Ahead of Sri Lanka s Presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled this year, Eastern Province Governor Senthil Thondaman affirmed support for sitting President Ranil Wickremesinghe and backed him to be re-elected, saying that he stabilised the country and lifted the economy from dire straits.

By Sanath Nanayakkare When a country is in an economic crisis, it creates an environment conducive to implementing economic reforms which would be difficult to do in good times, however, it still depends on how far the reformist leaders can shape the opinion of the people and the people’s willingness to take those reforms on […]

Monday 8th January, 2024 The dawn of 2024 has marked the beginning of the season of defections. Politicians, including those who are so horizontally-gifted that they can hardly stand erect, are amply demonstrating their acrobatic skills. They remind us of Tom Stoppard’s play, Jumpers, which is a satirical exploration of complexities of human thought and […]

By DEVENDRA SAKSENA Currently, the words ‘debt trap’ have a distinctly Chinese connotation. According to the Western press, the Chinese, as part of their geostrategy, have inveigled poor nations into borrowing huge amounts from them for fanciful infrastructural projects; almost all borrower countries are in dire economic straits, because most such projects are lying incomplete, […]

‘Parliament amended law to favour tax defaulters, with defaulter being able to drag appealing process for 15 years’ By Shamindra Ferdinando Chairman of Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans Mahindananda Aluthgamage yesterday (05) said that he intended to utilise Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023 against top government revenue officials who neglected […]

At a dinner gathering with professionals in Jaffna on Thursday (04), President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that provinces should utilize the powers granted by the 13th Amendment for economic development, asserting that devolution should not merely be a political concept but an economic reality. “If we examine the provisions of the 13th Amendment, there is ample […]

by Neville Ladduwahetty What Sri Lanka has achieved since it declared itself insolvent is hailed by some with much optimism. The “relative stability” currently experienced is presented by the Governor of the Central Bank “as the outcome of a united effort from the outset” (The Island, December 26, 2023). The focus of that collaborative effort […]

Friday 5th January, 2024 The UNP is in overdrive to shore up what remains of its image with an eye to the next election. It is bragging that the country has posted a primary surplus after a lapse of more than two decades. It insists that credit for this be given to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, […]

by Sivamohan Sumathy And I wish to speak of a poet here. Kurinjith Thennavan is an auto-didact. He did not learn to become a writer in our schools or university. He is a worker. He was shut out of our free education mandate even as he and others like him were enabling it. He was […]

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena in his New Year Message 2024 called upon all Sri Lankans to  work together with dedication for a  prosperous future in a disciplined and democratic society and help eliminate adverse effects of the past and not bequeath them to the future generations. The Prime Ministers New Year message: Wishing all of […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Dissident SLPP MP Prof. Channa Jayasumana yesterday (31 Dec.) said that a well-coordinated joint Opposition campaign was needed against the destructive economic policies of the Wickremesinghe-Rajapaksa government. Jayasumana said the Opposition should respond to the impending crisis caused by the increase of Value-Added Tax (VAT) from 15% 18% and imposition of 18% […]

Monday 1st January, 2024 We wish we could strike a positive note today, but to do so would be to ignore the harsh socio-economic reality, and even insult the intelligence of the public. All, however, is not lost, and no one should give up hope; there is room for some optimism. Hope is said to […]

Today, the collective misery we experience as a society has nothing positive to show for the promotion of the so-called ‘positive thinking’, which encourages us to rise individually, and not collectively as people. Positive thinkers, who are dime a dozen, flourish in market-oriented, consumerist societies where ill-mannered rulers and their business cronies feed on millions […]