News
Opposition Leader accuses govt. of betraying mandate by sticking to Ranil’s IMF agreement
By Saman Indrajith
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, on Thursday (21), claimed that the NPP government’s decision to continue with the IMF programme without renegotiating it amounted to a betrayal of its mandate.
Addressing the media at the parliamentary complex. Premadasa said there was a glaring mismatch between the promises made by the government during the election campaign and what the President said in his policy speech on Thursday about the IMF programme. He said he had een shocked by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s statements on bilateral debt and International Sovereign Bonds.
He asserted that the public was led to believe the existing IMF agreement would be renegotiated after Dissanayake came into power, yet the government has deviated from this promise. Premadasa emphasised that this is a serious issue and pointed out that the mandate granted to the government was not to implement the same policies as the previous administration.
The Opposition Leader said the government didn’t get a two-thirds majority to ape the same disastrous IMF policies, followed by the Ranil Wickremesinghe administration.
Premadasa stressed the importance of tangible actions, not just rhetoric, in addressing poverty alleviation, eradicating malnutrition among pregnant mothers and children, and reviving the local economy. He urged the government to focus on supporting small, medium, and micro-scale entrepreneurs by enabling access to various export markets.
Expressing surprise at the government’s continued adherence to the existing IMF agreement, Premadasa criticised its approach to VAT, tax structures, and overall economic activities. He underscored that the government had not been given a mandate to continue the old system and called on it to deliver the promised changes. He also offered his cooperation in implementing the necessary reforms.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to appoint Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) in the Special Grade of Sri Lanka Engineering Service serving at present as the Additional Secretary (Water Resources Development) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to the post of Director General which will be vacant from 06.10.2026.
Approval has been granted at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 08.06.2026 to prepare a draft bill for restructuring Sri Lanka Cricket.
Accordingly, the Legal Draftsman has formulated Sri Lanka draft bill providing legal provisions for the administration of Sri
Lanka Cricket, control, regulation, promotion, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for the development and administration, through the concepts of better governance, integrity, transparency, accountability, inclusiveness and providing equal opportunities for the betterment of the cricket sport, establishment of Sri Lanka Cricket for securing the wellbeing of all participants and securing cricket from corruption and other mal practices.
Clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the said draft bill. Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been received for the resolution furnished by the Minister of
Youth Affairs and Sports to publish the said draft bill in the government gazette notification and thereby forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
The Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation performs vitally important functions such as minimizing the risk of inundation in urban and lowland areas, maintaining drainage systems efficiently, carrying out urgent operations during inundation events, and maintaining canals.
The need to strengthen the capacity of the corporation’s internal
operations has been identified by the corporation to perform the aforementioned functions efficiently and expeditiously.
The corporation has planned to purchase small -scale machinery that can be used to clean small canals, which significantly contribute to urban inundation.
The General Treasury has agreed to grant 625 million rupees as an equity contribution for purchasing the relevant machinery.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution submitted by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to purchase the relevant machinery by the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation, following formal procurement procedures at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,233
million, utilizing the aforementioned amount granted by the General Treasury and the funds of the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation.
Ms. P. M. Jayadeera (Engineer) appointed Director General of Irrigation
Sri Lanka Cricket Draft Bill to be gazetted
Cabinet approves purchase of machinery for the Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation
Cabinet approval for Project to Build Secure, Skilled, and Empowered Community for families resettled at the at Kalinga Mawatha, housing scheme
Appointment of Cabinet Sub-Committee for the Organization of 79th Independence Day Commemoration
Establishment of New Management Framework for the Dr. Nevil Fernando Hospital
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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