News

Sumanthiran complains that the man responsible for crisis still in driving seat

Published

4 years ago

2022/06/10

By Saman Indrajith

Sri Lankans were a disappointed lot each time Parliament was convened, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, MA Sumanthiran said on Wednesday in Parliament.

Sri Lankans had never been so desperate and they were looking to the parliament today for answers to an unprecedented economic crisis, Sumanthiran said.

“Each time this parliament meets, people expect there will be some change, some forward movement to resolve this crisis. And the people are disappointed because this is a parliament with two thirds of the voters supporting the government,” he said.

The TNA MP said that the government hadabused the people’s trust and further strengthened the Executive Presidency. The President then went on to violate all the promises he had made to the people and rereading the President’s election manifesto in 2019, the “Vistas of Prosperity and splendor” now induced laughter, Sumanthiran said.

“The one very specific proposal that he made, is at page 36 and 37 in the English version of the manifesto. On page 37, Gotabaya very specifically says “income tax will be reduced, economic service charge and withholding tax will be scrapped. A simple value added tax of 8 % will be introduced, replacing both the current VAT of 15 % and the Nation building tax of 2 %, payee tax will be scrapped and personal income tax will be subject to a ceiling of 15 %. 5-year moratorium will be granted on taxes payable by agriculturist and small and medium enterprises” and so on. Huge tax reliefs announced even in his election manifesto – it was an election promise,” the TNA MP said.

At that time, the finance minister of this country, Mangala Samaraweera, stated that if that proposal was implemented Sri Lanka would become like Lebanon and Venezuela. “Samaraweera’s prediction has come true”, the TNA MP said.

“So, one cannot say that there were no warnings. The Finance Minister of the country at that time said this. The Prime minister now wants to set up a parliamentary budget office. During the last Parliament we had that draft and all of that was set up but it was never presented to Parliament. Recently he asked me for the draft and I have sent it to him, and hope that will be done. One of the tasks of the Parliamentary budget office is that, when due for an election somebody makes a promise – an election promise – the Parliamentary budget office will have to immediately calculate the impact of that promise and publish a report saying, this is how it will impact the economy,” he said.

The tax cuts implemented in December 2019 and were the major reason why Sri Lanka was in the current predicament today, Sumanthiran said. It was only after the tax cuts that Sri Lanka’s ratings started falling, and the Central Bank gave confidential reports to caution the government that Sri Lanka would not be able to borrow anymore, the TNA MP said.

“We were shut out of International Financial markets. So, the person who is single handedly responsible for this economic crisis is still the head of government. He is still president, some people are saying, “No. no. don’t look at this Politics – let that be – deal with the economic crisis”… yes of course, to deal with the economic crisis the wrong-doer must be removed. You can’t keep the wrong-doer, the one who is mostly responsible in that chair and deal with the crisis,” he said.

The TNA MP said the President, Prime Minister and Parliament had lost its legitimacy and that there should be an overhaul of the system. However, before that, parliament needed to be dissolved. Sumanthiran said that there should be political stability to resolve the economic crisis, however it was not possible to have stability in a Parliament that had a lot of independent MPs. The Sri Lankan parliamentary system was not geared to deal with a large number of independent MPs, he said.

“Every day of delay in establishing stability costs the country several million dollars. So it must be fixed fast. We are part of a problem, we must say “Yes, we’ll dissolve ourselves”, pass a resolution and request the President to dissolve Parliament. One of the biggest promises given by the President himself in the last address to the Nation was to bring back the 19th amendment. Both the President and the prime minister within the last two weeks have given the country that assurance. But where are you now? You can’t bring back the 19th amendment,” he said.

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

Published

20 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

21 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

22 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