News

Govt. urged to stop foreign scholarships awarded on basis of ethnicity

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/13

Sahan Weerasooriya

Need for scrutiny stressed

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The Civil Society group Mahajana Yuthukam Kendraya has urged the government to inquire into the continuing selection of foreign scholarship recipients on the basis of ethnicity by some Colombo-based diplomatic missions.

The group’s spokesperson Wasantha Alwis told The Island that in addition to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Education Ministry, Foreign Ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC) was informed of the biased procedures followed by some missions.

Alwis said that the government should intervene to ensure selection process should not be based on students’ ethnicity under any circumstances. “We recently raised this issue in the wake of Pakistan High Commission intervention in organising an examination at Aligar School in Eravur to select a group of students for scholarships offered by the Allama Iqbal Foundation, Pakistan”.

About 200 Muslin students from Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee who had sat the Advanced Level examination were invited to face the examination, Alwis said, adding that an SLMC lawmaker Zeinul Abdeen Nazeer Ahamed made required arrangements in that regard.

Responding to another query, Alwis said that their inquiries revealed Pakistan and Bangladesh had picked students for scholarships without securing prior consent from foreign and education ministries as well as the UGC. Alwis said that recently the media reported Pakistan High Commission of assuring President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa of 1,000 scholarships to Sri Lanka. However, the selection process couldn’t be solely in the hands of the Pakistan HC.

Noting that Pakistan always stood by Sri Lanka during the war against the LTTE and defended the country at international forums, Alwis underscored the urgent need to address this issue. In their letter to the President copied to Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris as well as the UGC, the Mahajana Yuthukam Kendraya revealed that they discussed the issue with Pakistan HC some time ago.

Alwis said that they received an assurance from Pakistan HC that shortcomings pointed out by them would be rectified and in the future the selection process would be conducted in a transparent manner. Unfortunately, the examination conducted at Eravur on August 17 bared the continuing practice of granting scholarships on ethnic grounds.

Alwis pointed out that Sri Lanka couldn’t turn a blind eye to such controversial practices particularly in the backdrop of Turkey officially alerting Sri Lanka regarding FETO terror group funding the education sector as well as a section of the media. Failure to take appropriate action swiftly and decisively could expose Sri Lanka to further violence, Alwis said, urging the government to be mindful of what was happening in the world.

Alwis said that selection for scholarships should be based on proper qualifications. Entirely basing selection process on a selected ethnic group couldn’t be acceptable under any circumstances, Alwis said, pointing out that the government and those in the Opposition seemed either unaware or uninterested in the issue at hand.

Alwis said that the government whichever party in power should be wary of high profile operations undertaken by foreign powers. Foreign scholarships, foreign funding and various other projects needed to be under constant scrutiny, he said.

He said the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (P CoI) that inquired into 2019 Easter Sunday carnage, in its final report observed how the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe allowed extremists a free hand thereby created an environment for the NTJ (National Thowheed Jamaat) to strike at will.

The developing scene in Afghanistan was an example to all countries, including Sri Lanka as to how situations were exploited by interested parties, Alwis added.

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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

6 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.

The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.

News

CEB demands 11.57 percent power tariff hike in first quarter

Published

8 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.

According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.

Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.

The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.

In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.

The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.

The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.

By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️

News

Health Minister sends letter of demand for one billion rupees in damages

Published

8 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

Ondansetron controversy

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa has sent a letter of demand for Rs. 1 billion in damages from YouTube content creator Dharmasri Kariyawasam, accusing him of disseminating false and defamatory material linking the Minister to the importation of Ondansetron and inciting public unrest.

The notice, sent through the Minister’s lawyers, states that investigations are currently under way into 10 medicines, including Ondansetron Injection, manufactured by India-based Maan Pharmaceutical Limited.

Ondansetron Injection was among nine injectable drugs recently suspended by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) following reports of patients administered with the drug suffering adverse complications.

Despite the ongoing investigations, Kariyawasam allegedly aired a widely viewed programme on his YouTube channel titled “The hidden story of the Indian drug that claimed lives, Mayor Balthazaar’s relative, and Minister Nalinda’s cover-up.”

According to the letter of demand, the programme falsely portrayed Minister Jayatissa as being directly responsible for importing the drug, colluding with the supplier, and attempting to conceal the issue, while depicting him as indifferent to public suffering.

The Minister’s lawyers maintain that these allegations are entirely false and defamatory, citing passages in which Kariyawasam allegedly accused Jayatissa of lying about the supplier, concealing facts related to PTC Medicals (Pvt) Ltd., the actual importer, and showing a lack of concern over deaths purportedly linked to the drug.

The programme also claimed links between the directors of PTC Medicals and family members of Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar, implying political favouritism.