Advice from Economic Forum: Pouring water on a duck’s back

Aug 28, 2016

The two day Economic Summit organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce brought out a forthright critique of current economic policies. The overall message was that fundamental weaknesses in the economy that included the lack of consistent economic policies, the need for a taxation system that ensures adequate revenue to reduce the fiscal deficit, appropriate and coordinated monetary and fiscal policies and consistency and predictability of economic policies rather than ad hoc measures to cope with emerging crises had to be put in place immediately.

Would these policy prescriptions be heeded? Was the Economic Forum another instance where the economic advice given was like pouring water on a duck’s back?

Public finances

 

One of the critical problems facing the country is the need to bring down the fiscal deficit to a manageable proportion of GDP. This is recognized by the government that has set a target of a fiscal deficit of 5.5 per cent of GDP for this year and its progressive reduction in the next few years to achieve a fiscal deficit of 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2020. The question is whether there are policies in place to achieve these fiscal targets?

 

Professor Razeen Sally, Associate Professor of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore and Chairman of the Institute of Policy Studies, Colombo, was outspoken in his comments on the current economic policy situation in the country: “There have been many ad hoc measures on taxation. Businesses are very vexed because of the high level of unpredictability and uncertainties, and excessive increase in state spending and salaries.” He said the government should refrain from further ad hoc tax measures, and should focus on fiscal consolidation and improving local business and investment climate.

 

VAT

 

Everyone is aware of the parlous state of the country’s fiscal policies and no one is aware of what the current tax measures are. The opposition to VAT and uncertainty in its enforcement has serious implications for government revenue. Beyond that the inability to enforce tax measures that are unpopular with sections of the population is a serious long term concern for the public finances of the country.

 

Inconsistency

 

There is ample evidence of inconsistencies, prevarication, contradictions and repeals of economic policies. The government has faced tremendous opposition to several key economic policies and has revoked several economic measures. This irresolute policy implementation has vitiated the government’s economic policy implementation and eroded confidence in the government’s capacity to resolve the serious economic crisis facing it.

 

Policy changes

 

For instance there was a divergence between the Economic Policy Statement of the Prime Minister of November 5th 2015 and the Budget presented a few days later. Sections of the government opposed several budget proposals and these were amended or deleted. Ultimately the amended budget was very different to the one proposed and the tax regime is ambiguous. The subsequent increase in VAT remains uncertain. Policies announced by the government have been changed by the President. These are not propitious for building confidence in the government’s economic policies.

 

Several changes in economic policies of this government have put in doubt the possibilities of achieving economic stability. As Razeen Sally pointed out there have been many ad hoc measures on taxation and businesses are very vexed because of the high level of unpredictability and uncertainties. He also argued that there were “excessive increase in state spending and salaries”.

 

Monetary and fiscal policy

 

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Weerakoon Wijewardena made an important statement on the need to coordinate and complement monetary and fiscal policies. Far too often these two policies have had diverse and contradictory impacts, one negating the other. Wijewardena told the forum he believed the government’s fiscal and monetary policies were contradictory. He referred specifically to the Finance Ministry’s granting of tax concessions for vehicle imports for some public servants a few days after the Central Bank raised key interest rates by 50 basis points.

 

Wijewardena pointed out that monetary and fiscal policies are working in opposite directions and that in order to negate the tax concession the Central Bank will have to increase policy rates further in the near future. Otherwise the Central Bank’s interest rate increase would be in effective.

 

Bigger picture

 

At the root of the problem of economic policy making is the country’s political context and culture. Economists could give advice on what policies should be followed, but implementing these in Sri Lanka’s political context and culture has proven immensely difficult. The recent uproar over the increase in VAT is a dramatic illustration of the problem.

 

President Maithripala Sirisena portrayed the realistic position in economic policy formulation when he said “We have to pursue right economic policies over a considerable period of time to get over the economic malady accumulated in the past, but it has to be done without cutting down the public welfare component of the state expenditure”.

 

The President pointed out that “The country owes Rs. 9,000 billion. This has been a burden on the government as well as the people. We have taken measures towards fiscal consolidation to alleviate this crisis. We can’t adopt policies which have brought economic success to countries in this region because of the political culture that prevails here.

 

We have to consider political and social realities arising from policy decisions, therefore, the government will go ahead with its economic revival programme without cutting back funds allocated for education, public health services, Samurdhi etc. We have to recognize that balancing political and economic dynamics will always be a decisive factor”

 

Broader view

 

Balancing political and economic dynamics will always be a decisive factor and pursuing right economic policies are difficult in a country where the government has to appease the multitude. Pragmatic and realistic economic reforms are a vain hope in the political context and culture of the country. Good economic advice is like pouring water on a duck’s back. The serious implication of this is that the country’s prospect of rapid economic development is unrealistic, even though some economic strides are possible especially if global conditions turn favourable.

 

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Sri Lanka’s Development Dilemma & The Dependency Syndrome

By Siri Gamage –August 28, 2016

Dr. Siri Gamage

Each time we visit Sri Lanka for holiday, it throws fresh insights about the place, people, systems and what it offers in comparison to other countries. We just returned after spending three weeks primarily in Kandy and a couple of days in Colombo. On the way back, spent three days in Singapore, which is a remarkably well-organised place though the currency is equivalent to Australian dollars.

There don’t seem to be a national plan to improve national production. Instead, the economy seems to be heavily based on imports of all kinds including drugs, food, clothing, vehicles, and more. In other words, Sri Lanka seems to have a dependent economy on other countries and multi national corporations. Such a development is bound to benefit those companies and other entities involved in imports including tourists rather than the local producers. Export is not even mentioned in everyday public discourses, not to mention government policy.

Development of a society should be measured by the quality and standard of life offered to a country’s citizens and visitors not by the number of roads built or vehicles imported as if there is unlimited space on our roads. Are the people able to move about easily? Can they live peacefully without the fear of harassment?  Are they able to obtain necessary services without having to pay bribes or going after politicians or beaureacrats? Can they easily obtain medical assistance when needed? Does the society look after its elderly well? Are the young people gainfully employed? Is the education relevant and useful not only for employment but also broadening the mind and acquiring a global knowledge? Is the environment clean? These are among many questions one can pose about the quality of life one deserves.

Notwithstanding the many development projects completed and under way in Sri Lanka it appears the place is for the rich and powerful who have the money, wealth and power rather than the middle or working classes (though some government employees and doctors have been afforded duty free motor vehicle permits). It is also designed for the tourists with fat pockets. Fancy and expensive tourist resorts and hotels cater to well-to-do segments and foreigners whereas they are beyond the reach of the majority Sri Lankans. The daily accommodation cost of a five star hotel can easily exceed 200 US dollars – the equivalent of RS.24,000. This is the average monthly wage of a minor employee in such a hotel, eg cleaning staff. On the roads, three wheelers abound. Drivers of these cut across oncoming traffic, find short cuts in very risky ways putting lives in danger and move between moving vehicle lines. The buses that the average person travels look very old Indian makes, no air conditioning or even a fan. What comfort do they offer the public, especially elderly and sick? One is really unlucky if he or she had to travel standing. Each time the driver applies the breaks, the pressure affects the elderly person’s hands holding the seats or the rails above. Compare this with those fortunate enough or shrewd enough to acquire modern vehicles often with paid drivers including our politicians and middle to top ranking beaureacrats. When public transport is not improved for the many, our politicians are gifted with very expensive imported cars out of the public purse. Why? The argument goes that it is because they are the leaders who manage the nation’s affairs so they deserve such extra comforts. Irrespective of the problems facing the country and the economy (mind you that according to some reports, the country owes more than forty billion dollars to international lenders), the political class coming from the two major parties and some minor parties seem to want to enjoy the luxuries that those rich enough in the first world enjoy i.e. Toyota land cruisers.

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The ‘Yahapalana method’ of doing things: Crooked machinations in Rs. 60 billion coal tender

By C. A. Chandraprema-August 28, 2016

It was only since last year that people have gradually become aware that the supply of coal to the Norochcholai power plant is by far the country’s biggest single tender worth more than Rs. 60 billion for a three years’ supply of 6.75 million metric tonnes. On 18 June 2014, a tender was floated to procure three years’ supply of coal. The price of coal fluctuates and in order to ensure a constant supply at a fixed price the government adopted the practice of giving out three-year supply contracts. The tender procedures took several months and by that time, a new government was in power. The new government seemed determined that the tender should go to a new party and not to the company that had been the main supplier of coal since the inception of the Norochcholai power plant.

The contention of the new government was that one company had been supplying coal since the Norochcholai plant began operations and that Nobel Resources Ltd had somehow been bagging the contract every time. Needless to say this huge contract gave rise to a great deal of competition between the bidders, each leaving no stone unturned, no appeal unmade, no court unmoved, in order to win the contract. From the first tender onwards, Nobel Resources had emerged as the most successful competitor being able to bag the contract even if it did not win in the first round by putting in appeals and pleading its case in every available forum. Even with regard to the tender floated on 18 June 2014, despite an unprincipled effort by the yahapalana government to award the tender to another company, Nobel Resources appealed successfully to the Procurements Appeal Board saying that the rival company Swiss Singapore Ltd had been given the contract after altering the bidding criteria.

The Procurements Appeal Board recommended the cancellation of the tender and calling for fresh bids. However, the new government brought a cabinet paper to override the recommendation of the Procurements Appeals Board and to award the tender to Swiss Singapore Ltd. The cabinet paper recommended that a long term contract for the supply of 4.5 million metric tonnes be awarded to Swiss Singapore Ltd at USD 68.72 per metric tonne and for the procurement of 2.25 million metric tonnes of coal on the spot tender procedure through the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee. Nobel Resources Ltd filed a fundamental rights case against the Minister of Power and Renewable energy and the whole Cabinet saying among other things that cabinet bad been misled into approving the cabinet paper at issue.

Noble Resources International Pte Limited v Minister of Power and Renewable Energy et al, became a landmark case because the Supreme Court heard it as a matter of national interest despite arguments by the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy and other respondents that the Petitioner did not have the locus standi to invoke the jurisdiction of the court because it was a foreign company acting on its own without a local agent.

Chief Justice K. Sripavan stated that the court had decided to go into the merits of the case as some of the events that took place in the award of this tender ‘shocks the conscience of the Court’. Nobel Resources had said in their petition to the Supreme Court that the tender criteria had been altered after the bids had been opened.

First the cudgel

The bidding criteria were changed after the bids had been opened not under the Rajapaksa government but under the present government that came into power promising good governance. Hence what had ‘shocked the conscience’ of the Supreme Court was not crookedness of the previous government but that of the present one. The supreme court observed that the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurements Committee had received a letter dated 29.06.2015 from Swiss Singapore Ltd and a meeting of SCAPC was convened on the same day and they directed the Technical Evaluation Committee to re-evaluate the Bids ignoring two steps of the Evaluation Procedure. The lower granular size limit was among the two criteria removed from the bidding documents so that more powdery coal would be accepted. Swiss Singapore Ltd was thereupon awarded the tender by the SCAPC.

The Supreme Court observed that ‘no one, neither the State nor the SCAPC shall act contrary to the bid documents and the Government Procurement Guidelines’ and stated that the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurements Committee should have rejected the bid of Swiss Singapore Ltd for influencing the tender procedure. The SC stated very clearly that ‘the decision made by the SCAPC was outside its jurisdiction and therefore null and void’ and further that the decision taken by the Cabinet of Ministers on 22 September 2015 to award the contract to Messrs Swiss Singapore Ltd ‘could not be considered a valid decision’. One would think that after an unequivocal statement from the Supreme Court like that, the government would back down and cancel the tender and call for fresh bids. But, what the government did was exactly the opposite. It tried to justify before the public the retention of Swiss Singapore Ltd as the coal supplier.

The first step in this was for the Minister of Power of Renewable energy to appoint a Committee to look into the question whether the government has suffered any monetary loss due to the way coal was purchased after the present government came into power. The committee was appointed on 12 July 2016 and comprised of K. K.Y. W. Perera, Lakshman R.Watawala and Janaka B. Ekanayaka. The committee observed that during 2015, there had been two kinds of coal procurement - main long term bulk tender and spot tenders for immediate procurements as per the cabinet decision mentioned earlier. On this basis, 1,126,805 tonnes of coal had been bought on four spot tenders after the cabinet decision up to 5 April 2016 at a cost of USD 56,075,563. Under the long term tender, 1,064,724 tonnes of coal had been purchased for USD 57,932,356. The average cost of coal was USD 49.76 under spot tenders. While it was 54.41 under the long term tender.

The Perera committee decided that there had been a total gain of 7.6 million USD from spot tenders as against the long term tender. The report observes that spot prices depended on day-to-day market conditions and that in 2016 there had been a slight upward trend in coal prices and that there should be a balance between the spot purchases and long term supply. The Perera committee report observes that the original price quoted by Swiss Singapore Ltd was USD 68.72. Later it was decided to change two of the bidding criteria. The index used was changed from the Australian index to the South African index and it was decided not to consider the grain size when purchasing the coal. After further negotiations with Swiss Singapore on the basis of the changed criteria, the price was reduced to USD 58. All other criteria such as the ash content, the moisture content, volatile matter and sulphur content were the same.

Noble Resources had quoted for coal with the particle size below 2 mm being 10% or less while Swiss Singapore had put in bids to supply coal where the grains below 2mm was as high as 25%. The Perera committee observed that the ash content, moisture content, volatile matter and sulphur content had a bearing on the operation of the coal power plant, but the size of the granules had only a minor role to play in plant efficiency. If the size of the coal is too large a separate crusher had to be used to crush the coal. However, if coal particles were too small below 2mm, it behaved like dust. When stocked in the coal yard this coal would blow away with the wind and settle on nearby houses and trees. The probability of self ignition in storage increases in the case of the smaller particles. The Perera committee itself recommended that the powdery coal dust had an environmental impact which was ‘not quantifiable’ and that the amount of fine particles in the coal supplies had to be controlled. By making this recommendation, the Perera committee was in fact saying indirectly that the step that the yahapalana government took to disregard the granular size of the coal in order to award the contract to Swiss Singapore Ltd was wrong.

Then sweet talk

The Perera committee observed that the quality of each coal shipment differs and that Swiss Singapore had delivered 18 coal shipments after the removal of the penalties for granular size and the amounts actually paid after negotiation had been different to the originally agreed amounts. In the case of nine shipments the amount actually paid had been less than the original amounts and in the case of the remaining nine, it had been more than the originally tendered amounts. After balancing out the losses against the gains, they had calculated that a sum of USD 287,029 had been gained by the Sri Lankan government. The problem is that this study on coal procurement carried out in 2015 and 2016 to determine whether there was ‘loss or damage’ to the government has not dealt with the most essential question.

This whole controversy arose in the first place, because the coal tender had been awarded to Swiss Singapore Ltd after changing the bidding criteria so as to accept the more powdery coal. One of the contentions that Nobel Resources made in their petition to the Supreme Court was that serious environmental damage would result from importing the more powdery coal – a point that the Perera Committee has also accepted as we saw earlier. Yet the Perera committee has argued perhaps tautologically that the government had saved USD 287,029 (around Rs. 42 million) in monetary terms by buying cheaper, lower quality coal from Swiss Singapore Ltd. The question that we have to ask ourselves is whether a paltry benefit of Rs. 42 million is adequate compensation for the environmental damage caused. It is worthy to note that the committee itself has recommended that the government should have suitable criteria regarding the granular size of the coal in future tenders. It should be borne in mind that the contract awarded to Swiss Singapore Ltd was for three years during which lower quality coal would continue to be imported.

The very terms of reference given to the Perera committee were loaded in such a way that the yahapalana government would get the conclusion they wanted from it. According to minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya’s letter to Prof. K. K. Y. W. Perera inviting him to chair the committee, the only matter they were asked to look into was whether the government had suffered any monetary loss due to the way coal was purchased after the present government came into power. After thus appointing a committee to state the obvious that there was a monetary saving by buying cheaper, lower quality coal, and thus trying to convince the public that there was nothing wrong with the manner the new government procured coal, the government is now trying to devise ways and means of keeping Swiss Singapore Ltd as the main supplier of coal despite the Supreme Court ruling.

Bending the law

The Minister of Power and Renewable Energy has written to the Attorney General requesting advice on how the Supreme Court decision should be implemented. The Attorney General’s Department has written back that while dismissing the application made by Noble Resources Ltd, the Supreme Court has observed that there were ‘flaws’ in the decision to award the tender to Swiss Singapore Ltd. The SC had stated that the court had no alternative but to declare the decision to award the tender to Swiss Singapore was ‘invalid in the eye of the law’ and that the decision of the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee in that regard was outside its jurisdiction and, therefore, ‘null and void for all purposes’. Furthermore, the SC had said that the decision taken by the Cabinet to award the contract to Swiss Singapore Ltd ‘cannot be considered a valid decision’.

Despite these observations, the AG stated that the SC did not make any order to cancel the agreement entered into with Swiss Singapore Ltd. The AG has covered himself by saying that in view of the adverse comments made by the SC ‘it may be appropriate’ to terminate the agreement with Swiss Singapore after giving adequate notice in terms of that agreement. But in the same breath the AG says that any move to abrogate the agreement without a court order could result in arbitration proceedings, and claims for damages. The AG has advised the Minister of Power and Renewable energy that he should apprise the cabinet of the options available and the possible repercussions of terminating the tender and to decide whether the tender should be cancelled after giving adequate notice or whether fresh tenders should be called after the contract with Swiss Singapore expires in April 2017.

Finally, the AG has advised that if a decision is made to terminate the contract that it should be arrived at after a discussion with Swiss Singapore Ltd to avoid costly arbitration proceedings. The funny thing here is that this case was filed in the Supreme Court by Noble Resources Ltd, against the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy saying among other things that he had misled Cabinet into awarding the contract to Swiss Singapore Ltd and the AG defended the Minister of Power and Energy in that case. The SC gave leave to proceed in this case only because they determined that there was a matter of public interest involved and they deliberately refrained from dismissing it on the grounds of the lack of locus standi of the petitioner to file such a case.

Though they dismissed the case, in the course of the judgement, the SC held among other things that the tender had been improperly awarded to Swiss Singapore Ltd which in fact was also the contention of the petitioner. Now the main respondent in that case obtains advice from the AG who defended him in court about how to work around the SC ruling! On top of it all the main respondent also appoints a Committee of experts asking them a tautological question whether the government received a monetary benefit when the tender criteria was lowered and cheaper coal obtained! The idea seems to be to retain the coal supplier selected by the yahapalana government by hook or by crook. By observing the moves made by the government in relation to the coal tender a clearly identifiable way of doing things becomes apparent, which this government has applied not only to the coal tender but to other matters as well.

Bribery Commission 'Dil' turns Nil (nought) - Stormy but empty !

(Lanka-e-News- 28.Aug.2016, 11.30PM) The Rainbow revolution of 8 th January 2015 had by now appointed all the independent commissions. Yet, though these commissions were a great expectation of the Rainbow revolution ,some of the Commissions  appointed have not lived up to expectations. Neither have they produced the desired results.

Lanka e news earlier on reported, the Pubilc Service Commission(PSC) is the main Independent Commission that has betrayed this expectation of the people. Now , it is with deep regret we have to break the news  that ‘Anti Bribery and Corruption Commission’ is holding the second odious  position after the PSC.

Initially Lanka e news proudly wrote about the Director General of the anti Bribery and corruption Commission , Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe alias 'Dil' , a president’s counsel. However because of her actions based on her ignorance of administration and laws while riding the high horse , not only she but even the Commission is headed for a great fall. The Commission owing to her inefficiency and insanity fits has turned into a virtual lunatic asylum. When independent Commissions turn into a madhouse and are wreaking havoc , those can be rectified and remedied only by the people and civil organizations because neither the Executive nor the constitutional body   is vested with powers legally to issue directives to or exert pressures on  those commissions that  are appointed as independent .

Dil 's eccentricities and insanity drives…

The government of good governance had duly appointed a number of Institutions to investigate the countless corruption and frauds that raged during the nefarious decade of Machiavellian mendacious Mahinda Rajapakse. Those are the FCID (Financial crimes investigation division) ,Presidential special investigation Commission , the Special presidential Task Force  for Recovery of State assets , Independent Bribery and Corruption Commission and so forth. 

It is the Attorney General and his department that  is the natural co ordinator in regard to all these commissions because finally it is from him advice has to be  sought pertaining to every investigation. Hence,  if just one Institution  is not duly functioning the entire ‘edifice of operations ’ collapses and overlaps. The main reasons for this are : several Institutions are involved in  a single investigation , and the other is, if the information received by one Institution is not shared with the others , the evil fallouts are disastrous.

Dil’s abysmal ignorance regarding  impounding of passports 

Dilrukshi Dias Wickremesinghe (PC) alias Dil who is the Director General of the Bribery and corruption Commission had befouled and bungled the entire operations : She has not been reporting to the AG on the investigations conducted by her department which are carried out according to her own whims and fancies. She hasacted as though she is the alpha and omega , and she has need to know nothing more .Because of this stupid mentality or rather eccentricity while assuming she is not answerable to anyone , everything coming under her purview had been messed up due to  her messing about with her grave responsibilities and duties.

A case in point which best illustrates her arrogance, ignorance and hollowness….

Dil the Nil (nought) took  into her custody a passport belonging to an individual. She has  legal power to do that only if the individual is a government servant , since only the courts can impound the passport of an individual who is not a government servant . Therefore by impounding a passport of an individual who is not a government servant she had betrayed her ignorance despite being a president’s counsel and demonstrated  she is rather a joker and not a lawyer , and much worse , she has made the sublime Commission also a ‘joke.’

Double standards practiced – one for Namal and another for Rajitha…

Besides , while the other Commissions appointed by the good governance government to probe frauds  and corruption had made progress or achieved its targets somewhat  , the independent commission of Dil the Nil (nought)  had failed to achieve any tangible positive results in the best interests of the people or the country.

Dil the Nil’s commission that went to courts against Namal Rajapakse for not  responding  on a single occasion when summoned to the Commission , has not gone to courts against Rajitha Senarathne even when he did not respond  after  being  summoned nearly ten times .Even as this report is being written , Dil has not taken any action so far. In other words Dilthe Nil has degraded and disgraced the sublime bribery and Corruption Commission  to the lowliest of low  level before a criminal suspect , of all people. 

Whether Dil the Nil  is already in hell or is headed for hell notwithstanding , it is important and imperative that she understands the Commissions were created at the behest of the people even risking  their lives not for nothing – not for those at the helm of the Commissions to serve as  lackeys and lickspittles serving the sordid biddings of rascals , rogues and rowdies however powerful they may seem .She must therefore hold herself answerable to the people , and us. 

No cases yet all money exhausted …brief-less lawyers are better !

Believe it or not , so far not one case had been concluded in respect of the so many complaints lodged with Dil the Nil’s commission ,and it is now over one and half years. It is being widely questioned whether she is waiting until her rotten dhell fruit (breadfruit) on her tree planted in her God’ s little acre shrivels and  drops  down.  The most shocking part of this Dil and her Dhell drama is , even though not a single has case been concluded , her Commission has exhausted all the funds by August allocated annually by the government .

By this charge we are not trying to suggest that she is fraudulent or she misappropriated the Commission’s funds, but to  simply expose her egregious maladministration and inefficiency. It is because she does not know her priorities , and has not heeded the advice of those responsible for fiscal administration , this catastrophic situation has been precipitated.

There is much more than what we have revealed herein regarding eccentric Dil’s inefficiency and ineptitude, but for the moment let us stop at this . Of course she ought to be granted some time  to rectify her faults. However , if Dil persists in her wrongs and desires to be a Nil (nought) even after giving this opportunity , we shall be reluctantly compelled to reveal to the people  the  rest of her stupidity and imbecility one by one . 

In conclusion , let us record  this :  a swelled head is more empty than a balanced head. Besides  physical stature and mental power are inversely proportionate as a rule..  Merely having a prodigious chest does not mean the heart is proportionately large unless one fills it up with magnanimity . Otherwise , everything  will end in despair . This is the Universally accepted truth.  

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by     (2016-08-28 23:06:14)

Did Australia Bribe or Donate?

by Gajalakshmi Paramasivam

( August 29, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The drunken guy here – in the village of Thunaivi was shouting at his brother in law – calling the latter’s wife a whore. The whole neighborhood gathered around them – without anyone trying to intervene. Two weeks later – everything seems normal between the two families.

There is law and there is culture through which we find fault with each other. The lawyer for our opposition in a testamentary case stated in court many times – that I was married twice – and that did certainly seem to have influenced that particular judge who said that I was behaving like a street woman. If there was some element of Truth to it – the return karma is not likely to happen in a direct way. To be true – the person claiming / accusing ought to have been hurt or damaged by such characteristic. I took legal action in Australia against the persons who I believed were responsible – but the Courts overruled it saying that they did not have jurisdiction. Subsequently the person who initiated it within the family – lost her wedding chain at the Sydney Murugan temple and I felt that the karma was returned. The leader of the group claimed in Court that she was not allocated a dowry but was given a donation!

The above are examples of different mind orders within Vaddukoddai where the first declaration of Political independence was made in 1976 and this strongly influenced the Tamil Tigers.

Where the gap between the Politicians who made that declaration and majority people of that area is too wide – such declarations die naturally without nourishment. Whether the Tamil Tigers were Rebels or Terrorists is determined by who makes the assessment and/or what measure is used. The Sri Lankan Government which was instrumental in listing the Tamil Tigers as Terrorists – now stand accused of allegations of bribery and corruption. The latest one is against the current President of Sri Lanka – all the way from Australia.

As per Australian Broadcasting Corporation / Fairfax reports:

‘Engineering giant Snowy Mountain Engineering Company is being separately investigated over claims its staff sought approval to pay kickbacks to foreign officials, including a donation to the party of Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena when he was a cabinet minister’

Given that the current President – Mr. Sirisena was part of the former cabinet – and given that the Sri Lankan media is also heavy in its criticism of the former President – Mr. Rajapaksa through allegations of corruption – should one be surprised by such revelations? As I said recently in Thunaivi – during a public meeting – ‘where someone in a family is weak and it is allowed to prevail – the weakness is bound to become public knowledge.’ As they say in Tamil – ‘when the price of eggplant gets cheap (i.e. when the supply increases) it will come to the market’. Likewise corruption reports. Once it comes to the market – the whole group / family stands accused of that trait. Many of us have suffered due to this ‘habitual pattern’ of the mind – due to Tamil Tigers being labeled as Terrorists. Whoever contributed to the manifestation of this – i.e.- the matter coming to the market – will get their share of return karma when an innocent person suffers due to such label.

The above mentioned allegations – may not end up with lawful action against the current President. As they said to me in terms of defamation – Australians did not have jurisdiction over Sri Lankans. Why so – even if the laws were identical? – because the thought order is not arranged as per the documented law – but is strongly combined with cultural thoughts and inner beliefs – to allocate rights and wrongs. Buddhism being a foreign religion to Australia – there is bound to be differences in thought order, due to these inner influences. It is for this reason that when something is purely local – to those who have lived in Thunaivi over long periods – I do not get involved. They would not understand my reasons in using a particular measure – and I would not understand theirs. When there is a need I use Truth which is awesomely Universal.

Recently the local priest here in Thunaivi-Vaddukoddai – lost his brother weeks before the priest’s daughter’s wedding was to take place/took place. Under normal circumstances the wedding would have needed to be postponed until the ceremonies were completed for the one who passed away. As per my knowledge this period is 16 days for priests and 31 days for lay persons. Our priest was able to complete the ceremonies within the 16 day period. But some had said that because the brother who died converted to Christianity due to migration and due to him becoming non-vegetarian after that – the longer period of 31 days applied. Our priest was naturally anxious. When he came to our temple the day before the wedding – he asked for my blessings. I kept my hand on the priest’s head and blessed that the wedding would go well and also that the marriage would be healthy. I believe that our minds merged and the father of the bride did not reveal signs of anxiety any more. I shared my Truth which cured him of his anxieties due to a bigger system in which he was no longer important due to his old age. Our system was much smaller but it was based on my Truth. The priest connected to this due to his faith in the same Deity – Mother Kali. THAT is the value of Common Faith. This would not have been possible if we did not, at our temple, replace blind rituals with healthy practices that did not contradict the values of old rituals. To our priest – the blessings were from Mother Kali – in whom our priest has deep faith. The priest could see for himself that I was still going well with my development projects in that area – despite the low law and order level in those local folks. This helped him connect to my faith and therefore my confidence in current measures. The wedding went well and confirmed the value of common faith.

Had the Sri Lankan President resorted to common faith – he would have been able to override old habits. But the old habit of allocating foremost place to Buddhism invoked the previous thought order – and hence to the extent the President also caused the punishment of his former boss – he invoked his share of that punishment by activating Article 9 of the Constitution. If ethnic conflict is something of the past – then Article 9 needs to be eliminated or at least kept passive. Once activated – it comes up with the problems that the President’s horoscope includes.

Time and Place give different forms to the same Truth. There are many who are critical of former President’s reliance on the horoscope. Others have appreciated that as being instrumental in the new regime taking its place. But the above mentioned allegations confirm that old habits die hard. They have confirmed that the current President is activating old mantras instead of using his Truth within the local group – a group that is the parallel to those sharing common faith through our temple. This group is strongly led by our family – common to Sri Lanka and other nations that have become home to our extended family. Faith has no limits through Time and Place based boundaries. Then there are members of our Engineering group – like Santhirahasan & Pushpa, Thiruketheeswaran, Vaddukoddai youth group – such as Raj Gunaratnam and Prabha Maheswaran who resource us when we have a need – Professor Prem Kumar & wife Thavamany who regularly contribute to our educational programs – even though we do not ask them. The higher level contribution is from those who express their appreciation of my sharing of experiences. That goes direct to the higher mind – starved of immediate returns and therefore is open to higher structural returns. Without the latter – including through myself – my programs would not continue. It’s the common belief that keeps the motivation going.

One of the names that crops up here in Thunaivi is that of the Hon Douglas Devananda. I wonder whether the Common Government would have done well to have Mr. Devananda as their Tamil partner to compete and invoke the competitive forces of the Tamil National Alliance which is the official Leading Opposition in National Parliament. The contribution by Mr. Devananda to Hindu structures during his time as the Minister responsible for Hindu culture – would help retard the forces of ‘Buddhism foremost’ from getting manifested. Between TNA and Mr. Devananda – Mr. Devananda highlighted my work to the President whereas the TNA as per their silence do not recognize my contribution at all – not even at the level of Vaddukoddai where their office is not too far from our Training Center.

But Truth waits for no man. Today the folks of Thunaivi made the decision that I would be their patron for Development projects in Thunaivi. They sought my assistance in writing reports that would be used by the Tamil Diaspora in Europe. In turn I propose to derive my return through training in higher common work practices which would help develop higher mind order and therefore prevent wars of the kind we experienced over three decades.

This realization was preceded by fear of legal action in one of the project which they undertook on their own towards more or less ‘free money’ – which like Australian Aid without Accountability has resulted in the current President facing the above mentioned bribery allegations at social level.

From the Sri Lankan President’s view – it may have been donation and Australia has no jurisdiction over such ‘freedom’ to call it donation as per Sri Lankan rules. As per Aussie rules – it may have been bribery paid. What happened becomes secondary due to Australian Aid – which makes Sri Lanka a relative. This resulted in Australia providing Aid that promoted the elimination of the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) during the same period when Australia was accommodating Tamil migrants to whom the LTTE were Freedom Fighters. When there is no law/measure – that is common to both sides – time tells – each one as per their own pathway/within their own jurisdiction.

Whatever the Sri Lankan President may confirm as having happened becomes secondary to knowing the character that was surfaced in a ‘free’ environment. That is the Truth and one who is true to her/himself would read it and include or exclude her/himself accordingly to develop a mind order – with or without the President.

Is There A Need To Return To Capital Punishment?

By Emil van der Poorten –August 28, 2016

Emil van der Poorten

As someone on the cusp of the proverbial eighth decade of my life, let me say, at the very outset, that even discussing the sentiments expressed in the title of this piece in the abstract would have been beyond the farthest reaches of my imagination until now.

However, what I have seen over the years since my return to Sri Lanka after better than thirty years, has, as in the words of the old chestnut, “given me pause.”

With two siblings who lived all their lives as revolutionaries and died in penury, even though celebrated by a variety of people from more walks of life that I am ever likely to encounter, I have had my diet of “world revolution,” “the need to destroy capitalism and the capitalist class“ etc. etc.

However, when I see the manner in which the basic living standards of people in rural Sri Lanka haveregressed, as epitomized by three of four skinny nurses trying to reach something suspended on a clothes line of sorts and failing for lack of reach until a colleague, just five feet tall (as she herself proudly proclaimed), reach what had eluded their grasp, one begins to realize how small so many of our compatriots now are. In contrast, I recall how much bigger and taller were Canadians entirely of Sri Lankan origin who grew up in that North American country after being born in Sri Lanka. The reason for this contrast can be put in two words: good nutrition.

I am not going to labour this point and, if you doubt what I have just said, check with your closest authority, particularly in the matter of birth weight stats.

Bad enough? Consider the allied issues of deprivation of anything approaching adequate medical and educational services and the circle is complete and that circle, I’d seriously submit, is not far behind genocide in its final implications.

There has never seemed any doubt that genocide is the most serious of capital offences and deserving of the most serious of responses.

What then of those responsible for the premature deaths and debilitation of large segments of our population? I am deliberately excluding the poorer elements of the so-called minority communities from this discussion so that its dimensions may be measured without the distraction of the howling of the racist hordes in their usual efforts to distract attention by involving, on their side, those most susceptible to the siren call allegation of colonial “divide and rule” governance being the root cause of this state of affairs.

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‘Divaina’ journalist extorted money from Nimal Lansa?

Aug 28, 2016

The mere mention of the name of internal affairs deputy minister Nimal Lansa brings to mind the police’s having raided his home and searched for narcotic drugs during the Rajapaksa regime and then Mahinda Rajapaksa visiting him at his home to soothe him. Anyhow, Lansa is now with the the incumbent ‘Yahapaalana’ government too, and is known by the entire country to be linked to various rackets. One of them is human trafficking to Australia by boat.

In the past, ‘Divaina’ wrote many a page about this human trafficking racket. Most of the information contained in those articles was correct, and Lansa must have found them to be quite a headache. Suddenly, articles and exposures about Lansa’s human trafficking came to a halt. Therafter, ‘Divaina’ never mentioned about a country named Australia or a person named Lansa.

 

Recently, the CID received a complaint that the journalist who had written those articles had extorted money from Lansa in order to stop his exposures through ‘Divaina’. Soon after hearing this, the journalist in question has started attacking the CID by faking a front of appearing on behalf of the so-called war heroes linked to the murder of Lasantha Wickramatunga and the assault on Upali Tennakoon. Journalists who know him say he is trying to do to the CID the same he had tried with Lansa.

 

This ‘Divaina’ journalist is Saman Gamage, known by the country as a ‘patriot’. Keerthi Warnakulasuriya and other journalists of ‘Divaina’ say it is surprising that Saman had prospered so much now, from his humble beginning during which he did not even have the bus fare to come to Colombo from Matugama. Also, he is now angry with all other journalists who are getting news from the police. That is because he suspects them to have told the CID all about his secrets.

CERT ensuring President’s website invulnerable

BY Kavindya Chris Thomas, Cassendra Doole, Shaahidah Riza and Methmalie Dissanayake-2016-08-29

Sri Lanka's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) has taken various steps to ensure that President Maithripala Sirisena's official website will in future not be vulnerable to hackers, following last week's cyber attack that threatened a cyber war in the near future.

Information Security Engineer of CERT Roshan Chandragupta said that they were working together with the Information Technology Department of the President's office, to take precautionary methods in the fallout of the attack.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID), which is carrying out a separate inquiry into the matter, is yet to ask for CERT's assistance, he said adding that it will be the CID which will be looking for those who carried out the attack.
Chandragupta added that their main goal, that of getting the website back online, has been successful and they are in the process of strengthening its privacy.
"We [CERT] are investigating how the defamatory attack took place. We have collected data on the attack and are in the process of analysing it. We discovered several vulnerabilities and loopholes which allow unauthorized individuals to enter and change information on the website. However, it is still early to comment on, as to how the perpetrators actually managed what they did," he opined.

Speaking to Ceylon Today he stated that the hackers might have used a number of methods to deface the President's website.
"We are looking into several technical issues that the hackers might have used to enter the website such as problems in the software or the servers or even content management systems. However, it is also possible that username and passwords were misplaced or stolen for this hack; meaning that it might not be a technical issue but also human error."

Certain members of the Joint Opposition condemned the recent cyber attack, aimed at President Maithripala Sirisena's website, stating that something serious has been considered. United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) MP Vidura Wickremenayake said, "Most of the websites can be hacked. Even the websites which are well protected tend to get hacked. This is the problem with advanced technology, it doesn't draw a line. We should not condone such things. We condemn this attack, especially because it is the website of the President of this country. If his website is vulnerable for hacking, something serious has been considered."
The President's official website www.president.gov.lk was breached by an unknown group of hackers last Thursday (25) and Friday (26). The President's Media noted that a decision was taken to temporarily take down the website after it was hacked for a second time on Friday evening. The first attack occurred on Thursday, when hackers infiltrated the site and posted a message in Sinhala under the name 'The Sri Lankan Youth', and made several demands of the Government.

The hackers demanded the Government to reconsider the decision to hold the GCE A/Level examination in April instead of August, and ironically requested the government to be vigilant about the security of Sri Lankan websites. The message went on to add that negligence with regard to cyber security would lead to more cyber attacks. The hackers, showing clear political motivation behind closed doors, advised the President to hold a presidential election if he is unable to control the situation the country is facing. They further demanded a stop to the "irresponsible conduct" of the Prime Minister and to be more attentive to issues faced by university students.
Speaking to Ceylon Today, UPFA MP, Udaya Gammanpila said, "Everyone will agree that as the Head of State, the President and his media crew should take every measure to ensure the security of the country's communication channels. But after this incident we cannot see that such measures have been taken. The President's website is the official website of the government as well. If they cannot protect a website how can they protect a country?"

Minister Rajitha Senaratne, however, did not share the same sentiments. Commenting on the matter he stated that the government is waiting until the inquiries into the attack reveal who the perpetrators are. When inquired about the eerie similarity in the demands made by the Joint Opposition and the hackers to hold another presidential election, he stated: "There is no need to hold another presidential election just because some criminals demanded it. If the Joint Opposition has made demands to hold another presidential election previously, then they must be the hackers. If they represent the ideas of the hackers, they must have some involvement as well. They must have some understanding with them. Why should we answer to demands made by criminals?"

A fool rushes in to rescue drunkard pilot who disgraced the country when all others frown upon the stigmatic episode

(Lanka-e-News- 28.Aug.2016, 11.30PM) It is with deep regret we bring to our viewers a  report that owing to excessively inebriated condition of a Sri Lankan pilot, a storm of controversy erupted locally and internationally last week -  a plane that was ready to fly to Frankfurt from Colombo was delayed for 15 long hours owing to this unfortunate scenario !

The pilot while he was making love with a ‘chick of a peahen’  the previous day had got drunk excessively. Ordinarily , a pilot who is to fly  does not consume  liquor on the previous day .

Though the pilot arrived as scheduled to take charge of  the plane , he was truly under the influence of liquor and could not stand erect. The assistant pilot (who was  God fearing ) apprised  the German airport officials of this in the interests of the passengers and their safety.

The German police thereupon did a breathalyzer test on the pilot. Ordinarily , if the intoxication is 0.2 % or over , the German police do not allow such an individual to pilot a plane. As this controversial pilot’s intoxication level at that moment was 1.6 %, the German officials therefore decided that  the pilot was not fit even to drive a vehicle let alone a plane.

Although this pilot is interdicted now , because of the gravity of his lapse , he is liable to have his  international license cancelled forever , meaning  that he will never ever be able to pilot  an international passenger flight.

Sadly , the Pilots Guild however is leaving no stone unturned to suppress and downplay this incident to  save the pilot.  While everybody  is angered over this incident and reluctant to come forward on behalf of  this most irresponsible and reckless pilot who put the lives of the passengers in dire jeopardy ,  unsurprisingly it is only a buffoon like minister Arjuna Ranatunge who from the first hour of appointment of the government of good governance was indulging in corruption , frauds and malpractices , and best known for his  worst political  treacheries who had come forward to rescue this drunkard pilot.

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by     (2016-08-28 23:33:27)

Monks abode catches fire

2016-08-28
A fire has broken out in a  Sanghawasa (abode for Buddhist monks) in Uyanwatta Temple, Rangiri Dambulla Raja Maha Viharaya today. No casualties were reported.  The Fire Brigade has arrived at the scene to douse the fire. Pix by Kanchana Kuamara