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ComBank partners with UNICEF to improve preschool education in Sri Lanka

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Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge exchanges the agreement with UNICEF Country Representative Christian Skoog in the presence of the Bank’s Deputy General Manager Corporate Banking Hasrath Munasinghe, UNICEF Resource Mobilisation Officer Farzana Khan, the Bank’s Chief Manager Sustainability, Women’s Banking & CSR Kamalini Ellawala and the Assistant Manager of the Sustainability, Women’s Banking & CSR Unit Gayan Wickramarathna

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon is joining hands with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and government partners to improve preschool education in Sri Lanka.The Bank will support the improvement of a pre-school in the Moneragala District in the Uva Province, as a contribution to UNICEF’s work to support government partners to improve preschool education. The partnership will contribute to the Province’s efforts to provide safer, more equitable, quality preschool learning environments.

The programme will include updating and refurbishing the entire school and equipping it with quality furniture and teaching-learning items.

Since 2022, UNICEF with funding from its partners has supported the Provincial Offices of Uva and Central to improve the learning environments of 40 preschools in remote areas.

This private-public partnership represents a new model for bringing partners together to strengthen early childhood education and foster the development of young learners by reaching the most marginalized with quality preschool education.

Education is one of the principal focal points of Commercial Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments. Within this, the Bank’s largest contribution is towards digital technology education in Sri Lanka. The Bank has donated 362 IT labs to schools across all 25 districts of Sri Lanka and has also supported a project to set up 176 classrooms that focus on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. Additionally, the Bank was a key partner in the national Smart Schools initiative where 165 schools were equipped with digital learning facilities. The Bank’s “Sipnena” online portal contains digitized school curriculum content, complete with practical videos and presentations to facilitate easy learning for students.

Commercial Bank is the first Sri Lankan bank to be listed among the Top 1000 Banks of the World and has the highest market capitalization in the Banking Sector in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). The Bank is the largest lender to Sri Lanka’s SME sector, is a leader in digital innovation and is Sri Lanka’s first 100% carbon neutral bank. Commercial Bank operates a strategically located network of branches and automated machines island-wide, and has the widest international footprint among Sri Lankan banks, with 20 outlets in Bangladesh, a Microfinance company in Myanmar, and a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake in the Maldives. The Bank’s fully owned subsidiary CBC Finance Ltd. also delivers a wide range of financial services via its own branch network.

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child, in everything it does. Together with partners, UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special efforts on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere. For more information about UNICEF Sri Lanka, visit www.unicef.lk.



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President AKD’s top level talks in Kuwait focus on bilateral cooperation

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President Anura Kumara Dissanayake meets Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah

By Ifham Nizam

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday met with Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, to discuss Sri Lanka’s political and financial stability and explore avenues for enhanced bilateral cooperation.

The Island Financial Review reliably learns that discussions emphasized investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, reflecting the nation’s commitment to economic revitalization.

Officials close to President Dissanayake highlighted the significance of Kuwait’s support in securing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan facility, which has been instrumental in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery efforts.

They noted that the President expressed his gratitude to the Kuwaiti leadership for their assistance during challenging times.

The meeting underscored the mutual interest in strengthening trade relations between Sri Lanka and Kuwait.

Both leaders acknowledged the potential for increased collaboration in various sectors, with a particular focus on tourism.

Sri Lanka’s current political and financial stability presents promising opportunities for Kuwaiti investors seeking to explore the island’s burgeoning tourism industry.

This engagement aligns with President Dissanayake’s broader strategy to bolster international partnerships and attract foreign investment to drive economic growth.

By fostering closer ties with nations like Kuwait, Sri Lanka aims to enhance its economic prospects and ensure sustainable development in the coming years.

The discussions with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister are expected to pave the way for future collaborations, contributing to the strengthening of bilateral relations and the realization of shared economic objectives, an official said.

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Nationwide blackout on Sunday was due to mafia or incompetency: activists

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The official explanation that a monkey caused the outage has been widely ridiculed

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Last Sunday’s nationwide power failure in Sri Lanka has sparked significant criticism and speculation, with activists and experts questioning the official explanations provided by the government and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The outage, which occurred on Sunday, February 9, 2024, has been attributed by Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody to a monkey colliding with the Panadura grid substation, causing a system imbalance. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism and outright dismissal by various stakeholders.

Malaka Wickramasinghe, Chairman of the Lanka Electricity Employees’ Federation, dismissed the notion (on February 12) that a minor technical failure or a simple short circuit could result in a nationwide blackout. He suggested that there might be an ulterior motive behind the outage, drawing parallels to past incidents where power failures were allegedly used for political leverage. Wickramasinghe pointed out that the government elected in 2015 faced similar issues in 2016, and the president elected in 2022 also encountered problems with power cuts early in his tenure. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation, possibly involving the Defense Ministry, to uncover the true cause of the outage. Wickramasinghe also highlighted the economic damage caused by such outages and called for affected individuals to be compensated.

M.P.K. Wanigasinghe, Chairman of the National Consumers’ Front, criticized the current government for continuing the policies of the previous administration in the power sector, despite having rejected those policies when they came to power. This, he suggested, indicates a lack of genuine reform or improvement in the sector.

Nandana Udayakumara, Deputy Chairman of the Engineers’ Association, raised concerns about the CEB’s handling of renewable energy (RE) integration. He referenced a 2022 report by the CEB, which indicated that 2,600 megawatts of RE could be added to the grid without issues. However, only 1,400 megawatts have been added so far and the overloading has occurred too soon. Udayakumara suggested that the recent outage might reflect either a bias against renewable energy or incompetence among higher officials in the CEB.

The official explanation that a monkey caused the outage has been widely ridiculed, with many viewing it as an attempt to evade responsibility. The incident has underscored the fragility of Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure and the need for more robust systems and accountability. As the CEB works to restore full capacity to the national grid by February 14, the public and various stakeholders are calling for more transparency and effective solutions to prevent future outages.

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BOC launches ‘Rewardz Plus’ points-based reward scheme for credit cardholders

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The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) recently introduced a points-based rewards scheme, ‘Rewardz Plus,’ aimed at providing added value to its credit cardholders while enhancing customer engagement and loyalty. The launching event of the service, which was held at BOC Head office, was graced by Kavinda De Zoysa Chairman, Russel Fonseka General Manager/ CEO, and corporate and executive management of BOC. Initially rolled out for credit cards, the scheme is designed to encourage increased usage and reward customers through a structured points accumulation and redemption system.

‘Rewardz Plus’ allows credit cardholders to earn points, based on their spending. Customers can redeem their accumulated points through a range of options available via the

rewardzplus.boc.lk.These options include purchasing e-vouchers from registered merchants and service providers, shopping online at selected stores, booking flights and hotels, and offsetting bills at participating merchants.

Speaking on the launch, Deputy General Manager (Product and Banking Development) Mr. Y A Jayathilake of Bank of Ceylon stated, ‘’Introducing ‘Rewardz Plus’ offers our credit cardholders an opportunity to get more value from their everyday spending. This initiative is designed to provide greater flexibility and convenience, allowing customers to redeem points across a variety of options, from travel to shopping and bill payments. We believe this program will encourage increased engagement with our credit card customers while recognizing and rewarding them.”

BOC has been rewarding its payment cards users by way of various programs such as Seasonal discounts and throughout the year discounts at supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. With the introduction of ‘ Rewardz Plus’ the credit card customers will be able to enjoy more benefits in addition to those discount programs.

For over 85 years, Bank of Ceylon has been a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s financial landscape, connecting individuals and businesses to global opportunities. BOC’s extensive network with over 2,300 touch points spread across the nation, ensures that bank’s customers have convenient access to a wide range of financial services. Moreover BOC was ranked as the only Sri Lankan Bank among the Top 1000 World Banks 2024 and the Banker of the Year 2021,2023 and 2024 by The Banker Magazine UK, The Number 1 Banking Brand in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance Lanka. BOC also received the People’s Banking Services Brand of the year at the SLIM KANTAR Peoples Awards 2024.Internationally, Bank of Ceylon has established a strong presence in key locations such as a Subsidiary in London, UK; branches in Male and Hulhumalé in the Maldives; Chennai, India; and the Seychelles.

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