News
Some businesses cashing in on health crisis, says Ranawaka
Former Minister and SJB MP Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday questioned the rationale behind the government shutting down the Western Province for 11 days.
The former Minister said, in a media statement, that the scientific method of closing down a place for a period of time to prevent the spread of the disease would be either 14 days or 21 days or 28 days. “Those are the accepted number of days to close down countries or specific areas to prevent the spread of the disease scientifically. Shutting down the Western Province for 11 days actually equals no-closure at all in those terms and that action had only an immense impact on the national economy,” MP Ranawaka said.
Ranawaka said that shrewd and opportunistic businessmen working closely with government politicians had commenced importing COVID-19 testing equipment from China to make the most of the health crisis. “Who is worried about the standards of that equipment? What actions have the health authorities taken to prevent these businessmen from fleecing the public?
The former minister stressed the need for a national policy to tackle the pandemic.
“The economy is on the verge of collapse. The government should take steps to salvage the economy before the situation takes a turn for the worse, creating conditions for anarchy. Everybody should keep in mind that COVID-19 affected everyone equally, Ranawaka said.
“It is a problem for everybody and everyone must fully cooperate to beat the virus. That cannot be done successfully if the national health emergency is politicised, and some unscrupulous elements are allowed to cash in on the situation.”
Ranawaka called upon the government to act sensibly and secure the support of everyone to neutralise the COVID-19 threat once and for all.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
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