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Home » ColumnsSarong clad betel chewing baas was the local Divisional Secretary
The incident that provoked President Premadasa to order the issue of a gazette on attire; but who wears the pants now ? The Public Administration Ministry has revoked two circulars issued in 2019 and 2022 on the attire of State sector employees, following the controversy over some teachers reporting to work in casual clothing. This means the [...]
EC in collusion with Govt. to put off mini polls, charges Anura Kumara
Women MPs call for more measures on women empowerment and child protection By Sandun Jayawardana The controversy over alleged moves to delay local council elections continues to surface during the committee stage debate of Budget 2023. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has been in the habit of turning up in Parliament regularly to participate in the Budget [...]
Preaching and politics in parliament
My dear Uncle Ranil, I wrote to you last only a few weeks ago, but I feel I must write to you again because you have been in the news so much recently doing what we least expected you to do, attending Parliament regularly during the Budget debate when you don’t have to, and then [...]
Rethinking the increase in electricity tariffs
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has, for a considerable period of time, been considered as one of the largest loss making organisations owned by the Government. The reasons for the losses have been attributed by detractors of the CEB to wastage and corruption among other things. At different times critics of the CEB including ministers [...]
Prospects of receiving the IMF’s Extended Finance Facility to revive and reform economy
The prospect of receiving the Extended Finance Facility (EFF) of US$ 2.9 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is receding. Unlikely The hopes and expectations of receiving the Extended Finance Facility (EFF) of US$ 2.9 billion from the IMF in December or January is unlikely. Even obtaining it in March next year is doubtful [...]
Forsaking Sri Lanka, the desertion of a once fair land
The New Year that beckons in less than a month will not be happy for Sri Lankans. Leaving the land As the unprecedented migration of skilled professionals from medical, legal, information technology and accounting fields gathers strength with financial privations becoming steadily worse for the middle class, a perfect storm of repression also quickens apace. [...]
Mahinda gorged on foreign cake while people struggled for bread
President’s Office reveals: Nation’s slide into bankruptcy no bar to foreign junkets with family and friends on taxpayers’ money Startling revelations regarding Rajapaksas’ foreign travel expenses for 2021 have now been made public by the President’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office which had earlier refused to disclose to a Right to Information inquiry when [...]
Sabry o Sabry what fairy tales you spin
I haven’t had occasion to read or listen to Foreign Minister MUM Ali Sabry’s full speech to parliament during the committee stage debate on the 2023 budget. But what little I did was sufficient evidence to treat politicians’ buck passing in the guise of profound revelations be it in that House by the Diyawanna Oya [...]
President gives priority to ethnic reconciliation
Tamil National Alliance makes strong demands, but Ranil seeks solution lesser than the federal system Cabinet to be expanded after Budget vote, Govt. continues moves to rope in senior SJB members SJB works out its own anti-corruption efforts, but Govt. also submits strongly worded bill to AG By Our Political Editor President Ranil Wickremesinghe will [...]
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