Connect with us

News

Cabraal makes fighting presentation on what will be done amidst dire circumstances to revive economy

Published

on

By Saman Indrajith

The government would enter into swap arrangements with regard to investment that should flow in through Treasury bills and treasury bonds, Capital Markets and State Enterprises Reforms State Minister Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament on Thursday (10)

“Through that swap arrangement we are hoping to attract more investors to ensure that Sri Lanka will have a stable rupee and strong reserves, allowing us to confront any situation,” Minister Cabraal said, winding up the parliamentary debate on Notifications under the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act, Customs Ordinance and the Revenue Protection Act presented to the House for approval.

The State Minister said the revival of the economy would take time. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had also said that in the current year the world would experience around 4.5 per cent negative growth but in that scenario, it was necessary to break free and move forward with more investments, Cabraal added. 

 “Attracting investment is going to be somewhat challenging but we are hoping to meet that challenge by providing comfort as well as confidence to investors from all over the world so that more money will come in.”

The State Minister said besides Treasury Bills and Bonds, Foreign Direct investments (FDIs), too, would be attracted. “There are many who have told us they are hoping to come into Sri Lanka with their investments and we are confident that before long investments will flow in.”

 Minister Cabraal noted that the Stock Market was picking up and in last one month, almost every day the turnover had risen to over one billion rupees. “We have also seen the All Share Price Index (ASPI) increasing and once there is a sustainable situation, we will see investors return to Sri Lanka. In the meantime, we have enough investors in the country as well.”

The State Minister said that the deposits within the country today in the banking and the non-banking sectors were approximately Rs. 10 trillion.

 “Out of this amount, if we can attract Rs 100 billion or one per cent of that amount, to the Stock Market, capital gains will be enjoyed by Sri Lankans and not by foreigners. As a government which is always concerned about Sri Lankan businesses and enterprises, we will like them to make a profit before others,” he said.

 Minister Cabraal said the country’s banking sector too had to be strengthened. “We saw during the past five years the consolidation programmes that we put in place prior to that ignored. We saw five finance companies collapse in the past five e years whereas not a single failed in the nine preceding years under our government.”

Minister Cabraal said those were the ways in which the government would tweak the economy so that it could go forward and ensure that Sri Lankan businesses and enterprises would thrive in the future.

“We also must implement these policies quickly and with confidence so that people all over the world will know we are a government that means business. We are off to a good start. The President has given clear guidelines to all ministers and state ministers unlike ever done before.”

 He noted that during the past five years, the economy had declined as never seen before. “After nine years of continuous progress we saw five years which was a complete reversal in the growth momentum. Due to the inconsistent policies between different aspects in government we saw poor implementation as well. On top of that there were the Easter Sunday attacks and then we had to face the COVID-19 crisis.”

Cabraal said that even though the new government had inherited an economy in decline,  after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took office in November last year he had embarked on a mission to revive the economy to meet the COVID challenge, instill confidence of investors in the country’s economy and formulate policies to take Sri Lanka  forward.



Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Numerous Clean Sri Lanka initiatives were implemented in Anuradhapura during Poson week

Published

on

By

Aligned with the 2025 National Poson Festival, the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat spearheaded several environmentally conscious initiatives during Poson Week, including maintaining cleanliness in areas surrounding the Atamasthana (Eight Sacred Places). Key waste management measures included the establishment of permanent, covered enclosures for biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste receptacles near the Atamasthana and Mihintale. Dedicated plastic bottle collection bins were strategically placed alongside general waste bins and in collaboration with Ceypetco, discarded barrels were repurposed as waste containers.

Significant support came from sponsors including the Irrigation Department, ARPICO, Rambewa Mechanical Engineering Works, the Cargills and Keells Group (for plastic containers), Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka (for plastic collection bins), and Ceypetco and the Sri Lanka Army (for waste bins).

Additional safety and awareness initiatives included placing waste bins near bathing areas and bridges adjacent to major reservoirs (Tissa Wewa, Basawakkulama Wewa, Nuwara Wewa, Mahakanadarawa Wewa, Nachchaduwa Wewa, Bulankulama Wewa and Kunchikulama Wewa) to reduce littering. Warning signs were installed at hazardous locations and lifesaving personnel and naval craft were deployed during the Poson Week.

Waste bins for bridge areas were supplied by Phoenix Industries and ARPICO, while informational signage around the Sacred City was sponsored by AIA, Ceylinco and Sri Lanka Insurance. Overall coordination was managed by the Anuradhapura Municipal Commissioner.

A Clean Sri Lanka coordination centre established within the Poson Zone facilitated awareness programmes for schoolchildren and the general public on themes such as environmental stewardship and intergenerational responsibility. These efforts involved Provincial and District Secretaries and institutions including the Post-Harvest Technology Institute. Additional programmes were held targeting public officials and citizens focused on national food security, financial literacy and ethical public service.

Environmental sustainability projects carried out during the week included canal cleaning in collaboration with the Irrigation Department, Provincial Irrigation Department and the Department of Agrarian Development and a tree-planting initiative titled “Environmental Security” in partnership with the Forest Conservation Department and school communities.

Personality development and leadership workshops were also conducted. A full-day session was held on 7 June 2025 at St. Thomas’ College, Anuradhapura (7:30 AM to 7:30 PM), sponsored by Perera & Sons, the Anuradhapura Lions Club and the Dream Force Sri Lanka Society. Similar workshops were conducted at Maithripala Senanayake Vidyalaya and Swarnamali Balika Vidyalaya.

On 11 June 2025, a morning awareness session for rural farmers was held, covering Post-Harvest Technology (presented by  C.R. Gunawardana, National Post-Harvest Management Institute) and Financial Management (presented by Duminda Disanayake, Central Bank of Sri Lanka), featuring a special address by MP Susantha Kumara Navaratne.

On the morning of 12 June 2025, the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat and the Anuradhapura Municipal Council jointly conducted a waste removal drive at the Basawakkulama Wewa tank bund, extracting plastic, polythene and other refuse. Participants included venerable monks from the Sri Lanka Bhikkhu University Bhikkhu Student Association, Anuradhapura Mayor  N. Karunaratne, the Association President and lay devotees. That afternoon, the Secretariat’s Music Therapy programme began at the Surapura Open Air Theatre, Anuradhapura, attended by over a thousand personnel from the armed forces, police, Civil Security Department and state institutions.

A special lecture was also delivered by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Madhura Gunawardana.

[PMD]

Continue Reading

News

Workshop on the use of AI to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the public service

Published

on

By

A special workshop on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform the public service into a more productive and efficient entity was held on Sunday (15) at Temple Trees.

Titled “AI for Transforming Public Service,” the workshop was attended by officials of the Presidential Secretariat. It aimed to serve as an initial orientation for a major government initiative, the digitalization of the public service, by raising awareness and preparing officials, while also fostering a positive perception of artificial intelligence within the public sector.

Dr. Hans Wijesuriya, Senior Advisor to the President on the Digital Economy, delivered the keynote address. Sanjaya Karunaseena, Executive Director of the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka, also presented a brief address. Subsequently, Harsha Purasinghe and Samisa Abeysinghe, board members of ICTA, conducted awareness sessions incorporating practical demonstrations.

The event was also attended by the Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage and several other senior officials from the Presidential Secretariat.

Continue Reading

News

SC appointment: AKD withdraws his nominee, SJB to raise issue in House

Published

on

Justice Lafar receiving appointment as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal in February this year (file pic)

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has withdrawn the nomination of Court of Appeal Judge M. T. Mohamed Lafar to the Supreme Court, amidst an intense controversy in legal circles over the nomination at issue even before the occurrence of a vacancy in the apex court. The matter would be raised in Parliament, SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera said.

President Dissanayake owed the country an explanation as to why that nomination was made in such a hurry, Jayasekera said. “President Dissanayake is believed to have sent Lafar’s nomination to the Constitutional Council on 9 June, before he left for Germany on an official tour,” he said.

Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne heads the 10-member CC.

Former Minister Jayasekera said that he was aware of the decision to withdraw Lafar’s nomination.

Speaker’s Office sources told The Island that they couldn’t comment on the issue without consulting the Speaker. Sources in the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) said that a couple of judicial appointments were due soon and the BASL’s official comment could be made available once it studied the developments.

Other sources said that the President intended to fill the vacancy to be created by justice Gamini Amarasekera’s retirement, on 20 June, with Lafar, who is the current President of the Court of Appeal. However, Lafar is to retire on 18 June, after having reached the retirement age on 18 June, sources said.

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara and Leader of the House Bimal Rathnayake couldn’t be contacted for comment.In terms of the Constitution, the President has to consult the Chief Justice regarding nominations before they are forwarded to the CC.

MP Jayasekera said that he would seek the government parliamentary group response to the Supreme Court matter. The NPP, having accused all previous governments of wrongdoings, couldn’t be allowed to manipulate judicial appointments, he added. (SF)

Continue Reading

Trending