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Diana dreams of dollarized tourism Macau in Mannar

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4 years ago

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ECONOMYNEXT –Sri Lanka can build Mannar Island into an entertainment filled tourism hotspot which will use dollars as its currency like Macau, newly appointed state minister for tourism Diana Gamage has said.Macau adds to a long list of dream countries with stable single anchor monetary regimes with currency boards of currency board like systems.Other such countries that Sri Lanka frequently aspires to become economic hubs like Singapore (modified currency board), Dubai (currency board like system) or Hong Kong (orthodox currency board).

“We can make the Mannar Island like entertainment location like Macau Island,” Minister Gamage told after assuming duties.

“Business can be done in dollars. No rupees.”

Macau has a currency board with Hong Kong dollar at 1.03 Macau Pataca and also currency competition where foreign currencies like the US dollar can be used.In Sri Lanka the central bank and police arrest people who try to protect their savings from depreciation using draconian legal tender laws after printing money to create forex shortages. In 2022 a money laundering law was also deployed against the people.

Sri Lanka has a Latin America style unstable intermediate regime (a reserve collecting peg with liquidity injections to suppress rates) now called a ‘flexible exchange rate’.

A Chinese backed reclaimed area off the capital Colombo called Port City is already dollarized.Sri Lanka is now facing the worst currency crises in the history of the central bank after two years of money printing to suppress interest rates.

The dual anchor intermediate regime was set up in 1950 bringing high inflation and depreciation after abolishing a currency board which had kept the economy stable through World Wars and a Great Depression.Due to the liquidity injection tools of the central bank which trigger forex shortages Sri Lanka frequently runs into forex shortages and currency crises which lower living standards of the people and trigger social unrest.Sri Lanka now has difficulty in importing oil and other essentials, though the central bank has allowed rates to go up, reduced money printing and domestic credit allowing the external sector to stabilize.

“When we were small our parents used to scare us saying that you may be taken to Mannar to make dry fish,” Minister Gamage said.

“Is making dry fish the solution to Sri Lanka? Why do we keep Mannar to produce dry fish, when we can earn dollars?

Since the setting up of the Latin America style central bank the rupee had depreciated from 4.70 to the US dollar to 360. Sri Lanka defaulted on dollar loans in April 2022 for the first time.


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Heat Index at ‘Caution level’ in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts

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3 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of  Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 25 March 2026, valid for 26 March 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Mannar, Vavuniya and Monaragala districts.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

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US dodges question on AKD’s claim SL denied permission for military aircraft to land

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3 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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President

By Shamindra Ferdinando

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Colombo declared that the United States and Sri Lanka maintain a long-standing defence partnership, grounded in transparency, mutual respect, and shared interests.

The official said so in response to The Island query regarding President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent bombshell disclosure, in Parliament, that his government declined to allow the US Air Force to use the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, following the eruption of the latest West Asia war.

We sought views of the US on President Dissanayake’s claim against the backdrop of Sri Lanka being a party to the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) since 2007. Sri Lanka extended the ACSA in 2017, for another 10-year period, and its extension comes up next year.

The President revealed that the US had requested permission to use Mattala, between 04 and 08 March.

Claiming that the request had been made on 26 February, two days before the war began, President Dissanayake said that the US had sought to land two aircraft, carrying eight anti-ship missiles, but that the request had been turned down to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality. The President revealed that the aircraft were to come from a US base in Djibouti.

The US embassy pokesperson explained that questions related to operational movements, including ‘Operation Epic Fury’, should be directed to the Department of War (DOW) in Washington.

Camp Lemonnier is the primary base of operations for US Africa Command in the Horn of Africa. China, too, has its only overseas military base in Djibouti in the vicinity.

Military sources said whatever various interested parties said about US-Sri Lanka relations, the former provided significant intelligence support during last phase of the conflict that enabled the Navy to hunt down floating LTTE arsenals in international waters. Of the eight LTTE vessels sunk, the US backed four hits with specific intelligence, sources said.

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No decrease in remittances from workers due to Gulf conflict, but significant drop in tourist arrivals – CB Governor

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3 hours ago

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2026/03/26

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CBSL Governor

Sri Lanka’s worker remittances had not seen a decrease despite the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Central Bank (CBSL) Governor, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday.

“Based on currently available data, they have not seen a decline in remittances. In fact, according to that we have observed, is a slight increase in remittances in the past few days, ” the Governor said at a media conference held at the Central Bank head office in Colombo.

Governor Weerasinghe also mentioned that he had not seen any reports about Sri Lankans returning to the country from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict.

The Central Bank Governor, however, acknowledged that there had been a decrease in tourist arrivals. He confirmed that tourist arrivals had decreased by around 17 percent due to the current volatile situation in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to maintain the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) at the current level of 7.75%, following its latest Monetary Policy Board meeting.

By Hiran H Senewiratne

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