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Home » ColumnsDiplomatic gaffes embarrass Lanka’s friendly nations
A huge diplomatic gaffe came to pass this week when Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya thanked Taiwan, China’s arch-enemy, for an “incredibly generous donation” given—and said so in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong to boot. The event was the handing over of clothing material for school children by the Government of the [...]
Doctor, doctor
My dear Mr Ranwala, I am writing to you because you are the talk of the town now. For the good part of a week and a half, all we talked about was you and your ‘qualifications’. You even managed to take attention away from more pressing issues such as rising rice prices and Anura [...]
Increased government expenditure threat to fiscal stability and economic growth
The promise of increasing salaries, welfare payments, flood relief, and fertiliser subsidies, while reducing taxes, is likely to widen the already high fiscal deficit, pose a threat to financial stability, and retard economic growth. Election promises of giving unavailable resources have been a foremost cause for high fiscal deficits that have destabilised the economy. Once [...]
A much needed political reality check
There is much that Sri Lanka’s newest party in government, the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) party needs to learn in terms of political realities, not the least of which is to be self-deprecating in victory. Blinking first over ‘doctoral’ claims That is crucial if it is to avoid treading the path of predecessors who were [...]
Political integrity and the scramble for appointments from the National List
The controversy over the Speaker’s educational qualifications and his subsequent resignation overshadowed the fiasco regarding the appointment of Parliamentarians from the National Lists of Opposition parties last week. The National List which was originally intended as a mechanism to bring in experts and professionals of standing with the capacity to enhance and strengthen the legislative [...]
Speaker faced credibility’s acid test only to fail
Explanation delay fanned flames of doubt over Japanese ‘doctorate’ Former Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya’s question on Facebook last Thursday, about Honourable Speaker Dr Ashoka Sapumal Ranwala’s academic qualifications, slightly raised a quizzical eyebrow amongst the people. Rumours sped faster than Jaguar’s latest electric racing car on the Grand Prix track, as speculations grew if Ranwala, [...]
Doctors in the House and rats all over
Things are getting curiouser and curiouser as Alice, during a round trip in Wonderland, might have said. Here is a party (or is it an alliance?) that came to power promising—or was it threatening?—to change the system. It sure has—at least one system—though I cannot remember it being listed in its political cornucopia. Well, never [...]
US cracks anti-corruption whip over MiG-27 and Airbus scandals
State Department calls out Udayanga Weeratunga and Kapila Chandrasena for high-level corruption Probes lying dormant for years being revived; arrests likely soon More details about millions of dollars transferred to foreign accounts over fighter jet purchases emerge Strong case for government to seek the extradition of Chandrasena and wife from Australia By Our Political [...]
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