Business

Vehicle permit revival threatens governance credibility – Advocata

Published

1 month ago

2026/02/14

Advocata warns revival of vehicle permits threatens governance credibility, public trust and economic reform and strongly cautions against government consideration to allow vehicle imports for high-ranking government officials who received permits upon retirement.

According to statements in Parliament, 1,900 permits have already been issued under this concessional scheme for senior officials, with 563 permits issued in 2025 alone. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens endure an extended vehicle import ban and some of the highest effective taxes on personal transport vehicles in the world.

During the presentation of the 2026 Budget Proposal, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared: “There will be no permits. The permit culture must end in Sri Lanka!”

Advocata welcomed this commitment, recognising permit culture as a relic of a feudal system, not a feature of a modern economy. It is a system that has, for decades, rewarded privilege over performance, entrenched inequality, and undermined the credibility of the state. The President’s affirmation offered renewed hope that Sri Lanka was finally moving toward transparent and equitable reform.

To now entertain exemptions for a select group sends a dangerous signal about reform credibility. Even policies publicly acknowledged as corrosive have the potential to quietly return.

The Normalisation of State Sanctioned Privilege

Vehicle permits are not compensation. They are discretionary privileges, operating as hidden transfers of public wealth to a privileged few, while the broader population absorbs higher taxes and reduced services. Worse still, they place retirement benefits at the mercy of political discretion, turning professional civil servants into political dependents rather than accountable public servants.

Therefore, it is precisely the high-ranking officials that must lead by example.

In December 2010, Transparency International Sri Lanka revealed that the majority of 65 newly elected Parliamentarians, including 2 Cabinet Ministers, sold their duty free vehicle permits for as much as Rs. 17 million each, when adjusted for inflation using Department of Census and Statistics figures, that windfall is equivalent to which adjusted for inflation sits at approximately Rs. 48 million today.

In December 2012, in an event the Sunday Times classified as a “Christmas Bonanza for MPs,” the Government granted permission for MPs to openly sell their duty free permits. At the time, they sold for Rs. 20 million each, which adjusted for inflation sits at approximately Rs. 50 million today.

In October 2016, Nagananda Kodituwakku, an attorney-at-law and rights activist, wrote to the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic, naming 75 MPs who imported luxury vehicles, including BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, Land Cruisers and even a Hummer. The total tax waived per MP ranged from Rs.30 million to Rs. 44.7 million. In today’s terms, this range approximately translates to between a staggering Rs. 66 million and Rs. 98.5 million.

History demonstrates the scale of abuse enabled by this system.

Toward integrity in Governance

As Advocata has previously highlighted, Sri Lanka’s cascading tax structure drives effective import duties on most passenger vehicles into the 125–250 percent range. Every duty-free permit therefore represents a direct fiscal loss; revenue that must be recovered through higher taxes elsewhere or reduced public services for everyone else. Since 2020 alone, more than 25,000 duty-free permits have been issued to government employees, including during the height of the economic crisis.

Making exceptions now would set a dangerous precedent. It signals to every remaining permit holder that persistence will be rewarded, inevitably triggering lobbying pressure and further demands for carveouts. This is how temporary “concessions” become permanent entitlements. Once reopened, the system cannot be credibly contained.

From an economic and governance perspective, reintroducing selective exemptions would undermine public confidence in fiscal consolidation, weaken the credibility of reform commitments, and damage investor perceptions of Sri Lankan regulatory stability and policy consistency.

The appropriate solution lies in transparent, on-budget salary structures, subject to Parliamentary oversight. Crucially, they must compensate public servants fairly without undermining fiscal discipline or institutional integrity, avoiding the distortions created by discretionary privilege schemes.

Advocata calls on the government to take the following actions:

Abandon plans to allow vehicle imports under existing duty free permits.

Commit to permanently ending vehicle permit schemes, replacing them with clear and transparent salary frameworks subject to Parliamentary oversight.

Legislate a prohibition on duty-free vehicle permits for public sector officials, safeguarding against future reversals and ensuring consistent policy application.

Sri Lanka cannot rebuild trust while preserving elite carve-outs. Reform commitments retain credibility only when they are applied consistently — without selective exemptions. Advocata spokespersons are available for live and pre-recorded broadcast interviews via 0755477522

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Business

Oil tops $116 a barrel as Iran accuses US of preparing invasion

Published

10 hours ago

2026/03/30

Priyan

A worker collects engine oil as he works at a degassing station in the Zubair oilfield near Basra, Iraq, on March 28, 2026 [Aljazeera]

Oil prices have surged to their highest level in nearly two weeks amid escalation on multiple fronts of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose more than 3 percent on Monday morning to top $116 a barrel.

The latest climb took the global benchmark to its highest point since March 19, when it briefly touched $119 a barrel.

The surge came after Iran said it was prepared for a US ground invasion, with the speaker of the country’s parliament warning that Tehran was waiting for the arrival of US troops to “set them on fire” and “punish” their regional allies.

Tehran’s warning came as the conflict deepened over the weekend, with the Iranian-backed Houthis launching missiles at Israel for the first time in the war, and Israel expanding its invasion of southern Lebanon.

Asia’s main stock indexes fell sharply in morning trading, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s KOSPI both down more than 4 percent as of 1:30 GMT.

Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israel war has disrupted about one-fifth of global oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) supplies, plunging the world into its biggest energy crisis in decades.

Oil prices have risen nearly 60 percent since the start of the war, driving up fuel prices worldwide and forcing numerous countries to adopt emergency measures to conserve energy.

Analysts have warned that oil prices are likely to keep rising unless maritime traffic returns to normal levels in the strait.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s energy infrastructure if Tehran does not relinquish its stranglehold on the waterway by a deadline of April 6.

Trump, who on Thursday extended his deadline by 10 days, has proposed a 15-point plan for ending the war with Iran and insisted that the two sides are making progress towards a deal in indirect talks being mediated by Pakistan.

Tehran has flatly rejected Trump’s plan and proposed its own terms for a ceasefire, including war reparations and recognition of Iran’s right to control the strait.

Greg Newman, CEO of Onyx Capital Group, which began as an oil derivatives trading house, said energy consumers were only beginning to feel the true fallout of the turmoil.

“Physical oil moves around the world in loading cycles, and Europe has taken around three weeks to really start feeling the effects of the oil shortage,” Newman told Al Jazeera.

“Brent is starting to reflect the reality, and we think it’s a steady rise from here towards $120 and beyond.”

Newman said the scale of the disruption had yet to be fully appreciated.

“No one in the market has ever seen the outages we are now suffering from – physical premiums are the highest ever. There is still a sense that the macro world is not taking this seriously enough, but it is worse than anything that has come before it,” he said.

“The reality will come out in the economic numbers over the coming months.”

While Iran has been allowing a growing number of transits by ships that are not aligned with the US or Israel, traffic remains a fraction of pre-war levels.

On Saturday, Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar announced that Tehran had agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass the strait in what he described as a “meaningful step toward peace”.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said last week that Iran had granted an unspecified number of Malaysian vessels permission to clear the strait.

Seven non-Iranian vessels passed the strait on Thursday, up from five on Wednesday and four on Tuesday, according to maritime intelligence firm Windward.

Before the start of the war on February 28, the strait saw an average of 120 daily transits, according to Windward.

[Aljazeera]

Business

SLT-MOBITEL turnaround signals new era for SOEs, says deputy minister

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/30

Thilina Walpola

The panel discussion led by Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne (centre) with SLT MOBITEL’s top management Pic by Nishan S. Priyantha

The era of privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises may be drawing to a close, with SLT-MOBITEL emerging as proof that strategic management can deliver profitability without a change in ownership, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eng. Eranga Weeraratne said.

“There was a massive public outcry asking the previous governments to sell the loss-making state-owned enterprises. Now it is not there as it was used to be heard,” Weeraratne said. “SLT-MOBITEL has proven that the proper management strategy can turn any loss-making SOE into profit. Gone are the days we heard ‘sell, sell, sell’.”

The remarks came as Sri Lanka’s national ICT provider reported a decisive financial turnaround in FY 2025, driven by disciplined cost management, operational efficiency, and steady growth across fixed and mobile businesses.

The company has simultaneously rolled out a pioneering 24/7 operational model – the industry’s first – with 14 Outside Plant Maintenance Centres operating round-the-clock in metro areas, Kandy, and Jaffna to ensure uninterrupted connectivity.

“Our strong financial results reflect the resilience of SLT-MOBITEL and the trust customers place in us,” said Dr. Mothilal de Silva, Chairman, SLT Group. “With the roll-out of the 24/7 OPMC operations, we are raising the bar for service reliability.”

SLT-MOBITEL has also made 5G publicly available in Sri Lanka and continues to support the Ministry of Digital Economy with secure data centre infrastructure, reinforcing its role as a catalyst of national development.

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Business

Kia Tasman arrives in Sri Lanka: A pickup built for work and comfort

Published

13 hours ago

2026/03/30

Thilina Walpola

Kia Motors Lanka has launched the all-new Kia Tasman, the brand’s first-ever pickup truck – engineered to redefine the double cab segment by combining rugged capability with SUV-like refinement.

Built on a robust body-on-frame platform, the Tasman offers best-in-class strength with a payload capacity of 1,151kg, towing up to 3,500kg, and water wading up to 800mm. Advanced 4WD systems and terrain modes ensure unmatched off-road performance.

Inside, the cabin surprises with best-in-class rear legroom, sliding and reclining rear seats – a segment-first – and a panoramic display with premium Harman Kardon sound.

“This is a vehicle conceived without compromise,” said Kia Motors Lanka Chairman Mahen Thambiah. “For customers who demand durability, capability, and everyday comfort, the Tasman delivers on every front.”