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Sumanthiran complains that the man responsible for crisis still in driving seat

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/10

By Saman Indrajith

Sri Lankans were a disappointed lot each time Parliament was convened, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, MA Sumanthiran said on Wednesday in Parliament.

Sri Lankans had never been so desperate and they were looking to the parliament today for answers to an unprecedented economic crisis, Sumanthiran said.

“Each time this parliament meets, people expect there will be some change, some forward movement to resolve this crisis. And the people are disappointed because this is a parliament with two thirds of the voters supporting the government,” he said.

The TNA MP said that the government hadabused the people’s trust and further strengthened the Executive Presidency. The President then went on to violate all the promises he had made to the people and rereading the President’s election manifesto in 2019, the “Vistas of Prosperity and splendor” now induced laughter, Sumanthiran said.

“The one very specific proposal that he made, is at page 36 and 37 in the English version of the manifesto. On page 37, Gotabaya very specifically says “income tax will be reduced, economic service charge and withholding tax will be scrapped. A simple value added tax of 8 % will be introduced, replacing both the current VAT of 15 % and the Nation building tax of 2 %, payee tax will be scrapped and personal income tax will be subject to a ceiling of 15 %. 5-year moratorium will be granted on taxes payable by agriculturist and small and medium enterprises” and so on. Huge tax reliefs announced even in his election manifesto – it was an election promise,” the TNA MP said.

At that time, the finance minister of this country, Mangala Samaraweera, stated that if that proposal was implemented Sri Lanka would become like Lebanon and Venezuela. “Samaraweera’s prediction has come true”, the TNA MP said.

“So, one cannot say that there were no warnings. The Finance Minister of the country at that time said this. The Prime minister now wants to set up a parliamentary budget office. During the last Parliament we had that draft and all of that was set up but it was never presented to Parliament. Recently he asked me for the draft and I have sent it to him, and hope that will be done. One of the tasks of the Parliamentary budget office is that, when due for an election somebody makes a promise – an election promise – the Parliamentary budget office will have to immediately calculate the impact of that promise and publish a report saying, this is how it will impact the economy,” he said.

The tax cuts implemented in December 2019 and were the major reason why Sri Lanka was in the current predicament today, Sumanthiran said. It was only after the tax cuts that Sri Lanka’s ratings started falling, and the Central Bank gave confidential reports to caution the government that Sri Lanka would not be able to borrow anymore, the TNA MP said.

“We were shut out of International Financial markets. So, the person who is single handedly responsible for this economic crisis is still the head of government. He is still president, some people are saying, “No. no. don’t look at this Politics – let that be – deal with the economic crisis”… yes of course, to deal with the economic crisis the wrong-doer must be removed. You can’t keep the wrong-doer, the one who is mostly responsible in that chair and deal with the crisis,” he said.

The TNA MP said the President, Prime Minister and Parliament had lost its legitimacy and that there should be an overhaul of the system. However, before that, parliament needed to be dissolved. Sumanthiran said that there should be political stability to resolve the economic crisis, however it was not possible to have stability in a Parliament that had a lot of independent MPs. The Sri Lankan parliamentary system was not geared to deal with a large number of independent MPs, he said.

“Every day of delay in establishing stability costs the country several million dollars. So it must be fixed fast. We are part of a problem, we must say “Yes, we’ll dissolve ourselves”, pass a resolution and request the President to dissolve Parliament. One of the biggest promises given by the President himself in the last address to the Nation was to bring back the 19th amendment. Both the President and the prime minister within the last two weeks have given the country that assurance. But where are you now? You can’t bring back the 19th amendment,” he said.

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Removing monk’s robes matter for Sangha to decide: Mahanayake Theras

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/9

Thilina Walpola

Ven. Gnanasara

The Mahanayaka Theras of all Nikayas have protested against Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, who is serving a prison sentence for contempt of court, being produced before court in civilian attire.

In a letter to the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Mahanayaka Theras have said they were surprised and concerned by the decision to remove the monk’s robes.

The letter has been signed by Most Ven. Thibbotuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera of the Malwatu Chapter, Most Ven. Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera of the Asgiri Chapter, Most Ven. Karagoda-Uyangoda Maithri Murthi Thera of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya and Most Ven. Makulawe Sri Wimala Thera of the Ramanna Maha Nikaya.

The Mahanayaka Theras have said they respect the Constitution and the judicial process, but maintained that removing a monk’s robes or ending his status as a member of the Buddhist Order is a matter that should be decided by the Maha Sangha.

They have said the relevant Sangha Council has not determined that Ven. Gnanasara Thera committed a Parajika offence or any other offence warranting his removal from the Buddhist Order.

The Mahanayaka Theras have also referred to Regulation 550 of the Prison Standing Orders, which they say stipulates that convicted prisoners should not be taken to court in prison uniform and should be allowed to wear the type of clothing they normally wore before their conviction. In the case of a Buddhist monk, they have said, this means his monastic robes.

They also referred to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which provide for prisoners taken outside prison to be allowed to wear their own clothing or other unobtrusive clothing.

The Mahanayaka Theras have requested the Commissioner General of Prisons to allow Ven. Gnanasara Thera to wear his robes when appearing in court and to maintain his status as a monk while he remains in prison.

Prisons authorities have said that the clothing decision was made under prison regulations, and the Prisons Department has stated that prisoners serving sentences of more than three years are required to wear prison-issued clothing when produced before court.

News

NDB fraud Rs 60mn more than reported

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/9

Thilina Walpola

The Committee on Public Finance has said that the actual losses suffered by the NDB bank are much more than what was initially reported. When compared with the initial disclosure made by NDB on 6 April 2026, the reported amount of the fraud had increased by Rs. 0.4 billion, from Rs. 13.2 billion to Rs. 13.6 billion, the committee said.

When compared with the amount disclosed by NDB on 26 June 2026, based on the interim report dated 22 June 2026, the additional amount of fraud is Rs. 60 million.

The has committee issued the following statement: The Committee on Public Finance recently summoned officials of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to Parliament to inquire into the financial irregularities identified at NDB Bank and the final audit report relating to the matter.

The Committee meeting, chaired by Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha de Silva, discussed irregularities identified in NDB Bank’s financial statements, shortcomings in the audit process, and the relevant audit reports.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, and Nishantha Jayaweera, as well as Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Rauff Hakeem, Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith Agalakada, Nimal Palihena, Wijesiri Basnayake, M.K.M. Aslam, Champika Hettiarachchi, and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.

The Committee also focused on the findings of the investigation conducted by the Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standards Monitoring Board (SLAAMB), as well as the findings revealed through the investigation conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP. In particular, the Committee inquired into the failure of the external auditors to identify irregularities in NDB Bank’s financial statements.

The accountability of senior management with regard to corporate governance and risk management in relation to the financial irregularities was also discussed.

As a significant proportion of NDB Bank’s shares are held by institutions representing public and state funds, the Committee also considered the potential impact of such financial irregularities on public funds and the general public.

The Committee also discussed the progress made by LankaPay in establishing a centralized fraud monitoring system to prevent fraud within the financial system. The need to strengthen fraud monitoring systems at the individual bank level to monitor transactions carried out within each bank was also emphasized.

Accordingly, the following observations are included in the final audit report concerning the financial irregularities at NDB Bank:

1. The audit covers the period from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2026. The audit report specifically identifies the financial impact arising from fraudulent transactions amounting to Rs. 13,639,664,684 (Rs. 13.6 billion).

2. According to the disclosure made on 29 September 2026, the financial impact arising from the fraudulent transactions is as follows:

· Rs. 1.5 billion for the period prior to 1 January 2025;

· Rs. 9.6 billion during 2025; and

· Rs. 2.5 billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2026.

3. Compared with the initial disclosure made by NDB on 6 April 2026, the reported amount of the fraud has increased by Rs. 0.4 billion, from Rs. 13.2 billion to Rs. 13.6 billion. Compared with the amount disclosed by NDB on 26 June 2026, based on the interim report dated 22 June 2026, the additional amount of fraud is Rs. 60 million.

4. The final audit report has also confirmed the previous disclosures that no customer accounts were affected as a result of the fraud incident.

5. The report has identified several governance failures at NDB relating to the processing of CEFT transactions, user-level activities within the Core Banking System, and the management of user credentials and access information. In addition, shortcomings have been identified in several operational areas, including transaction monitoring, daily account reconciliation, financial compliance, internal audit, branch network management, and operational risk management.

The audit report has made comprehensive recommendations to strengthen the control mechanisms, governance structures, and processes relating to the above-mentioned activities of the bank.

News

President orders review of laws on treatment of imprisoned monks

Published

6 hours ago

2026/10/9

Thilina Walpola

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has ordered the formation of a committee to review the laws and regulations on how Buddhist monks serving prison sentences are treated, including the procedures that apply when they are taken out of prison.

He revealed this at a special meeting with Maha Sangha representatives held yesterday (8) at the Presidential Secretariat. The meeting was called after concerns were raised over how Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera was treated when he was taken from prison to court.

The committee will recommend amendments to existing laws and, where needed, new prison standing orders and regulations. Its members will be drawn from the Attorney General’s Department, the Ministries of Justice, Public Administration, and Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, and the Department of Prisons, including the Commissioner General of Prisons. It has been given two weeks to review the current legal provisions and submit its recommendations. The President added that any changes specific to Buddhist monks would be made in consultation with the Maha Sangha.

Outlining the legal background, the President said prison administration was governed by the Prisons Ordinance of 1877, along with the regulations and standing orders issued under it. That framework mostly addressed prisoners in general, he said, and had few provisions dealing specifically with Buddhist monks.

The meeting was attended by senior Maha Sangha members representing the Siyam, Amarapura and Ramanna Nikayas, along with Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Hiniduma Sunil Senevi and Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara.