News

Ranil urges govt. not to politicise and throw away GSP+

Published

5 years ago

2021/06/14

Former Prime Minister and Leader of the United National Party (UNP), Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday urged the Sri Lankan government not to politicise and throw away the GSP-Plus trade concession granted by the European Union, cautioning that the economy would collapse in such an eventuality.

Issuing a statement in response to the recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament, which called for the temporary withdrawal of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) granted to the country, the former Premier recalled that his government had taken action to regain the trade concession to assist in developing the country’s economy in 2017.

“Our government took action to regain the GSP+ from the European Union to assist in developing the country’s economy in 2017. This facility provides Sri Lanka with permission to export goods to Europe without taxation, which led to a boom in the garment and fishing industries,” he said.

The former Premier said an issue has arisen in the European Parliament this week regarding the GSP+ tax concession. “We have been warned that this concession will be revoked,” he added.

Wickremesinghe pointed out that Sri Lanka’s tourism industry was at risk at this time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “With the sinking of the X-Press Pearl, issues have arisen for our fishing industry as well. The number of people going abroad for employment has decreased. Therefore, our foreign exchange has fallen,” he said.

He noted that Sri Lanka had borrowed $200 million from Bangladesh due to the economic crisis caused by the decline in the foreign exchange. At present, only the tea and garment industries are able to earn foreign exchange for the country.

“In such a case, we are reliant on the GSP+. If this tax relief is lost, the rupee will depreciate further and we will have to pay around 300 rupees per dollar. It will also lead to the loss of thousands of jobs,” the UNP leader cautioned.

He said in the face of the danger that has arisen, the GSP+ must not be politicized and the government should take immediate action to protect the concession.

“It’s the government’s duty to retain the GSP plus, not to throw it away. If you do that there will be a collapse of our economy. The rupee will depreciate to about 300 rupees per dollar,” the former Premier said, urging the government to think of the people.

“Do not add any more weight to the heavy economic burden that the people are carrying. I urge the government not to destroy the country,” Wickremesinghe said.

The European Parliament last week adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, calling for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The resolution also called for the temporary withdrawal of the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) granted to the country as the law is deemed incompatible with the conventions that the country has to implement under the GSP+ facility.

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US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures

Published

52 mins ago

2026/07/11

Thilina Walpola

COPF final report on USD 2.5 mn cyber fraud recommends action against all responsible

The US$2.5 million loss incurred during Sri Lanka’s foreign debt repayment to Australia was a clear case of a cybercrime and theft, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament yesterday.

Presenting the COPF final report on the cyber fraud, Dr. de Silva said the incident amounted to a serious financial crime and called for a comprehensive investigation, by law enforcement authorities, to identify and prosecute all those responsible.

The report revealed serious governance, procedural and operational failures that enabled the fraudulent transfer of public funds, while recommending sweeping reforms to strengthen cybersecurity, financial controls and public debt management systems.

According to the report, officials of the Treasury and the Central Bank bore responsibility for governance lapses that contributed to the failures. It also highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Finance was operating an outdated Microsoft Exchange Server after security support had ended, while basic safeguards, such as multi-factor authentication, had not been implemented.

The COPF said suspicious payment instructions linked to debt repayments involving India, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium had also been detected, preventing further losses. However, the US$ 2.5 million fraud materialised only in the repayment transaction involving Australia.

The report has noted that officials had failed to verify lender email domains, relied on unverified email communications and lacked adequate internal controls, allowing the fraud to continue for months.

Although the investigation uncovered system-wide weaknesses across several institutions, only four mid-level Finance Ministry officials had been suspended so far, the report said.

The COPF has recommended a special audit of the foreign debt repayment process, strengthened cybersecurity measures across state institutions, updated financial regulations and improvements to public debt management systems.

by Saman Indrajith

News

Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths

Published

53 mins ago

2026/07/11

Thilina Walpola

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa signing the no-confidence motion against Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara in the presence of Opposition MPs at the Parliamentary complex yesterday

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, together with Opposition MPs, yesterday signed a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament against Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara.The move comes in response to the unrest at the Negombo Prison, where both prison officers and inmates were killed.

Opposition members said the Minister had failed to fulfill his responsibility and accountability regarding their safety.According to the Opposition group, the NCM seeks to hold the Minister directly accountable for lapses in ensuring protection within the prison system.

News

AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review

Published

54 mins ago

2026/07/11

Thilina Walpola

The Attorney General yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the government has decided to review the legality of agreements entered into by the previous administration to hand over the country’s electronic visa issuance operations to private companies.

Additional Solicitor General Viveka Siriwardena, appearing for the Attorney General, made the submission when the Supreme Court took up the fundamental rights petitions filed by former MPs President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran, Patali Champika Ranawaka, and Rauff Hakeem, challenging the previous Cabinet’s decision to outsource the e-visa system.

The petitions were heard before a three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeyesekere.

The Additional Solicitor General informed court that the current Cabinet had appointed a subcommittee to examine the legality of the agreements with the private companies and requested time to report on its findings, stating that the review was still underway.

President’s Counsel Sumanthiran, appearing as one of the petitioners, told the court that although the present government had indicated its intention to cancel the transaction, the petitioners wished to proceed with the case.

He noted that members of the current Cabinet had been named as respondents in the petitions.The Supreme Court directed the petitioners to issue notice on the members of the current Cabinet, named as respondents, and fixed September 29 for further proceedings.