Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Colombo Declaration 2018 signed Carrying forward the legacy of media personnel

2018-10-03

20 years have passed since a group of forward-thinkers decided to set up a cause to promote the ideals of a liberal democracy through a free and responsible press. The Colombo Declaration, a document which was signed in April of 1998, bears testimony to this cause. Over the years the live wires behind this cause have stood firm ground in bringing about freedom of expression and freedom of information for the citizens of Sri Lanka. Although 20 years have elapsed with several positive developments, there are many goals that remain unfulfilled. However in a changing media landscape, that has stepped into the digital age, newer challenges have been identified. Topping these challenges are issues such as media credibility and regulation and therefore the Colombo Declaration 2018 re-evaluated the progress in the field of ethics and responsibilities in media. Hence the recently concluded three-day symposium to mark the 20th anniversary of the Colombo Declaration and Media Responsibility, attracted a diverse group of speakers both local and international who spoke, discussed and debated on a variety of crucial and timely topics.

It was also revealed that in Sri Lanka there’s no public service broadcaster, but the fact that there’s plenty of state media. However, in this changing informational environment, the need for a quality public service broadcaster is important

Struggle to protect media freedom

At a time when the media was threatened with criminal defamation charges, the country’s four main media associations joined hands for the first time to bring about media law reforms in Sri Lanka. They included the publishers, editors, working journalists and media activists. Towards the end of 1997 several media organisations, together with some lawyers and well-wishers, met to discuss on the subject of criminal defamation. What resulted was the signing of the Colombo Declaration in 1998 followed by an international symposium that discussed a wider range of issues. The declaration was signed at a time when the then Government engaged in serial indictments against editors and publishes with criminal defamation charges. The declaration was instrumental in repealing criminal defamation charges and several other positive developments. The Sri Lanka Press Institute along with its constituents including the Newspaper Society of Sri Lanka, Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association and The Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka has made great strides to make it a success.
Hence, over the past two decades, the following positive developments have taken place :

The Abolition of Criminal Defamation provisions in the Penal Code and the Press Council Law in 2002, the repeal of Section 118 of the Penal Code, which had penalised attempts by contumacious or insulting words or signs, to bring the President into contempt.
Repeal of the 1978 amendment to the Parliamentary Powers and Privileges Act (1953), which had given Sri Lanka’s Parliament the power to deal with serious breaches of privilege.
The Establishment of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and the Press Complaints Commission and the Sri Lanka College of Journalism.

The adoption of the 19th Constitutional Amendment adding Article 14A, guaranteeing a constitutional Right To Information, the adoption in 2016 of the Right to Information Act and the establishing of an independent Right to Information Commission. However it is regrettable that apart from these positive developments, there has been little else that has been done to implement the proposals set out in 1998.

Highlights of the Colombo Declaration 2018

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, the recently concluded four-day symposium touched upon various topics from media regulation to ensuring the safety of journalists to training upcoming journalists, challenges with implementing the RTI and the way forward, incorporating technology in the media industry and the power of journalism.

There was another session on Right to Information and one of the very bright points in the Sri Lankan trajectory has been the adoption of the Constitutional Guarantee for the Right to Information

Touching on the key highlights of the sessions, Toby Mendel, Executive Director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, a Canadian-based international human rights NGO, said that it’s a special occasion as the 20th anniversary version of the Colombo Declaration is signed. “What was an attack on media with criminal defamation cases got turned around into a victory for press freedom. It in fact mobilised and unified the community to fight back and alternately led to the adoption of the Colombo Declaration on Media Freedom and Social Responsibility. I work all over the world on media freedom and Right to Information issues and I could say that people are making statements and declarations, but I don’t see anything as vast as the Colombo Declaration. It’s a comprehensive statement about why the press is important and it’s a roadmap to show what needs to be done to secure press freedom in this country. It’s incredible how 20 years later it’s still a hallmark and a reference point and therefore it’s a globally relevant document,” said Mendel.

Referring to the sessions, Mendel said that the several issues from the idea of broadening the scope of the system to embracing the electronic media in both print and online media were raised. “In addition to that, the importance of media literacy was stressed, as people need to know what real media is and what’s not. It was also revealed that in Sri Lanka there’s no public service broadcaster, but the fact that there’s plenty of state media. However, in this changing informational environment, the need for a quality public service broadcaster is important. Safety was discussed and things have gotten better in Sri Lanka, but we haven’t seen accountability with regard to previous abusers. Sri Lanka was one of those countries which made headlines on the attacks and killings of journalists and people involved in the media. There was another session on Right to Information and one of the very bright points in the Sri Lankan trajectory has been the adoption of the Constitutional Guarantee for the Right to Information. It isn’t just a legal document, but an actual operational system which we heard of in Sri Lanka. In some other countries, notably in India, there are requests from people at the grassroots level. For example it was interesting to hear about a group of mothers - whose sons and husbands have disappeared- went to the Police with a copy of the RTI act and made demands about information about their loved ones,” he opined.

“A panel also spoke on the topic of fake news,” Mendel continued. “It was interesting to hear one panelist say that there is no such thing as fake news, but on the other hand we do have a problem of inaccuracy and misinformation from various sources and we need to combat it. “The panel discussion on contempt of court expressed on a variety of abuses and we heard from the Prime Minister that he’s trying to adopt a Contempt of Court act. However, I find the discussion on Contempt of Court a little bit conservative because in many countries you are pretty much free to say whatever you want about judgments, even before they are issued. This could even be while the case is continuing and it doesn’t matter whether the guy is guilty or not, because the court is able to do its business notwithstanding what the media reports, even on a biased perspective,” he added.

The declaration was signed at a time when the then Government engaged in serial indictments against editors and publishes with criminal defamation charges

Another panel on training discussed about how Sri Lanka needs to move into new methods of training. They stressed on the fact that innovative and hands-on training is important. “This discussion pointed out how journalists need to be trained on a whole package of skills and a journalist should be a multimedia expert. I found an interesting panel on technology and on talking about robot journalists – but I thought it shouldn’t come too quickly because the human being is still important. We need to make sure that we integrate technology into our industry and survive as the world evolves. The power of journalists was also discussed and it is enormous. One of the best descriptions of that is if the media wasn’t powerful why would Governments around the world try to oppress and attack it! And why would they have wars trying to constrain them? Hence these are signs of the power media possess,” he added.

Pics by
Kushan Pathiraja

Counter-Terrorism Bill & Its Timing

By Ameer Ali –OCTOBER 1, 2018

Dr. Ameer Ali

On the 11 of September a Counter-Terrorism Bill (CTB) was introduced to the cabinet by two ministers and was approved with the blessing of the President, which replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) introduced first as temporary law in 1979, made permanent in 1982 and came under international criticism for its abuses. However, with the end of the civil war and defeat of LTTE terrorism was successfully wiped out and a re-emergence of that evil from the same quarters is highly unlikely. It will be suicidal for any lunatic from the minority communities to even dream of engaging in terrorism. The government knows that and so are the security forces. Then, why now the CTB? Is there any sinister motive to behind this piece of legislation? There is enough room to smell a rat.

CTB is coming into effect at a time when the economy is in tatters. The south bound rupee, whether caused by external factors or internal mismanagement is going to bring intolerable hardship to ordinary folks. The flow of remittances that so far helped to sustain a number of households is also flattening to make matters worse. There is a limit for the Central Bank (CB) to intervene in the money market to strengthen the currency. Prolonged intervention is certain to deplete foreign reserves which will bankrupt the economy. In this era of globalization of finance and financialisation of economies central banks are losing control over money supply, partly because money itself has become an undefinable and slippery exchange medium and partly because the conventional tools of monetary control have lost their teeth. No wonder Jack Ramus, an expert in globalization of finance calls CBs ‘institutional anachronism’. This is why there is consensus among Sri Lankan economists that the government has to attack the root cause of the problem rather than meddling with money market. They want the authorities to reduce budget and current account deficits, the former by raising tax revenue and the latter by reducing expenditure. In addition, it is vital for the government to stop borrowing to meet its expenses. I would even go further and urge the government to go beyond macroeconomic variables and attack issues like corruption and ethnic discord in order to strengthen the nation’s production base and increase productivity.

However, to solve the immediate problem of falling rupee the Prime Minister is harping on turning Sri Lanka into an export economy by encouraging foreign investment. The idea is good but it takes a long time and cannot be achieved within the remaining period of Yahapalana regime. A more sensible solution is coming from the Minister of Finance who has announced cut in the import of selected items. His selection starts with motor vehicles for politicians and others, and include luxury items such as air-conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, perfumery and mobile phones. Whether some of these items are strictly luxuries or semi-essentials is debatable. However, by targeting the politicians in particular and choosing luxuries to start with the minister is protecting himself politically from being accused of favouring the rich and powerful. Yet, the cut is not enough to resuscitate the rupee and have to go deeper and wider. As the rupee continues to depreciate, the minister will have no choice but to announce the most unpopular but neoliberally sanitised bitter palliative AUSTERITY before imposing quantitative restrictions on import of consumer items such as flour, kerosene, sugar, and so on. Some of them have already been taxed and more have to be done to satisfy the economy’s CEO, the IMF. This is when the economic problem will become political and CTB is therefore a precautionary measure to face the adverse consequences arising from unbearable austerity.

Austerity measures, imposed on the instruction of IMF, had produced bread riots and violent protests wherever they were implemented. Egypt, Tunisia and Greece are some glaring examples in recent times. When cost of living becomes unbearable there is no choice but for people, mostly the urbanites, to come to the streets. Draconian measures will then become necessary to bring matters under control. Is there a likelihood that happening in Sri Lanka?

Already there is political turmoil and popular disenchantment against a government that has failed to live up to its 2015 promises to its voters. At the same time, the opposition led by the Rajapakse clan is getting increasingly frustrated and restive at repeated attempts to dislodge MS-RW coalition. Even the janabala tamashas fizzled out without demonstrable gains. Therefore, any spontaneous uprising by the people against austerity measures will be manna from heaven to Rajapakses to gain maximum political advantage out of it. However, it can be counterproductive. During street protests, as Sri Lanka has witnessed in the past repeatedly, there will always be the danger of a few maniacs to take the law into their hands and spark violence. Presently, and especially at a time when ethnic tensions are still smouldering an incendiary device thrown at a retail establishment belonging to a minority businessman may turn the protest into an ethnic riot. Even security personnel appear to have participated in certain such instances. Such an outcome will then set the scene for the government to intervene, call it terrorism and take counter-terrorism measures. One should remember that there is no universally accepted definition of terrorism. It is such an elastic concept and elusive phenomenon that a government can dub any anti-government violence as terrorism and resort to draconian measures in the name of counter-terrorism.

Read More

Looming financial crisis and fixing the economy

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

A tailor is the best to stitch a patch in a torn cloth. He can apply himself professionally. There is a saying “a stitch in time saves nine”! But asking a dentist to do a cardiac surgery will not help. Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted may not help to resolve the despair!

Today we are experiencing a situation where the policymakers appear to be alarmed about the current financial scenario of the country. They are resorting to precautions probably with forethoughts of an impending financial crisis. But it is clear that the shape and the outflow of this manifestation are unclear to them. Because we do not see any conceivable measures taken or proposed to avoid such a disaster which is not unlikely.

A home-grown problem

The world has witnessed many shocking global financial calamities and their consequences. So far we have got involved in those as auxiliary victims only. But what is seemingly on the horizon today is unique being a home-grown problem as a result of complacency of our maestros managing the economy.

When we take a look back about our domestic set up, we can clearly see the contributions of two consecutive regimes responsible for what they have done to precipitate such a situation. The Rajapaksa regime no doubt left us with huge liabilities of the nature of an unbearable debt burden. The accumulated volume of foreign debts and their immediately serviceable interest and capital instalments due as repayments is their legacy. Foreign currency debt service payments and settlement of international foreign currency swap arrangements including the repayment of IMF/SBA facility has caused a decline in the official reserves. The previous regime has left behind a huge burden and the year 2015 recorded an overall deficit of $ 1,489 million in the BOP.

The new Government that came to power is 2015 while accusing the previous regime for their role in the deterioration of the country’s economy, adopted a laissez-faire policy obviously needed for their political endurance going beyond the wisdom of fidelity. The economic management aspect was taken over in its entirety by one segment of the Coalition Government and the ensuing structural changes that were associated with this move resulted in the abandonment of the other coalition partner in playing the much-needed joint role for the economic revival. On the one hand it appeared to be a show of no confidence on the coalition partner and on the other hand an acceptance of a challenge to restore the economic order come what may.

A gloomy picture

The hindsight view of the performance of the economy leaves us with a gloomy picture that falls far short of the declared expectations. The total foreign debt as well as the domestic borrowings have considerably increased adding to the grievance of unmanageable debt servicing. The recurrent expenditure is in the increase from 2015 onwards.

CBSL has reported that the total outstanding foreign debt, in particular the foreign commercial loans obtained recently, has caused a rise in the interest expenditure during the last year.

Compared to the previous year i.e. 2016 – Foreign interest payments have increased by 30.2% to an amount of Rs. 164.9 billion. The overall budget deficit was financed mostly through foreign sources during 2017. There is a significant increase of Government financing through commercial banks, and an amount of Rs. 375.7 billion has been borrowed during 2017.

There is an increase in the foreign debts during the last year by $ 5.4 billion. The total external debt of the country as a percentage of GDP increased to an all-time high value of 59.5% during the last year.

The worker remittances from migrant worker overseas were reduced considerably. It is claimed that this is partly due to the economic policies of the Government with regard to taxation, etc. and issues centred on political stability.

Taxpayers affected

The failures and poor performance of the economy is adversely affecting the taxpayers of the country. This effect is not so much on the direct taxpayer but the day-to-day expenditure of the common man has become the main tax revenue source for the Government. When we take a look at the direct and indirect tax revenues during the past three years we can see a clear picture. The share of the tax revenue in the total Government revenue is about 86.8% .The tax income of 82.3% accounts for indirect taxes where all common citizens have contributed to in 2015.

In 2017 the indirect tax component in total Government revenue increased to 83.6% out of the total tax revenue of the government which is 91.2% of the total revenue. These figures speak loud for the disastrous management of the economy where the Government is dependent on an over-increasing indirect tax burden on the people.

The drain of the foreign reserves of the Government was partly due to the amateurish handling of the economy by those responsible. The CBSL bond scam ruined the image of the country and severely damaged investor confidence. No one can deny that during the immediate aftermath there was a significant drain in foreign investments.

The US Dollar was constantly under a severe pressure due to these reasons. The inability of the Government to maintain a sound reserve balance is the main reason for the depreciation of the rupee vis-à-vis the US Dollar. In 2016 and 2017 the CBSL managed to control the depreciation effectively by intervening with the reserve. Due to the lopsided and capricious blow-hot and blow-cold economic policies, the Government has miserably failed to maintain a sustained growth and sufficient foreign reserves.

The truth of the matter is today we depend on loans, commercial as well as from international agencies, to run the economy on a day-to-day basis without defaulting the interest and capital repayments on account of their flimsy and wanton borrowings most of which have gone to finance their extravagant lustful expenditure, laden with waste, corruption and misuse.

Banking sector’s role

After the 9/11 terrorist attack in the US in 2001 which marked the first global financial crisis, 10 years ago there came another shock. That was the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the US-based global financial services firm. They were the fourth largest investment bank in the US engaged in investment banking. They suddenly declared bankruptcy in 2008, causing shock waves across the world financial system. They were trading US Treasury securities and were in operation for over 150 years. When they filed their bankruptcy application they had $ 600,000,000 in assets.

Their bankruptcy triggered a drastic drop in the world share market operations causing chaos and havoc in 2008. They had highly paid executives in their pay books. They were holding as securities the major share in the property market. This event has proved that big or small they can collapse.

The lesson it gave was banking sector crashes can occur. There has to be a constant, vigilant watch. No financial crises can be pre-determined. But caution and maintenance of ethical conduct can reduce the effect of a crisis.

A closer examination will show how contributory a role the banking sector in the country has played towards our economic demise. Government complacency and their readiness to take recourse and seek refuge from the banking sector for their survival, leaving them to do what they are doing, will lead to another Lehman Brothers affair in Sri Lanka.

Time to

change course

The doings of the Trump administration no doubt has caused many problems. But the Federal Reserve is yet to step in for the required counter moves and adjustments. Instead of trying to blame the US and Trump, our financial wizards who were very vociferous in announcing paradoxical plans should change course from their sardonic wishful journey to pave the way for sanity to prevail.

All these causes have contributed to the precarious situation we are faced with today. Most of our national goals remain as expectations yet to be fulfilled. Industrialisation remains a dream while production and import substitution is limited to rhetoric. Income inequality of society is growing. Dependency on foreign loans, grants and other inflows is increasing not only as a need for development but even for servicing the commitments on our ever-increasing heavy borrowings.

State-owned banks are becoming lenders of the last resort towards Government survival with hardly any credit supply to the real economy. Their balance sheets are swelling with accumulating asset values against the security of comfort letters issued by the Treasury. They earn profits from the Government and pay back a portion to the golden shareholder after utilising a major share for pocketing huge pay packets, perk and allowances by the executives with a massive drain of funds for wastage and corrupt deals. They are operating unmindful of any impending perils.

The political authorities when told get away by stating that the banks are operating under autonomy, hence they are not responsible. These institutions on the other hand carry on with least regard for accountability as if autonomy is something inherent and not granted, while those in authority have conveniently forgotten that it is they who have granted the license to autonomy.

We urge the policymakers to take a serious look at this and be mindful of the global lessons on how a country’s banking system and government are closely interlinked at times of crisis. Instead of pointing the finger towards Trump and US, it will be a prudent step to consider the realities. History is full of bank meltdowns, sinking and total collapses.

Oversight and intervention required

The depreciation of the currency against the dollar is only one factor. The guardian angels of our economy are trying to tell us about the degree of currency depreciations vis-à-vis the US Dollar in other countries. What they do not tell us is that all those countries are in a position to absorb the shocks with their domestic resources which they have carefully managed whereas we cannot do the same. The policymakers cannot act as mere onlookers. Where oversight and intervention is required, they cannot stand looking for scapegoats and go on accusing the former regime.

No one can predict how and when a crisis would strike. But we require measures to reduce the effects of such. Our future is not doomed – there are several plans for transforming the economy towards a knowledge-based, competitive social market economy.

Port City development and the Megapolis project are lights not too far away. The Megapolis Master Plan will be able to transform the Western Province into a “smart, vibrant and liveable area”. There are many development initiatives in the plan including transportation, housing, waste management, disaster mitigation which will support the overall growth of the economy. Fortunately a handful of persons are apparently working hard to make these hopes a reality beyond the vicious circles hell bent to make money by any means. We wish those do-gooders all success.

2019 Budget deficit Rs 644bn (4.1% GDP)- Min. Finance

07:10 PM OCT 02 2018

The Budget Deficit for 2019 has been estimated at Rs 644 billion, which is 4.1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as per the Appropriation Bill presented to the Cabinet recently, the Ministry of Finance and Mass Media announced.

The Ministry in a media release said that the annual state expenditure of next year would be Rs 4,376 billion.

The highest amount of allocations under the Appropriation Bill has been made for the Ministry of Defense.

Accordingly, the allocation for defense in 2019 is Rs 306 billion. Rs 221 billion has been allocated for the capital and recurrent expenditure of Provincial Councils.

The statement added, “Rs.2, 057 billion has been allocated for debt servicing in 2019. Out of this amount, Rs 1, 271 should be paid locally next year while Rs 786 billion, which is equal to USD 4,650 million should be paid to foreign lenders. The Government expects to borrow Rs 1, 944 billion from local and foreign sources for its debt servicing including the financing of the budget deficit in 2019.”
Rs 1, 456 billion has been allocated for recurrent expenditure of the public sector while Rs 856 billion has been allocated for capital expenditure.

The Government is to spend Rs 1,000 billion for the salaries of 1.1 million public servants and 600,000 pensioners and an additional Rs 220 billion is allocated to provide public welfare in 2019.
Moreover, Rs 63 billion has been allocated for a series of rural livelihood development programmes. Rs 175 billion has been allocated to develop highways and complete the Southern Expressway Development Project.

Another Rs 75 billion has been allocated to complete medium scale and massive irrigation projects including the completion of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project and the Moragahakanda Development Project.

For housing development projects and several water supply schemes, the Government has allocated Rs 50 billion equally.

The Ministry also noted that it is expected to increase Government revenue, which was 11.5% in 2014 to 15.1% of the GDP in 2019. At the same time, the surplus in the Government’s Primary Balance reported in 2017 is expected to be increased by 1.3% of the GDP in 2019.

The Budget 2019 will be presented to Parliament by Minister Mangala Samaraweera on 05 November.

Sri lankan Finance Minister Mangala Ignored the early warnings

Ruling party telling people to tighten belts while MPs living in luxury

by Thilanka Kanakarathna-Oct 2, 2018

( October 2, 2018, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The pro-joint opposition union in Sri Lanka, the Government Medical Officers’ Association ( GMOA) said yesterday Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera had remained silent when economic experts predicted, well in advance, about the rupee depreciation and the economic crisis.

Its Secretary Haritha Aluthge said the MPs had requested people to tighten their belts while they continued to enjoy luxury lifestyles.

“Amid an economic crisis, the provincial councils are enacting dramas with unnecessary expenses. The subject minister did not take any preventive measures even when advised by the experts. It is unfair to heap this burden on the people,” he said.

Dr. Aluthge said the duty-free vehicle permits for MPs’ cost some Rs.7 billion each year.
He said though the Finance Minister had suspended the issuance of duty-free permits to MPs, by then most of them had purchased vehicles or sold their permits.

Meanwhile, GMOA Assistant Secretary Samantha Herath said the country’s economic management had broken down.

“On the one hand the Government is calling for the restriction on the import of luxury consumer goods, but on other hand they are importing services, which contribute to more than 56 per cent drain on the country’s economy, through FTA’s with Singapore and Thailand,” he said.

Dr. Herath claimed that when professionals speak of the economy they were criticized.

“Today the citizens are suffering from the consequences of economic mismanagement and the failure to draft a national policy,” he said.

Courtesy: Citizen Mirror

Time to celebrate: Politico perks surrender in face of externally-imposed import curbs

Wednesday, 3 October 2018

“The practice remained a constant reminder of dysfunction in Sri Lankan politics and economics”
Doom and gloom

Amidst the doom and gloom vibes that Donald Trump’s economic measures have given countries like Sri Lanka, there emerges some fallouts that bring more than a smile on our faces. Here is one and let us celebrate: the oppressively unfair practice of bequeathing the politico elite with duty free permits for luxury cars will go. This is among the latest series of policy decisions by the Government in a war to cut down our import bill in order to save the rupee.

Pernicious practice

This pernicious practice has been on for many decades now. The public has been forced to tighten their belts in the face of a high cost of living that is only set to rise and keep rising. During just one term in office, politicos keep getting repeated permits, which they sell at unconscionable prices to vested interests.

Even the JVP politicos, who claim monopoly rights to anti-corruption, have been happy to receive these permits and sell them although they say, the money goes to the party fund. I believe the practice, in more prudent format, has been extended to high-level Government and State corporation personnel and to even monks and priests of that order. The whole business smells of social injustice and fouls the atmosphere.

The luxury car attraction also constitutes the priceless bait that attract corrupt politicos to parliament. If that wasn’t there, and the avenues for commissions and bribes go a missing, I am sure these corrupt and creepy men and women of the underworld would not think of coming to parliament. We will see more stability in our politics and more honesty. The practice remained a constant reminder of dysfunction in Sri Lankan politics and economics. In these cars, our politicos roam about and show their feathers psychologically intimidating the ordinary villager into meek submission and genuflection.

Theoretically, a Yahapalanaya Government should have been able get rid of this blight; but how could it when it needed the perks as lure for MPs to cross-over, or come over in order to swell the numbers needed to bring in essential legislation?

Trump policy

Initially at least, emerging economies are fall -outs from the aggressive Trump trade policies. Trump’s personal blemishes have attracted media criticism; but the fact is that, true to promise, Donald Trump seems to be making America great again. Surely, he will be re-elected. Trump has extended himself unnecessarily in the wrong direction by opting for a kind of isolationism.

On the other hand, he is stopping America from being taken for granted and screwed right and left by other countries. China, for instance, enjoyed much of its economic boom by America’s free trade practices. While that country entered a goodly range of its products to US with no duty, it cannot do that now. China’s currency is one of the first to fall against the US Dollar. This has impacted adversely on emerging economies like Sri Lanka’s. On the other hand, the US Dollar is on a big rise. The rise in the price of petrol has also been partly due to the rise in the American Dollar.

Two ways of living

above means

The upshot of America’s new push is that all those countries which violated the basic principle of living according to means have become vulnerable. The violation is on two fronts. Firstly, by having our import bill in excess of our export earnings. This is as a result of recurrent trade deficits. Non-essential imports like luxury cars for politicos have added considerably to the trade deficit.

Ever since independence, Sri Lanka has had only four years of surplus in the trade balance. The resultant adverse impact on the balance of payments brings down rupee value in global trading. Sri Lanka is an import -dependent economy that inevitably caused national debt problems that further compounded the hunger for dollars in order to service debt in dollars. For many years, we foolishly set the exchange rate in our favour. That was like blocking one’s anus during dysentery!

Fiscal deficits typically lead to the fall of the rupee

The second type of violation of the rule of living within means comes when we have recurrent fiscal deficits, meaning an excess of public expenditure over income. This contributes indirectly, but surely, to a fall in the rupee. When that expenditure is on non-capital and non-dollar earning projects like salaries and recurrent expense, then the money needed for good capital projects that can save the dollar or bring in new dollars become less and less. We, then, commonly resort to foreign funding for such projects and this means we have to pay back the dollars and payback interest in dollars. The upshot is an attack on the rupee’s value.

Bad past practices leading to chronic fiscal deficits

Several past policies and practices have caused recurrent deficit budgets and have ruined fiscal management.

For many years our stupid governments gave free rice to each citizen. Sirimavo Bandaranaike went on record saying that she will even get down rice from the moon to give free to the people. When Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, honest man, wanted to withdraw this outrageous practice, the Marxist socialists organised the great hartal that resulted in Dudley leaving his seat.

Sri Lanka’s experiments with socialism were also predicated on a violation of the principle of living within means. Well-managed private sector undertakings were taken over overnight and run and ruined by the State bureaucracy. This made the Government bigger and bigger and the expenditure burden on the National Budget heavier and heavier.

Government should never undertake business ventures as that is sure to turn profitable ventures into unprofitable ones. As a child, I remember the bus services run by the Soyzas. How well they were run! SWRD nationalised that service and proudly heralded the disastrous event, with kavum and kiribath, as a “victory for the people!” Since that, a good number of businesses or trades were nationalised. Even schools were nationalised.

The Government’s stupid foray into retailing was reflected when it tried to sell vegetables via a state institution called the Marketing Department. The practical way for State to help marketing of vegetables would have been to create marketing infrastructure or encourage the creation of that infrastructure, which includes the setting up of cold rooms, encouraging refrigerated transport, encourage wholesale markets and so on. What a pathetic show it was when the Marketing Department, renamed euphemistically as the Department for Developing of Marketing, ran retail outlets! I had personal experience of this failed practice when I took over as the Commissioner once.

The sacred theory hyped then was that the ‘middle man, must be eliminated.’ What a myth that was! Anybody who knows the elements of marketing will tell you that the middle man is a necessary value-adding link in a marketing process. What I witnessed during my days in the Department was a system where state bureaucrats acted as middlemen in place of the more efficient and less corrupt official.

It was the same hype about the middleman that led to the formation of the CWE. Only politicos profited.

All these taken-over undertakings became inevitability the hapless recruiting ground for the growing unemployed. Our unemployment was disguised.

Focus on economics

Now, in the face of global pressures Sri Lanka will have no alternative but to learn to live within means both by reducing our imports and by cutting public expenditure. If the means aren’t enough for a desired lifestyle, then one must expand the means by investment and business in order to get the cash flow. This is simple economics that have failed us and turned us into a banana republic.

The central problem is that our politicos have ignored economics and have found tribal and identity issues as of foremost importance. Economics is central to our sustenance whether as Sinhalese, as Tamils, or as Muslims, etc. It is our media’s responsibility to implant economics consciousness in the minds of our people.

(The writer can be reached via sjturaus@optusnet.com.au)

Over 75% ministers’ secretaries are family members: Union

2018-10-02

More than 75 per cent of Central Government Ministers and Provincial Council Ministers had appointed their family members as their Secretaries, the Ministers’ Secretaries Union said.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Union General Secretary Ajith Jayasundera said that as a result there was no one there to instruct most of the Ministers, Deputy Ministers, State Ministers and Provincial Council Ministers to develop the country with new thoughts.

Mr Jayasundera said that their association would submit a proposal to the President, Prime Minister and all the political party leaders to enforce the 1994 circular issued by Presidential Secretary preventing appointment of family members as Secretaries or Personal Assistants.

He said that when the circular was issued in 1994 it did not enforced continually.

“When the rupee is depreciating the Ministers are acting without any sense of how people are suffering. This is due to lack of accurate information available to Ministers as their Secretaries are their own family members or relatives,” he added. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)

Crime solving rate highest in North

Camelia Nathaniel-Tuesday, October 2, 2018

The Northern Province has the highest rate of crime resolving in comparison to the rest of the country, Northern Province Senior DIG Roshan Fernando said.

He said last year the crime resolving rate in the Northern Province was 82%, while this year so far 77% of the crimes in the North have been resolved.

“Police in the Northern Province arrested 56 suspects in relation to gang violence in the Northern Province this year and produced before court. Of them, 42 had been released on bail while 14 of those arrested are still in custody,” he said.

This was said in response to a query made by the Daily News about the gang violence being reported in the North and the recent claim by the Commander Northern Security Forces Headquarters that if given the opportunity, the army would be able to put an end to the criminal gang known as ‘Aava Group’ which is operating in Jaffna, within two days.

This statement has been interpreted by some as the inability of the police to control these gangs.
However, refuting these allegations, the Jaffna Senior DIG said there are 53 police stations in the North and of them, the gang violence is being reported in only four police areas. They are in Jaffna, Kopai, Chunnakam and Manipai Police divisions.

Senior DIG Fernando assured that there have not been any murders committed by the Awa gang members and most of these clashes are between the members of the Awa gang and the Dhanu Rock faction that had left the Awa gang and formed their own gang.

Denying reports that these gangs were terrorising the residents of the North, the Senior DIG said that these attacks are mostly retaliatory attacks between these two gang members.

“We are continuing these operations to control gang violence in the North while engaging in other normal duties as well. These are not big incidents, but they would not be ignored and will be dealt with. There are far more serious incidents being reported from other areas of the country in comparison to the incidents in the North,” he added. According to the Senior DIG, even the recent robbery, which is considered the biggest robbery in the North to date, has been resolved and those responsible have been taken into custody. “Those involved in the robbery at a finance company in Chavakachcheri were arrested.

The investigations were carried out immediately and it was revealed that the cashier of the same finance company had planned this robbery together with several others,” he said, adding that measures are also being taken to curb the drug operations in the North. However, he noted that there was no need to be alarmed about these incidents as these issues have been brought under control by the Police assuring that there is no threat to civilians or visitors in the North.

Colombo International School Violates Fundamental Rights Of A Pupil

Colombo International School and its principal have come under fire for mistreating a child

OCTOBER 3, 2018

A pupil at Colombo International School, founded by veteran educator Elizabeth Moir, and one of Sri Lanka’s leading international schools, is currently undergoing the most problematic violation of their fundamental rights.

The pupil [in line with our journalistic ethics, The Colombo Telegraph refrains from mentioning the name of the underage child, also in an effort to respect the privacy of the child and their family] had expressed an interest in using a rainbow flag as part of their outfit for a fashion show. The principal, Sarah Philipps, a British woman, had then told the pupil that this was not allowed. The child had then complied by wearing the rainbow flag as a simple tie and dye cape. She had then come to school covering her bag in a rainbow flag.

The letter written by the principal, Sarah Philipps, to the child’s parents [which we produce in full here with the child’s name redacted], is a letter of the utmost shame. The principal, in 2018, and in a school in the South Asian region where the regional superpower’s top-most Court repealed anti-LGBT+ legislation imposed by the British during the Victorian era, continues to impose Victorian British values on a brown-skinned Sri Lankan child.

The behaviour of Philipps is highly unethical, and involves a violation of the fundamental rights of the child.

“In which century does the CIS Principal live?” Asked Uvindu Kurukulasuriya, the Editor-in-Chief of the Colombo Telegraph. “This is highly unethical and patronising. The rainbow flag is a flag that the world has recognised as one that symbolises fundamental rights and equality. Sri Lanka is not a British colony anymore. It totally baffles me to see that a British woman still assumes that she can live and work in Sri Lanka and violate the fundamental rights of a Sri Lankan LGBT+ child. It is all the more surprising because LGBT+ child-friendly policies are followed in many schools across the UK today. The child had every right to have the rainbow flag included in whatever way they wished in their fashion show outfit, or in covering their schoolbag. The Colombo Telegraph is happy to provide our fullest support to the child and their family in their efforts to ensure that justice prevails in the child’s favour,” Kurukulasuriya further added.

Many Sri Lankan nationals, especially human rights advocates, expressed great dismay at the way the child had been treated at one of Colombo’s leading international schools.

Thiagaraja Warathas, a lecturer in International Politics at the University of Colombo, the co-founder of Chathra, a leading LGBT+ rights advocacy group in Colombo, a co-founder of the Community Welfare Development Fund, noted:

“The actions taken by the school principal is highly homophobic. Altogether, costume of a fashion design contest is at the discretion of the contestant or the designer which cannot be censored by the principal. On the other hand Cooperatives too use rainbow flag. So do we expect principal to ban everything related to rainbows?

The most derogatory and inhuman actions taken by the principal is deducting marks and excluding student from all the activities which for me is violation of fundamental rights of the student.”

Read More

Gamarala returns, but his families and prospective daughter in law still reveling and rejoicing in NY ! Orders CID to probe how LeN was able to get details !

(Lanka e News – 02.Oct.2018, 10.15PM) President Pallewatte Gamarala who left for New York to attend the UN annual general assembly returned to the Island . But his brood comprising his family , and families of his family who also went with him for mirth and merriment at public expense have still not returned. They are still reveling ad rejoicing at state expense . It is therefore a question on everybody’s lips , why on earth are they waiting there wasting public funds without returning along with their Gamarala Maharala ? If they had accompanied Gamarala on this junket at colossal state expense then they should be there to perform some colossal official task or state diplomatic duties on behalf of the country . Then , the next pertinent question is , why did Gamarala’s brood that went on the jumbo junket stay back in New York when they have no such official duties ? Can having family fun and frolic at the expense of people’s funds be condoned when the country is hard put to tide over the present economic crisis ?

Meanwhile corrupt venally inclined president Gamarala who made his New York junket a private family affair to enjoy with his family , and families of his family had panicked over the exposure made by Lanka e news giving details of the room numbers and phone numbers of the hotels he and his jumbo brood checked in. Owing to this revelation he had become most cautious as regards the secret and murky doings of his brood. Gamarala who always wastes his time on irrelevant matters instead of attending to his more responsible tasks and presidential duties has ordered the CID to probe into who leaked out the information , based on reports reaching Lanka e News.

Gamarala’s cowardly and foolhardy action stemming from his inability to finding solutions to the country’s economic ills rather than chasing behind those who level constructive criticisms , has necessitated Lanka e news to publish just one of the many photographs received by us relating to his junket which is by now stinking worse than his lankot after all the un-doings and murky doings in New York of his family and families of the family had come to the open.

A selfie is published herein which was taken when they were enjoying themselves outside the super luxury Marriot Hotel in New York where they stayed .

Only a section of Gamarala’s brood is in this selfie :Thilina Suranjith the wheeler dealer son in law of Gamarala , Sashimal Dissanayake (the son of P.Dissanayake )who got caught to the police when trying to collect a bribe of Rs.20 million on behalf of Gamarala is posing from behind, Sashimal’s illicit lover, and Nipuni Weeraratne the fiancée of Daham Sirisena. Nipuni the prospective daughter in law of Gamarala is on Thilina ‘s wristlet side in this photograph.

Another profligate side of Gamarala’s family must be made known to the masses who are struggling to make ends meet. The value of the wristlet worn by Thilina in SL rupees is 8.5 million! which was bought by him in Japan. Thilina purchased this saying he wanted to wear a wristlet of the quality worn by Barack Obama .

How come Thilina who was just running a small studio in Polonnaruwa before Gamarala became president , and could not afford to wear a battery wristlet from the pavement amass this amount of wealth after his FL (father in law ) became president ? It is the duty of the president who came to power bragging about simplicity and austerity , to reveal to the people how did his son in law become this rich within the few years of Gamarala’s reign to indulge in such obscene ostentation while the masses were becoming poorer since his advent ?

Without first probing into that , there is no point or purpose in his wasting public funds on launching a CID investigation into how Lanka e News received the photographs .

Connected report …

Our ‘Simple’ Simon of a president takes jumbo group of family merry makers to New York on his junket ! Shocking details…..

---------------------------
by (2018-10-02 16:54:22)

JVP claims excessive foreign trips by Ministers

RANMINI GUNASEKARA-07:19 PM OCT 02 2018

Parliamentarians are spending public funds excessively by going on foreign trips, said the Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Dissanayake said this at a JVP press conference held at the Party Headquarters yesterday.

“If a person were to check the records of the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, they will find that even today there are so many Ministers who are currently off on foreign trips. Some of them attend Parliament one week and the next week they’re abroad,” he added.

He further added that the President’s entourage in his recent trip to the United States was also excessive.

“According to reports, there are more than 63 people in the President’s entourage in his official visit to America. There were people from his family, his staff, and an excessive amount of media personnel that accompanied him,” added Dissanayake.

He further declared that the Government has no right to curtail the spending of the public, due to the rupee devaluation, without curtailing the excessive spending of MPs first.

Dissanayake further said that a series of protests will be organized by the JVP to express their objections in placing tax burdens on citizens. The first of these protests will be held on 23 October in Colombo.

Attack on Animal SOS Sri Lanka Public nuisance vs animal welfare Can co-existence be the answer?

2018-10-03

The streets of Sri Lanka would look somewhat uninteresting for a dog lover without the occasional mongrel loitering around. Stray dogs were allowed to roam freely around the city and the suburbs for years until they were identified as threats. What was quite common on the streets became a threat to many individuals in society, who campaigned against their well-being. This eventually encouraged the authorities to inhumanely get rid of these poor creatures at one point in time. While many neglected these dogs and a few cats, there were some who were willing to give them a ‘safe haven’. But just about a week ago, an unruly mob decided to impose a threat throwing firecrackers and putting roadblocks at Animal SOS Sri Lanka; another one of those rarely found dog shelters located in the South of Sri Lanka.

They also throw firecrackers when officials arrive
Tourists visit our sanctuary with relief and joy that at least someone is helping the suffering street animals
The list of allegations would be laughable elsewhere, but here in Sri Lanka, everything is blamed on the poor dogs
These supplies were donated by kind UK supporters
A lawyer represented the shelter and said that he would inform the administration regarding the matters that have been discussed

Animal SOS Sri Lanka

Founded in 2007, Animal SOS Sri Lanka is a UK-based charity which was established under the vision of its founder Kim Cooling. She decided to establish this cause after witnessing the appalling plight of animals in Sri Lanka, particularly stray animals. After years of self-funded rescue work she purchased a plot of land in Midigama, Ahangama and the charity began operating in 2009 with a few dogs and helpers. Many street animals in Sri Lanka suffer from various diseases, malnutrition and even horrific injures. As Sri Lanka doesn’t have many safe havens to protect these stray animals, the work and facilities at Animal SOS Sri Lanka offers a lifeline to these hapless creatures. So far, the shelter has saved the lives of thousands of animals while also providing job opportunities to local people. The shelter also carries out outreach programmes, free neutering, rabies control programmes and even offers English classes for village children.

Determined to protect animals

The spoke to Cooling to inquire into the incident and according to her the mob had carried out the attack at night. “We need to keep the operations running amidst criminal activities. The Police promised an investigation, but so far no action has been taken by the authorities. I’m trying to get through the court case amidst all these,” she said.

She recently posted details of the incident on social media which read as follows: “We are tormented and threatened by an unruly mob operating with agendas. The police offer no protection and have been complicit in the past. We have a recording of a villager demanding funds for charity and doing it through threats. This is done to create issues for us with the authorities in case we did not cough up. We refused of course and this happened directly after sacking a staff member in connection with a theft. Instead of the Police taking action against the blackmailer, as they had evidence and stated they would act, they charged us for causing public nuisance and I had to appear in court and stand in the dock like a criminal who had committed a crime. The court case is continuing”.

“We had many officials who hated dogs visiting the sanctuary after trumped up charges were made against us. One person had stated that we only have ‘bad’ dogs at the sanctuary and not ‘good breed dogs like German Shepherds. Some officials arrived wearing masks, giving the impression like we were having the Ebola virus at the sanctuary.

“We were asked why our dogs are roaming free as they should all be caged for life and that the sanctuary should be entirely cemented and sealed due to microbes from the dogs. Some believed that humans can get parvo from dogs, that the dogs at the sanctuary will bite the villagers and that people can get pimples from dogs even though they have no contact with them whatsoever. The list of allegations would be laughable elsewhere, but here in Sri Lanka, EVERYTHING is blamed on the poor dogs due to ignorance.

The sad plight of these hapless animals motivates kind humans to afford them a safe environment. It’s the overpopulation of dogs that gives rise to such issues

Lawyer and animal welfare activist Lalani Perera

“They threatened workers who were improving drainage facilities in our cattery and almost drowned all our cats. A member of the mob recently exposed himself to us in front of our Buddhist Shrine. They regularly throw fire crackers into our sanctuary to terrorise our animals; many of whom have suffered so much on the streets and only have our sanctuary as a safe haven. They also threw a stone at a dog. These people caught a dog in the wire snare in the past and abused us when we tried to save it’s life when it was choking. The dog remains at the sanctuary.

“They made a roadblock to stop donated supplies, from a shipment, reaching the sanctuary. These supplies were donated by kind UK supporters. We were abused and I was pushed and my camera dropped to the ground. No arrests were made as usual. On one video you can hear firecrackers used to terrorise our animals. They also throw firecrackers when officials arrive and then complain that our dogs are barking. Visiting tourists to the sanctuary have witnessed this mob rule and are both horrified and shocked. Is this the image Sri Lanka wants for its growing tourist industry? Tourists visit our sanctuary with relief and joy that at least someone is helping the suffering street animals only to see our efforts under attack by a lawless, frenzied mob. The horrors continue, said Cooling.

Importance of co-existence

In her comments to the , lawyer and animal welfare activist Lalani Perera said that the shelter set up by Animal SOS is an exemplary endeavour to care for homeless dogs; some of whom are severely disabled. “The sad plight of these hapless animals motivates kind humans to afford them a safe environment. It’s the overpopulation of dogs that gives rise to such issues. And, it’s unfortunate that we humans contribute to that overpopulation by dumping unwanted puppies and even pets when they cannot be cared for, in public places, like market places and temples. Recently I was told about a Buddhist monk who wanted three new-born puppies dumped in his temple, removed from the temple premises since the devotees had complained. Cannot the monk inspire these people (I call them pseudo-Buddhists) to show compassion, the tenet of Buddhism, and find these puppies a home? The Government authorities mandated with the task of neutering street dogs are also responsible for this situation, but they aren’t carrying out that task efficiently,” said Perera.

She further said that as animal shelters are often set up in sparsely populated places and when it becomes inevitable that humans will be neighbours; steps should be taken to ensure that no nuisance or health hazard is caused to humans. “Humans and animals must learn to co-exist. Even with regard to the Human-Elephant Conflict, humans are the main precipitators encroaching on elephant habitat, at great cost to both human and elephant lives.

“It is indeed deplorable that a foreigner who has embarked on such a noble mission has to undergo much trauma,” Perera added. “In this country, where only a minuscule number of local people have set up shelters and engaged in animal welfare, we must support the generosity of outsiders rather than obstruct them,” she said.

Public nuisance

Speaking to the , Weligama Divisional Secretary Sumith Shantha said that this shelter has been a long-standing issue with regard to the villagers. “They began as a clinic where they would treat pets and return them to their homes. But eventually people started dumping puppies and sick dogs at this shelter. Now there are over 2000 dogs here and they cannot manage the place. So you can imagine the disturbance caused when they bark. People also claim that they have lice and other diseases which pose a threat to the neighbours,”said Shantha.

Shantha further said the shelter doesn’t have a proper waste disposal system. “Therefore they have dug a drain that connects to the main water line and it eventually disposes waste to the surrounding paddy fields. We then informed the officials at the district irrigation department to inspect the place. Following the inspection they claimed that the drain was illegally dug and have requested the administration at the Shelter to close it down. We were also informed that the shelter doesn’t comply with the guidelines given by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA). Since it is run by a group of foreigners, not even a Public Health Inspector (PHI) goes to check if they are carrying out their functions accordingly. On top of that the area residents staged a protest demanding they shut down the place. So we had to interfere and promise them that we would take the necessary actions. They have even gone to the extent of filing a case in courts stating that this place is a public nuisance.

“As a result we called for a meeting last Wednesday and pointed out these issues,” Shantha added. “A lawyer represented the shelter and said that he would inform the administration regarding the matters that have been discussed. We have also informed the CEA, the Divisional Secretariat and the PHIs to conduct inspections accordingly for the benefit of the residents,” concluded Shantha.

Police investigate

The Daily Mirror also learned that the Weligama Police are conducting investigations to identify the perpetrators. According to them the villagers have filed a case stating that the shelter has become a public nuisance and it has now come under the purview of the Divisional Secretary.