News
Duty on sugar to be kept at 25 cts. a kilo
Faced with shortage, govt. throws open sugar market to competition
By Shamindra Ferdinando
State Minister of Co-operative Services, Marketing Development and Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanne yesterday (01) said that the duty on white sugar would remain at 25 cents a kilo for the time being to ensure the control price remained the same.
The Lawmaker said so when The Island asked him whether the duty would be revised in the wake of the government lifting restrictions on the import of sugar as stocks diminished rapidly. The wholesale price of white sugar is at Rs 116 and retail Rs 122.
Responding to another query, the State Minister estimated the available stocks of white sugar and locally produced red sugar needed to be replenished quite urgently to ensure the red sugar is priced at Rs 125. According to the State Minister the stock available, included the white sugar variety used for other than domestic uses.
Asked whether it was fair to continue with 25 cents duty on a kilo of sugar at a time both government as well as Opposition lawmakers criticised the unprecedented duty slash, SLFPer Alagiyawanna emphasised that there was no basis for such criticism. The State Minister stressed that the position taken by the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) as regards the duty reduction didn’t actually reflect the situation on the ground. The CoPE’s criticism was unfounded, the Gampaha District MP said.
CoPA Chairman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa is on record as having said that the duty reduction didn’t benefit the consumer at all. Lawmaker Yapa called for a report from the Finance Ministry in that regard.
MP Alagiyawanne said that price controls were imposed on sugar in the wake of kilo of sugar going beyond Rs 230 or 240 in the market. The State Minister said that the Finance Ministry had abolished the license system to enable any interested party to import sugar.
The Finance Ministry on Oct 13, 2020 issued a gazette notification pertaining to the much debated unprecedented duty reduction from Rs 50 to 25 cents a kilo.
Those who found fault with that didn’t realize how the price mechanism worked, the State Minister said, tangible measures were being taken to prevent shortage of sugar in the market.
The lawmaker said that revision of duty couldn’t be contemplated at the moment under any circumstances. According to the State Minister, as sugar hadn’t been imported into the country in the recent past the available stocks were diminishing quite rapidly.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in terms of emergency regulations declared at midnight August 31, took tangible measures to ensure sufficient supply of rice, sugar and other essential items. The President also appointed Maj. Gen. Senarath Niwunhella as the Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES) to work in unison with the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) to reign in the traders’ Mafia. In a series of recent raids, authorities seized nearly 30,000 tonnes of sugar imported by four companies.
However, the government has again opened up the sugar market close on the heels of rescinding the price controls on both paddy and rice.
Meanwhile, SJB lawmaker Mujibur Rahman said that contrary to government claims the whole supply system was in tatters. Declaring that the government couldn’t suppress the actual situation by media gimmicks, the former UNPer said milk powder, rice, sugar, cement, garlic and almost all essentials were in short supply. The top SJB spokesperson said that the government owed an explanation as to how it intended to sustain basic requirements as the national economy fast deteriorated.
The MP asked whether in spite of repeated threats directed at those accused of hoarding and manipulating the market, any action was initiated against them. The decision to rescind the gazette on the price of rice revealed the government lacked even basic strategy to ensure market stability, the MP said.
Italian Naval Ship ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ which arrived in Sri Lanka on 10th October 2024, departed the island today (13th October), on successful completion of her formal visit. The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Colombo port, following naval traditions.
On her departure, ‘PPA MONTECUCCOLI’ engaged in a successful Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with SLNS Gajabahu. The PASSEX involved training exercises in communication and tactical maneuvering, concluding with the traditional cheer ship salute
Latest News
President instructs officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by adverse weather conditions
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by the recent adverse weather conditions across the country.
He also instructed the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to ensure special attention is given to the safety of people in districts impacted by floods and landslides and to provide necessary support for effective relief operations.
The President emphasized that the government will take action to provide necessary assistance to all affected citizens and that local government officials in the affected areas will be engaged to ensure the people receive the required aid. Until such time, the President requested the public to act cautiously.
Additionally, the President instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate Rs. 50 million for relief services and urged state officials to ensure proper coordination in delivering the relief to those in need.
According to the Disaster Management Centre, 24,492 individuals from 6,018 families have been affected by floods and landslides in 11 districts due to the adverse weather conditions experienced in recent days.
At present, 2,200 individuals from 584 families are being sheltered in 23 relief centres. Relief operations in all affected districts have already begun, coordinated by state officials through the Chief of Defence Staff’s office.
Emergency situations can be reported by contacting the Disaster Management Centre’s hotline number 117or by calling 0112136136, 0112136222, or 0112670002.
By Norman Palihawadane
Massive file retrieval for re-examination goes on at police headquarters and CID by engaging investigators in perusing evidence related to over thousand cases of the past two decades, police headquarters sources said.
The investigators have been divided into teams for what a senior police officer called ‘cold case investigation’ perusing archived documents and some are engaged in re-scrutinizing the evidence pertaining to several ongoing cases as well.
When contacted for comment, Acting IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya said that afresh investigation of Easter Sunday terror attacks has been commenced and officers have already started recording statements from various parties including those who had already testified before courts and commissions involved in previous probes.
“There is evidence to prove that many former investigations either deliberately overlooked or missed some vital information and facts. The CID has been tasked with the case reopening process. I can promise that new investigations will yield results to bring about justice to many. For example, the CID is looking to gather evidence from many new angles in the Wasim Thajudeen case,” Weerasooriya told The Island.
Prior to investigations a list of names of persons and officers who had been connected to investigations into controversial cases has been sent to the airport and a special police team has been detailed by the Ministry of Public Security to prevent them leaving the country, the Public Security Ministry sources said.
Among the new case-reopening process are several organized crimes involving some officers from the Colombo Crimes Division. Relevant CCD officials have been found trying to flee the country, police headquarters sources said.
The IGP has promised to overhaul CCD and to appoint a new director to the Division.
Sources within the Division said that many officers have found it uncomfortable to face the probes and there were concerns that some sensitive documents related to certain investigations conducted by the CCD might have been destroyed.
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