Editorial

Political convulsions as economy totters

Published

3 years ago

2022/03/6

Days before he was sacked, former Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila made a point that would surely have resonated with many of us when he asked: “Are we to eat apples and grapes sitting in the dark?” There will be little dispute over what he was urging – that we were importing a large number of inessentials. In that context, the ex-minister who maintained his ever-smiling face even after his summary removal, also announced that a list of 600 inessentials whose import were being banned had been identified. But up to the point of writing this comment on Friday, there has been no word of what these items were even though 72 hours had passed since the initial announcement.

Nobody need be too surprised about this. There will necessarily be a lot of chopping and changing before the list in finalized. There is no gainsaying the fact that the banning of what’s considered inessential by many or most will have their own implications. Vehicle imports, for example, have been banned since March 2020. While a great deal of foreign exchange was saved by this measure, the ripple effects both beneficial and adverse were many. One of these was the impact on vehicle exporting countries like Japan, Europe, India etc. with whom we do a lot of trade. They naturally resented loss of an export market, however small we were and applied pressure, subtle and otherwise, to resume imports.

Then there were the rackets. The original ban excluded tractors and freezer trucks. The result was that there were opportunities for freezer truck importers to take of the freezer unit and sell the trucks for which there was demand. The surge of tractor imports we saw at the time may have been partly due to the haulage capacity of tractor-trailer units in the context of the ban on truck imports. Brokers and analysts have revealed that the galloping stock market of 2021 when historic highs were recorded, was partly attributable to the very large number of particularly car importers whose money was not tied up in inventory as before, starting to play the share market particularly because of the then prevailing low interest scenario on fixed income instruments.

So the story goes. Nobody is going to die for the lack of apples, grapes and oranges. But we have to face up to the reality that in the context of the importance this country has laid on the tourism industry, the massive investments made therein and the sizable returns earned that have now largely dried up – but was slowly recovering – has its own needs including food and drink that tourists are accustomed to which we may regard as luxuries. Readers will remember a time when an imported orange was cheaper than our own hard-to-get peni dodang; that there were times when imported fruit compared favourably, price-wise, against homegrown produce. We are certainly not arguing that there should be no ban on the import of fruit but only stressing Newton’s third law, “every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

So finalizing a list on non-essentials whose import would be banned in the context of what is admitted to be the worst ever foreign exchange crisis since Independence will by no means be easy. When the list is eventually gazetted, lobbying for exclusions backed by logical reasoning will be innumerable. We’ve just had a demonstration of the wishy-washy nature of our government which through the last budget slammed a 25% tax surcharge on companies and individuals with an income of over rupees two billion. Either deliberately or accidentally, neither the EPF, ETF nor other pension funds were excluded and we are now seeing the government assuring the Supreme Court that an amendment will be made during the committee stage of deliberations on the already presented legislation.

To come back to ex-ministers Weerawansa and Gammanpila: regular contributors Uditha Devapriya and Dayan Jayatillake have offered their analyses on this page. The sacking, head chopping or whatever one may choose to call it, was not entirely unexpected. The pot was on the boil for some time now with the president on public record that there must be collective cabinet responsibility with ministers not paddling their own canoes in the wider political space outside the cabinet room. This was when the two sacked ministers plus veteran Vasudeva Nanayakkara joined several other petitioners opposing the Yugadanavi power deal with the mega-U.S.-owned New Fortress Energy Company. The case was dismissed in limine (at the outset) on Friday and this would, no doubt, be a comfort factor to a besieged government. There has been no explanation on why Nanayakkara has been spared the axe. There are those who say that he was less aggressive towards Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa than his sacked colleagues. Whether the 11 parties taking a similar stand on the issues that brought the family and sections of the SLPP into conflict will remain united or break ranks in the wake of Thursday night’s cabinet changes remains to be seen.

Public anger against the government is vividly brought to homes countrywide in the evening television news bulletins every day with emphasis differing depending on the political alignments of the various stations. As we warned in this space recently the situation must worsen before it improves. On Thursday nine major business chambers warned that the country is headed for economic paralysis unless the forex crisis is tackled. They have made a series of recommendation, including resort to the IMF. The going is rough not only for the government but also the people at large. As usual the blow has fallen hardest on the poorest and what succour is possible, if at all, is anybody’s guess.

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Editorial

Carnage, masterminds and political battles

Published

22 hours ago

2025/07/11

Thilina Walpola

Friday 11th July, 2025

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala declared in Parliament on Wednesday that TMVP leader Sivanesathurai Chanthirakanthan alias Pilleyan had had prior knowledge of the Easter Sunday terror strikes (2019). Pilleyan was in the Batticaloa prison at the time of the terror attacks.

A narrative is apparently being created to support former aide to Pilleyan, Azad Moulana’s claim that Pilleyan and the military intelligence had links to Zahran Hashim and other NTJ terrorists. No one may have been more au fait with the workings of the NTJ terror network than Mohamed Ibrahim, father of two NTJ suicide bombers, Mohamed Ilham and Mohamed Insaf. This fact has been borne out by a leaked recording of a telephone conversation between CID Director SSP Shani Abeysekera and Deputy Minister Ranjan Ramanayaka during the Yahapalana government.

Following the so-called money trail is one of the most effective methods of identifying the masterminds behind a terror attack. It was Ibrahim’s sons who funded the NTJ terror project. Ibrahim was a National List candidate of the JVP in the 2015 general election. The Opposition has sought to use this fact to discredit the JVP. It is absurd to claim that the blame for the 2019 terror attacks should be apportioned to the JVP simply because Ibrahim was on its National List. However, the question is why the incumbent JVP-led NPP administration, which inveighs against its political rivals, including the Rajapaksas and Pilleyan, has not taken any action against Ibrahim.

In a leaked audio clip of a telephone conversation between Ramanayake and SSP Abeysekera, about the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the latter is heard telling the former something in Sinhala to the effect that Ibrahim cannot be so stupid as not to have known what his two sons had been doing. If this audio recording is not fake, the CID should go by Abeysekera’s contention, and interrogate Ibrahim again as part of their efforts to identify the terror masterminds. As we argued in a previous editorial comment, when Ishara Sewwandi, a female accomplice of the gunman who killed underworld leader Ganemulle Sanjeewa in a courtroom at Hulftsdorp, went into hiding, the police arrested and grilled her mother and brother. The question is whether the NPP will allow its former National List candidate to be arrested and interrogated again.

Meanwhile, SLPP MP D. V. Chanaka lashed out at the NPP government in Parliament on Wednesday, for having sunk to a new low in politicising the police. He said Abeysekera, who campaigned for the NPP and even addressed the media at the JVP headquarters, Colombo, in support of the NPP prior to last year’s presidential election, had been pulled out of retirement and appointed the Director of the CID to target the Opposition politicians. Can a retired senior police officer who campaigned for the ruling party, and was brought in as the Director of the CID, be expected to act independently and impartially, without furthering the political interests of his political leaders?

The Opposition has accused Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security retired Senior DIG Ravi Seneviratne of abusing his authority to have two serious charges including drunk driving dropped in a case against him for causing a road accident while driving under the influence of liquor in Colombo. So, what guarantee is there that Seneviratne will not do likewise to save his own skin and safeguard and/or promote the interests of his political leaders anent the probe into the Easter Sunday terror attacks? One is reminded of the despicable manner in which the Rajapaksa government opened an escape route for Mervyn Silva, charged with cheque fraud, a criminal offence. That serious charge was dropped and Silva walked free! Those who expected the 2024 regime change to bring about a radical break from the rotten political culture that flourished under previous governments must be really disappointed and disillusioned.

When—or whether—the government and the Opposition will stop clashing over the masterminds behind the Easter Sunday carnage and make a joint effort to ensure justice for the victims is anybody’s guess.

Editorial

A cuppa sans cheers

Published

2 days ago

2025/07/10

Sahan Weerasooriya

Thursday 10th July, 2025

Parliamentary proceedings in this country are characterised by references to political rejects or riff-raff or dregs. On Tuesday, the attention of the legislature was drawn to a different kind of waste—refuse tea, which has led to serious problems that successive governments have failed to solve, and evolved into a kind of shadow industry, thriving outside regulatory oversight, feeding illegal supply chains and ruining Sri Lanka’s reputation as a quality tea producer.

An MP asked Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure Samantha Vidyarathna what action the government was planning to take to tackle the well-entrenched, lucrative refuse tea racket; he also wanted to know, among other things, whether any action would be taken to regulate the illegal tea waste trade so that the state would gain financially, as there was a market, both here and overseas, for discarded sweepings from factory floors, or whether the racket which adversely affected tea smallholders would be brought to an end.

Admitting that refuse tea continued to enter the market, Minister Vidyarathna said there were laws to deal with that racket, and action had been taken to tackle it. He claimed the government was working towards optimising the production of quality tea and reducing the refuse tea generation to a bare minimum. His response was not much different from those of his predecessors who also made similar pledges in Parliament but did precious little to fulfil them.

Refuse tea, which enters the market, masquerading as pure Ceylon tea, tarnishes Sri Lanka’s reputation internationally and poses health risks to consumers here and overseas. The most effective way to tackle all these problems is to eliminate their root cause—refuse tea, which must be destroyed at the source, under official supervision, like other edibles and drinkables unfit for human consumption.

So, it defies comprehension why there should be any discussion, in Parliament or elsewhere, on exploring ways and means of regulating the illegal refuse tea trade or adopting band-aid remedies. An illegal practice must not be given any legitimacy through regulation; instead, it must be brought to an end. Refuse tea, by definition, is waste and it must be treated as such. It must not be allowed to leave the factories where it is generated. Let that be the bottom line.

The illegal refuse tea trade is reportedly dominated by some underworld gangs that use threats and bribes to further their interests. Underworld leader Makandure Madush, described as Sri Lanka’s Napoleon of Crime, operated from Dubai and facilitated tea waste smuggling operations. He even issued death threats to high-ranking state officials who tried to stop it. He is long dead, but in the netherworld of crime, narcotics, etc., when a gang leader dies, other criminals move in to fill the vacuum. The connivance of some state officials and politicians has made the task of eliminating the refuse tea trade even more difficult. Not even the Special Task Force has been able to neutralise the organised gangs involved in the racket. Not that the elite tactical force lacks the capability to accomplish that task. It has not been given a free hand; the racketeers have political connections and the wherewithal to prevent the law enforcement officers from going all out to put an end to their illegal operations. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently vowed to eliminate what he described as ‘mini governments’ in the country; one of them is apparently controlling the refuse tea trade.

Meanwhile, there is a pressing need to conduct regular tests on tea consumed by ordinary Sri Lankans to ensure that it is fit for human consumption. Much of it looks more like black dust than tea, and its impact on health is anybody’s guess. It is high time random samples of unhygienic tea freely available across the country were obtained and tested scientifically.

Editorial

Transparency and hypocrisy

Published

3 days ago

2025/07/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Wednesday 9th July, 2025

The Opposition has been asking the NPP government to release the report of a special committee appointed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to probe an alleged racket where 323 red-flagged freight containers were green-channelled at the Colombo Port in January 2025. Its efforts have been in vain. The government has sought to deflect criticism by saying that the committee report will be presented to Parliament ‘in due course’.

The President’s Office, during previous governments, drew criticism for its reluctance to disclose information about matters of national importance. It was expected to uphold transparency and promptly respond to requests for information after last year’s regime change, but sadly the status quo remains.

President Dissanayake should be able to release the committee report at issue immediately if his government has nothing to hide. Minister of Ports, etc., Bimal Rathnayake, whom the Opposition has blamed for the questionable release of containers, has claimed that the probe committee has rubbished his rivals’ allegation. If so, he, as the Leader of the House, should have the committee report presented to Parliament forthwith.

However, one should not be so naïve as to expect a committee appointed by a President to hold those in his inner circle accountable for a serious transgression and trigger a political storm. One may recall that in 2015, a committee consisting of three lawyers, appointed by the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, to probe the Treasury bond scams, cleared Central Bank Governor Arjuna Mahendran of wrongdoing while recommending further investigation.

Meanwhile, it has been reported that some MPs who shielded the bond scammers are likely to face a probe. Dozens of MPs benefited from the largesse of the Treasury bond racketeers and got off scot-free. Legal action should have been taken against them then. Interestingly, the JVP had no qualms about defending the UNP-led Yahapalana government even after the release of the damning report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry which probed the bond scams. It threw a political lifeline to PM Wickremesinghe in 2018 vis-a-vis the then President Maithripala Sirisena’s efforts to sack him. It helped him muster a parliamentary majority and fought a legal battle, enabling him to stay in power.

President Dissanayake’s predecessors demonstrated a remarkable ability to swallow committee/commission reports, as it were. Those who expected President Dissanayake to make a difference and handle such documents in a transparent manner must be really disappointed.

Time was when Dissanayake, as an Opposition MP, would aggressively call upon the previous governments to present agreements and commission/committee reports to Parliament, and thereby respect the people’s right to information. His calls struck a responsive chord with the public. Today, he is under pressure from the Opposition to release the report of a committee he himself appointed to probe an alleged racket!

The NPP came to power, promising to practise good governance, which the UNDP has defined as “the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences”. Transparency is one of the cornerstones of good governance, others being participation, the rule of law, responsiveness, consensus orientation, effectiveness, efficiency and accountability. Good governance without transparency is a contradiction in terms. Lack of transparency creates an ideal breeding ground for corruption, misinformation and arbitrary decision-making—all of which are antithetical to good governance.

It is a supreme irony that the SJB MPs who, as members of the Yahapalana government, prevented the presentation of the first COPE (Committee on Public Enterprises) report on the Treasury bond scams to Parliament, went so far as to dilute the second COPE report on the scandal, with a slew of footnotes, and unashamedly defended that corrupt administration with the help of the JVP are now campaigning for transparency and the people’s right to information.