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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Hambantota District Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa and Transport and Media Minister Bandula Gunawardana got into a discussion on the state of the country’s economy recently when they met during a pirith chanting ceremony to mark the SLPP’s 7th anniversary at the party head office at Nelum Mawatha in Battaramulla.

Mr Gunawardana, who used to be a well-known economics teacher, proceeded to give the young MP a free tuition lesson in economics to explain how Sri Lanka had no option but to implement the conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mr. Rajapaksa, though, was of the opinion that the government was not doing enough to bring relief to the people and warned Minister Gunawardana that if it continued to waver and failed to take firm decisions, the government may end up facing the same fate that befell his uncle and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Incidentally, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was among those who attended the pirith ceremony, along with his brothers Mahinda and Basil. It was a rare public appearance for Gotabaya Rajapaksa since his resignation
last year.

It also indicated that he was not entirely out of politics, or was it rather a show of gratitude towards the party that brought him to high political office? Or maybe both.

Household info form: Police abandon official language policy

Police have circulated ‘Sinhala only’ registration forms among families residing in Colombo to gather household information, despite repeated assurances in the past to ensure the implementation of the official language policy.

The forms that were distributed by Kollupitiya police to households require personal information about families and details of occupants in their respective areas. A resident who resides in the heart of the Kollupitiya metropolitan area and was given the form by visiting police officers this week complained that he was unable to make sense of the form and had to seek assistance from bilingual individuals. He noted that when police officers distributed similar forms last year, he demanded that he be given forms in Tamil. The police agreed but failed to fulfil their promise.

Huge allowance package for CC’s new official

Cabinet approval has been sought to pay a monthly allowance amounting to over Rs. 220,000 and provide other facilities to a recently retired Parliamentary official who has been appointed to a senior administrative role in the Constitutional Council (CC).

Aside from the all-inclusive monthly allowance, approval has been sought to pay him a cost-of-living allowance, a telephone allowance, an official vehicle with a driver, and a monthly fuel allowance.

The administrative post in the CC to which the official has been appointed for a three-year term was created only recently, and the official doubled up in that very post while holding his previous Parliamentary post. He is the first to be appointed separately to the post.

At a time when there is a freeze on recruitment to the public sector, it seems there are ways and means to bend the rules.

Police use Angelo’s helmet dismissal to save Delhi motorists

The Delhi Police seems to have been quick to take a cue from Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews, who became the first player in 146 years of international cricket to be “timed out” during a group-stage match against Bangladesh on Monday in New Delhi after the incident caused controversy over a ‘helmet’ issue.

During the 25th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, the Sri Lankan allrounder walked out to the middle after a fall of the wicket and gestured for a replacement of a helmet since its chin strap was broken.

The Bangladesh team surprised Mathews by appealing for a timed out based on World Cup tournament laws (as opposed to MCC laws that govern normal cricket encounters), stipulating a batter must be “ready to receive the ball” within two minutes of the fall of the previous wicket.

Anyhow, the Delhi police decided to use the controversy for its road safety awareness campaign on the importance of wearing helmets on the road through its social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter.

The tweet reads: “Delhietes! We hope now you have understood the importance of a ‘HELMET’. A good helmet can protect you from being
TIMED OUT”.

Catholic bishops present Ceylon Tea to the Pope

On an official visit to the Vatican, Catholic Bishops’ Conference members met Pope Francis this week and briefed him on the current situation in Sri Lanka. The visit is part of ad Limina Apostolorum, an obligatory visit by Bishops to Rome every five years where they would present a quinquennial report to the Pope and pray at the tombs of St. Peter and St. Paul.

During the meeting, the Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, also gifted a wooden box of “Ceylon Tea” to the Pope marking traditional Sri Lankan hospitality.

NAAM 200 event continues to cause controversies here and in TN

The “Naam 200” event held last Friday to mark the 200th anniversary of the arrival of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka caused quite some controversies both at home and in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Back home, no politicians or parliamentarians representing the upcountry other than the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) took part, saying no invitations were extended. Neither were the Colombo-based party leaders of the plantation Tamil community invited.

The entire event was billed to the Sri Lankan taxpayer, as it was Water Minister Jeevan Thondaman’s ministry that picked up the tab, not his CWC.

On Monday, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu told reporters that he was scheduled to attend the event representing the Tamil Nadu government but he could not secure the ‘political clearance’ from the Central government in New Delhi till hours before the event.

He told reporters about the circumstances that made him unable to attend the event, including waiting for clearance until 8.30 pm on Thursday in his office despite having made all travel arrangements to attend the event. By the time approval was granted on Friday—only a few hours ahead of the event—he had cancelled his plans.

To mark the TN government’s presence at the event, officials attached to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin organised a video message at the last minute. It was scheduled to be broadcast at the event. However, it was not broadcast at the event for unknown reasons but later circulated among media circles.

When the reporters asked the TN Minister whether the Centre deliberately avoided the presence of the TN government, which is at loggerheads with the BJP administration in New Delhi, the Minister responded by saying he would “leave it to the conclusion of the media”.

PUCSL staff gets tens of millions without Treasury approval

The power sector regulator, the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), has paid more than Rs. 45 million to its staff under 11 allowances, contrary to recommendations from the Salaries and Cadre Commission and without obtaining prior approval from the Treasury, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

The NAO’s findings are included in the PUCSL’s Annual Performance Report for 2021. It was presented to Parliament this week.

According to the NAO, the PUCSL has paid Rs. 45,873,483 to its staff under these 11 allowances, none of which has been approved by the Treasury. A further Rs. 8.88 million has been paid without Treasury approval as transport allowances for staff during the year under review.

The regulator had also introduced a vehicle loan scheme for its permanent staff, amounting to a maximum of Rs. 5 million to be repaid in five years. No approval had been sought or obtained from the Treasury for this scheme. Two staff members had utilised the loan scheme for a total of Rs. 6.5 million, with the PUCSL reimbursing Rs. 248,088 to the banks as interest on these loans during the year under review.

A housing loan scheme for permanent staff at the PUCSL amounting to a maximum of Rs. 8 million to be repaid in 15 years had also not received Treasury approval. Eighteen staff members had utilised the loan for a combined amount of Rs. 78,140,610, with the regulator reimbursing interest totalling Rs. 3,157,723 to banks during the year under review.

The NAO has further found that fuel allowances paid for PUCSL officials who use official vehicles exceeded quotas approved by provisions of Public Enterprises Circulars.

Pukka Commission; this is looking after the public interest.

Lankans get two top UN posts

Those who follow United Nations affairs were surprised to see two high-level appointments of Sri Lankans by UN Secretary-General António Guterres this week.

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General appointed Indrika Ratwatte as his new Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan. He will also serve as the humanitarian coordinator, according to the statement issued by the UN media office.

In his nearly three-decade-long career at the UN, Mr. Ratwatte served at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and continued his career with the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 1993.

His most recent positions have included Director of the UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, where he previously served as Deputy and UNHCR Representative in Pakistan. He served with UNHCR as Deputy Representative in Tanzania and Pakistan, along with prior assignments in Thailand, Croatia, China, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It was just the previous day that Ruvendrini Menikdiwela of Sri Lanka was appointed as Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) by the Secretary-General.

Ms. Menikdiwela, who currently serves as the Director in UNHCR’s New York Office, brings to the position several decades of professional experience working with and for refugees in UNHCR, including as UNHCR’s Representative in Pakistan and Thailand. She also held several other critical legal posts during her long career with the organisation since 1988.