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Home » ColumnsAirbus bribes: US$ 98 million loss to Lanka but compensation paid to France, UK and US
Even when large-scale foreign bribery schemes–such as when Airbus greased palms in Sri Lanka–are successfully investigated and companies are hit with fines and penalties, victims usually do not receive compensation, Transparency International (TI) said this week. “Instead, large penalties and fines paid by bribe-paying companies are typically allocated to the treasuries of their home countries. [...]
Painted red
My Dear Anura Kumara sahodaraya, I thought of writing to you because you seem to be in the limelight these days even more than Uncle Ranil, criss-crossing the country and attending meeting after meeting and being sought after by many for an interview. All this is because of your campaign for an election that may [...]
Risks, uncertainties and economic consequences of the current political turmoil
The economic consequences of the current political unrest could be a serious setback to an economic recovery. The expected improvements in the external finances could be adversely affected by the ongoing strikes, protests, social unrest and repression. General strike The strikes and protests that began on Wednesday (March 1) was a one-day token strike action. [...]
Mocking the electorate and its deadly pitfalls
When the President of Sri Lanka pronounces weightily that a change in political power can take place only through a parliamentary process and not as a result of street protests, a delicious irony is quickly manifested. The poisoned chalice of the Presidency In other words, Mr Ranil Wickremesinghe’s ascent as head of State, despite being [...]
Abolishing Executive Presidency critical for economic turn around
While there have been calls for system change to get the country out of the pit it has been led into, there is little or no recognition of the fact that it is the Executive Presidency that has primarily contributed to this mess. Ever since the Executive Presidency was first mooted, far-sighted politicians have warned [...]
Govt’s amazing death wish for nuclear plant on Lankan soil
Cabinet gives approval for multibillion dollar Russian nuke project Successive governments have searched for years the depths of the Mannar basin for oil but the continuous failure to strike black gold beneath the Lankan sea seems to have pushed this government to find the answer for a cheaper fuel source buried in the Chernobyl disaster’s [...]
Court of Appeal bashes parliament officials for refusing information
It was bound to happen before long. Parliament high-ups conduct themselves as though they are above and beyond the law. Such laws might apply to other institutions, even to ministries and state institutions but not to parliament. Or so they have been thinking as previous experience has revealed. That is the arrogant attitude of the [...]
Board of Inquiry raises questions on why Chief of Defence Staff did not act decisively
BOI reveals major factors behind events which forced Gotabaya to flee the country Concentration of power in the hands of one top military officer not necessary in the absence of war Probe team says bribery and corruption main reasons for public protests against government By Our Political Editor Sri Lanka’s bankruptcy, the result of [...]
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