By Ifham Nizam

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday met with Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Prime Minister of Kuwait, to discuss Sri Lanka’s political and financial stability and explore avenues for enhanced bilateral cooperation.

The Island Financial Review reliably learns that discussions emphasized investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, reflecting the nation’s commitment to economic revitalization.

Officials close to President Dissanayake highlighted the significance of Kuwait’s support in securing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan facility, which has been instrumental in Sri Lanka’s economic recovery efforts.

They noted that the President expressed his gratitude to the Kuwaiti leadership for their assistance during challenging times.

The meeting underscored the mutual interest in strengthening trade relations between Sri Lanka and Kuwait.

Both leaders acknowledged the potential for increased collaboration in various sectors, with a particular focus on tourism.

Sri Lanka’s current political and financial stability presents promising opportunities for Kuwaiti investors seeking to explore the island’s burgeoning tourism industry.

This engagement aligns with President Dissanayake’s broader strategy to bolster international partnerships and attract foreign investment to drive economic growth.

By fostering closer ties with nations like Kuwait, Sri Lanka aims to enhance its economic prospects and ensure sustainable development in the coming years.

The discussions with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister are expected to pave the way for future collaborations, contributing to the strengthening of bilateral relations and the realization of shared economic objectives, an official said.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Last Sunday’s nationwide power failure in Sri Lanka has sparked significant criticism and speculation, with activists and experts questioning the official explanations provided by the government and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB).

The outage, which occurred on Sunday, February 9, 2024, has been attributed by Energy Minister Kumara Jayakody to a monkey colliding with the Panadura grid substation, causing a system imbalance. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism and outright dismissal by various stakeholders.

Malaka Wickramasinghe, Chairman of the Lanka Electricity Employees’ Federation, dismissed the notion (on February 12) that a minor technical failure or a simple short circuit could result in a nationwide blackout. He suggested that there might be an ulterior motive behind the outage, drawing parallels to past incidents where power failures were allegedly used for political leverage. Wickramasinghe pointed out that the government elected in 2015 faced similar issues in 2016, and the president elected in 2022 also encountered problems with power cuts early in his tenure. He emphasized the need for a thorough investigation, possibly involving the Defense Ministry, to uncover the true cause of the outage. Wickramasinghe also highlighted the economic damage caused by such outages and called for affected individuals to be compensated.

M.P.K. Wanigasinghe, Chairman of the National Consumers’ Front, criticized the current government for continuing the policies of the previous administration in the power sector, despite having rejected those policies when they came to power. This, he suggested, indicates a lack of genuine reform or improvement in the sector.

Nandana Udayakumara, Deputy Chairman of the Engineers’ Association, raised concerns about the CEB’s handling of renewable energy (RE) integration. He referenced a 2022 report by the CEB, which indicated that 2,600 megawatts of RE could be added to the grid without issues. However, only 1,400 megawatts have been added so far and the overloading has occurred too soon. Udayakumara suggested that the recent outage might reflect either a bias against renewable energy or incompetence among higher officials in the CEB.

The official explanation that a monkey caused the outage has been widely ridiculed, with many viewing it as an attempt to evade responsibility. The incident has underscored the fragility of Sri Lanka’s power infrastructure and the need for more robust systems and accountability. As the CEB works to restore full capacity to the national grid by February 14, the public and various stakeholders are calling for more transparency and effective solutions to prevent future outages.

The Bank of Ceylon (BOC) recently introduced a points-based rewards scheme, ‘Rewardz Plus,’ aimed at providing added value to its credit cardholders while enhancing customer engagement and loyalty. The launching event of the service, which was held at BOC Head office, was graced by Kavinda De Zoysa Chairman, Russel Fonseka General Manager/ CEO, and corporate and executive management of BOC. Initially rolled out for credit cards, the scheme is designed to encourage increased usage and reward customers through a structured points accumulation and redemption system.

‘Rewardz Plus’ allows credit cardholders to earn points, based on their spending. Customers can redeem their accumulated points through a range of options available via the

rewardzplus.boc.lk.These options include purchasing e-vouchers from registered merchants and service providers, shopping online at selected stores, booking flights and hotels, and offsetting bills at participating merchants.

Speaking on the launch, Deputy General Manager (Product and Banking Development) Mr. Y A Jayathilake of Bank of Ceylon stated, ‘’Introducing ‘Rewardz Plus’ offers our credit cardholders an opportunity to get more value from their everyday spending. This initiative is designed to provide greater flexibility and convenience, allowing customers to redeem points across a variety of options, from travel to shopping and bill payments. We believe this program will encourage increased engagement with our credit card customers while recognizing and rewarding them.”

BOC has been rewarding its payment cards users by way of various programs such as Seasonal discounts and throughout the year discounts at supermarkets, hotels and restaurants. With the introduction of ‘ Rewardz Plus’ the credit card customers will be able to enjoy more benefits in addition to those discount programs.

For over 85 years, Bank of Ceylon has been a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s financial landscape, connecting individuals and businesses to global opportunities. BOC’s extensive network with over 2,300 touch points spread across the nation, ensures that bank’s customers have convenient access to a wide range of financial services. Moreover BOC was ranked as the only Sri Lankan Bank among the Top 1000 World Banks 2024 and the Banker of the Year 2021,2023 and 2024 by The Banker Magazine UK, The Number 1 Banking Brand in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance Lanka. BOC also received the People’s Banking Services Brand of the year at the SLIM KANTAR Peoples Awards 2024.Internationally, Bank of Ceylon has established a strong presence in key locations such as a Subsidiary in London, UK; branches in Male and Hulhumalé in the Maldives; Chennai, India; and the Seychelles.