News

Tissa Vitarana opposes going to IMF at All Party confab

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/27

Calls for 50% tax on income between Rs. 400,000 and Rs. 1 million

I am glad that this conference is being held when Sri Lanka is faced with one of the worst economic crises since independence. Before getting onto my speech, I wish to thank the President and Prime Minister for holding this meeting. Further, the presence of members of the Opposition is also welcome. This is a signal of the readiness of the Opposition to cooperate with the Government to overcome the crisis, as one nation.

However, I strongly disagree with the view that both the Government and the Leader of the Opposition hold that the solution lies only through the IMF (International Monetary Fund). The IMF solution will only lead to a further loss of dollars through the unrestricted opening of the economy to more imports and also lead to increased debt due to taking further loans.

It would have been better to have had an earlier meeting of the Government party leaders so that agreement on policy matters could have been reached among ourselves in the Government. I would support the view of the Tamil speaking MP’s that national unity is essential and could be achieved by fully implementing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

Due to shortages and high prices of basic essentials, most of them imported, like fuel (oil and gas), medicines and food, life has become a misery for most of the people (perhaps other than the super-rich). The knock on effects e.g. shortage of electricity, have added to the misery. The root cause is the shortage of US dollars (USD). The Foreign Exchange Reserve which was maintained at USD 7-8 Billion has come down to less than USD 1 Billion. This has led to our Fitch Rating dropping to 2C (1C means bankruptcy). The real value of the rupee has dropped from 200 to a dollar, to 285 per dollar. This has led to the non-acceptance of Letters of Credit (LC) from Sri Lanka by foreign suppliers. As a result it is only after payment in dollars that goods are sent from abroad, which means a delay of several months. But due to the shortage of dollars in the country this cannot be done even in time.

A similar crisis occurred during the 1970-75 SLFP/LSSP/CP Coalition Government. With the formation of OPEC, oil prices rose by more than five times and a ton of sugar went up from £ 42 to £ 600. The JVP insurgency damaged the economy and added to the cost to the country.

Dr.N.M.Perera, then Finance Minister, overcame the crisis and raised the Foreign Reserves from USD 1.3 Billion in 1970 to USD 2.7 Billion by 1975, thereby stabilizing the economy and providing sufficient US dollars for our essential imports. He strictly banned non-essential imports thereby reducing the foreign exchange deficit, which is the main cause of the lack of dollars. He encouraged the development of local industry and agriculture.

Since 1977 the UNP came to power with its neoliberal economic policies. These have been operative since then. These were designed by the USA (led by Prof. Friedman of the Chicago School of Economics), to continue to exploit the world’s resources (specially countries of the Third World, like Sri Lanka) to the advantage of the USA and its imperialist allies in the post-colonial era. This open economy, promoted by the WTO (World Trade Organization), which the UNP and its allies in Sri Lanka strongly support, led to unlimited import of luxury and other non-essential goods. The result was that the foreign exchange deficit was at time double the export income.

This ate into our reserves and also led to massive foreign borrowing. Successive Governments, the UNP more than the SLFP, went into both short and long term borrowing, often at a high interest rate. Last year alone Sri Lanka had to pay USD six billion for debt servicing. The question then is how can we pay this amount when our reserves are so low.

The only way out is to get a moratorium from our creditors, that is ask for time to delay the payments for a period of about five years. This would mean for this period we will have USD 30 Billion, to put our economy right and also immediately fund the import of essentials, with the restoration of LCs. This has been done by several countries in the course of past crises. I am told that Argentina and Uruguay among other countries have done so this time too.

Our solution should ensure that we do not increase our debt, a root cause of our problems. This would be the inevitable outcome of turning to the IMF for assistance. Further the IMF policy of unlimited imports would put us into deeper debt.

Concrete measures should be taken to rationalize our import structure. Nearly 25% of our dollars is allocated to the import oil and gas. The latter requirement can be effectively minimized by domestic bio-gas production using cookers produced by the NERD institution. Fuel should be rationed giving priority to public transport. There should be a total ban on non-essential imports. Other selected items should be subject to heavy taxes.

This is a better solution than the issuing of permits, which leads to corruption. Foreign inputs required for industrial production for exports should be permitted. Promotion of science, technology and research for value added industries using local raw material should also be supported.

The tax system should be drastically revised as indicated in Table 1.

As an incentive, company taxes should remain low only for value added industries, that use local or foreign raw materials, especially for export and import substitution. Unfair exploitation of local human and material resources must be minimized, especially for the local market. Incentives must be given for tourism and remittances from abroad. Indirect taxes must be minimized.

The adoption of a floating exchange rate system is a progressive step in the present context. The public and private loss making institutions can be made profitable like in Kerala, India by utilizing the “Solidarity Principle”. Here the ownership of an enterprise is given to the employees and the profit is shared equally among them. Stop taking inflated foreign loans. The above changes should be associated with a wage-price freeze (which led to the success of Roosevelt’s “New Deal”).

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Govt. confident of 2/3 majority despite NPP split speculation

Published

37 mins ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Anura / Harini

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The ruling NPP yesterday (21) dismissed claims of a widening rift, within the government, over the proposed 22nd Amendment. Asked whether the NPP was concerned over a section of the Opposition alleging Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and two dozen MPs taking a view contrary to that of the party in this regard, authoritative party sources said some persons were propagating speculation for their own interest.

Declaring that there was absolutely no issue regarding the controversial Amendment, sources emphasised once it was tabled in Parliament, it would be passed with 2/3 majority.

Sources dismissed claims that out of its 159-member parliamentary group a section of NPPers was opposed to the government move. According to an influential Opposition activist, there are 57 JVPers and 66 NPPers in the government group and the rest contested the last parliamentary polls, having aligned with the JVP.

Ministerial sources told The Island that the government was confident of going ahead with the 22nd Amendment and Judicature (Amendment) Bills. Sources said that the NPP was not bothered about the Opposition protests in and outside Parliament.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne is expected to disclose the confidential ruling that he received from the Supreme Court in respect of more than 65 petitions for and against the 22nd Amendment and Judicial Amendment Bills. The enactment of the 22nd Amendment would pave the way for extending the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, from 65 to 67 years, and Court of Appeal judges, from 63 to 65 years.

News

Justice Corea appointed Acting President of the Court of Appeal

Published

38 mins ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Court of Appeal Judge M. Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea receives his letter of appointment

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Court of Appeal Judge Mayadunna Sri Mevan Anthony Edirimannasuriya Corea as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal.

The appointment has been made as President’s Counsel Nalin Rohantha Abeysuriya, who currently serves as President of the Court of Appeal, will be overseas until the 24th.

Accordingly Justice Mayadunna Corea was sworn in as Acting President of the Court of Appeal before President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential secretariat last morning (21).

Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake was also present at the occasion.

News

Protest against setting up of cement factory in highly populated area near BIA

Published

40 mins ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

The cement factory premises located in close proximity to a school and the lagoon

… school alleges deception

What began quietly as a single-storey tourist hotel, on the edge of Katunayake-Seeduwa has, five years later, morphed into a looming five-storey cement factory and with it, a storm of fear, anger and unanswered questions.

At a media briefing held on 19 September at St. Thomas International School, Seeduwa, the community finally found its voice. The gathering included priests, school principals, environmental defenders, and parents whose children study within a few hundred metres of the site.

The briefing was led by Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando, Director of National and Archdiocesan Catholic Social Communications, Rev. Fr. Nilantha Heshan, Director of the Archdiocesan Sethsarana Institute, Dinusha Nanayakkara, Convener of the Archdiocesan Committee for the Protection of Muthurajawela, and Attorney-at-Law Ms. Isuri Rodrigo.

Their message was clear: This is not a campaign against development.

“We Are Not Against Cement. We Are Against Deception.”

“Cement is an essential raw material for the country. We have no opposition to any such factory or production plant,” they told the media. “But what we cannot agree to is a project of this magnitude, in this location, without any proper environmental assessment.”

The speakers alleged a textbook case of deception, obtaining approvals for a low-impact tourist hotel, in one of the most densely populated educational zones in the Katunayake-Seeduwa Municipal Council area, and then transforming it into a heavy industrial plant.

“In an area where thousands of schoolchildren study, to show one thing on paper and build another is a highly fraudulent procedure. It is clear that the real environmental damage and the truth have been hidden from the people,” they said.

With the sea and lagoon winds that sweep across Seeduwa, experts fear these fine particles will not stay confined to the factory walls. They will drift across classrooms, homes, and the Katunayake Free Trade Zone, where thousands of workers, representing all 25 districts of Sri Lanka, work every day.

“The risk is not local. It is national. We are talking about a future generation of children with respiratory illnesses, and workers developing chronic breathing disorders,” one speaker warned.

Rev. Fr. Jude Chrishantha Fernando, Director of National & Archdiocesan Catholic Social Communications, responding to journalists

Then there is the proximity that defies logic, just 500 metres from the Bandaranaike International Airport.

The panel presented a scientific concern that has aviation experts worried: a significant drop in air quality around the airport and its runway, and the severe risk to highly sensitive aircraft engines when they ingest air mixed with cement dust. What is at stake, they argued, is not just health but the economy itself.

“When you weigh it deeply, the economic contribution of an international airport is far higher than that of a cement factory. If international airlines start to avoid Katunayake due to safety and air quality concerns, it will be a fatal blow to our country’s economy,” they emphasised.

A few minutes away lies another victim the Negombo Lagoon and the Muthurajawela wetlands, Sri Lanka’s largest and most sensitive coastal ecosystem.

The panel warned that cement dust settling on the mangrove system could degrade water quality, disrupt the delicate salinity balance, and directly interfere with fish breeding grounds. For the fishing communities of Negombo, whose lives depend on the lagoon, this is an existential threat.

“The lagoon is a nursery. If its water quality drops, fish will not breed. If fish do not breed, an entire fishing community collapses,” they said.

The speakers alleged that while the developers claim to have approvals from various state institutions, many of the mandatory clearances, particularly comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessments and feasibility reports, have not been obtained.

They stressed they are not calling for an end to investment, but for it to be done right.

“We have no objection to this factory being started in another suitable location where it will not cause these environmental impacts, based on proper feasibility and assessment reports. Stop this construction here and move it,” was the unanimous demand.

The appeal has now been directed again to the President, the government, and all responsible state institutions and officials.

As the briefing ended, one image lingered — a school playground, a lagoon, and a towering cement structure rising between them. It is a scary picture for the people of Seeduwa; they asks a simple question: What price are we willing to pay for development that doesn’t breathe?