News
CEB trade union alliance accuses PUCSL of putting on a charade
Ceylon Electricity Board United Trade Union Alliance convenor Ranjan Jayalal yesterday alleged that the CEB, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) and the Ministry of Power and Energy were working together to increase the electricity tariff by an unjust amount.Jayalal said that President Ranil Wickremesinghe is trying to implement his Regaining Sri Lanka agenda and is planning to sell 52 state agencies.
“Once these institutions are privatized, Sri Lanka will have no strategic autonomy. No government will have a say in the country’s economic policy,” he said.Jayalal said that the head of the PUCSL, Janaka Ratnayake, told the Committee on Public Enterprises that his main qualification to be chosen for this position was being a Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporter.
“This is his main qualification, and you can understand where he comes from. He pretends that he is opposed to the proposed tariff hike. I will tell you what will happen in a few weeks. The PUCSL will allow a tariff hike and Ratnayake will say that the government was trying to sell a unit of electricity at Rs. 59 but he intervened and made the government only charge Rs. 49 per unit. They all meet in the night and then pretend to be enemies during the day. They are trying to divert people’s attention,” he said.
He said that the unions will not allow the government to increase tariffs as the CEB is making an operational profit. There are seven million electricity consumers, and they will take to the streets if tariffs are increased, Jayalal said.
“One of the biggest problems is the Minister, he has no idea what’s going on,” he said.Meanwhile, CEB Deputy General Manager Noel Priyantha said that the cost of production is 48.42 rupees per unit but the CEB sells at 29.14 rupees.
“So we have to increase. We have been making losses for some time. In 2021 the loss was 22 billion rupees and in 2022, the loss was 151 billion rupees. Things will be worse in 2023. There is a big economic loss in cutting power,” he said.
Retired SSP Shani Abeysekera, serving the Police Department again, has been appointed to the committee headed by Senior DIG Asanka Karawita, tasked with studying the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) report on the 2019 Easter Sunday carnage.
The other members of the team are DIG, CID, Director, CID and Director Terrorism Investigation Division (TID)
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila yesterday said that Abeysekera had been one of the law enforcement officers whose conduct raised eyebrows over the years as regards the failure on the part of the CID to thwart the Easter Sunday attacks.
The National Police Commission approved the reappointment of SSP Abeysekera on contractual basis for one year, with effect from 10 Oct., 2024.
Abeysekera backed Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s presidential election campaign as a member of the retired police collective.
The Rite of Translation of the body of Pope Francis took place in the Vatican on Wednesday (23) morning, led by the College of Cardinals gathered in Rome following his death.
Vatican News reported: “Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, began the liturgical rite in the Chapel of the Casa Santa Marta with a brief prayer for the soul of Pope Francis.
In the opening prayer, Cardinal Farrell thanked God for the 12-year ministry of the late Pope.
“As we now leave this home, let us thank the Lord for the countless gifts He bestowed on the Christian people through His servant, Pope Francis,” he prayed. “Let us ask Him, in His mercy and kindness, to grant to the late Pope an eternal home in the kingdom of heaven, and to comfort with the celestial hope the papal family, the Church in Rome, and the faithful throughout the world.”
The College of Cardinals then led the procession of the coffin through the Vatican’s Santa Marta Square, under the Arch of the Bells, and into St. Peter’s Square.
Over 20,000 people had gathered in the square to pay their respects to the late Pope, erupting into subdued but sustained applause as his coffin was carried up the steps and into St. Peter’s Basilica.
The late Pope’s coffin was placed in front of the Altar of the Confession, and the choir chanted the Litany of the Saints in Latin for the repose of his soul.
Cardinal Farrell then led a brief Liturgy of the Word, which included a reading from the Gospel of John (17:24-26) of Jesus’ priestly prayer proclaiming the love of God for Him and for His disciples.
The rite concluded with the chanting of the Salve Regina, a Marian hynm that begins “Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy.”
Members of the College of Cardinals then paid their respects to the late Pope Francis, followed by the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Stockholm Kapila Fonseka concurrently accredited to Estonia presented credentials to Estonian President Alar Karis at a ceremony held in Tallinn, Estonia recently.
Sri Lanka and Estonia enjoy cordial bilateral relations for 29 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1996. The two countries held the first round of bilateral consultations in Colombo in 2024.
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