News
Current govt. has no legitimacy, says Kiriella
By Saman Indrajith
The incumbent government was a lottery win for Ranil Wickremesinghe and a breathing space for the Rajapaksas, Chief Opposition Whip Kandy District SJB MP Lakshman Kiriella said yesterday.
Addressing the media at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Colombo, Kiriella said that the makeshift government would not be able to solve the problems the people were faced with.
“This government is without any legitimacy. It has MPs who have been bought off. It does not represent people’s wishes. As long as this government is in existence, the international community will not consider extending any meaningful assistance to this country to get out of the present predicament. To have a legitimate government we need a fresh election and fresh mandate from the people.”
Kiriella said that the leaders of the makeshift government had sought assistance from the international community. “A few countries have provided some assistance, but there is nothing substantial. Take a look at the statements issued recently by the World Bank, the IMF, the UN and leading countries. They all insist on two conditions to give assistance. They demand the government should submit its economic plan to get out of this crisis. Economic reforms are needed because our expenditure is three times our earnings. The second condition is that we should go for political reforms. This government may keep asking but there would be no assistance until we fulfil these two conditions,” Kiriella said, adding that the incumbent government could deliver nothing to achieve those conditions.
“We foresaw this economic disaster one and half years back. We warned the government of this. Not only us, the economists and many experts warned the government of an inevitable crisis and advised them to go to the IMF. The government was so arrogant that it did not give two hoots about the warnings. There had been a finance minister who kept bunking parliament for months. He did not come to parliament even after we demanded. Today we have neither dollars nor rupees. The government keeps dreaming that they will receive dollars. One ministry issued a statement that the World Bank would give us 700 million dollars. Within 24 hours, the World Bank issued a clarification that there was no such thing and they have not even commenced talks to consider the assistance to this country.
“This government has lost its credibility. How one could expect the international community to trust this government when not even the Lankan expatriates trust them. Lankan expatriates do not send dollars here because they do not trust the government.
“The only solution before us is to go for an election. If a new government is in power people will wait for solutions. The international community prefers to work with a new government. A new government cannot be made by buying over MPs of a parliament that has lost its legitimacy because people say that parliament no longer represents them,” Kiriella said.
Badulla District SJB MP Chaminda Wijesiri also addressed the press.
Latest News
Food Policy and Security Committee recommends importation of rice to ensure an uninterrupted supply
The Food Policy and Security Committee has recommended the importation of rice in the near future to ensure an uninterrupted supply for consumers.
A notable increase in rice prices has been observed in the market, along with reports of shortages of certain rice varieties, despite the current harvest season.
Given this situation, discussions were held regarding the need for the Cabinet to prioritize the maintenance of sufficient stock, through rice imports.
The Committee, chaired by Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation K.D. Lalkantha and Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Vasantha Samarasinghe, convened for the fifth time at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday (01). The meeting aimed to formulate policy decisions to ensure food security.
During the discussions, it was revealed that due to excessive rainfall this year, crop damage occurred on two occasions, leading to a significant reduction in the expected harvest.
Furthermore, during the meeting it was stated that the improper use of rice for animal feed is another major reason contributing to the rice shortage. As a result, the Committee also focused on the importation of broken rice for animal feed and the use of alternative feeds to mitigate the impact on livestock production.
Accordingly, the Food Policy and Security Committee approved the formation of a Committee, led by the Director General of Agriculture, to oversee the importation of the required quantity of broken rice through proper mechanisms.
Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Kapila Janaka Bandara, and other members of the Food Policy and Security Committee, including Ministry Secretaries, participated in the discussions.
The People of Myanmar are facing immense hardships caused by the devastating earthquake on 28th March and as reported by the international media reports the death toll is over 2,700. Furthermore, it has been reported that many people are missing while, a large number of individuals have been injured and are receiving treatment.
Considering the long – term close relationship between the two nations as two Buddhist states, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to provide,
• A sum of United States Dollars One Million
• Transportation for the dry rations collected by Buddhist clergy and other donors
• To have a group of medical officers and health staff on standby for immediate departure to Myanmar if necessary
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Cabinet appoints ministerial committee to submit report on sanctions imposed on 04 Sri Lankans by the United Kingdom
Attention of the Cabinet of Ministers have been drawn on the decisions taken by the United Kingdom to impose sanctions on four Sri Lankan individuals recently, and have decided to appoint a committee comprised of three ministers to submit a report with recommendations on the further measures to be taken after studying the facts in the regard and to empower the committee to obtain the service of any officer/intellect deemed to have subject expertise in the relevant field and considered essential.
The committee will comprise of :
– Vijitha Herath Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism
– Attorney – at – Law Harshana Nanayakkara Minister of Justice and National Integrity
– Aruna Jayasekara Deputy Minister of Defence
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