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Crisis did not come about due to COVID-19 pandemic, but because of ill-advised policies of Govt. says Champika

Published

5 years ago

2020/08/29

By Saman Indrajith

The SJB, on Thursday, raised questions over the government‘s use of funds for the period between April and August this year without the authorisation of Parliament.

Participating in the debate on Vote on Account, SJB Colombo District MP Champika Ranawaka said: “The Treasury Secretary issued a circular dated March 10, 2020, that the President had authorised the utilisation of funds under Article 150 (3) of the Constitution, only Parliament has the power to approve a Vote on Account.” But the SJB’s stance was that Article 150 (3) only gave powers to the President to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund for public expenses for three months from that date to the inauguration of a new Parliament.

“It does not grant him powers to draw funds or approve a VoA from the date of dissolving Parliament. The Prime Minister must clarify this in his capacity as the Finance Minister. We hope he will provide Parliament with a detailed account on State revenue during the past eight months of this year, how revenue from various taxes came to the government and the government’s recurrent expenditure before the end of the debate.”

Ranawaka said 2020 would go down as a significant year in the country’s history as there was no budget.

“A similar situation arose in 2015. This was just after a presidential election and with a general election also coming. However, the then government discussed with all parties concerned and still managed to present a Budget. This government, however, though it came to power in November last year could not present a budget this year. It relied on a Vote on Account passed by the previous government which approved funds up to April 30 this year. We now have another Vote on Account for funds from September 1 to December 31,” he said.

Opening the debate on the Vote on Account for the Opposition, the SJB MP said that the country’s present fiscal crisis had not come about due to the COVID-19 pandemic but because of the ill-advised economic and tax policies of the government.

He said the government’s tax policies implemented from December 1, 2019 had had a disastrous impact on the state revenue. Due to those policies, annual state revenue, which had been near Rs 2,000 billion during the previous government, had plummeted to about Rs 1,000 billion since last December, he said.

“The state revenue this year will be about Rs 1,100 billion, whereas the interest on loans alone is about Rs 1 trillion (Rs 1000 billion). As such, this is the first time that the country’s revenue is only enough to pay off the interest on the country’s loans,” he said.

Ranawaka pointed out that before the pandemic forced the country into lockdown, the economic growth rate during the first three months of 2020, had been –1.6%. “That was the government’s report card before COVID-19. According to the Asian Development Bank’s forecast, the economy is due to contract by 0.6% this year. The government can’t hide behind COVID-19 and claim all problems are due to it. The fact remains that the economy was in severe distress long before the pandemic came around.”

MP Ranawaka also alleged that the USD 7.2 billion foreign reserves which the previous government’s Central Bank Governor managed to build up were now being used to pay off foreign loans. He also lambasted the protectionist economic policy of the government and said that issuing a blanket ban on imports was only going to further worsen an already difficult situation. “You can’t develop local industries in this manner,” he said.

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Advisory for severe lightning issued for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district

Published

4 hours ago

2025/04/7

Priyan

Color: -Red Warning (Take action) Color: -Amber Advisory (Be prepared) Color: -Green Threat is over

The Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre has issued an Advisory for Severe Lightning for the Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambanthota district.

The advisory issued at 02.00 p.m. today [07 April 2025] is valid for the period until 11.00 p.m. 07 April 2025

The public are warned that thundershowers accompanied by severe lightning are likely to occur at several places in for Sabaragamuwa, Central and Uva provinces and in Hambantota district. There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. 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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“Census of Population and Housing 2024” Report Presented to the President

Published

5 hours ago

2025/04/7

Priyan

The report of the “Census of Population and Housing 2024,” conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics, was officially handed over to President Anura Kumara Disanayake this morning (07) at the Presidential Secretariat.

This preliminary report has been prepared based on island wide data collected between October and December 2024.

The report provides details on Sri Lanka’s population, its growth and the distribution of the population across districts.

The information gathered through the census is vital not only for the government but also for other institutions in formulating policies and development plans essential for the country’s progress. Significantly, for the first time in the history of census-collecting in Sri Lanka, data collection was carried out using tablet computers and user-friendly mobile devices.

The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance & Planning, Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardana, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics D.D.G.A. Senevirathne and several other officials.

Business

Central Bank Presents Annual Economic Review 2024 to President

Published

6 hours ago

2025/04/7

Priyan

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (07) presented its flagship publication, the Annual Economic Review for 2024 (AER 2024), to President and Minister of Finance, Anura Kumara Disanayake, highlighting the steady progress of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery following the country’s most severe downturn in recent history.

The report was officially handed over by Dr. P. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank, during a special ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat.

AER 2024 comprises four main chapters: Macroeconomic Developments, Conditions of the Financial System, Review of Central Bank’s Policies and Macroeconomic Outlook.

According to the Review, the Sri Lankan economy showed significant signs of recovery in 2024, following the deep economic crisis experienced two years ago. The recovery trajectory, though challenging, has been notably faster than that of many other debt-distressed countries.

Improvements in economic activity, a partial resurgence in purchasing power and reduced uncertainty are among the key positive indicators noted in the report.

The event was attended by Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the President, K. M. Mahinda Siriwardena, Secretary to the Treasury, Mrs. K. M. A. N. Daulagala, Senior Deputy Governor, Dr. C. Amarasekara, Assistant Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) S. Jegajeevan, Director of Economic Research and Dr. L. R. C. Pathberiya and Additional Director of Economic Research at the Central Bank Dr. V. D. Wickramarachchi.

[PMD]