News
Money printing not panacea for current crises – civil society activist
Rs 20.14 bn printed in 30 days
By Shamindra Ferdinando
Former Governor of Uva, Southern and Central Provinces, Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, yesterday (08) said that the developing political, economic and social crisis couldn’t be addressed by printing money.
The continuation of money printing to address the issues had jeopardised recovery efforts, Tennakoon said, in his new capacity as the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Research (Sri Lanka).
Tennakoon said that the government policy with regard to printing money remained the same even after Ali Sabry, PC, on April 04 succeeded Basil Rajapaksa as the Finance Minister. Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe received the appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank on April 08, Tennakoon said.
Quoting from the latest Central Bank data, Tennakoon said that during the past four weeks (April 08-May 08), currency notes worth Rs 20.14 bn had been printed. The civil society activist asserted that this was the government response to its failure to restore political stability, increase revenue and control expenditure.
Pointing out that the ongoing Galle Face protest launched on April 09 and planned work disruptions during this week would cause further deterioration, Tennakoon said declaring that the ruling SLPP couldn’t absolve itself of the responsibility for prolonging the political crisis.
The top SLPP leadership appeared to have quite conveniently forgotten that one-third of its own parliamentary group demanded the removal of the Cabinet-of-Ministers, including Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Noting that the public demanded the resignation of both President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa over the current crises, Tennakoon said that since January 2020 the duo oversaw the printing currency notes worth Rs. 1,795 bn. This amount was even bigger than the annual state revenue, Tennakoon said, urging the government to take remedial measures before the collapse of the national economy.
In other words, the government, in spite of entering into a dialogue with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Finance Minister Sabry’ acknowledgement of mismanagement at the highest levels, the government seemed to be on the same track, Tennakoon said.
Tennakoon said that those at the helm of political power appeared to have ignored the warning signs. Sharp drop in tea exports, disruption of foreign orders/supply chains as a result of work stoppages in export zones, ruination of agricultural crops, disruption in lucrative fish exports and drop in tourist arrivals caused by shortage of fuel and gas as well as continuing protests meant the recovery process was yet to start, Tennakoon said.
Tennakoon warned that economic issues couldn’t be addressed as long as the government failed to resolve the simmering political crisis over the demand for the resignation of the entire Cabinet-of-Ministers, including the Prime Minister and some demanding the resignation of the Cabinet-of-Ministers and the President.
A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.
Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.
Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.
It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.
Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.
Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions
• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981
News
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.
Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
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