Columns

Ambassador Palitha Kohona attending the ceremony to launch the Sri Lankan embassy’s account on TikTok which is known as Douyin in China

For the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing, China, this year is special for many reasons. First, this year marks the 65th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations with China and the 70th anniversary of the Rubber-Rice Pact.

In addition to that, Sri Lanka’s ambassador Palitha Kohona is actively promoting Chinese investment in the country and played a critical role in facilitating the recent Chinese currency swap deals to boost the struggling economy.

The latest move by the embassy to take Sino-Lanka relations to the “next level” was the setting up of an official TikTok account for the embassy with financial assistance from a Chinese company — CITS Overseas Economic Cooperation Co., Ltd.

TikTok is the most popular social media platform in China. About 2.4 billion people around the world access TikTok daily.

Addressing the event to launch the TikTok account on Friday, Ambassador Kohona said this account would be helpful to increase awareness of Sri Lanka, especially the culture and the tourism potential among the Chinese people, a statement from the Lankan embassy in Beijing said.

This would be the first official TikTok account of a Sri Lankan foreign mission, if not a first of its kind of a government institution in the country. The question remains as to why a Chinese company came forward to pay the expenses of setting it up, and who would operate it, and also, what kind of contents would be disseminated.

Letter to Modi: Mano goes solo without TNA

After the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) sent a letter to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 13th Amendment and the ‘Tamil Question’ recently, others are following suit. They included upcountry political parties which represent the Tamil-speaking plantation communities.

Mano Ganesan’s Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) was engaged with political parties in the North and East to come to a common understanding but later left due to disagreements. The TPA did not sign the TNA memorandum sent to Indian Prime Minister Modi recently.

It seems now, the upcountry-based political parties are now going on their own and drafting a letter to the Indian Premier, highlighting the political aspirations of the plantation communities. Similar letters are also being sent to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

PUCSL’s power cut statements trip people

In recent times, power cuts and the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) have become increasingly public issues with the regulator coming up with varying announcements with regard to power outages, and occasionally critical of the Ceylon Electricity Board for its failure to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.

On Tuesday, PUCSL Chairman Janaka Rathnayake told the Commission
had adopted a methodology to ensure there would be no power cuts for the next three months.

Two days later, the Chairman came
up with the opposite announcement saying the CEB had been forced to impose power cuts for periods of 45 minutes and 1 hour daily.

It did not stop there; the Commission yesterday said there were no power cuts but intermittent interruption would be imposed in some areas between 2 pm and 6 pm to stabilise the national grid.

As one confused resident said, it is difficult to track the conflicting statements of PUCSL in addition to the rhetoric of politicians. It might be best to ignore what they say and just wait for things to happen.

Right of Reply

The Governor’s request to divisional secretaries

Northern Governor clarifies his position

Northern province Governor Jeevan Thiagarajah has drawn our attention to an item published in this column last week under the title “Northern Governor accused of being high-headed and high-handed”.

The item stated that the Governor had come under criticism by senior government officials for his method of governance.

He has however pointed out that the Governor handles appeals on transfers if denied by the Provincial Public Service Commission. “All transfers have set procedures,” he says, and adds that the reference was “wholly inaccurate
and baseless”.

He also states that the services of Grama Niladharis who play a vital role in government can be called for “if the Governor so desires” disputing the report saying he is yet to do so.

Jamis Banda’s note: The report was on the recent transfers of provincial ministry secretaries who had expressed displeasure about their transfers.

The Governor during recent meetings said all State employees should support tasks initiated by the Governor’s Secretariat.

This week, the secretary to the Governor wrote to the province’s divisional secretaries who report to the Ministry of Home Affairs saying that the Governor had directed him to obtain the “lists of subjects handled and tasks performed by them individually” before February 22.

Yakada Chooti and councillor friend accused of stealing playground’s iron gate

At the Vijaya Kumaratunga ground in Peliyagoda, a Rs. 1.2 million worth iron gate was fixed last week, but it has now gone missing.

During last Friday’s Urban Council meeting, allegations were hurled at a councillor that he and a drug addict identified as Yakada Chooti had stolen the gate.

The UC’s vice chairman, Nandadewa Hemappriya, admitted that the 18 foot high and nine foot wide iron gate which was made from council funds was now missing. He alleged that the councillor and his drug addict friend were involved in the gate theft.

At the council meeting, the vice chairman had called for a disciplinary inquiry against the council member. Meanwhile, he also requested the chairman and the council secretary to reinstate the security officer who was suspended following the theft.

Another council member, P.H.V Sarath, stepped out of the council meeting claiming that the council chairman was taking no action against corruption.

Following the council deliberations, UC chairman Ananda Pushpakumara lodged a complaint at the Peliyagoda police on Thursday. The council member against whom the allegations have been levelled is reported to have left his residence as police investigations began.

Job stretch for retiring lady officer creates dispute at state rubber body

A dispute has arisen over a Cabinet decision to extend the tenure of a retired senior officer at the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka (RRISL) by a year on a contract basis.

In December, the Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by Plantation Minister Ramesh Pathirana to extend the tenure of the RRISL’s Deputy Director Research (Biology) by one year. The proposal had been forwarded by the Ministry of Company Estate Reforms headed by State Minister Kanaka Herath.

The officer was due to retire on December 18, 2021 upon reaching 60 years of age. However, her tenure was extended by one year on a contract basis effective from December 19, 2021 as per the Cabinet proposal.

The minister had noted in his memorandum that there were no other officers at the RRISL with the relevant qualifications required to be appointed to the post of Deputy Director Research (Biology) once the current officer retired. Several other RRISL officers, though, insist they have the necessary qualifications and have expressed dismay that the Cabinet has chosen to extend the tenure of a retiring officer rather than elevate a serving officer from within the institute.

Plantation Industries Ministry Secretary Ravindra Hewavitharana acknowledged a dispute had arisen within RRISL following the Cabinet decision.

He pointed out that there were severe shortages of qualified officers within the RRISL. “This is the story at many of our other research institutes as well. We can’t retain officers because many go to work in universities as the salaries and benefits are better. It is a struggle to retain even the few officers we have. In the midst of this, the few who remain compete with each other for senior positions and this creates unseemly disputes.”

In a bid to keep officers within institutes such as RRISL and encourage others to apply, the Plantation Ministry has proposed to set up a Plantation Research and Management University encompassing the six research institutes under the ministry and the National Institute of Plantations Management.