News
CP puts record straight on creditors who will hold country to ransom
By Rathindra Kuruwita
Instead of coming up with a national plan to solve the current crisis with the support of all parties, the government had put all eggs in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) basket, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) and Secretary of the Uttara Lanka Sabagaya (ULS), Dr. G. Weerasinghe said.Certain forces that controlled the present administration wanted all power concentrated in a few people. This is why they oppose any national plan,which would distribute power among a relatively large number of people, Weerasinghe said.
“If we look at our foreign debt, most of it is owned by commercial lenders. We don’t even know how many such lenders there are; who they are and whether they are willing to make compromises,” Weerasinghe said.The only obvious thing about these commercial creditors was that most of them were European or US companies, he said.
“Dealing with these entities will be hard. Unlike a country or an international institution, these commercial creditors only care about making profits. Will they be willing to take a haircut? We need to have an open discussion with all stakeholders in Sri Lanka and come up with a plan,” the CPSL General Secretary said.
The Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Ranil Wickremesinghe governments have taken a number of steps that are in alignment with the IMF ideology, he said, adding that this involves floating the rupee and changing the prices of fuel, electricity, etc., to reflect the so-called market prices.
“The government also talks about restructuring state owned enterprises. They say there are too many people. Who gave jobs to all these people and what are the consequences of a large number of people losing jobs during a crisis like this? This is not mathematics, we are dealing with people,” he said.
Weerasinghe also said that certain sections of the media, political class and academia are spreading misinformation about Sri Lanka’s traditional allies, like China.
“There is a lot of talk about a Chinese debt trap. International and local intellectuals have proven that there is no such thing. However, due to political reasons some people insist that we are in trouble because of Chinese loans. By making people believe in these lies, they are making it harder for any future government to rationally work with China. This is the height of irresponsibility,” he said.
Business
Cabinet approves establishment of two 50 MW wind power stations in Mullikulum, Mannar region
Adhering to the broad plan of the Government to reach the objective of accomplishing 70% of the country’s electricity supply from renewable energy sources by the year 2030, the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers was granted on 10.02.2025 to invite requests for resolutions from interested developers of the private sector in order to implement the Mullikulum Wind Power – 100 Mega Watts (two (02) wind power stations of
50 Mega Watts each) on the basis of construction, ownership and execution with a monitoring period of 20 years.
Accordingly, requests for proposals have been called to implement the relevant project by adhering to the international competitive bidding methodology, and seven (7) prospective project proposals were submitted.
Evaluating the said proposals, based on the recommendations submitted by the negotiation committee appointed by the Cabinet of Ministers, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Power to award the contracts of establishing the two (02) 50 Mega Watts Wind
Power Stations to Consortium of Vidullanka PLC & David Pieris Motor Company (Lanka) Limited and WindForce PLC.
Latest News
Cabinet approves the purchase of vehicles to improve the primary health care system across the island
The Government of Sri Lanka has signed a financial agreement with the International Development Association of the World Bank Group to obtain US$ 150 million under the project for improvement of Primary Health Care System.
This project will be implemented covering all the districts in Sri Lanka during the period 2024 to 2028 with the objective of prevention and management of non- communicable diseases,
elderly and palliative care, including strengthening community level services and building resilience to climate related emergencies.
Insufficient transport facilities for the field officers (Public Health Midwives, public health inspectors, primary care nurses, and surveillance teams) has been identified as decisive obstacles relevant to this project.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to procure the below mentioned vehicles necessary to improve the transport capacity for broadening house based care and community relationship coverage, improve the efficiency of field tests and supervisory work, ensure the transport of clinical waste materials safely and proper time.
• 26 clinical waste materials transport lorries
• 26 Double Cabs
• 05 vans with 10 seats
• 02 buses with 42 seats
• 2,891 scooters for Public Health Midwives
• 200 scooters for Public Health Nurses
• 1,350 Motor Bicycles for public health inspectors
• 200 scooters for laboratory Services
• 20 trucks with Refrigerators for the Medical Supply Division
• 08 Fork lifts for the Medical Supply Division
• A crew cab for the Divisional Health Office – Puttalam
• An ambulance fleet for the Jaffna district
News
Cabinet approves the transfer of the constructions and land reserved for the Kiinniya University to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism
Approval had been granted at the cabinet meeting held on 20-06-2017 to construct on the Upparuwatte land owned by the Land Reformation Commission, with an extent of 12 acres in the Upparu Grama Niladhari Division at the Divisional Secretariat division of Kinniya in the Trincomalee District. Rs. 25.45 million has been spent so far on the construction for this university.
The University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) has decided that there is no longer a necessity to build a university on that land as planned due to conditions that have arisen later.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal
presented by the Prime Minister in her capacity as the Minister of Education, Higher Education, and Professional Education to discontinue the construction of the Kinniya University and to transfer the reserved land and constructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism for the
implementation of a project in the tourism field as proposed at the Trincomalee District Coordination Committee.
Cabinet approves establishment of two 50 MW wind power stations in Mullikulum, Mannar region
Cabinet approves the purchase of vehicles to improve the primary health care system across the island
Cabinet approves the transfer of the constructions and land reserved for the Kiinniya University to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism
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