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Home » ColumnsTamil parties in quandary over fate of their memorandum
The tweet in Tamil from Democratic People’s Front (DPF) leader Mano Ganesan went almost unnoticed, when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa ended delivering his policy statement in Parliament last Tuesday morning. He had turned to colleague Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan, and declared that he found him a disappointed person. The news spread to the [...]
A pandemic fall guy
My dear Gota maamey, I thought I must write to you when I saw you the other day, cutting quite a dashing figure in suit and tie despite your advancing years, arriving for the ceremonial opening of Parliament. The other reason I wanted to write was because nothing seems to be right and everyone is [...]
Opposition says President failed to address people’s grievances; Govt. MPs say all countries are in crisis
The first order of business of the newly convened Second Session of the Ninth Parliament this week was to debate President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Statement of Government Policy delivered on Tuesday (18). The three-day debate saw the Government echoing the call made by the President during his speech for the Opposition to set aside politics and [...]
Foreign assistance to cope with severe shortages of essentials and foreign reserves
The severe crisis in the availability of food, gas, fuel and other essentials is expected to be resolved by foreign assistance from China and India. However, the country’s foreign debt is increasing and remains a serious concern. Foreign assistance Currency swaps, lines of credit, and the Chinese gift of one million metric tons of rice [...]
The death of a nation, not with a ‘sovereign’ bang but with a whimper
When the classical Greeks reminded struggling humanity centuries ago that ‘whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad’ they may have been contemplating Sri Lanka as a special example thereof. Would we survive the day? As increased low income families poise at the edge of starvation while a few wine and dine on [...]
Monitoring tourism vital to curb spread of Omicron variant
Health officials have repeatedly alerted the country to the possibility of a surge in Covid 19 afflicted patients and urged the public to heed health guidelines as well as take the booster dose in order to ensure that the situation does not worsen. According to the Deputy Director General of Health Services Dr. Hemantha Herath [...]
Darkness at noon and dinner by candlelight
January 18 was a significant day for Lanka. Not only did it mark the opening of a new session of Parliament after it had been prorogued six weeks ago but it was also the day Lanka risked losing its last vestige of credibility and branded an international defaulter if it failed to cough up USD [...]
Singing for one’s supper or an ego booster
Last Sunday fellow writer of the Café Spectator column fired some carefully-directed barbs at Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal that some might consider overdue. The gist of the criticism that has followed Cabraal from the time he switched roles from State Minister of Money and Capital Markets and whatever else is added on as time [...]
Hapless Govt. and people living one day at a time
President upbeat over vaccination success, explains dream of making Lanka one of the fastest growing economies in South Asia Dollar scarcity aggravates power crisis; minister says power cuts can be averted with 300MW Norochcholai plant resuming operation When he delivered his Government’s policy statement after ceremonially opening the second session of the Ninth Parliament on [...]
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