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Primary Industries Minister Daya Gamage thought the name of his Ministry was not stylish enough, or perhaps lacked sufficient lustre to get things going.

So he appealed to President Maithripala Sirisena to change the title of his portfolio and the Ministry to that of Eastern Regional Development. Other than the name change, Mr Gamage told the President that he was not seeking any extra pay or perks. He was happy to work with the existing facilities afforded to him. The matter was under active consideration when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe learnt from another UNP minister that Mr Gamage had sought a change. He was naturally angry not just because he was not told, but such a change would have sparked off other problems for the Premier.

One such instance would be diluting the responsibilities of Regional Development Minister Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. At present, all regional development activity is vested in his Ministry. Moreover, changing the title and not vesting any new responsibilities, it was pointed out, could lead to abuse of that office. Why Minister Gamage wanted a name-change was curious, to put it mildly.
Premier Wickremesinghe raised issue with President Sirisena. He said it should not be done for many reasons. The President had agreed that if the Premier did not wish that to happen, he would not go ahead with the change.

Daya Gamage, a businessman in the apparel and construction industry before he became minister, bankrolled the cash-strapped United National Party (UNP) when it was in the Opposition. He represents the Ampara District as MP.
As if the President and the Prime Minister do not have enough headaches already.

Outgoing Navy Chief new CDS, Crisantha seeks no extension

General Crisantha de Silva

Outgoing Navy Commander Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne will be appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) next week.
To be promoted Admiral, he will head the Joint Operations Headquarters (JOH), the combined apparatus of the security forces and the Police.

On Monday (tomorrow), the present CDS, General Crisantha de Silva, will retire from the post after a short tenure. The former Army Commander thus ends a 38 year military career. He was appointed Commander on February 22, 2015. He relinquished office on June 27, 2017 after an extended term and became CDS.

Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne

According to official sources, Gen. de Silva said in a letter to the President that the current extension of service granted to him will end on August 21. “I am of the humble opinion that requesting a third extension is unfair as Your Excellency has already granted me sufficient extensions of service to serve the Nation and the Sri Lanka Army,” he has said. Presidential Secretary Austin Fernando has replied that the President has praised his contribution and expressed his thanks for the service rendered to the Army and the country.

Gen. Silva met President Maithripala Sirisena, who is also the Minister of Defence and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, to convey that he would relinquish office.

Vice Admiral Ravi Wijegunaratne, who was appointed Navy Commander on July 11, 2015, is being succeeded by Rear Admiral Travis Sinniah. He is to be promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral.

Finance Ministry wins back Lotteries Boards
President Maithripala Sirisena has restored the National Lotteries Board and the Development Lotteries Board under the Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera. These two institutions were taken away from the Finance Ministry and placed under the Foreign Ministry when Ravi Karunanayake was sworn in as the Minister. Mr Karunanayake resigned last week.

His successor, leading lawyer and a former Attorney General Tilak Marapana assumed duties on Friday. In addition to the foreign affairs portfolio, Mr Marapana will also continue as Minister of Development Assignments. For the lotteries board, new directorates are to be named after the present directors have been told to step down.

Diplomats told to hunt for  foreign investors
An advisor, who once worked in the Finance Ministry and later moved to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, it has now come to light, was at the centre of a storm among Sri Lankan envoys overseas. Insiders say he succeeded in sending out at least four different circulars. At least one of them, they point out, was historic in post-independent Sri Lanka.

The circular laid down the number of FDIs (or Foreign Direct Investment) which each envoy would have to bring to Sri Lanka every month. It was on the basis of the grading of the missions. Even the less important one had two a month.

A witty Foreign Ministry official said that it was like asking Sri Lankan envoys to go behind would-be investors when ensuring the environment and stability in the country — one of the most essential factors for FDIs — is not within their capability. “What would our envoy in Cuba do? Can he ask Cuban businessmen to invest in Sri Lanka when the communist country itself is cash strapped?” Que Sara Sara, he said laughingly.

Another circular asked envoys to send in a daily report on developments in their countries of posting, with a weekly roundup thereafter.

Cabinet approves cancellation of Airbus deal
Public Enterprise Development Minister Kabir Hashim last Tuesday won covering approval from the Cabinet of Ministers for the SriLankan Airlines cancellation of the deal for three Airbus A-350 aircraft.

The move comes nearly a year after the SriLankan Airlines paid out more than US$ 146 million as cancellation charges for the lease of the aircraft. The payments were made after an agreement was signed in October last year. Mr Hashim told ministerial colleagues that the amount of compensation was US$ 98 million. However, the amount stated in the agreement is more than US$ 146 and he gave no explanation for it.

However, he declared that the SriLankan has got into a financial mess as a result of the actions of the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. President Sirisena asked him to hold a news conference and explain this aspect to the people.

Envoys won’t meet as Ravi planned
A planned meeting next month of Sri Lanka envoys serving in overseas diplomatic missions has been cancelled.
A circular informing the envoys that the meeting has been put off was the last official document signed by outgoing Foreign Secretary Esala Weerakoon.

He has since been succeeded by Prasad Kariyawasam, former Sri Lanka Ambassador to the United States.
The meeting of envoys was proposed by the then Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake.

PM’s big HIT to boost engineering and business studies
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wants to establish a non-profit Higher Institute of Technology (Guarantee) Ltd.
Its main task would be to negotiate with leading universities worldwide to set up in Sri Lanka an Engineering School, a Business School and an Entrepreneurship cum Commercial Innovation Centre.

Among the leading institutions to be consulted are the University of California, Berkely and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The proposed company is to be incorporated under the Companies Act No 07 of 2007.

Ten companies which are top performing business ventures in Sri Lanka have agreed to provide financial support for the project.
Premier Wickremesinghe will appoint a Board of Directors comprising three persons – former Treasury Secretary and currently Adviser to the PM Charitha Ratwatte, Senior Advisor, Dr Nalin Walpita and a representative of the private sector concerns.

Top state legal eagle questioned by politicos
A top rung state legal eagle was summoned recently by Yahapalanaya leaders for a discussion on delays in dealing with cases involving corruption.

There were some embarrassing moments too. Some of the lesser rungs in the good governance system kept firing questions at him and began making a list of requests.

The questions related to dealing with their opponents and the delays encountered in taking action against them.

Wildlife officers to be armed
Sustainable Development and Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera wants Wildlife Conservation Department’s field officers be issued with weapons, like in the case of Police officers. At present such officers are issued with weapons only if they possess a Watcher’s permit to use firearms.

Watcher’s permits are issued, particularly to those employed in estates, to use firearms (shotguns) whilst the weapon is issued in the name of the owner.

Probe on former minister’s company
A former minister’s company has allegedly amassed Rs 12 billion through bond issues as a primary dealer.
Officials say that a Central Bank investigation is under way into the activities of this company.