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Home » ColumnsThe catastrophic cause and effect of a presidential fallacy
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s vow this week that he would not ‘bend to international pressure’ and that Sri Lanka would not become the victim of big power rivalry in the Indian Ocean hides an ominous fallacy. Karmic cause and effect It is precisely due to acts of the State under his watch that the country has [...]
An Easter break, a time to weigh your options?
My dear Ravi, I thought of writing to you when I heard that you were released on bail after spending time in remand, charged with the bond scam when you were in charge of the nation’s purse strings. You must be happy that you get to spend time with your family at Easter. These must [...]
Brawl at heritage hotel: Lawyers argued, but management officials cited the law
A night brawl erupted between lawyers and hotel management official at a well-known hotel in Kandy, leaving many injured and property damaged. The incident took place when the lawyers were having a get-together to mark the end of their term. The brawl had erupted in the midnight hours when some hotel management officials and the [...]
20th Amendment unable to prevent failing governance
Most critics of the Yahapalana Government attributed the indecisiveness in governance of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government to the 19th Amendment which according to them created two centres of power. What the 19th Amendment did in fact was transfer some of the powers vested in the Executive to the Prime Minister, Parliament and the independent commissions. This [...]
Prospects of economic growth and external finances in 2021
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) expects a significant economic recovery this year. The economy is expected to grow by six percent. All three sectors of the economy are expected to grow and a balance of payments surplus is forecast for 2021. Economic growth The CBSL’s forecast of the economy’s growth by six percent [...]
From farce to the more farcical
If the pre-Geneva performance by some of our leading actors seemed like scenes out of a diplomatic Keystone Cops episode, the post-resolution drama was even more hilarious. For that was joined by other political and politically-committed actors crowding the stage not wanting to be left out of the modern nadagam. Those in power cannot claim [...]
After the sugar scam, now toxic-hit coconut oil scare
Even before the 16 billion buck sugar scam had melted on the public tongue, the spectre of a horrific health scare has now risen to envelop the people’s wellbeing in a toxic shroud. The sugar scam had blown a gaping hole in the public coffers, skimming an estimated Rs. 16 billion from the Treasury vaults. [...]
Sri Lanka shows appreciation to her ‘all weather’ friends abroad
President Rajapaksa in phone conversation with President Xi, seeks to learn about Chinese Communist Party’s governing experience Colombage’s diplomatic faux pas leaves Sri Lanka in blushes UNHRC begins process to recruit experts for secretariat on Lanka; Govt. opposes Bachelet’s move to seek more funds from UN General Assembly The repercussions of the diplomatic disaster [...]
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