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Direction Sri Lanka calls for independent National Planning Commission

Published

4 years ago

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Civil society grouping Direction Sri Lanka has said that the country required an Independent National Planning Commission.

The following is the text of a statement issued by Direction Sri Lanka: “It is the considered position of Direction Sri Lanka that the neglect of evidence-based national planning in the Country now for over four decades has resulted in a highly distorted, imbalanced and unsustainable economy, leading to the collapse of many industries established after independence, compounded by social polarisation in the key social sectors such as Education, Transportation and Health. As apposite illustrations; • A fairly equitable system of education gave way to an unequal system of education where the well to do moved away their children from public education to private education dominated by private and public schools; • A mostly public transportation system gave way to a polarised system dominated by private vehicles which in turn contributed to a deterioration of public transport services in the Country; These and other changes encouraged many people in all parts of the Country to look for wage employment abroad, particularly in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries. With a widening of the trade gap due to rapidly increasing industrial imports, labour migration soon then became the leading exchange earner for the Country.

Labour migration post – 1977 resulted in labour shortages in vital sectors like agriculture forcing many small holding farmers to abandon labour intensive crop production in rural areas. Large numbers of school leavers also migrated to urban areas as informal sector workers, construction workers and three – wheeler drivers. Meanwhile, the importation of cheap substitutes for local products from many rural industries, eventually led to a decline of these industries. People engaged in such rural production activities eventually moved into other economic pursuits in urban areas. All of the above developments contributed to the loss of the rural – urban balance in population distribution, leading to increasing urbanisation, particularly in the Western Province. Many people migrated to this region not only for earning higher incomes but also to enjoy better amenities and services. Another significant development under post-1977 neo-liberal reforms was the compounding problem of public finance due to low tax regimes that were introduced. State revenue that was as high as 40% of GDP in the early 1970’s came down to about 12% of GDP, making it impossible to maintain a high level of public investment in critical areas such as education, health and public transport. The response of the governments at the time was to invite private sector investment. These investors established private hospitals, international schools and imported all types of vehicles for private transport and the roads were quickly filled with cars and other private vehicles. The rich and the other higher income generators began to use private services, while the poor had to manage with underfunded public services. Meanwhile, there was no diversification of export industries and the foreign income of the Country came from a few exports such as garments and tea. This was grossly inadequate to pay for the rapidly increasing import bill.

The easiest thing for successive governments at the time was to promote the export of labour. Foreign remittances from workers in the Middle East became the largest single exchange earner, reaching about USD 7.5 Billion and covered about 70% of the trade deficit. Tourism was identified as the next foreign exchange earner, reaching approximately USD 5 Billion at its peak. What was worse came soon thereafter, which was borrowing money from foreign sources to invest in projects, several of which subsequently became ‘white elephants’, not generating any return for the investment but adding to the rapidly growing foreign debt burden. With the onset of the pandemic in 2020 and traditional foreign inflows substantially declining, the situation aggravated to where the Government could not even pay for essential imports. To compound matters, the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made several policy blunders including the ban on fertiliser imports and drastic reduction of income taxes. As is now well understood, it is the developments outlined above that eventually prepared the ground for the unprecedented economic crisis that Sri Lanka is presently facing. What is clear from the above is that it has been due to a series of public policy failures and the mismanagement of economic and social affairs of the Country for over four decades that led to the present crisis. It is the considered view of Direction Sri Lanka that the absence of a well constituted policy planning body to provide guidance (like the National Planning Council that existed up until 1977 which accommodated the best brains in the relevant fields) and the resultant lack of policy coherence across sectors paved the way for a highly distorted, imbalanced and unsustainable economy and society in Sri Lanka.

In such a context, political leaders and their cronies drawn from their own political circles continued to mismanage the economy and the social sectors leading to the present disastrous situation in the Country. It is in these attendant circumstances that Direction Sri Lanka identifies the urgent need to establish an independent National Planning Commission with necessary legal sanction and adequate empowerment as soon as possible in order to take control over the national policy making process and come up with a recovery plan based on the best evidence available and through objective and unbiased decision making. Direction Sri Lanka calls upon the President, the Government, the Opposition and all Political Parties represented in Parliament to champion the cause of setting up an Independent National Planning Commission (with necessary legal sanction and adequate empowerment) that would be the apex authority in formulating and presenting national policies that would run across all governments and the political divide for a designated period of time.


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Bid for Basil’s extradition nears final stage: Police

Published

19 mins ago

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2026/09/18

By

Basil Rajapaksa

Govt. is finalising extradition proceedings against Basil to have him stand trial here in respect of several cases

By Norman Palihawadane

The process of having former Minister Basil Rajapaksa extradited from the US to Sri Lanka was being finalised, Police Headquarters sources disclosed yesterday.

The government has formally sought assistance from the United States government to extradite former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, as multiple courts have reissued arrest warrants over his failure to appear before them in connection with two separate criminal cases, a senior police officer told The Island.

The officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said matters pertaining to obtaining US government authorities’ assistance to extradite Rajapaksa were now being finalised.

Police headquarters sources said law enforcement agencies were currently evaluating red notices, which request the location and provisional arrest of a person pending formal extradition.

The CID and Police Headquarters earlier initiated steps to seek INTERPOL assistance to secure Rajapaksa’s return to Sri Lanka to face court proceedings relating to the two cases in which arrest warrants have been issued against him.

Rajapaksa is believed to be residing in Los Angeles, United States.

The Matara Chief Magistrate’s Court on July 21, 2026, reissued an arrest warrant for Rajapaksa after he failed to appear before court for the second time in connection with a case involving the alleged purchase of a 1.5-acre coconut estate on Eliyakanda Road in the Brown’s Hill area of Matara.

The case relates to the purchase of the property for Rs. 60 million.

The case was filed by the Police Financial Crimes Investigation Division and names Basil Rajapaksa and several other accused, including Ayoma Galappaththi, identified in court reports as the sister of Rajapaksa’s wife, Tissa Galappaththi, and Muditha Jayakody.

However, officials acknowledged that seeking US assistance would only begin a formal international process and would not automatically result in Rajapaksa’s arrest or return to Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan authorities would need to submit court orders, details of the alleged offences, and other supporting documents through the appropriate diplomatic and judicial channels. Any request would then be considered by the relevant US authorities under American law and applicable legal arrangements.

Sources at the Foreign Ministry said sealed correspondence had been exchanged between Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Legal Department of the US State Department relating to corruption allegations against members of the Rajapaksa family residing in the United States.

The legal foundation for any extradition is the bilateral treaty between Sri Lanka and the United States signed in Washington on September 30, 1999. The treaty applies the principle of dual criminality, meaning authorities must show that the underlying conduct amounts to a crime in both countries. Rajapaksa’s status as a United States citizen would not, on its own, make him immune from a valid request under the treaty’s provisions.

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High blood pressure, diabetes lead to about 80% of deaths in Sri Lanka

Published

20 mins ago

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2026/09/18

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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for 80% of all deaths in Sri Lanka, with high blood pressure and diabetes among the leading causes, Secretary to the Ministry of Health and Mass Media, Dr. Anil Jasinghe, said early this week.

Dr. Jasinghe pointed out that the two conditions were interrelated and could lead to a range of serious health complications, with heart attacks being among the most severe consequences.

Dr. Jasinghe made these remarks while attending the commencement of construction of a modern Cardiac Care Complex at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital on Wednesday (16).

The Health and Mass Media Ministry Secretary said:

“The main issue is that these two diseases are interconnected and cause a range of complications in a person’s health. Looking at the current situation in Sri Lanka, only around 50% of those suffering from high blood pressure are under effective control. Similarly, only around 25% of diabetic patients are under proper control. As a result, this has now become a major problem in society.

“The most serious complication associated with both these diseases is Myocardial Infarction (MI), or a heart attack. This has also become the

leading complication. So, how do we control this modern epidemic? This is the biggest challenge before us.

“While establishing modern facilities across the country, our health system must also recognize the changes that have taken place in the demographic structure of our population and disease patterns. Accordingly, our health system must be adapted to suit these changing circumstances.

“Under the policies of the government led by the President and the guidance of the Minister of Health, the Ministry of Health and Mass Media is currently implementing a major programme in this regard. Its three main components are Arogya, Cluster Systems and High-End Care Institutions, which need to be developed to suit the requirements of our health system.”

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Ex-NTC chief in remand over 56 bus permits

Published

21 mins ago

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2026/09/18

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Former National Transport Commission (NTC) Chairman Renuka Perera was remanded until September 29 by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court after being arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) over alleged corruption in the issuance of bus route permits.

Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama issued the remand order after considering submissions by CIABOC officials and defence counsel.

According to CIABOC, Perera was arrested over allegations that he unlawfully issued route permits during his tenure as NTC Chairman, causing a financial loss to the government while conferring an unlawful benefit on an outside party.

Perera was arrested around 9.55 am yesterday (17) over allegations that he issued 56 passenger transport service permits for buses to operate on the Southern Expressway in violation of prescribed procedures and without collecting the applicable annual fees as a single payment.

CIABOC said the alleged offences were committed in contravention of the National Transport Commission Act No. 37 of 1991 and recommendations contained in a Cabinet decision dated September 19, 2014.

Perera, a senior member of the SLPP, currently serves as the party’s Administrative Secretary. He previously served as Chairman of state-owned dairy producer and marketer MILCO.

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