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Cabinet approved USD 480 mn US Compact ignoring President Sirisena’s objections

Published

5 years ago

2020/08/19

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The yahapalana Cabinet approved the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) USD 480 mn Compact in the run-up to 2019 presidential election amidst strong objections by then President Maithrilpala Sirisena, according to highly placed sources..

The Cabinet decision followed the Board of Directors of the MCC endorsing the compact with the government of Sri Lanka on April 25, 2019.

Sources told The Island that there had been five cabinet papers submitted by President Sirisena in that regard, beginning March 10, 2017. Having underscored the requirement to study the USD 480 mn compact in his first Cabinet paper on the matter, President Sirisena submitted four subsequent Cabinet papers on April 1, 2019, July 17, 2019, July 29, 2019 and August 23, 2019, sources said.

Responding to another query, sources said that the Cabinet had given the go ahead disregarding President Sirisena’s call to put off the finalisation of the agreement by six months pending a comprehensive study. Sirisena cited legal complications as the reason for his request.

President Sirisena’s Cabinet papers came to light following an inquiry conducted by a four member committee comprising Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan, Architect Nalaka Jayaweera, former Secretary to the Transport Ministry D S Jayaweera and President’s Counsel Nihal Jayawardhana. Prof. Gunaruwan led the committee which was appointed in the wake of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s victory at the November 2019 presidential election.

The yahapalana government went ahead with the project on the basis of approval from the Attorney General’s department. Asked whether the Committee had obtained the opinion of the Attorney General, in writing in that regard, sources said that several attempts had been made to get the AG’s Department opinion before the finalization of the interim report as well as the final report. The Committee requested the Attorney General’s opinion through the Office of the Prime Minister. Having failed in their attempt, the Committee requested that the Attorney General’s Department be represented at meetings. Subsequently, the Attorney General was represented initially by an officer, relatively junior before they upgraded representation.

The Gunaruwan Committee handed over its interim report in Feb 2020 and the final report on June 23, 2020. Sources said that President Sirisena’s cabinet papers had been submitted along with the final report though they weren’t made public.

The Attorney General’s Department is now in the process of studying the report before making its position on the agreement, according to sources.

President Sirisena, in his April 1, 2019 cabinet paper objected to approving the agreement pending parliamentary endorsement later.

In addition to a letter dated Oct 10, 2018 on Attorney General’s Department letter head now in the public domain, there were several opinions expressed by the same institution in respect of the USD 480 mn Compact. Sources said that as the draft agreement finally approved by the cabinet had been amended subsequent to that letter dated Oct 10, 2018, all available written documents had to be taken into consideration.

Finance Ministry is on record as having said that the Attorney General didn’t find fault with USD 480 mn Compact. It issued the statement at the behest of the then Minister Mangala Samaraweera immediately after Prime Minister Wickremesinghe confirmed the decision to finalise the agreement before Nov 16, 2019 presidential election.

Gunaruwan Committee in its report suggests that perhaps the government should seek the Attorney General’s opinion on USD 480 mn Compact. The suggestion as Attorney General Department did not respond to issues raised by the Gunaruwan Committee.

The Attorney General’s Department recently said that in addition to the Gunaruwan Committee report, several others, including the Land Commissioner, the Survey General and Director General of the External Resources Department were to be called.

Controversy surrounds a claim that Sri Lanka received USD 10 mn in advance on two separate occasions during the previous administration, but both the donor and recipient have denied the transactions. Perhaps, Director General of External Resources could set the record straight, sources said.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government is yet to announce its stand on the agreement.

The US embassy during the previous administration said that the US expected Sri Lanka parliament to decide on the USD 480 mn Compact.

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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya extended

Published

11 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

The landslide early warnings issued to the Districts of Kandy and Nuwara Eliya by the Landslide Early Warning Center of the National Building Research Organisation have been extended till 0600 hrs on 15th February 2026.

Accordingly,
The Level II [AMBER] warnings issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Walapane and Nildandahinna in the Nuwar Eliya district and the
Level I [YELLOW] warning issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pathadumbara in the Kandy district have been extended.

Latest News

Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts

Published

12 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre at 11.30 a.m. 14 February 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 14 February 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Badulla and Nuwara-Eliya districts after 1.00 p.m. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers.

The General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities.

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Teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions – PM

Published

21 hours ago

2026/02/14

Priyan

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the forthcoming two teacher recruitment examinations will be conducted in accordance with the relevant court decisions pertaining to the ongoing legal proceedings and further noted that, taking into consideration the requests received, steps have been taken to make a request to Court’s approval to revise the conditions of the effective date of degree completion.

The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing a meeting held at Monaragala Royal College to brief education authorities of the Monaragala District on the new education reforms.

Under the new education reforms, Smart Boards will be provided to 132 schools in the Monaragala District as part of the program to equip secondary schools with modern technology. As a symbolic step under this initiative, Smart Boards were presented to 10 secondary schools under the Prime Minister’s patronage. This program is being implemented with the intervention of the Digital Task Force operating under the Prime Minister’s Office. It was also emphasized that a new digital policy, formulated with special attention to child protection, will be introduced in April.

As part of her visit to the Monaragala District on the 13 th of February, the Prime Minister observed the implementation of the new learning methodologies introduced for Grade One under the new education reforms. She visited Kumbukkana Sri Shanmugam Tamil Maha Vidyalaya and Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya in Monaragala to observe the educational activities of Grade One students.

Considering the increase of student numbers and the development of infrastructure facilities, the Prime Minister also approved a proposal submitted by the School Development Society to rename Maduruketiya Maha Vidyalaya as Monaragala Dharmaraja Maha Vidyalaya.

Teachers briefed the Prime Minister that the new education system, supported by revised workbooks and activity-based learning methods, has proven to be effective, with students participating enthusiastically.

Addressing education officials further at the meeting held at Monaragala Royal College, the Prime Minister stated:

“Although this will not provide a complete solution to the existing teacher vacancies, these examinations can offer considerable relief. According to the Court’s previous determination, the effective date of degree completion had been set as 30.06.2025. However, considering numerous requests and following the cabinet approval we have sought Court’s consent to revise this date. We will act in accordance with the decision granted.

Funds allocated for school infrastructure must be utilized transparently and in line with proper planning, and progress must be reported accordingly. We cannot move forward by dividing ourselves along national, provincial, rural, or urban lines. As education authorities, you must make swift and accurate decisions based on correct data.

Further, discussions are already underway within the Piriven Committee of the Ministry of Education to develop Piriven education and to address the issues faced by Piriven teachers.”

The event was attended by the members of the Maha Sangha, Uva Province Governor Attorney-at-Law Kapila Jayasekara, Deputy Minister of Trade and Commerce R.M. Jayawardhana, Member of Parliament Ajith Agalakada, Uva Provincial Education Secretary Nihal Gunarathne, and several officials from the education sector.