decision regarding the abolition of agro-chemical use destroyed the farmer community.
Subsequent, corruption accusations both in and out of Parliament over both carbonic fertiliser imports from China that ended in disaster with the creation of a new controversy over payment of USD 6.7 mn to the supplier of allegedly contaminated fertiliser that had been rejected and liquid fertilizer imports from India placed the government in an extremely embarrassing situation, the MP said.
Yugadanavi was another crisis that has now ended up in the Supreme Court, the President’s Counsel said, while asserting that the government might not be able to overcome a spate of overwhelming challenges. “The new year is going to be tough. The people are experiencing an extremely difficult situation due to the sharp increase in the cost of living as a result of the continuing balance of payments crisis,” MP Rajapakse said.
Who would accept the responsibility for gas-related explosions in all parts of the country? the former minister asked. Who really believed the crises could be overcome by proroguing the Parliament or selling national assets to external powers through skullduggery.
MP Rajapakse said that nothing could be as important as the government undertaking a comprehensive examination of the ground situation. The executive, the legislature and the judiciary would have to undertake a total review, the former Minister said, warning that the government seemed to be running out of time.
The price of oil has fallen to levels not seen since before the Iran war as traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route gradually resumes.
Global benchmark Brent crude briefly fell below $72.48 (£55) a barrel, the price it was at the day before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on 28 February, before edging up to $73.23.
Energy prices have been on a wild ride since Iran responded to the strikes by effectively closing the strait, a critical waterway for oil and gas shipments.
The cost of crude has been moving sharply lower since the US and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 17 June which set out a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme and other measures to end the war.
Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.
Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.
The ships passing through the waterway in recent days include those carrying crude oil, liquefied natural gas (LNG), fertiliser and other goods, Kpler told the BBC.
The US and Iran had also formed a “communication line” to prevent misunderstandings “with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz”, mediators Qatar and Pakistan said in a joint statement on Monday.
There has been a “tremendous shift” with far more ships using the strait in recent days, said Dimitris Maniatis, the chief executive of Marisks, a maritime risk advisory firm working with ships stuck in the region.
A limited number of ships can cross a northern passageway with the permission of Iranian authorities, he said.
The US navy has also provided guidance for vessels to travel through a southern route that is safe from mines and other obstacles that has been laid out since the war, Maniatis said.
But the number of ships crossing the strait is still below levels seen before the war, when it was used by more than 100 ships a day.
Hundreds of ships still appear to be waiting in the Gulf.
Fuel prices at the pump rose sharply when the Iran war began, and now the focus is on how quickly they will fall.
“On the back of the lowest oil price since before the Iran war started, drivers should see the average price of petrol fall below 150p [a litre] in the next week or so,” said Simon Williams, head of policy at UK motoring group the RAC. He added the price of diesel “ought to go back under 160p.
Petrol peaked at 159.53p a litre on 28 May, according to the RAC, while diesel has fallen from a high of 191.54p on 15 April.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US has dropped to around $3.93 a gallon after reaching $4 a gallon in April, its highest since 2022, but is still well above pre-war levels.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday ordered an investigation into major energy companies, accusing Shell, ExxonMobil and other firms of “gouging” drivers by not reducing fuel prices even as oil costs fell.
“Oil prices have come down so much and we are not seeing anything at the pump by comparison the way they should be,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil and gas industry in the US, said fuel prices “don’t move in lockstep with crude oil”.
British energy firms have faced similar accusations of unfairly hiking petrol prices since the Iran war.
The UK competition watchdog said last month that there was no widespread evidence of this, adding that average profit margins were “broadly unchanged” between February and March
(BBC)
Representatives from the ’The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce’ met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Wednesday [24th of June] at the Parliament premises.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the Sri Lanka Economic and Investment Summit 2026 (SLEIS 2026), which is scheduled to be held on 12 and 13 October 2026. Attention was also given to digitalization initiatives, the introduction of digital technologies in schools under new education reforms, and the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Sri Lanka’s education sector.
Representatives of the Chamber noted that the summit would serve as an important platform for encouraging both local and foreign investment, while also contributing to the shaping of the country’s future economic policies.
The meeting was attended by Krishan Balendra, Chairman of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce; Vinod Hirdaramani, Deputy Vice Chairman; Shiran Fernando, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer; Aliki Perera, Deputy Secretary General and Chief Operating Officer; and Anagi Rodrigo-Weerasekera, Chief Economist and Head of Economic Intelligence, along with several other representatives.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
A discussion to review the progress of the housing project under which 4,700 houses are being constructed for the Malayagam community with Indian assistance was held this afternoon (24) at the Presidential Secretariat under the chairmanship of the Chief of Staff to the President, Prabath Chandrakeerthi.
Under this housing programme, 2,026 houses are to be provided to families identified by the National Building Research Institute (NBRI) as being at disaster risk. The remaining houses are expected to be allocated to eligible workers residing in the plantation sector.
Accordingly, the houses will be provided to Malayagam community families living on estates belonging to 22 Regional Plantation Companies, as well as estates under the State Plantations Corporation, Janawasama and Elkaduwa Plantations.
For the construction of each house, the Government of India has allocated Rs. 2.8 million, while the Government of Sri Lanka has contributed Rs. 400,000.
During the discussion, Chandrakeerthi instructed officials to ensure that the housing project is completed before the end of this year. He further directed that land identified for the construction of houses be released without delay and that the National Building Research Institute provide the necessary reports to identify suitable land for the project.
The housing project is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation and the Plantation Human Development Trust.
Among those present were Additional Secretary (Development) of the Ministry of Plantation and Community Infrastructure, K. S. Wijayakeerthi; Director General (Engineering), N. D. N. Pushpakumara; Director General (Planning), W. A. K. S. Damayanthi; the Secretary General of the Planters’ Association; and officials from the National Housing Development Authority, the State Engineering Corporation, relevant institutions and plantation companies.
(PMD)
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