To mark this day, Groundviews decided to study an organisation dedicated towards combating violence against women in Sri Lanka – Women In Need.
On November 25, Groundviews launched a series of photos on Instagramdocumenting the important work that Women In Need does – featuring courageous women who shared the darkest time of their lives with us, as well as the WIN employees who help them get back on their feet.
Legality Of The Budget: The Citizen’s Power Over the Public Purse
Given that one-in-every-ten words we hear these days have something to do with “the budget”, I thought of posting a few related thoughts, purely from a politico-legal perspective, for public dialogue and debate; with the primary intention of invoking a thought process in the all powerful Sri Lankan citizenry, who are at least in theory and in Law, supposedly the supreme authority over public expenditure, fiscal policy and management of the State’s resources.
As man’s unlimited wants grew out of proportion with the limited resources available, the same constraints on time spent in governing a country, such as the decision making process of allocating its limited resources to meet these demands also automatically evolved; from “direct- democracy” as practiced in the historical nation-states like Athens or Sparta where the citizens themselves directly participated in decision making to what we have now, which is “representative-democracy”, where we elect a few chaps periodically and pay them a salary (and in my opinion excessive perks) to do this job for us. A primary annual task of these elected representatives is to debate and arrive at the best possible manner of allocating our limited resources to meet our unlimited requirements, by approval or dissent of the Appropriation Bill; in popular parlance referred to simply as “the budget”.
Legal / Constitutional Basis for Public Expenditure
As we know the absolute sovereign of this Republic (at least in theory) is us, the Citizen, in terms of Article 3 of the Constitution; not for instance some king or queen as in a monarchy and therefore any governmental action including public expenditure must be sanctioned by us. So how does this scheme work in terms of the law?
* Expenditure planning by the Executive – by Article 4(b) read with Article 43 we have authorized our representatives holding our Executive Power, the President & Cabinet to analyze our competing interests with the resources available for this year (not how much they get to spend and put up shows for us on TV) and plan out the various allocations to ministries, which is then presented as the Budget through the Finance Minister;
* Debate and approval or disproval by the Legislature – by Article 4(a) we have vested our Legislative Power in a Parliament and the checks & balances work in two principal ways –
to debate whether the Budget that has been presented is indeed the right way to manage our monies (not agree simply because they get some gratification thrown their way by the Executive) and if not, to defeat it;
Their job doesn’t end there, as once those monies are allocated they are supposed to monitor its actual expenditure via parliamentary oversight committees etc and ensure that our intended purposes have been met
* Judicial Review – By Article 4(c) we have sanctified for our punitive powers in public trust in a system of Courts, Tribunals and a judicial system, which is meant to ensure that those who violate our laws and thereby harm us are dealt with and disciplined
This is how the Sri Lankan Citizen expects to exercise his/her absolute power over public expenditure, which looks very promising indeed in theory; but how is it practiced?Read More
ECONOMYNEXT - Sri Lanka's presidential commission investigating serious abuse of power and financial fraud Thursday cleared the way for prosecutions of former defence chief Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and four others.
Rajapakse cohorts include two former navy commanders -- retired admirals Jayantha Colombage and Jayantha Perera, additional defence secretary Damayanthi Jayaratne and Avant Garde chairman Nissanka Senadhipathi.
All five were named today as being "responsible" for illegally transferring defence ministry weapons to third parties as well as using staff of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka Limited (RALL) for private work.
RALL, a fully-owned subsidiary of the defence ministry, has been the conduit for weapons going into the private security firm of Senadhipathi. The Sri Lanka navy has found that thousands of weapons had gone missing after they were given to RALL and Avant Garde.
Avant Garde has denied any wrong doing and maintain that it had a legally binding agreement with the defence ministry. However, the authorities say that the agreement was not legally binding as it had been executed without cabinet or parliamentary approval.
With the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate and Inquire into Serious Acts of Fraud, Corruption and Abuse of Power, State Resources and Privileges, the first steps have been taken to initiate criminal charges.
The named individuals have objected to being held responsible, but the commission has given them time till December 2 to make written objections.
However, fresh hearings have been fixed for December 3, 4, 11, 22 and 23.
The law and order minister Tilak Marapana was forced to resign earlier this month over allegations of conflict of interest after it was revealed that he had been the legal counsel for Avant Garde which is under police investigation.
Investigators are still trying to locate thousands of weapons they say have disappeared from state inventories after they were transferred to third parties.
The new government of President Maithripala Sirisena has accused the former first family of stashing "billions" of dollars in foreign banks and abusing their power during his decade in office.
Another younger brother of the former leader, Basil, is facing a criminal prosecution over allegations that he used state money for his political campaign work.
The former president himself is under investigation by another anti-graft commission. He has slammed the string of corruption probes against him and his relatives as part of a "witch-hunt" instigated by his successor. (COLOMBO, Nov 26, 2015)
Eelam People’s Revolutionary Front Leader and TNA member Suresh Premechandran
Friday, 27 November 2015
“I don’t see any difference between the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) – both were armed militants. Both organisations wanted to liberate their people,” stresses Leader of the Eelam People’s Revolutionary Front and member of Tamil National Alliance Suresh Premechandran.
iThe university students who started a protest forcing the government against the privatization of the education and to resolve the problems in the education sector is due to reach the Kiribathgoda town today. The inter university students who organized and started this protest from Kandy last 23rd is supposed to reach Colombo tomorrow.
Inter university students federation convener Lahiru Weerasekara told us thousands of students has joined this protest which started from Nittambuwa today.
(Lanka-e-News -26.Nov.2015, 7.00AM) Harin Fernando the digital minister after reading Lanka e news report telephoned to say no amount of money was thrust into his mouth or down his throat.Lanka e news exposing the alleged corrupt transaction between Hutch and SLT Mobitel of Kumarasinghe Sirisenas this noon concluded the report thus :
‘Meanwhile, our efforts to get more information in this regard from Harin Fernando the Digital minister in charge of SLT and Mobitel proved futile. It is a matter for regret that Harin Fernando since the day he was appointed as minister , appears to have forgotten to receive incoming calls. Perhaps Harin Fernando who answered phone calls most profusely and anxiously during the period of elections and paraded as a paragon of virtue is now unable to speak because some amount of filthy lucre of Rs. 11400 million had been thrust into his cavernous mouth too until he was choked. ‘
Harin speaking to Lanka e news said , because the old phone number he had given us has been changed , he could not receive our calls .
Harin in any case said , he had not got choked on dollars , and this Hutch- Mobitel deal referred to has been presented to the Cabinet today .All ministers and party MPs including the prime minister attended this cabinet meeting, but Kumarasinghe Sirisena the chairman of SLT Mobitel did not.
Speaking further , Harin explained with a view to distributing the frequency rights ( spectrum) , if the Mobitel is to be still extended , another telephone Co. chain has to be purchased undoubtedly , and this was in the pipeline for some time.However ,he added as Lanka e news revealed there could have been a fraud , but the government has taken measures to avert it.
The anti corrupt measure taken is , when the purchase is being made , a sub committee comprising ministers representing all the parties including the prime minister will decide the price , Harin revealed.
However in regard to the underhand deals that are being transacted between one another , he canoot comment , Harin pointed out. Yet every action is being taken to preclude such rackets , he added. The board of Directors of Mobitel Co will comprise 9 members of them five will be Sri Lankans while the remaining four will be Malaysians .Besides the SL government cannot take any decxision on its own when the purchase is being made , he observed.
When Lanka e news inquired from Harin about the appointment of pro Rajapakse corrupt cronies to the Mobitel board after dismissing the gentlemen Directors of good governance , he said , he did his best to keep them back in their posts , but as the orders were from the very top he was helpless.
No matter what , we have to anyway act with patience , so that the hopes reposed by the people in us and their aspirations are fulfilled by the united government in the future.We are committed to that goal , Harin further elaborated.
Following this discussion , Lanka e news probed into this afore mentioned transaction . We shall publish a report thereof later.
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Last week’s announcement by President Maithripala Sirisena that he would commence the process of abolishing the Executive Presidency, though not wholly unexpected given the pledges he made during his election campaign, adds an entirely new dimension to the political equation.
Majority of Sri Lankan’s, almost 84% are either financially struggling or suffering according to the survey done by Gallup Healthways in 2014. In other words, people are unable to meet their current financials and future obligations while making choices that allow enjoyment of life. Everything can be attained higher education to dream house however only at the cost of obtaining a loan.
Increasing debt levels not only erode earning potential of the targeted population while serving as a blockage to progress far, resulting in greater poverty, exclusion and dependence.
As stated by Sir Josiah Stamp, Director & President of the Bank of England during the 1920’s, the modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. Bankers own the earth. Take it away from them, but leave them with the power to create money and control credit, and with the flick of a pen, they will create enough money to buy it back again. Take this great power away from the bankers and all the great fortunes will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for this would be a better and happier world to live in. But if you wish to remain the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery, let them continue to create money and to control credit.
Financial Institutions in Sri Lanka needs to maintain a Statutory Reserve Ratio (SRR) of only 6%, the proportion of rupee deposit liabilities maintained as deposits within Central Bank apart from the money provided as credit to the customers. SRR justifies and confirms the truth that the banks create money out of nothing. The twisted modern banking system grabs a share of our earnings continuously in the form of loan repayment and interests, interestingly from money created out of nothing. A witty method used to make the rich get richer while explaining the enormous wealth gained by the key shareholders of financial institutions.
CEO’s of financial institutions proudly claims on newspapers the profits recorded in millions, resulted from higher rates of lending. Sri Lanka still remains as a country with higher borrowing costs which results in an escalated cost of product & services during each value addition stage. How is it fair that the financial institutions charge massive amounts as interests for money that clearly doesn’t even exist? In the past Usury, the practice of lending money at excessive interest rates was prohibited and condemned as it was considered the exploitation of the needy, mainly on ethical, religious and moral stances. However, today’s economy functions only by continuously injecting credit into the system. If the majority of the population doesn’t benefit, why does such a financial/economic system exist? How long would this ignorant system continue, where the rich feed by eating off from the poor? Read More
Convener of the Trade Union Movement for Social Justice (TUMSJ) Saman Ratnapriya.
26/11/2015
What do you think on the progress the Government has made so far?
A: The country’s civil society was instrumental in changing the Executive on 8, January and the Parliament on 17, August. The Leader of the National Movement for Social Justice Venerable Maduluwawe Sobhitha Thera was pivotal in this. He is no more. Civil Movements along with political parties supported this issue. They backed this issue with the hope of bringing in political reforms. Some were fulfilled at a very minimum level. Some we could not fulfill. Regarding this, even the late Sobhitha Thera was in a state of disillusion. We too are to a certain extent disappointed. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was brought in order to curtail the powers of the Executive President system. To a certain extent we were able to achieve this yet, not to the expected degree. Independent Commissions were established, but in the Constitutional Council, the Opposition worked towards reducing the numbers of those from the civil society in the composition. There is something positive in the fact that some political reforms took place.
( November 26, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two journalists had been in the payroll of the controversial enterprise Avant Garde Maritime Services (AGMS), a vociferous award-winning actor, film director and politician disclosed to “The Island” yesterday.
“They had been paid rupees sixty thousand each, monthly,”
Ranjan Ramanayake, Deputy Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare said.
The Deputy Minister quoted Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe as having told him, in lighter vein ; “I’m surprised why they did the shopping for Nissanka Senadhipathy for such a measly sum.”
The fifty two – year-old Ramanayake said there was around 300 outsiders who allegedly received payments from Senadhipathy and the full list is with the Prime Minister and JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Asked whether there were no threats to his life from the government, opposition or other interested parties following his exposures of corruption, Ramanayake , who was voted “Most Popular Actor” for fifteen years, said “no.” Even President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Wickramasinghe have never uttered a word discouraging him in his endeavours at crushing illegal acts, he said.
However, Ramanayake said there were Members of Parliament who praise him personally for the exposures, but avoided doing so in public. “They come to my official residence in Madiwela secretly and say “machang” you have done a great job, but avoid meeting me or speaking to me in public.”
“The Island” in it’s lead story yesterday stated that Ministers Rajitha Senarathne, Patali Champika Ranawaka and Arjuna Ranatunga had requested the IGP to conduct a probe into allegations that they had launched a campaign against AGMS because of it’s proprietor’s refusal to pay them.
The Minister said that the AGMS case is “not over,” but has “just started to surface.”
“I will fight until the real culprits of the AGMS case are brought before the law,” Ramanayake, referred to as Sri Lanka’s “Super Star” in the film industry, added.
Will Maithri tell his corrupt brother what he told Arjun Mahendran ?
(Lanka-e-News -25.Nov.2015, 11.45PM) Following the dismissal of Krishantha Cooray , Thusitha Haloluwa and Sharook Fero the gentlemen of the government of good governance from the board of Directors of the SLT Mobitel , and with the re entry of ‘Laugfs’ Wegapitiya the notorious kappam grabber (extortionist) to the SLT Mobitel Board , the chairman of the SLT Mobitel Kumarasinghe Sirisena is now getting ready to play his favorite ‘game’ – gobble up Rs. 11400 million based on reports reaching Lanka e news.
This time the ‘big deal’ eyed by him involves the purchase of Hutch telephone Co. which even the most evil lawless Rajapakse regime feared to put its hands into. The Hutchison Private Co. which provides telephone service Islandwide is to be sold , and Mobitel Co. is to buy it. The actual value of the Hutchison Co. is US $. 50 million , and its maximum market value is US $ 70 million.Yet this is going to be bought at a price as high as US $ 150 million . That is ,US $ 80 million more is going to be paid . This extra payment of course is not going to the Hutchison Co. and this 80 million dollars in SL rupees is 11407 million !!
It is learnt Kumarasinghe Sirisena the corrupt younger brother of the president eliminated Krishantha Cooray , Thusitha Haloluwa and Sharook Fero from the Mobitel board in order to clear the obstacles that are militating against his underhand deal which will bring a gain of Rs. 11407 million rupees to him , since these expelled three Directors were all along exposing Kumarasinghe ‘s massive rackets and perfidies.
Some time ago , president Miathripala Sirisena told ‘ I asked the prime minister to remove Arjuna Mahendran because I am being vilified’ over the alleged involvement of Arjuna Mahendran in the issue of Central bank treasury bills even when it could not be said for sure there had been a fraud , just because a hue and cry was raised that there has been a Rs. 5000 million fraud . Now the people are keenly watching what president Maithripala Sirisena is going to say in regard to the calculated fraud of his own younger brother who is getting ready to gobble up Rs. 11400 million .The masses are earnestly anticipating the day the president will tell his younger brother to resign.
On the contrary , if Maithripala Siisena keeps his mouth , ears and eyes shut in the midst of this colossal racket , the masses cannot be blamed if they come to the conclusion that he is also a key partner in this colossal fraud .Moreover , if that happens representatives of US who arrive in SL hereafter certainly will not tell other foreign leaders to follow Maithripala Sirisena as an example.
Meanwhile, our efforts to get more information in this regard from Harin Fernando the Digital minister in charge of SLT and Mobitel proved futile. It is a matter for regret that Harin Fernando since the day he was appointed as minister , appears to have forgotten to receive incoming calls. Perhaps Harin Fernando who answered phone calls most profusely and anxiously during the period of elections and paraded as a paragon of virtue is now unable to speak because some amount of filthy lucre of Rs. 11400 million had been thrust into his cavernous mouth too until he was choked.
--------------------------- by (2015-11-26 01:24:37)
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday appointed defeated MP’s Shantha Bandara, Jagath Pushpakumara and Eric Weerawardhana as Directors of ” Special Projects” with no description of the need for such appointments.
The appointments were made in contravention of principles of Good Governance and in clear abuse of existing Executive Powers of the President.
The appointments also come in the backdrop of the 19th amendment which was showcased as a pruning of the powers and publicity over the tabling of a cabinet paper to abolish theExecutive Presidency.
Bandara was an unashamed supporter of former PresidentMahinda Rajapaksa together with Pushpakumara. Bandara is also alleged with scandals of corruption and thuggery during his previous stint as a parliamentarian.
The Presidents office in its media communique failed to describe the role which the three would play and under which allocations funds for their sustenance would be obtained.
Earlier, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was consistently accused of appointing corrupt persons and henchmen to roles as advisers and heads of institutions.
Eric Weerawardhana was appointed to the Central Province, Shantha Bandara to the North-Western Province and former minister Jagath Pushpakumara to the Uva Province as directors for special presidential projects.
“who is paying for them and what right have they to be appointed to such posts? how much have they been allocated? what was the need for such appointment and what exactly is their job role?” asked Siritunga Rajakaruna an activist from Kebitigollewa. Read More
Incumbent defence secretary Karunasena Hettiarachchi is in big trouble due to a confession made by one Janaka Mendis Karunaratne, the suspect in case no. 2292/14 that was taken up at the Mt. Lavinia magistrate’s court last Friday, 20th of November. Following a complaint made to the CID by the director general of the National Water Supply and Drainage Board at Ratmalana, Karunaratne was arrested in October 2014 on a charge of misuse of state money and remanded, but is now released on bail.
There is a confession made by him to the CID attached with the ‘B’ report of this case, which says an advance of Rs. 21.4 million had been paid for selling a 5.5 acre land called Kanatte Watte at Gintota in Galle district, to the NWSDB for a water purification project. It was Hettiarachchi, as the then chairman of the NWSDB, who had approved the payment.
The suspect says in the confession that out that sum, he had given Rs. 17.5 million back to Hettiarachchi.
We tried several times to reach Hettiarachchi to obtain a response, but were unsuccessful. He has sent a message to us through a friend of his that it was not him, but the NWSDB’s auditor, who should be responsible for the deal. He says it was not his responsibility to ascertain as to whether the deed of the land was authentic or not, and the audit and legal units of the NWSDB should bear the total responsibility.
If Hettiarachchi sends us a detailed response, we will publish it without harming the original article.
JERUSALEM| BY DAN WILLIAMS-Fri Nov 27, 2015 Military commanders and the Netanyahu government argued over the right strategy to end two months of stabbings and shootings on Thursday as Israeli troops killed three Palestinians in confrontations in the occupied West Bank.
The attacks, many of them carried out spontaneously by young Palestinians, have killed 19 Israelis and an American since Oct. 1. Israeli forces have killed 91 Palestinians, some while carrying out assaults and others in clashes with police and troops. Many of those killed have been teenagers.
While the bloodshed has in part been stoked by Muslim anger over Jewish visits to the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem - a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as Temple Mount - Israeli security services have echoed Palestinian officials in identifying failed peace talks as another cause.
That is at odds with the Israeli government's view that the main driver is incitement by the Palestinian leadership and weak security enforcement by President Mahmoud Abbas.
On Thursday, Israeli soldiers raided the village of Katane, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, in what the army said was a search for militants and weapons. It said locals threw petrol bombs and rocks at the troops, who fired at one of them. Palestinian officials said a 21-year-old man was killed.
At a checkpoint near Nablus, Israeli paramilitary police shot dead a Palestinian who they said had charged at them with a knife. The Palestinian health ministry gave his age as 51.
A third Palestinian, aged 20, was shot by Israeli forces during clashes in al-Arroub refugee camp near Hebron, and died in hospital, the ministry said.
ABBAS SAYS PALESTINIANS LOSING HOPE
"Disappointment, despair and loss of hope in the future led our youth to reactions like those we are witnessing," Abbas told reporters.
"The current Israeli government has failed every chance to make peace, and destroyed the foundations of the political, security and economic agreements, which makes us unable to implement, alone, signed bilateral agreements," he said.
Israeli military officers, as well as foreign observers, have credited Palestinian security forces with containing some of the violence with pre-emptive arrests of potential attackers.
On Wednesday, Israeli media quoted an unnamed senior military officer as recommending the government head off what he described as a "limited uprising" by admitting more Palestinian labourers, freeing low-risk Palestinian prisoners and better arming Abbas's forces.
On Thursday, the commander of Israel's premier paratrooper brigade, Colonel Nimrod Aloni, said tackling Palestinian violence was a matter of "a great degree of confusion".
"Is there a chance of winning? I think this is really, really not a military question, that it is very, very much linked to government decisions," he told Israel's Army Radio. "At this stage we are playing defence, almost at our goal-line, and trying to prevent the next terrorist attack from happening."
But a senior Israeli government official said there was no internal division over how to tackle Palestinian violence.
(Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by Dan Williams; editing by Ralph Boulton and Kevin Liffey)
Israeli soldiers stand guard as Palestinians walk away from the scene of what the Israeli army said was a suspected Palestinian stabbing attack, near the West Bank Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron November 25, 2015.
Classmates of Ashraqat Qatnani mourn for the girl slain by Israeli soldiers at their school in Askar refugee camp near the West Bank city of Nablus on 23 November.
Israel’s shoot-to-kill policy has left dead dozens of Palestinians, including 15 children, alleged to have attacked Israelis.Nedal EshtayahAPA images
The human rights group B’Tselem excoriatedBenjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, stating that he is responsible for “the transformation of police officers, and even of armed civilians, into judges and executioners” who slay Palestinians suspected of armed attacks in the streets.
