Editorial
When ambition overtakes reality

Thursday 2nd February, 2023
The UNP and the SLFP have started talking about the next presidential election even before the long-overdue local government (LG) polls are held. UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara has recently said President Ranil Wickremesinghe will contest the next presidential election. Former President Maithripala Sirisena himself has told the media he will run for President again, and is confident of securing the presidency as he is the leader of the SLFP and the people are with him. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa has not made any such announcement, but it is clear that he will be his party’s presidential candidate. JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake will not allow anyone else to contest the next presidential election and overshadow him. The SLPP is in total disarray. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa cannot contest a presidential election again, and it is highly unlikely that ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will face a presidential contest ever again. So, who will be the SLPP’s presidential candidate?
Interestingly, three of those who are expected to contest the next presidential election have been held to account by the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI), which probed the Easter Sunday attacks. The COI has recommended criminal proceedings against Sirisena. It says in its final report (p 265), “Based on the evidence, the COI is of the view that there is criminal liability on his part for the acts or omissions explained above. The COI recommends that the Attorney General consider instituting criminal proceedings against President Sirisena under any suitable provision in the Penal Code.” The report (pp 470-471)) says, “The dysfunctional Government was a major contributory factor for the events that took place on 21st April 2019. The Government including President Sirisena and Prime Minister [Ranil Wickremesinghe] is accountable for the tragedy.” Thus, Wickremesinghe cannot say he is free from blame for the serious security lapses that led to the Easter Sunday attacks. Premadasa and several other SJB seniors were Cabinet ministers in the Yahapalana government, and there is no way they could absolve themselves of the blame for the acts or omissions of that administration.
Sirisena himself may not have thought he would be able to secure the coveted presidency in 2015. He failed pathetically as the President so much so that he decided against seeking re-election and opted to re-enter Parliament, instead. The political forces that enabled him to realise his presidential dream are no longer with him, and most of the SLFP MPs have joined the SLPP-UNP government. Above all, there is the possibility of criminal proceedings being instituted against him over the Easter Sunday carnage unless he toes the government line. Thus, it is doubtful whether he will be able to contest the next presidential election.
Wickremesinghe is like a passenger who has undertaken to attempt a talk-down landing due to the incapacitation of the pilot and the co-pilot of the aircraft he is travelling in. He is not doing anything on his own; he is only following instructions from others. He no doubt deserves thanks for the risk he has taken and his effort, and it is the fervent hope of everyone that he will manage to make a safe emergency landing. But it is too early to say whether he will succeed in his endeavour. Everyone is on a wing and a prayer. Before facing a presidential election, Wickremesinghe will have to steer his party to victory at the LG polls and get the economy back on an even keel. These tasks are as uphill as the twelve labours of Hercules.
Premadasa, too, will have to ensure that the SJB wins the LG polls before facing the next presidential election, if he is to be seen as a winner, and whether he will be able to do so remains to be seen. Now that Dissanayake has talked the talk, very eloquently at that, he will have to walk the walk. The NPP was able to secure only 3.84% of the total number of valid votes at the last general election, and the challenge before Dissanayake will be increasing it to at least 30% at the next election for him to be considered a formidable presidential candidate.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Rajapaksas to Range Bandara’s declaration at issue. Last year, they wanted someone who was not a political threat to them to complete the remainder of Gotabaya’s presidential term, doing as they said, and fade away so that they could buy time to make a comeback for one of them to run for President. Has the nephew of the Old Fox outfoxed the Medmulana clan?
Editorial
Transparency and hypocrisy

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.
Editorial
A classic catch-22

Tuesday 8th July, 2025
Sri Lanka, which is struggling to put its worst-ever economic crisis behind it, finds itself in another dilemma. It had to ban vehicle imports to rebuild its foreign currency reserves. That method proved effective in the short run. But the adoption of extreme measures, such as import restrictions or bans, to tackle a foreign exchange crisis only provide short-term relief; they are unsustainable and need to be tapered off for the long-term economic health of the country. Vehicles were not imported for nearly two years, and a significant amount of much-needed forex could be saved, but the ban on vehicle imports took its toll on the government’s tax revenue, which has to be increased to resolve the rupee crisis.
Government revenue is expected to reach 15% of GDP in 2025, according to media reports, but this figure is considered relatively low . The government is under IMF pressure to increase its revenue significantly. It must do everything in its power to do so because gone are the days when money could be printed according to the whims and fancies of politicians in power. Direct and indirect taxes are already beyond tolerance levels for many. Further increases therein are bound to spark protests which might even spill over onto the streets. So, the only way the government apparently could think of increasing its revenue was to allow vehicle imports to resume so as to rake in taxes. The Customs revenue has increased as expected, but vehicle imports have led to another problem which was not unexpected.
The ban on vehicle imports was lifted in February 2025, and since then as many as 18,000 vehicles have been imported at a cost of USD 742 million, we are told. The forex limit the government has imposed on vehicle imports for the current year is USD 1 billion. The Customs has earned Rs. 220 billion by way of import duty on vehicles. A sharp increase in imports following the lifting of a ban is something to be expected owing to what is termed pent-up demand. However, at this rate, expenditure on vehicle imports could exceed USD 1 billion in a month or two.
It is highly unlikely that the government will allow the amount of forex spent on vehicle imports to exceed USD 1 billion on any grounds. The country should be able to pay for essential imports and service debt. One may recall that in 2022, there were hundreds of thousands of vehicles waiting in long fuel queues as the country lacked dollars to pay for petroleum imports. Nobody wants to face a similar situation again.
The government’s catch-22 is to manage vehicle imports in such a way that state revenue will not decrease, and it will be possible to keep the country’s forex reserves above the safe threshold. This is a balancing act of the highest order that has to be performed successfully to steer the economy out of both rupee and forex crises. The situation is far too complex for the government to cut the Gordian knot; imposing a ban on vehicle imports again is one of the least desirable options, according to experts, for such a course of action will adversely impact the vehicle market again, and government revenue will drop steeply, making it even more difficult to meet the IMF-prescribed revenue targets.
Since decreasing interest rates have led to an increase in vehicle imports, some economists are of the view that serious thought should be given to adjusting them. The depreciation of the rupee may also bring the demand for vehicle imports down, they have pointed out. But the appreciation of major foreign currencies, especially the US dollar, against the rupee will adversely affect all imports, causing increases in the prices of essentials. Taxes on vehicle imports are also very high, and it may not be possible to increase them further to curtail the growing demand. The challenge before the government is to find a way out, with the help of all other stakeholders.
Editorial
Tank bund tourism

Monday 7th July, 2025
Close on the heels of a warning that the UNESCO World Heritage status of Sigiriya is in jeopardy due to unauthorised structures and settlements in the archaeological reserve around the world-famous rock fortress, the government has unveiled a grand plan to use the bund of an ancient irrigation tank, of all places, to promote tourism in Anuradhapura.
An attempt to reopen the road on the Anuradhapura Nuwara Wewa bund, which was closed to vehicular traffic years ago reportedly over structural safety concerns, among other things, has sparked protests. The government insists that the tank bund must be made freely accessible to visitors as part of its tourism development project. Director of Irrigation, Anuradhapura, Jayantha de Silva, has said a scientific study is currently underway to assess the condition of the bund, and based on its findings the Irrigation Department will decide whether to reopen the road on the reservoir embankment to vehicles.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has defended the Irrigation Department, questioning the government’s wisdom of trying to use the ageing tank bund to promote tourism. It has said all farmers in the area have asked the Irrigation Department to ensure the safety of the bund by keeping it closed to vehicles, and they will not allow the government to endanger the tank.
What is of more concern than the dispute over the Nuwara Wewa bund is the government’s tourism development strategy, which apparently lacks focus on sustainability, if some NPP politicians’ statements thereon are any indication. Lamenting that some sections of the Tourism Act stood in the way of developing tourism, Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe said, at the Anuradhapura meeting, that they would be amended. In the Maldives, hotels jutting into the sea charged as much as USD 500 each for rooms with a stunning view of turquoise waters and the horizon, but such projects were not in the realm of possibility here, he said, making one wonder whether the government was of the view that Sri Lanka should do likewise to earn more forex. Geographically, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have more dissimilarities than similarities and therefore in developing tourism, the former should not necessarily adopt the same strategy as the latter, which is full of uninhabited isles ideal for secluded resorts. It is hoped that the proposed amendments to the Tourism Act will not provide for ill-conceived projects aimed at boosting tourism at the expense of the country’s environmentally sensitive coastline. Encroachment on beaches has already reached unmanageable levels, and it must not be allowed to worsen.
Sustainability must be a cornerstone of any programme to develop tourism, with environmental and ecological protection/conservation being factored in. The safety of ancient structures must not be compromised in the name of promoting tourism. These matters are best left to experts such as engineers, archaeologists, and environmental scientists.
There was a howl of protest when the previous government sought to develop a section of the Polonnaruwa Parakrama Samudraya bund as a walking path. Protesters including prominent Buddhist monks prevented backhoes from disturbing the rip-rap of the tank. They pointed out that the project would weaken the embankment of the ageing tank and ruin its aesthetic appeal. A public debate on the issue ensued, and the project was put on hold. Politicians should have sought expert views and commissioned a thorough study instead of trying to bulldoze their way through.
Deputy Minister Ranasinghe’s inspection tour of the Nuwara Wewa bund and his subsequent statements reminded us of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s visit to a section of the Sinharaja rainforest, affected by a road development project. Gotabaya pooh-poohed environmentalists’ grave concerns, sending the wrong message to politicians, state officials and others bent on environmental destruction. Politicians must not rush in where experts fear to tread.
NFU President Anuradha Tennakoon has revealed that some Irrigation Department officials who are opposing the government’s plan to reopen the tank bund to vehicles have received threats. One can only hope that they will not be victimised for doing what is good for the ancient tank and the people dependent on its water for survival.
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