News

Number of senior citizens rising – state official

Published

8 months ago

2025/08/14

The number of senior citizens, those above 60 years, has risen to about 18 percent, according to provisional findings of the 2024 Census of Population and Housing, showing an increase from 12.4 percent in the 2012 census, a senior government official said.

“Our preliminary report states that the total population increased to 21.7 million in 2024, while the growth rate declined to 0.5 percent from 0.7 percent in 2021. The ‘feminisation of ageing’ trend for those over 70 years in the 2012 census continued in the 2024 census,” said Dr. W.A. Chandani Wijebandara, Director (Statistics), Department of Census and Statistics.

She was speaking at a discussion titled ‘Elderly issues and the way forward’ organised by the Sunrise Senior Foundation (SSF), a prominent not-for-profit organisation working in the interests of senior citizens, on 21 July in Colombo. The discussion brought together high-level government officials and civil society representatives aimed at charting policy formulation on senior citizens.

Reiterating that in Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka has the fastest ageing population, Ms. Shiranthi Rathnayake, Director-General, Department of National Planning, Ministry of Finance, spoke about giving the maximum benefit of the ‘silver dividend’ to the ‘Silver Economy’ of the elderly.

A social protection policy is being developed not just taking into account the elderly but across the whole lifecycle, she said, explaining that in the social protection strategy the social insurance/security pillar is very important.

Ms. Rathnayake said: “One out of four persons by the year 2040 will fall into the elderly group. We need to consider this Silver Economy and have proper planning for health, life education, geriatric care and labour market development.

A critical area currently under assessment is assistive device technology, she added.

K. Chathura Mihidum, Director, National Secretariat for Elders, said there are 11,500 elder committees at village level of which only 50-60 percent are active. There are 456 elders’ homes of which only 136 are registered.

“Under the new Policy on Elders being drafted now to replace the 2006 policy, we hope to bring in a regulatory framework not only to compel all elders’ homes to register but also for the authorities to monitor them,” he said.

On a different topic, tax expert N.R. Gajendran said that with elders living longer, the retirement age should go up. “I get many calls from senior citizens on the preparation of taxes. One person said when asked to pay taxes on savings, ‘I have already paid taxes all my life on this income’.”

With regard to the proposed property tax to be introduced in 2027, he asked: “What happens to a person who has no income and lives in his own house? How can you tax this person?”

According to him, the purchasing power of elders has dropped and they need to be provided small tax-free allowances, while scrapping the withholding tax for the elderly group only.

It was the matter of price pressures worrying the elderly that economist Dhananath Fernando spoke of.

Even if they get a higher rate of interest on deposits, it means nothing because they are spending more on goods and services, he said, urging the authorities to incentivise private pension schemes.

Fernando also lamented the lack of short-term stay facilities for elders and proposed increasing the retirement age and providing options for the elderly to work on a part-time or flexible basis. Investors should be encouraged to invest in proper elder-care facilities, with a quality regulatory framework similar to day-care centres for children.

Demography expert Prof. Manori Weeratunga said that while the health status and the economic security of elders are the main focus, there is also a need to take into account a sharp increase in the 80 years and over population. Here the gender differences need to be taken into consideration, too.

“The vulnerable groups are mainly elders in the village. We need to empower senior citizens as most of them are in the informal sector,” she said.

Referring to healthy ageing, public health expert Dr. Susie Perera spoke of how elders who need specialised treatment, such as kidney dialysis, often have to seek such treatment in the private sector which they could ill-afford. “We need to re-look at the health policy with regard to the elderly.”

Sociologist Prof. Siri Hettige said elders are under enormous pressure and social protection is the key to looking after them. “We need interim solutions……what can we do now? We are a ‘scattered’ society and as such, we have no social solidarity. Thus we need to make ageing inclusive instead of being a marginalising factor,” he said.

Chaminda de Silva from HelpAge, said his organisation which cares for senior citizens, has a presence in many other countries, too. “While empowering elders’ committees in the villages, we give training on various aspects to senior citizens who are not active and some elders have done well in income generating activities. We also send out mobile medical units,” he said.

Sarvodaya President Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne noted that some segments of the elderly population can manage on their own because of their socio-economic status. But in the villages, it may not be so.

With isolation among the elderly being a “huge” problem, he suggested the setting up of ‘integrated’ community centres involving all, including children.

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Latest News

Sun directly overhead Chilaw, Bingiriya, Halmillawewa, Panduwasnuwara, Gokarella, Kawudupelella, Koppaveli and Kirankulam about 12:12 noon. today (09)

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/9

Priyan

On the apparent northward relative motion of the sun, it is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from the 05th to 15th of April this year.

The nearest areas of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (09th) are Chilaw, Bingiriya, Halmillawewa, Panduwasnuwara, Gokarella, Kawudupelella, Koppaveli and Kirankulam about 12:12 noon.

Latest News

Heat Index at Caution Level in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district

Published

11 hours ago

2026/04/9

Priyan

Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 4.30 p.m. on 08 April 2026, valid for 09 April 2026.

The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Eastern, North-western, Northern and North-central provinces and in Monaragala district.

The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.

ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.

Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry
of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.

News

AG: Coal procurement full of irregularities

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

AG S. Jayarathne

The Auditor General has warned that delays in coal procurement and continued reliance on suppliers of questionable standards could disrupt the supply of electricity.

The special audit report on coal imports was presented to Parliament on Tuesday (07) by Bimal Ratnayake, Leader of the House, at the commencement of proceedings.

However, Opposition MPs complained to Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne that copies of the report had not been distributed to Members of Parliament. Responding to the complaint, the Speaker said it was the responsibility of the Parliamentary Secretariat to ensure the report was provided to MPs.

The special audit, requested by the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE), examined the coal procurement process of the Lanka Coal Company for the Lakvijaya Power Plant and purchases planned for the 2025/2026 season.

The audit revealed several irregularities in the tender process. It found that the laboratory issuing quality reports at the loading port for the controversial supplier Trident Company had its licence cancelled. The report also disclosed that at the time advertisements were published calling for tenders,the company had not completed its registration but was awarded the tender. In addition, three other suppliers who had not confirmed their registration were allowed to submit bids.

Coal shipments for the Lakvijaya Power Plant are tested at both loading and unloading ports. According to the audit, Mitra SK South Africa had been appointed to conduct testing at the loading port, but due to the absence of accreditation the task was assigned to PT Mitra SK Analisa Testama Samarinda, an Indonesian firm whose licence had been cancelled on December 29, 2025. Auditor General S. Jayarathne has noted that the audit could not confirm whether the licence had been renewed by March 31, 2026, and that all 12 shipment reports issued at the loading port lacked accreditation.

The report has further pointed to discrepancies between loading port laboratory reports and data recorded at the plant’s main control unit. Despite the availability of alternative verification methods, the Lanka Coal Company failed to use them to confirm the accuracy of the reports.

The audit also highlighted that no coal shipments were brought to Sri Lanka between November 13 and December 30, 2025, despite the need to secure maximum stocks during that period.

As a result of the shortage, an emergency procurement was carried out on March 18 this year, selecting Taranjot Resource Pvt Ltd. as the supplier. However, the Auditor General revealed that this company had failed within the previous 36 months to supply coal with the required calorific value of 5,900 or above to the Lakvijaya Power Plant.

The report warns that delays in coal imports and dependence on suppliers with questionable standards could adversely affect the continuous supply of electricity from the plant.

The National Audit Office of Sri Lanka has further estimated that the use of substandard coal has caused losses amounting to nearly Rs. 2.24 billion.

According to the report, losses incurred from individual shipments included more than Rs. 160 million from the first vessel (consignment No. 456), over Rs. 90 million from the second vessel (No. 457), more than Rs. 310 million from the third vessel (No. 458), and over Rs. 150 million from the fourth vessel (No. 459). Additional losses included nearly Rs. 180 million from the fifth vessel (No. 460), about Rs. 30 million from the sixth vessel (No. 461), over Rs. 240 million from the seventh vessel (No. 462), more than Rs. 390 million from the eighth vessel (No. 463) and over Rs. 390 million from the tenth vessel (No. 464).

The report has also noted that because the available coal stocks cannot generate electricity at the plant’s full capacity of 300 megawatts, additional power may have to be obtained from alternative sources. The estimated additional energy requirement for this purpose is 76,354,087 kilowatt-hours, the report has pointed out.

By Saman Indrajith