News

Govt. accused of facilitating exploitation of paddy farmers

Published

11 months ago

2025/01/27

by Norman Palihawadane and Anuradha Hiripitiyage

Farmers’ associations and political parties are flaying the government for its failure to set a certified price for paddy and leaving small-scale farmers vulnerable to exploitation by powerful rice millers.

Both the National Freedom Front (NFF) and the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) have blamed the government for prioritising the interests of the big-time millers over those of struggling farmers.

The NFF has accused the government of deliberately withholding a minimum price for paddy as a favour to millers who allegedly supported the ruling party during elections.

Karunathilaka Herath, leader of the NFF’s Farmers’ Wing, said, “President Anura Kumara Dissanayake claims to be the son of a farmer, but he has failed to offer a solution to the paddy crisis. The government has bowed not only to multinational corporations but also to five leading millers in the country.”

Herath said that the government had reneged on its campaign promise to support the agricultural sector. “A few months have passed since the government was formed, but farmers have been left to fend for themselves, just as they were under previous administrations. Paddy harvesting has already begun, but farmers are without a proper price for their produce. Prices vary widely from district to district, leaving farmers uncertain and desperate,” he said.

The Frontline Socialist Party’s Farmers’ Struggle Movement (FSM) said that the current system benefited millers disproportionately at the expense of farmers.

Addressing the media at the FSP headquarters, in Nugegoda, FSM National Organizer Vimal Wathtuhewa said: “Paddy harvesting is underway in key agricultural districts like Ampara, Batticaloa, Monaragala, Trincomalee, and Hambantota, but the government has failed to announce a guaranteed price. Mill owners are taking advantage of this and setting prices arbitrarily, leaving farmers with significant losses.”

Wathtuhewa said that the government’s allocation of Rs. 500 million for purchasing paddy, was inadequate to meet even four days’ worth of national rice consumption. Claiming that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake had attributed the rice shortage to ‘data distortions’, Waththuhewa argued that the real issue was due to flawed decision-making and the government’s reliance on inaccurate data.

“Even with adverse weather damaging approximately 40,000 hectares, Sri Lanka can still produce around three million metric tons of rice annually, and that amount is enough to meet the country’s annual consumption requirement of 2.4 million metric tons. The idea that data distortions caused the rice shortage is misleading,” he said.

“Five major mill owners collectively release 1.2 million kilos of rice daily into the market, while the national daily rice consumption is 6.5 million kilos. If these mill owners withheld rice for just four to five days, it would create a severe food crisis,” he said.

Both Herath and Wathtuhewa called on the government to act immediately to protect farmers and ensure food security.

“The government was elected to serve the people, not a handful of powerful mill owners. It’s time to address the real issues and ensure farmers receive a fair price for their paddy,” Wathtuhewa said.

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News

Financial contributions received for ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

21 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

The Government’s ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, established to provide relief and support to communities affected by Cyclone Ditwah, continues to receive financial contributions on a daily basis.

Accordingly, the Containers Transport Owners Association made a financial contribution of Rs. 1.5 million, while the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers contributed Rs. 1.35 million to the Fund.

The respective cheques were formally presented to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday (19).

The occasion was attended by W. M. S. K. Manjula, Chairman of the Containers Transport Owners Association, together with Dilip Nihal Anslem Perera and Jayantha Karunadhipathi.

Representing the Association of SriLankan Airlines Licensed Aircraft Engineers were Deshan Rajapaksa, Samudika Perera and Devshan Rodrigo handed over the cheque.

News

UNICEF representatives and PM discuss rebuilding schools affected by the Disaster

Published

21 hours ago

2025/12/22

Priyan

A meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and a delegation of UNICEF representatives was held on Saturday, (December 20) at the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister explained the measures taken by the Government to ensure the protection of the affected student community and to restore the damaged school system, as well as the challenges encountered in this process.

The Prime Minister stated that reopening schools located in landslide-prone areas would be extremely dangerous. Accordingly, the Government is focusing on identifying such schools and relocating them to suitable locations based on scientific assessments.

The Prime Minister further noted that financial assistance has been provided to students affected by the disaster, enabling parents to send their children back to school without an additional financial burden. Emphasizing that school is the safest place for children after their homes, the Prime Minister expressed confidence that the school environment would help restore and improve students’ mental well-being

The Prime Minister also highlighted that attention has been given to several key areas, including the relocation of disaster-affected schools, restoration of school infrastructure, merging and operating certain schools jointly, facilitating teaching and learning through digital and technological strategies, and providing special transportation facilities. She emphasized that the Government is examining these issues and is committed to finding long-term solutions.

The UNICEF representatives commended the Government’s commitment and the initiatives undertaken to restore the education sector and assured their support to the Government. Both parties also discussed working together collaboratively on future initiatives.

The meeting was attended by the UNICEF representatives to Sri Lanka Emma Brigham, Lakshmi Sureshkumar, Nishantha Subash, and Yashinka Jayasinghe, along with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, Director of Education Dakshina Kasturiarachchi, Deputy Directors Kasun Gunarathne and Udara Dikkumbura.

(Prime Minister’s Media Division)

News

NMRA laboratory lacks SLAB accreditation

Published

23 hours ago

2025/12/22

Thilina Walpola

Dr. Sanjeewa

Drug controversy:

“Setting up state-of-the-art drug testing facility will cost Rs 5 billion”

Activists call for legal action against politicians, bureaucrats

Serious questions have been raised over Sri Lanka’s drug regulatory system following revelations that the National Medicines Regulatory Authority’s (NMRA) quality control laboratory is not accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB), casting doubt on both the reliability of local test results and the adequacy of oversight of imported medicines.

Medical and civil rights groups warn that the issue points to a systemic regulatory failure rather than an isolated lapse, with potential political and financial consequences for the State.

Chairman of the Federation of Medical and Civil Rights Professional Associations, Specialist Dr. Chamal Sanjeewa, said the controversy surrounding the Ondansetron injection, which was later found to be contaminated, had exposed deep weaknesses in drug regulation and quality assurance.

Dr. Sanjeewa said that the manufacturer had confirmed that the drug had been imported into Sri Lanka on four occasions this year, despite later being temporarily withdrawn from use. The drug was manufactured in India in November 2024 and in May and August 2025, and imported to Sri Lanka in February, July and September. On each occasion, 67,600 phials were procured.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the company had informed the NMRA that the drug was tested in Indian laboratories, prior to shipment, and passed all required quality checks. The manufacturer reportedly tested the injections against 10 parameters, including basic quality standards,

pH value, visual appearance, component composition, quantity per phial, sterility levels, presence of other substances, bacterial toxin levels and spectral variations.

According to documents submitted to the NMRA, no bacterial toxins were detected in the original samples, and the reported toxin levels were within European safety limits of less than 9.9 international units per milligram.

Dr. Sanjeewa said the credibility of local regulatory oversight had come under scrutiny, noting that the NMRA’s quality control laboratory was not SLAB-accredited. He said establishing a fully equipped, internationally accredited laboratory would cost nearly Rs. 5 billion.

He warned that the failure to invest in such a facility could have grave consequences, including continued loss of life due to substandard medicines and the inability of the State to recover large sums of public funds paid to pharmaceutical companies for defective drugs.

“If urgent steps are not taken, public money will continue to be lost and accountability will remain elusive,” Dr. Sanjeewa said.

He added that if it was ultimately confirmed that the drug did not contain bacterial toxins at the time it entered Sri Lanka, the fallout would be even more damaging, severely undermining the credibility of the country’s health system and exposing weaknesses in health administration.

Dr. Sanjeewa said public trust in the health sector had already been eroded and called for legal action against all politicians and public officials responsible for regulatory failures linked to the incident.

by Chaminda Silva ✍️