News

How come Bangladesh has $ 200 million, which Sri Lanka does not?

Published

2 years ago

2021/05/29

Sahan Weerasooriya

PM Rajapaksa meeting Bangladeshi PM Hasina

By Dr Tilak Siyambalapitiya

A few weeks ago, Bangladesh told the visiting Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, about how cautious they were in getting loans. Sri Lanka has been “generous” in borrowing and building expressways with little traffic, a port with a few ships and an airport with a few planes, and a conference centre with no events. Each possibly built at double the engineers’ estimate, with money borrowed at commercial rates.

And now, the $ 200 million currency swap with Bangladesh!

The highest savings for Bangladesh have been in the electricity sector. While Sri Lanka’s leaders (2015-2019) were falling over each other, trying to divert our gas terminal tender toward their friends, Bangladesh build two gas terminals by 2020. The result: minimum use of oil to produce electricity; use cheaper imported gas for electricity and industry.

It is with great “pride” that Sri Lanka’s President in 2015 cancelled the Sampur power plant. Sampur was to be a joint venture between Sri Lanka and India. At the same time, Bangladesh was negotiating a similar power plant in a joint venture with India. While the Sri Lankan leader cancelled Sampur and ran behind oil power plant vendors, Bangladesh forged ahead with theirs, beating all odds to get their power plant built.

The name of the Bangladesh power plant is Ramphal, 1320 megawatt; it is now ready to produce electricity. Its sister power plant in Sampur Sri Lanka was killed by Sri Lankan leaders. The annual loss to Sri Lanka is about $ 500 million, to import oil to produce the same electricity. So, you now know why Sri Lanka does not have any more dollars left to buy food or vaccine. Not only this year, but for years to come.

Perhaps next year, we can borrow $ 500 million from Bangladesh to buy more oil to produce electricity at Rs 24 and to pay for that solar panel on your roof at Rs 22 per unit, which is worth only Rs 11.

And another $ 1000 million in 2022.

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News

Stay on course and don’t go back to the past – Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy

Published

4 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

Former Governor of the Central Bank delivering the keynote address at a high profile Webinar hosted by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka today (24) said that Sri Lanka must implement the structural reforms proposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without relaxing like in the past or else we will be in a deeper economic mess.

The webinar was titled ‘What is next for Sri Lanka in the wake of the IMF programme’

News

Sustainable economic development goals cannot be achieved unless attention is paid to mitigating climate change – Sagala Ratnayake

Published

5 hours ago

2023/03/24

Priyan

President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Sagala Ratnayake said sustainable economic development goals cannot be accomplished without taking steps to mitigate climate change.

He said this while participating in the 10,000 sapling planting program organized by the LEO Youth Vision 2048 Club and the LEO Club at the Royal College, Colombo on Thursday (23rd).

This program was organized in view of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s birthday, which is today (24), and the required plants were distributed to the main schools of the Colombo District.

News

SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

Published

17 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.

“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.

Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.

“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.

Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.

“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”