Features

Blueprint for a New Dawn

Published

4 years ago

2022/04/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

By Dr Sirimewan Dharmaratne,

Senior Analyst, HM Revenue and Customs, UK

While a beleaguered government is fighting for survival, there are plenty of pretenders in the fringes waiting for an easy way to power. Power transfers in Sri Lanka have always been based on false pretences, contingent on unrealistic promises. This is because reality will never win votes. It is almost as if the populace were willing to be deceived by the best fairy tale. Although, in the past people have been inured to live with disappointments, it appears the willingness to acquiesce the status quo has finally come to an end.

There are plenty of suggestions and proposal that are floating around on what the next administration ought to do. While most of these have some elements that could be nascent in a new era, some deep-rooted fundamental changes, that could well be painful for the entire population, are still needed. Unfortunately, it is the masses that have suffered the misdeeds of a few. The current upheaval is the culmination of years of apathy and quiescence, where voters have been willing participants of the whole debacle. Leaders are mostly selected for their tutelary appeal, based on visceral feelings, rather than the ability to run the country.

Sri Lanka does not need the IMF to dictate what it should do, except may be for a substantial loan. What is needed is a group of individuals who are not blinded by their own self-importance or self-interest, to implement extensive but imperative economic reforms. Here are the key ones that need be in part of any future an administration.

Sweeping Tax Reforms

This first sign of trouble was the abolition of PAYE and cut in VAT. Apparently, this was done on a perverse economic premise to boost the economy. In a country where there is already rampant tax evasion and avoidance, what is required is to bring more people into the tax net and not create more opportunities for evasion. Ideally, each working person should have a tax record and the top rate should be far more than the current 18%. When a section of the society laments about import restriction on cars and luxury goods, while the tribulations of a much larger population is finding the wherewithal for a basic sustenance, there is a serious imbalance in the income distribution. Obviously, there is too much liquidity within a smaller group, which is more likely than not, supplemented generously by unreported and unearned income. Income tax regime should be aggressively progressive, with a higher rate nearing or over 40%. This will increase government coffers to provide income support for low earners and fund programmes that add value to the economy. It will also dampen the demand for luxury consumer items, on which much of the valuable foreign reserves appears to be swallowed up.

Public Sector Reforms

It is a travesty that 85% of government revenue is spent on supporting an over-bloated public service with very low productivity. Budget for each government department should be cut 5-10% year-on-year, with the requirement to increase productivity. With the current set up, there is no incentive for ministers to look for efficiency gains as there is a never-ending stream of money to fund atrocious salary demands and benefits. Anyone going on strike loses pay and longer periods of work stoppages should be considered as break in service that affects pension benefits. While workers’ rights are of utmost importance, they should be defended in courts and not in public streets, inconveniencing the same taxpayers that fund those salaries.

Abolish Subsidies

While current subsidised prices for fuel and electricity disproportionally benefit the rich, subsidised fertiliser and other agricultural inputs promote inefficient agriculture and the destruction of the environment. It is not a good economic model when the poor are taxed to provide cheap pleasure trips to the rich. One must wonder what incremental economic growth can be attributed to these spanking new highways, which are mostly deserted, except on “long weekends,” which are not in short supply in the country. These highways should be filled with trucks and lorries, ferrying goods back and forth promoting trade. Yet, these debt-financed highways are primarily used for hedonistic escapades by the rich, using cheap fuel, compliments of the taxpayer.

Heavily subsidised agriculture sector has developed a penchant for wanton use of inputs, which has not only made the whole sector prodigiously inefficient, but also has created extensive environmental damage. Farmers have been conditioned to gratuitous use of inputs that are free or nearly free. These are all massive taxpayer cost, which brings little or no benefits to the public. However, the solution is not to convert to organic agriculture overnight, but to find ways to make agriculture more efficient, using the technical knowledge available through the vast number of professionals that are churned out every year though the publicly-funded university system. These professionals should be playing a vital role for the betterment of the taxpayer who funded their education and training and not be obsequious public servants pandering to politicians just to get head on the career ladder.

Smaller less expensive administration

The cost of maintaining the legislature has always been a contentious issue in Sri Lanka. This is apposite time to consider how delivery of policy could be made more cost effective. First to go should be all luxury official cars. What is the rationale behind using vehicles that are even considered expensive in the developed world, to ferry a few morbidly obese individuals just a few miles on well carpeted roads? Is the use of high-end 4-wheel drive vehicles are needed for this purpose? the UK government has only 97 cars allocated to ministers and most of them are in a pool. Each journey taken is logged and available as a public record. Can Sri Lanka, burdened with heavy debt, maintain these grandiloquent benefits to a largely unproductive legislature? While the current government expenditure should be drastically reduced, the size of the administration should be curtailed as well. Do all these different levels of bureaucracy need to run a country with 22 million people? The only outcome of this vast government engine is lack of responsibility and accountability. It is time to shed the excess and useless baggage and from a leaner, meaner administration so that policy decisions are implemented quickly and efficiently with a clear line of command.

Abolish Government Corporations

The function of a government is to provide public goods and regulate natural monopolies. It should not be in the business of selling food stuff, fuel, natural gas, utilities, running transport or airline services. The government corporations that provide these goods and services are running at massive losses. Yet “top-executives” are given eye-watering salaries and other benefits, which are in par with similar positions in developed countries. Yet most of these so-called executives would be lucky to find a job as a janitor in a competitive labour market. Better yet, most of them would not be able to secure a decent paying job in the private sector in Sri Lanka itself. If you cannot cover you daily operating expenses, no private individual would be in business. Yet these entities exist while reporting at massive losses without any accountability. In fact, they appear to be rewarded for inefficiency though bonuses and other benefits. This is insane. These white elephants should be privatised. There will be an initial increase in prices, but the competition will eventually drive prices down. Those that need to be natural monopolies by the very nature of the business should be heavily regulated to keep monopoly profits in check. An independent body should be established to monitor and authorise price increase. This would create massive benefits to the taxpayer in the long run through reduced prices and tax burden.

Re-establish the integrity of the Central Bank

The current cosy relationship between the government and the Central Bank has created monumental damage to the economy. The role of the Central Bank is to independently act on monetary policy to control money supply while regulating interest rate and inflation to promote stable growth. Money supply does not mean printing money as this administration appears to have mistakenly understood. Or probably the Governor is a blind follower of Lord Adair Turner and his modern monitory theory. The theory is that just printing money and distributing among the public would increase aggregate demand and stimulate economic growth. This led to the popular phrase of “helicopter drop of money,” where printed money is literally dropped by helicopters! The plight of the countries that have tested this theory, such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe, is abundantly clear. Re-establishing the integrity of the Central Bank by appointing a competent governor and a monitory board is a must. What we still have is time tested Keynesian economics, until a better theory comes along. Make the central bank an independent entity, like in any other decent country.

Putting country back on track is not just for the politicians. Every individual has a role to play through good citizenship, by doing the right thing. The only way that you get ahead is by stepping on someone less fortunate or disenfranchised, then you are directly contributing to perpetuate the whole sordid system. If you use “connections” to get ahead, the perfidious politicians will use you to get ahead themselves. The idea of rebuilding the economy within the same old system is a fallacy. Every individual needS to change as well. This time around, however, the current unrest is hopefully provenance of a new era in Sri Lanka. Wish it all the best!

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Features

The Easter investigation must not become ethno-religious politics

Published

15 hours ago

2026/04/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Zahran and other bombers

Representatives of almost all the main opposition parties were in attendance at the recent book launch by Pivithuru Hela Urumaya leader Udaya Gammanpila. The book written by the PHU leader was his analysis of the Easter bombing of April 2019 that led to the mass killing of 279 persons, caused injuries to more than 500 others and caused panic and shock in the entire country. The Easter bombing was inexplicable for a number of reasons. First, it was perpetrated by suicide bombers who were Sri Lankan Muslims, a community not known for this practice. They targeted Christian churches in particular, which led to the largest number of casualties. The bombing of Sri Lankan Christian churches by Sri Lankan Muslims was also inexplicable in a country that had no history of any serious violence between the two religions.

There were two further inexplicable features of the bombing. The six suicide bombings took place almost simultaneously in different parts of the country. The logistical complexity of this operation exceeded any previously seen in Sri Lanka. Even during the three decade long civil war that pitted the Sri Lankan military against the LTTE, which had earned international notoriety for suicide attacks, Sri Lanka had rarely witnessed such a synchronised operation. The country’s former Attorney General, Dappula de Livera, who investigated the bombing at the time it took place, later stated, upon retirement, that there was a “grand conspiracy” behind the bombings. That phrase has remained central to public debate because it suggested that the visible perpetrators may not have been the only planners behind the attack.

The other inexplicable factor was that intelligence services based in India repeatedly warned their Sri Lankan counterparts that the bombings would take place and even gave specific targets. Later investigations confirmed that warnings were transmitted days before the attacks and repeated again shortly before the explosions, yet they were not acted upon. It was these several inexplicable factors that gave rise to the surmise of a mastermind behind the students and religious fanatics led by the extremist preacher Zahran Hashim from the east of the country, who also blew himself up in the attacks. Even at the time of the bombing there was doubt that such a complex and synchronised operation could have been planned and executed by the motley band who comprised the suicide bombers.

Determined Attempt

The book by PHU leader Gammanpila is a determined attempt to make explicable the inexplicable by marshalling logic and evidence that this complex and synchronised operation was planned and executed by Zahran himself. This is a possible line of argumentation in a democratic society. Competing interpretations of public tragedies are part of political discourse. However, the timing of the intervention makes it politically more significant. The launch of the PHU leader’s book comes at a critical time when the protracted investigation into the Easter bombing appears to be moving forward under the present government.

The performance of the three previous governments at investigating the bombing was desultory at best. The Supreme Court held former President Maithripala Sirisena and several senior officials responsible for failing to act on prior intelligence and ordered compensation to victims. This judicial finding gave legal recognition to what victims had long maintained, that there was a grave dereliction of duty at the highest levels of the state. In recent weeks the investigation has taken a dramatic turn with the arrest and court production of former State Intelligence Service chief Suresh Sallay on allegations linked directly to the attacks. Whether these allegations are ultimately proven or disproven, they indicate that the present phase of the investigation is moving beyond negligence into possible complicity.

This is why the present moment requires political sobriety. There is a danger that the line of political division regarding the investigation into the Easter bombing can take on an ethnic complexion. The insistence that the suicide bombers alone were the planners and executors of the dastardly crime makes the focus invariably one of Muslim extremism, as the suicide bombers were all Muslims. This may unintentionally narrow public attention away from the unanswered questions regarding intelligence failures, possible political manipulation, and the allegations of a broader conspiracy that remain under active investigation. The minority political parties representing ethnic and religious minorities appear to have realised this danger. Their absence from the book launch was politically significant. It suggests an unwillingness to be drawn into a narrative that could once again stigmatise an entire community for the crimes of a handful of extremists and their possible handlers.

Another Tragedy

It would be another tragedy comparable in political consequence to the havoc wreaked by the Easter bombing if moderate mainstream political parties, such as the SJB to which the Leader of the Opposition belongs, were to subscribe to positions merely to score political points against the present government. They need to guard against the promotion of anti-minority sentiment and the fuelling of majority prejudice against ethnic and religious minorities. Indeed, opposition leader Sajith Premadasa in his Easter message said that justice for the victims of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks remains a fundamental responsibility of the state and noted that seven years on, both past and present governments have failed to deliver accountability. He added that building a society grounded in trust and peace, uniting all ethnicities, religions and communities, is vital to ensure such tragedies do not occur again.

Sri Lanka’s post war history offers too many examples of how unresolved security crises become vehicles for majoritarian mobilisation. The Easter tragedy itself was followed by waves of anti-Muslim suspicion and violence in some parts of the country. Responsible political leadership should seek to prevent any return to that atmosphere. There are many other legitimate issues on which the moderate and mainstream opposition parties can take the government to task. These include the lack of decisive action against government members accused of corruption, the passing of the entire burden of rising fuel prices on consumers instead of the government sharing the burden, and the failure to hold provincial council elections within the promised timeframe. These are issues that touch the daily lives of citizens and the health of democratic governance. They offer the opposition ample ground on which to build credibility as a government in waiting.

The search for truth and justice over the Easter bombing needs to continue until all those responsible are identified, whether they were direct perpetrators, negligent officials, or political actors who may have exploited the tragedy. This is what the victim families want and the country needs. But this search must not be turned into a partisan and religiously divisive matter such as by claiming that there are more potential suicide bombers lurking in the country who had been followers of Zaharan. If it is, Sri Lanka risks replacing one national tragedy with another. coming together to discredit the ongoing investigations into the Easter bombing of 2019 is an unacceptable use of ethno-religious nationalism to politically challenge the government. The opposition needs to find legitimate issues on which to challenge the government if they are to gain the respect and support of the general public and not their opprobrium.

by Jehan Perera

Features

China’s new duty-free regime for Africa: Implications for Global Trade and Sri Lanka

Published

15 hours ago

2026/04/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Image courtesy The Global Times

* The new duty-free regime for Africa, announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in February, is the most generous unilateral nonreciprocal trade concession offered by any country to developing countries since the beginning of the modern rule based international trading system.

* Yet, it is a clear violation of the cornerstone of the multilateral trade law, the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle.

* Hence, its implications on developing countries, without duty-free access to China, will be extremely negative. Sri Lanka is one of the few developing countries without duty-free access to China.

On 14 February, 2026, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will grant zero-tariff treatment to 53 African nations, effective 01 May, 2026. Under this new unilateral policy initiative, China would eliminate all import tariffs on all goods imported from all the countries in Africa, except Eswatini. China already enforces a zero-tariff policy for 33 Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in Africa. Now this policy would be extended to non LDCs as well. This policy initiative clearly aims at reducing the continuously expanding trade deficit between China and Africa. In 2024, China’s trade surplus against Africa was recorded at US $ 61 billion.

This trade initiative, a precious gift amidst ongoing global trade tensions, is the most generous unilateral nonreciprocal trade concession given by any country to developing countries, since the beginning of the modern rule based international trading system.

Though this landmark announcement has far-reaching implications on global trade, as much as President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, it was almost overlooked by the global media.

Implications for Global Trade

This Chinese policy initiative, though very generous, is a clear violation of the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) principle and the “Enabling Clause” of the International Trade Law. The MFN principle is the cornerstone of the multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and is enshrined in Article I of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It mandates that any trade advantage, privilege, or immunity granted by a WTO member to any country must be extended immediately and unconditionally to all other WTO members. Though, the GATT “Enabling Clause” allows developed nations to offer non-reciprocal preferential treatment (lower tariffs) to developing countries without extending them to all WTO members, this has to be done in a non-discriminatory manner. By extending tariff concessions only to developing countries in Africa, China has also breached this requirement.

This deliberate violation of the MFN principle by China occurs less than 12 months after the announcement of “Liberation Day” tariffs by President Trump, which breached Article I (MFN) and Article II (bound rates) of the GATT. However, it is important to underline that the objectives of the actions by the two Presidents are poles apart; the US objective was to limit imports from all its trading partners, and China’s objective is to increase imports from African countries.

Though the importance of the MFN principle of the WTO law had eroded over the years due to the proliferation of preferential trade agreements and unilateral preferential arrangements, the WTO members almost always obtained WTO waivers, whenever they breached the MFN principle. Now the leaders of the main trading powers have decided to violate the core principles of the multilateral trading system so brazenly, the impact of their decisions on the international trading system will be irrevocable.

Implications for Sri Lanka

China’s unilateral decision to provide zero-tariff treatment to African countries will have a strong adverse impact on Sri Lanka. Currently, all Asian countries, other than India and Sri Lanka, have duty-free access, for most of their exports, into the Chinese market through bilateral or regional trade agreements, or the LDC preferences. Though Sri Lanka, India and China are members of the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), preferential margins extended by China under APTA to India and Sri Lanka are limited.

The value of China’s imports from Sri Lanka had declined from US$ 650 million in 2021 to US$ 433 million by 2025. However, China’s exports to Sri Lanka increased significantly during the period, from US$ 5,252 million to US$ 5,753 by 2025. This has resulted in a trade deficit of US$ 5,320 million. Sri Lanka’s exports to China may decline further from next month when African nations with duty-free access start to expand their market share.

Let me illustrate the challenges Sri Lanka will face in the Chinese market with one example. Tea (HS0902) is Sri Lanka’s third largest export to China, after garments and gems. Sri Lanka is the largest exporter of tea to China, followed by India, Kenya and Viet Nam. During the last five years the value of China’s imports of tea from Sri Lanka had declined significantly, from US$76 million in 2021 to US$ 57 million by 2025. Meanwhile, imports from our main competitors had increased substantially. Most importantly, imports from Kenya increased from US$ 7.9 million in 2021 to US$ 15 million in 2025. For tea, the existing tariff in China for Sri Lanka is 7.5% and for Kenya is 15%. From next month the tariff for Kenya will be reduced to 0%. What will be its impact on Sri Lanka exports? That was perhaps explained by a former Ambassador to Africa, when he urged Sri Lankan exporters to “leverage duty free access from Kenya” to expand their exports to China!

(The writer is a retired public servant and a former Chairman of WTO Committee on Trade and Development. He can be reached at senadhiragomi@gmail.com)

by Gomi Senadhira

Features

Daughter in the spotlight …

Published

15 hours ago

2026/04/7

Sahan Weerasooriya

Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya was a famous actress and her name still rings a bell with many. And now in the spotlight is her daughter Senani Wijesena – not as an actress but as a singer – and she has been singing, since the age of five!

The plus factor is that Senani, now based in Australia, is also a songwriter, plays keyboards and piano, dancer, and has filmed and edited some of her own music videos.

Says Senani: “I write the lyrics, melody and music and work with professional musicians who do the needful on my creations.”

Her latest album, ‘Music of the Mirror’, is made up of 16 songs, and her first Sinhala song, called ‘Nidahase’, is scheduled for release this month (April) in Colombo, along with a music video.

‘Nidahase’,

says Senani, is a song about Freedom … of life, movement, love and spirit. Freedom to be your authentic self, express yourself freely and Freedom from any restrictions.

In fact, ‘Nidahase’ is the Sinhala translated version of her English song ‘Free’ which made Senani a celebrity as the song was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award in the RnB /Soul category and reached the Top 20 on the UK Music weekly dance charts, as well as No. 1 on the Yes Home grown Top 15, on Yes FM, for six weeks straight.

Senani went on to say that ‘Nidahase’ has been remixed to include a Sri Lankan touch, using Kandyan drums and the Thammattama drum, with extra music production by local music producer Dilshan L. Silva, and Australia-based Emmy Award winning Producer and Engineer Sean Carey … with Senani also in the scene.

The song was written (lyrics and melody) and produced by Senani and it features Australian musicians, while the music video was produced by Sri Lanka’s Sandesh Bandara and filmed in Sri Lanka.

First Sinhala song scheduled for release this month … in Colombo

Senani’s music is mostly Soul, Funk and RNB – also Fusion, using ethnic sounds such as the tabla, sitar, and sarod – as well as Jazz influenced.

“I also have Alternative Music songs with a rock edge, such as ‘New Day’, and upcoming releases ‘Fly High’ and ‘Whisper’“, says Senani, adding that she has also recorded in other languages, such as Hindi and Spanish.

“As much of my fan base are Sri Lankans, who have asked me to release a song in the Sinhala language, I decided to create and release ‘Nidahase’ and I plan to release other original Sinhala songs in the future.

Senani has a band in Australia and has appeared at festivals in Australia, on radio and TV in Australia, and Sri Lanka.

She trained as a vocalist, through Sydney-based Singing Schools, as well as private tuition, and she has 5th Grade piano music qualifications.

And this makes interesting reading:

“I graduated from the University of Newcastle in Australia with a Bachelor of Medicine and I work part time as a doctor (GP) and an Integrative Medicine practitioner, with a focus on nutrition, and spend the rest of the time dedicated to my music career.”

Senani hails from an illustrious family. In addition to her mum, Jeevarani Kurukulasuriya, who made over 40 films, including starring in the first colour movie ‘Ranmuthu Duwa’, her dad is Dr Lanka Wijesena (retired GP) and she has two sisters – all musical; one is a doctor, while the other is a dietitian/ psychotherapist.