News
The Finance Company depositors eligible to be paid Rs 500,000 each more
By Saman Indrajith
State Minister Money, Capital Markets and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament, yesterday, that the depositors of the failed the Finance Company (TFC) would be paid Rs. 500,000 each from the liquidity fund in addition to the Rs. 600,000 they had been paid under the Sri Lanka Deposit Insurance and Liquidity Support Scheme.
The Minister said so responding to a question raised by Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, who demanded to know from the government what measures had been taken to assist the aggrieved depositors of failed finance companies in the country, including TFC.
The Minister said that around Rs. 12 billion would be utilised to pay the depositors from the fund which currently stood at Rs. 60 billion. The decision on the additional payment had been made on a directive from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Parliament was told.
“We started the liquidity fund in 2010 with Rs. 1.1 billion when I was the Governor of the Central Bank and current Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was the President. Both the President and the Prime Minister have decided that the depositors of The Finance Company be paid Rs. 500,000 each more from this fund. It will be done soon with the approval of the Monetary Board and in consultation with the Central Bank.”
TFC had approximately 147,000 depositors at the time its licence was cancelled in May last year, but those whose deposits were Rs. 600,000 or less were paid the full amount.
Minister Cabraal said that a Cabinet paper had already been submitted for the restructuring of TFC and once it was approved, steps would be taken to find an investor for the company and settle all default payments to the depositors.
“A Cabinet paper has been submitted and depending on the decision of the Cabinet, we will move forward with the restructuring,” the Minister said.
He said that in addition to TFC, six other finance companies had collapsed, all during the previous administration.
“Before 2015, we took several measures to safeguard the sector. In 2010, we started the Deposit Insurance Fund and we also started the financial sector consolidation programme, under which we reduced the number of finance companies from 58 to 20 and strengthened the sector. Unfortunately, after 2015, that programme was shelved and the sector began facing numerous problems from then onwards.”
He said that the government’s priority was to safeguard the interests of the depositors and the decision to pay an additional Rs. 500,000 showed the commitment to them.
Minister Cabraal said that the Central Bank had cancelled the licence of TFC from May 22 after all efforts to revive the company through different strategie had failed.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution forwarded by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to relocate the Deniyaya Base Hospital after constructing a new hospital with a capacity of 300 beds at an estimated cost of Rupees 6,000 million.
The Southern Provincial Department of Health has acquired a plot of land in Handford estate which is approximately 03 kilometres away from the town for this purpose.
News
Cabinet nod to legally empower methodology for implementing the ‘Praja Shakthi’ poverty alleviation national movement
The Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the resolution furnished by the Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft a bill to legally empower the implementation of ‘Praja Shakthi’ (Strength of the Community) poverty alleviation national movement
…preliminary work started on new Constitution
JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva yesterday (17) maintained that the NPP government was not under Indian pressure to hold the long delayed Provincial Council elections.
The top JVP official said so appearing on Sirasa Pathikada, anchored by Asoka Dias. Tilvin Silva said that neither the devolution nor terrorism issues had been discussed during his meeting with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Deputy National Security Advisor Pavan Kapoor, in New Delhi. This was Tilvin Silva’s first visit to India.
Declaring that politics hadn’t been on the agenda, the JVPer said that the Indian focus was entirely on economic development and technology.
The JVP General Secretary visited India under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations’ (ICCR) Distinguished Visitors Programme from 5-12 February 2026. General Secretary Silva was accompanied by Kitnan Selvaraj, MP, Ilankumaran Karunanathan, MP, JVP Central Committee Member Janaka Adhikari, JVP’s Media Unit Head Hemathilaka Gamage and Member of JVP’s International Relations Department Kalpana Madhubhashini. The delegation visited New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
Responding to another query, Tilvin Silva said that Dr. S. Jaishankar had reiterated that India would always remain a true and trusted partner for Sri Lanka, in accordance with its ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and Vision ‘MAHASAGAR.’
Referring to the second JVP insurrection in the late 1980s, the JVPer claimed that they had not been against India but responded to the actions of the then Indian government.
Sri Lanka enacted the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in the wake of the Indo-Lanka peace accord of July 1987 to pave the way for Provincial Councils.
Tilvin Silva said that since they came to power, Indo-Sri Lanka relations had changed. “India has realised we could work together,” he said.
The JVP official said that preliminary work was underway, regarding the formulation of a new Constitution. The abolition of executive presidency and creation of an Office of President sans executive powers, too, would be addressed, he said, adding that the strengthening of the legislature was the other issue at hand.
Pointing out that the NPP had 2/3 majority in Parliament and could introduce a new Constitution on their own, Tilvin Silva said that they intended to obtain views of all and study the past processes in a bid to secure consensus. The JVP, as the party that campaigned against the introduction of executive presidency, way back in 1978, would lead the current effort to do away with the existing Constitution, he said.
Tilvin promised that they would implement what was in their manifesto.
The interviewer also raised the issue of abolishing the pensions for ex-Presidents. Tilvin Silva said that the Supreme Court, too, had approved the move to abolish pensions to ex-MPs. Therefore there was no issue with that, however, the ex-Presidents pensions couldn’t be done away with as they were made through the Constitution. That would be addressed when the government introduced a new Constitution in consultation with other stakeholders.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
India look to go into Super Eight stage with all-win record
Cabinet approves construction of new 300 bed Base Hospital in Deniyaya
Heavy showers about 100 mm are likely at some places in the Eastern, Uva and North-central provinces and in Matale and Nuwara-Eliya districts
Cabinet nod to legally empower methodology for implementing the ‘Praja Shakthi’ poverty alleviation national movement
NPP not under Indian pressure to hold PC polls – JVP
Battery storage drive to power Sri Lanka’s renewable leap
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Life style3 days agoMarriot new GM Suranga
-
Business2 days agoMinistry of Brands to launch Sri Lanka’s first off-price retail destination
-
Features3 days agoMonks’ march, in America and Sri Lanka
-
Opinion6 days agoWill computers ever be intelligent?
-
Features3 days agoThe Rise of Takaichi
-
Features3 days agoWetlands of Sri Lanka:
-
News3 days agoThailand to recruit 10,000 Lankans under new labour pact
-
News3 days agoMassive Sangha confab to address alleged injustices against monks