News

World Bank under fire for backing project to reap short-term profit at the expense of forests

Published

4 years ago

2022/09/15

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Some Forest Conservation Department officials are more interested in building roads and structures inside protected areas than protecting forests, Sajeewa Chamikara of the Movement for Land and Agricultural Reforms (MONLAR) says.

“These officials are not interested in preventing illegal activities inside protected areas or raising the awareness of those who live near these areas, especially around Sinharaja Forest”, he said.

Ecosystem Conservation and Management Project (ESCAMP), a World Bank mission was a case in point, Chamikara said, alleging that it sought to develop forests as tourism centres.

“During the first part of the ESCAMP, forest conservation, officials developed roads at the Kudawa entrance. They constructed a two-kilometre road with a width of 10 feet, through Sinharaja. They even put waterlines in. A large number of freshwater crabs and amphibians lost their habitats and breeding grounds because of these constructions. We don’t see some animals like the Kangaroo lizard and the Sri Lankan green pit viper in that area anymore”, he said.

Chamikara added that the roads constructed under ESCAMP could not even be used by tourists anymore because they were slippery. At certain times forest conservation officials allow vehicles on these roads. “There are earth slips along the road and further constructions have been made to stop this”, he said.

Despite the failure of the first leg of the ESCAMP project, forest conservation officials were trying to build an eight-foot road from another entrance in the Kudawa area to the research centre in the forest, Chamikara said.He said that the proposed road would go through an area that had a lot of ferns and a number of indigenous species.

“There are also many small and micro species in this area as well. We will lose them. When swaths of forests are cleared a number of invasive species find their way into Sinharaja. Plants like Koster’s Curse (Dillenia suffruticosa) have already invaded Sinharaja. Endemic orchids, ferns, moss and many plants in the forest undergrowth have been run over. This also affects animals that depend on these plants. Sinharaja is a very sensitive and interconnected biological hotspot. Change made in one place will affect the entire system,” Chamikara said.

Chamikara said that a similar set of incidents had taken place in the Knuckles Forest Range and a number of endemic species to Knuckles were now slowly becoming extinct. “The World Bank projects like ESCAMP are aimed at short-term profit over long term sustainability,” he said.

“We are not against tourism, which is a vital source of revenue. However, you need to build tourist accommodation outside forests. Extremely sensitive forest areas must not be opened to tourists. We talk a lot about attracting quality tourists who spend a lot of money. There are tourists who spend thousands of dollars a night on nature tourism, but such individuals also like nature. They won’t come into a place where their patronage will lead to environmental destruction”, Chamikara said, adding that Sri Lanka was a party to many UN biodiversity conventions. “Successive governments talk about achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the entire state mechanism is silent when large swaths of highly important forests, catchment areas and biological hot spots are destroyed to create an access way for tourism.

“Soon these access ways will be used by politicians to build hotels inside Sinharaja. We already see that those who embezzled billions of rupees from the people are now spending these moneys to purchase and renovate hotels in highly sensitive environmental areas.”

Chamikara said that the threat to Sinharaja had been increasing in the past few years. In 2020 and 2021, two circulars had been issued by the government, handing over the management of Other State Forests (OSF) to Divisional/District Secretaries, he said.

“These circulars repealed an earlier circular, 05/2001, which had transferred the management of these lands from the Divisional/District Secretaries to the Forest Department. Through circular 1/2020, the OSF were brought under Divisional/Districts Secretaries and circular 1/2021 allowed the officials to survey the OSF and allocate them for development activities. The power these two circulars granted to Divisional/Districts Secretaries has been used by those with political and financial power to clear up forest lands in Sinharaja,” he said.

Minister of Agriculture, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation, Mahinda Amaraweera said that he was not aware of this development and would look into it.

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News

New Chairperson and Members appointed to the Finance Commission

Published

8 hours ago

2026/07/22

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed Ms N. R. Anees as the new Chairperson and a member of the Finance Commission.

J. M. C. J. Wijetunga and K. Karunaharan have been appointed as the other members of the Commission.

The letters of appointment were presented to the appointees by the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat ton Monday (20) afternoon

The appointments were made to fill the vacancies createdy following the expiry of the terms of office of the previous members of the Finance Commission.

(PMD)

News

True leadership is not about titles or power, but about acting responsibly for the well-being of others – Prime Minister

Published

10 hours ago

2026/07/22

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that true leadership is not about titles or power, but about acting responsibly, with compassion, and working for the well being of the others.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while attending the President’s Guide Award and Prime Minister’s Award Ceremony, organized by the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, one of the country’s leading voluntary organizations dedicated to empowering girls and young women. The ceremony was held on Sunday (19th July )at Temple Trees in Colombo.

During the event, the Prime Minister presented medals and certificates to the award recipients.

A total of 350 awards were presented at this year’s ceremony, comprising 338 President’s Guide Awards and 12 Prime Minister’s Awards, in recognition of the recipients’ discipline, resilience, integrity, and commitment to serving others.

Addressing the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that one of the greatest strengths of the Girl Guides association is its commitment to providing equal opportunities to every child, regardless of their background or abilities. The Prime Minister also emphasized that true leadership is not defined by titles or power, but by acting responsibly, listening with compassion, and working for the well-being of others.

The Prime Minister further noted that while women had limited opportunities in the past, today increasing opportunities are being created for girls and women across all sectors, and young women are making remarkable progress in every field. The Prime Minister further stressed that every girl and young woman deserves equal opportunities to improve themselves, noting that the country needs young women leaders who are ready to step forward to build a better future for Sri Lanka.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that, particularly at a time when Sri Lanka is undertaking significant economic and democratic reforms, achieving sustainable national progress requires not only economic growth but also the development of citizens who uphold strong ethical values and social responsibility. In this regard, she commended the invaluable contribution made by the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association.

Guided by its motto, “Be Prepared,” the Girl Guiding Movement in Sri Lanka was first established on 21 March 1917 at Kandy High School by Miss Jenny Calverley Green. Today, the movement operates through seven branches; Butterflies, the Little Friends, the Guides, the Rangers, the Youth, the Differently Abled Guides, and the Community Guiding Units, catering to different age groups and abilities. The President’s Guide Award is the highest honour that can be achieved by a Girl Guide and is awarded only to those who successfully complete the required challenges, written and oral examinations, and the BP Challenge. The Prime Minister’s Award is presented as the highest recognition within the Ranger Guide section.

The event was attended by at the President of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association Swarnika Pitigala, Chief Commissioner Dr. Kushantha Herath, President’s Guide Commissioner Pushpa Perera, Prime Minister’s Guide Commissioner Aruni Karunaratne, other senior officials of the Sri Lanka Girl Guides Association, President’s Guides and Prime Minister’s Guides, as well as a large number of their parents.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

Customs asked to resume probe or face legal action

Published

19 hours ago

2026/07/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rs. 16 bn BMW revenue fraud:

Public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku has said he will initiate appropriate proceedings against Director General of Customs, Wimal S.K. Liyanagama, in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 9 of 2023, unless the Customs carries out a revenue fraud inquiry to recover approximately Rs 16 bn in lost government revenue.

General Secretary of Vinivida Foundation, and former Customs officer, Kodituwakku said that though the Department, in response to his request for a meeting to discuss the issue, in writing, assured them that the investigation was underway, they found that the actual situation was not so.

Kodituwakku alleged that the Customs Chief had neglected what he called statutory duties under the Customs Ordinance, by disregarding his request for a meeting.

Kodituwakku said the investigation into the importation of 1,728 brand new BMW vehicles, under the concessionary duty permits issued by the government for the public servants, between 2011 and 2014, had been stalled.

The civil society activist said that investigations had revealed the vehicles hadn’t been imported by the permit holders themselves but others. It also transpired that the value of the imported vehicles, mentioned in the commercial invoices, proforma invoices and the CusDecs, tendered to Customs in the names of the permit holders, were not the actual values for the vehicles in question.

The high-profile case has been handled by the Central Investigation Directorate, at that time headed by Murugesu Thayabaran, a batchmate of Kodituwakku.

The ex-Customs officer said that he had appeared as counsel for Thayabaran in Court of Appeal and was determined to bring the case to a successful conclusion. According to him, the importer, over the years, had been represented by nine President’s Counsel as the case dragged on from the time of P.S.M. Charles, Director General, Customs.

Kodituwakku made available letters he wrote to the Customs and other parties on this issue, to The Island. Pointing out that the Court of Appeal on 7 May, 2024, dismissed the importer’s final appeal regarding the case pertaining to the revenue loss of Rs. 16 bn, Kodituwakku said that although the court had cleared the way for the Customs probe, no action had been taken.

However, the Court of Appeal ruling was given before Liyanagama succeeded Seevali Arukgoda as DG Customs on 6 May, 2026. Liyanagama served as Director General of the Department of Management Services at the Treasury before the new appointment.

Kodituwakku said that he had also brought the Customs case to the attention of the Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

Emphasising the failure on the part of the Opposition to raise this issue, both in and outside Parliament, Kodituwakku said that since the exposure of the BMW scam, during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s presidency, there had been four presidents, namely Maithripala Sirisena, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Ranil Wickremesinghe and incumbent Anura Kumara Dissanayake. Unfortunately, successive administrations had allowed the interested parties to drag the case. The lack of interest shown by political parties revealed that they not only protected those responsible but encouraged corrupt practices of allowing third parties to import vehicles in terms of permits issued to legitimate recipients of such permits.

Having campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, during the presidential and parliamentary polls in 2024, the NPP couldn’t, under any circumstances, turn a blind eye to this situation, Kodituwakku said, adding that even the IMF should be concerned of the failure on the part of successive governments to recover the money.

By Shamindra Ferdinando