News
Management expert warns automatic benefits of lockdown will be lost soon
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The government had not set any objectives to achieve during the current lockdown, and therefore it was likely that automatic benefits of the lockdown would be lost soon, Pharmaceutical and healthcare management consultant Dr. Sanjaya Perera told The Island yesterday.
He said that instead of imposing a lockdown due to external pressure, the government should have imposed restrictions with the aim of achieving set objectives. A number of medical experts had already highlighted what activities should accompany a lockdown, Dr. Perera said.
“The lockdown will surely help the health sector recover a bit. The staff is exhausted because of the rapidly increasing patients. Hundreds of health staff had contracted COVID-19 themselves. The 10 days gives the health staff an opportunity to recover and some of the health staff who had contracted the virus will be cured and can return to work by 30 August. However, the question is what have we done to improve the facilities and the capabilities of the staff,” he asked.
Dr. Perera said that the past week could have been used to increase wards for coronavirus patients, interim care centres and improve health staff wellbeing. The fact that those requirements were not attended to, showed that the government had gone into the lockdown without any set objectives.
He said medical experts had also urged the government to test at least 30,000 families per district to identify areas where the spread of COVID-19 was less. The lockdown could have been used to test 750,000 families in the 25 districts and the results could have helped the government to identify areas which were not affected by COVID-19.
“These less affected areas can be Orange Zones. The health officers could take steps to secure these Orange Zones and slowly expand upon these areas. This was in about six months, we could create a significant amount of areas that one can operate with relative freedom. However, we have reduced testing,” he said.
Dr. Perera said that a large number of people keep on coming to the cities even during the lockdown and with about three million people working the purpose of a lockdown is defeated. Private enterprises also needed to act with greater responsibility and understand that bringing in clerical staff to work at present was a waste of resources and only made the economic recovery of the country more difficult.
“I have heard of instances where people have been asked to come to work when they were showing COVID symptoms. And mind you this was an IT firm. The government must make a serious attempt to stop this inflow of people into major cities,” he said.
Once the lockdown was over, most of the public and private institutions would pretend that things were back to normal, bring in workers who could essentially carry out all their tasks from home and soon all the gains from the lockdown would be gone, he said.
Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, met with a delegation from the World Food Programme (WFP) at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (11).
During the meeting, the WFP representatives agreed to continue their on-going programs in Sri Lanka without disruptions.
Although the food crisis in Sri Lanka has eased to some extent, the WFP officials expressed their willingness to extend further support through new programme whenever additional needs arise.
The WFP delegation included WFP Country Director Abdur Rahim Siddiqui, the Government Partnerships Officer Musthafa Nihmath and the Gerard Rebello , WFP Sri Lanka ‘s Deputy Country Director. Additional Secretary to the President, Roshan Gamage, also attended the meeting.
News
President directs officials to provide a monthly allowance of Rs. 3,000 to Pensioners from Next Week
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials of the Ministry of Finance to take necessary action to provide a monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3000 to all pensioners, from next week.
After reviewing the delay in adding the Rs. 3000 allowance to the October pension, the President directed that this amount be credited to the pensioners’ accounts within the next week.
These instructions were given during a meeting held on Thursday (10) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat with senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, chaired by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Despite the circular No. 02/2024 dated 2024/08/24 issued by the Public Administration Department to grant a monthly interim allowance of Rs. 3000 to all pensioners, funds were not allocated for this purpose.
Upon reviewing the matter, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake informed the officials of the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the required funds are provided.
Considering the hardships faced by pensioners due to the non-payment of the Rs. 3000 allowance with the October pension, and their subsequent requests, the President decided to proceed with the payment from this month, despite the prevailing financial difficulties of the government.
Since the October pension has already been credited to the pensioners’ accounts, the President instructed officials to ensure that the Rs. 3000 allowance is credited to their accounts within the next week, and from next month, this allowance will be added to the monthly pension.
Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Mahinda Siriwardena and several senior officials from the Ministry of Finance were present at this meeting
[PMD]
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Sail Training Warship ‘PO LANG’ which arrived in Sri Lanka on 08th October 2024, departed the island today (11th October), on successful completion of its formal visit. The Sri Lanka Navy bade customary farewell to the departing ship at the Colombo port, following naval traditions.
While the ship was in Colombo, the crew took the opportunity to explore some of the country’s tourist attractions. They also participated in various programmes designed to foster camaraderie between the two navies. Moreover, Sri Lanka Navy personnel attended briefings on the operational functions of the visiting ship.
WFP Assures Continuous Support to Sri Lanka
President directs officials to provide a monthly allowance of Rs. 3,000 to Pensioners from Next Week
Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy Sail Training Warship ‘PO LANG’ departs Island
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