Tuesday 15th July, 2025

Sri Lanka, which is famous the world over for ancient, giant Dagobas, has earned notoriety for huge pyramids—albeit of a different kind. It has become a haven for various pyramid scams. Sri Lankans boast of their relatively high literacy rate in the region, but they are easy prey for racketeers, who are now using the digital space to carry out their illegal operations far more effectively than in the past. Victims who invest their lifelong savings in these fraudulent schemes on the sly, ignoring warnings, protest in public when they lose their money, cursing the government in power and asking it to intervene and help recover their losses. A surge in pyramid scams has prompted the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to launch an ‘Anti-Pyramid Awareness Week’ under the theme, “Pyramid is a trap – don’t get into the wrong track”.

Pyramid schemes not only defraud individuals but also severely undermine financial systems; financial and banking sectors suffer heavily due to reduced liquidity and an erosion of public confidence in them. These frauds also bring about economic volatility and macroeconomic shocks due to the bursting of asset bubbles, etc., and lead to huge regulatory and legal costs, which the public has to bear. Sri Lankans must be educated on the mega crises caused by pyramid rackets in countries like Albania, Zimbabwe, and Romania. It is hoped that the CBSL’s cross-sectoral initiatives involving several key state institutions to protect the public against pyramid racketeers will reach fruition, with some sense being eventually knocked into the gullible members of the public, who must also be told in no uncertain terms that if they ever invest in such scams, they will be doing so at their own risk, and taxpayers’ money will not be used to compensate them under any circumstances.

It is a matter for relief that there are institutions like the police, the CBSL and the Finance Ministry to protect the public against organised financial frauds like pyramid schemes, or at least to make a serious effort to do so, but there is no one to save the people from the political pyramid scams, as it were, wherein the victims invest something much more precious than money—their future.

During the past several decades, Sri Lanka has seen a number of mega political pyramid scams that defrauded about 22 million people by making various promises and reneging on them. These scammers not only get off scot-free but also have themselves voted back into office to resume their frauds, savour power and enrich themselves. In the early 1970s, the people fell for the rice-from-the-moon scam but were left with hardly any rice to eat thereafter. Seven years later, they were duped by the infamous eight-pounds-of-grain racket coupled with a promise to usher in a Righteous Society and guarantee Shelter for All. Then came on the scene the political scammers promising economic relief and a country free from corruption and terror—dooshanaya and beeshanaya. The promised economic relief turned out to be pie in the sky; corruption and terror continued to thrive. An extension of that political pyramid scam came in the form of a project to ensure a ‘Prosperous Future’ for everyone; it was followed by the Good Governance fraud, which paved the way for the worst-ever financial crime in the country—Treasury bond scams—and various other rackets. Perhaps, the biggest-ever political pyramid scam in this country was the one that promised ‘Prosperity and Splendour’ as dividends but bankrupted the economy, causing unprecedented hardships to the public. It is against this backdrop the ongoing ‘Beautiful Life’ project should be viewed. The current leaders came to power, condemning the post-Independence period as a 76-year curse, and whether it will turn out to be ‘76-Year Curse Plus’ remains to be seen.

Manthri.lk, a platform of Verité Research, has launched the Anura Meter, an online tracker, to monitor the progress in fulfilling the key promises made in the 2024 presidential election manifesto of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake. One hopes that the Anura Meter will help figure out whether the people are receiving the dividends they were promised when they invested their future in the Beautiful Life project. Unless their expectations are met, they, too, will take to the streets like the victims of the financial pyramid schemes or the Aragalaya activists.

Meanwhile, in combating the financial pyramid scams, the remarkable resilience, influence and adaptability of the wealthy scammers with political connections and international links must not be underestimated. The fraudsters adopt tactics such as hiring celebrities and other such popular personalities to lure the public. There is said to be a sucker born every minute. It may be recalled how tens of thousands of people fell for Dhammika peniya—a kind of herbal syrup—which a carpenter-turned-shaman touted as a cure for Covid-19. Nevertheless, the government initiative to keep the pyramid racketeers at bay deserves fullest public cooperation.

Monday 14th July, 2025

There seems to be no end in sight to headline-grabbing controversies at the White House, during US President Donald Trump’s second term’. They range from Trump’s snide remarks about visiting dignitaries to threats, both direct and veiled, to other nations including some of America’s allies. His volatile temper has prompted political commentators to coin a new term, “the second term curse” to describe his unpredictable behaviour. Besides his isolationist tariff war, he has taken to patronising, belittling and even confronting visiting heads of state at the White House. In February, he lost his temper and abruptly shifted from diplomacy to confrontation, asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to leave the White House during an Oval office meeting which was preceded by some condescending remarks he made about the latter’s attire.

President Trump has apparently self-styled himself as a global standard-bearer as part of his MAGA (Make America Great Again) project, and one wonders whether, during his second term, the White House has become a Procrustean bed of dress etiquette and the English language proficiency, given his condescending remarks about the attire and communication skills of some visiting heads of state from the developing world.

The latest instance of Trump’s superciliousness was reported late last week, when he condescendingly praised Liberian President Joseph Boakai’s English language proficiency. He asked Boakai where the latter had learnt English. Little did Trump realise that Boakai had acquired English naturally in a country, where thousands of black Americans freed from slavery were settled beginning from the early 19th Century. The official language of Liberia is English. There have been some arguments in defence of Trump’s ‘compliment’ to his Liberian counterpart, but Trump’s condescending behaviour during his last week’s meeting with the heads of some West African nations cannot be taken in isolation––the broader context matters. His haughtiness has been persistent at all such meetings. He sounded hostile towards South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in an Oval Office meeting in May.

Meanwhile, Trump’s praise for Boakai for ‘speaking English beautifully’ has prompted the Sri Lankan Opposition to step up its propaganda assault on a government politician who could not express himself in English properly at an international forum. His critics seem to think there is no bigger shame than to lack proficiency in English. If a politician is not confident of facing an important interview conducted in English, he or she can always obtain the help of an interpreter. Those who have ganged up on the ruling party politician concerned need to be reminded that nobody’s knowledge of the English language is perfect. Mastering language skills is akin to setting sail in a bark on a boundless ocean, one may sway with apologies to Walt Whitman.

In fact, linguists now say there is no single ‘English’ as such—instead, there are many Englishes, with various countries, and language communities, speaking it with their own standards of grammar, pronunciation and lexis so much so that the Oxford English Dictionary World English programme has reportedly acknowledged that “with the current status of English as a world language, no longer is British English to be regarded as the dominant form of English – it is only one of the many individual varieties of the language that share a common lexical core but develop their own unique vocabularies.” The same goes for Trump’s American English. A seasoned American journalist once dubbed English as ‘a beautiful bastard language’, given the manner in which it has enriched itself with the help of other tongues. James Nicoll, a Canadian writer, has aptly described the rapid process of borrowing thus: “We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary”. Even Sri Lanka’s iconic ‘kottu roti’ has made it to the OED!

The resilience of English as the most popular international language dominating even the digital realm—52% websites are published in English—can be attributed to its remarkable adaptability, flexibility and readiness to assimilate words from other languages and enrich its word stock perpetually. So, in the modern world, learning English is a fruitful pursuit for everyone, especially those who have to interact with the international community.

One could argue that English has become so globalised that it has gone the same way as denim, once a symbol of American identity, or the three-piece suit tied to English heritage, or tea, which originated in China, or pizza, whose Italian origin is unknown to many of its aficionados. In that sense, English does not belong to one particular nation, and the pride in proficiency therein may be misplaced.

Those who lack proficiency in English should make a serious effort to learn the most popular international language as it is a window to the world. Above all, neither the self-important Opposition politicians in Sri Lanka nor President Trump, who also apparently thinks no end of himself, can be considered competent enough to test anyone’s proficiency in English if their own communication skills are any indication.

There is hardly anything that the NPP government and the Opposition do not look at through partisan political lenses and lock horns over, making one wonder whether the national interest ever figures in their scheme of things. Their latest battle is over the Trump tariffs that have made the world skip a spin or two, in a manner of speaking. The government is on cloud nine, claiming that it has been able to bring down the US reciprocal tariff from 44% to 30% through negotiations, but the Opposition insists that if the issue had been handled better, a further tariff reduction could have been obtained. Instead of making a joint effort for the sake of the country’s ailing economy, which cannot take any more shocks, they are busy fighting political battles. The government exudes arrogance and hostility from every pore and has positioned itself on a confrontational course, and the Opposition is all out to score political points and apparently derives some perverse pleasure from the government’s struggle to wriggle out of difficult situations.

Thankfully, the government and the Opposition, for once, have seen eye to eye on the need for a joint effort to steer the country out of what may be called the current tariff mire. Speaking in Parliament, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa yesterday offered his side’s support for the government’s efforts to obtain a bigger tariff reduction from the US, and Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando appreciated the Opposition’s offer. This is a positive development.

President Donald Trump is apparently labouring under the misconception that his isolationist trade policies will help the US perpetuate its hold on the global economy. His MAGA (Make America Great Again) project has not got off to a flying start, and even the likes of Elon Musk have become disillusioned with his strategies and policies aimed at achieving his dream. So, it is only natural that Trump has weaponised tariffs, as it were, to boost his MAGA initiative, which is apparently losing its spark. He has told the world in no uncertain terms that he will do everything in his power to ensure that the US dollar retains its status as the most sought-after international reserve currency, and has issued a not-so-veiled threat to BRICS, which is working towards a common currency. He has imposed an additional 10% tariff increase on the BRICS member states and those who are seeking to join it. The big economies that constitute BRICS will remain resilient, but the developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, desirous of joining that strategic alliance have been left with a hard choice. The US may not win the economic war it has embarked on vis-à-vis the emerging global realities that do not augur well for its superpower status, with rival powers adopting bold, effective counterstrategies. China, Brazil, Russia, etc., have stood up to the Trump administration over the tariff issue, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has boldly called for a BRICS-wide independent settlement system using national currencies of the member states.

The Trump tariffs are bound to cause a considerable decrease in Sri Lanka’s export volume and revenue. Sri Lankan exports to the US yield about USD 3 billion annually, and apparels account for most of it. Other countries, such as the UK and the EU member states may step in to help the developing nations reeling from the US tariff shock, but Sri Lanka will have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario.

While having further negotiations with Washington to obtain tariff reductions, Sri Lanka has to make a thorough study of the fallout of the Trump tariffs across the globe, with special emphasis on other Asian nations’ responses thereto, and work out a strategy to face the emerging challenges and possible crises, such as factory closures and mass job losses, which will lead to intractable social problems and even political upheavals. One of the biggest challenges before Sri Lanka is to diversify its exports and export destinations to cushion the blow from the US tariff hikes. The chances of Sri Lanka succeeding in its endeavour will be greater if the government, the Opposition and all other stakeholders join forces and pull in one direction. Otherwise, whichever party forms the next government will have a huge problem to contend with on the economic front.