The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $100 million loan to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka more access to finance and build their resilience to external shocks, such as the economic crisis and climate change.

Saturday 16th March, 2024 Sri Lankan governments do not respond to early warnings and thereby invite trouble. The Easter Sunday carnage (2019) could have been prevented if the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government had heeded repeated intelligence warnings of impending terror attacks. It let the grass grow under its feet, and disaster struck. It has now been revealed […]

Friday 15th March, 2024 The JVP turned down President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s invitation to a meeting with the IMF, but some of its senior members met a visiting IMF delegation yesterday in Colombo perhaps as part of its strategy to gain political mileage. Whoever would have thought, a decade or so ago, that the JVP leaders […]

Peter Breuer, Chief of IMF Mission to Sri Lanka has claimed that the Sri Lankan economy is showing signs of progress. The monetary and fiscal measures like tax increases and particularly the debt moratorium may have resulted in giving some breathing space for the country to recover from the period of extreme hardship caused by […]

By Neville Ladduwahetty During President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s India visit in July 2023, five Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) were signed by India and Sri Lanka to establish physical connections between the two countries. This was followed more recently by the launch of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) – a mechanism that claims to reduce the cost […]

The gross salary of the lowest ranking employee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), an Office Assistant – Grade 1, has been increased by 29.53% up to Rs. 188,827 in accordance with a collective agreement, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardane told Parliament yesterday. Responding to a question by SJB Colombo District MP S. M. […]

In addition to the officials and categories of individuals required to disclose their assets and liabilities as specified in the amended Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law No. 01 of 1975 by Act No. 74 of 1988, Section 80 of the Anti-Corruption Act No. 09 of 2023 introduces provisions for further disclosure by various other […]

Pakistan must navigate challenges in the finance sector by diversifying its economic alliances, reducing dependence on singular partners, and negotiating funding arrangements that align with its long-term developmental objectives. The road ahead demands astute diplomatic manoeuvring, a commitment to economic resilience, and a proactive approach to curb corruption and inefficiencies of the Pakistan...

Monday 04th March, 2024 The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) is drawing heavy flak for having granted its workers generous pay hikes amidst a crippling economic crisis. Its critics are arguing that such salary increases, allegedly ranging from 29% to 70%, should not have been given at a time when the government is asking […]

‘New laws needed to rein them in’ By Shamindra Ferdinando Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, PC, said that contrary to the Constitution, the Parliament didn’t exercise full control over public finance.The former President of the Bar Association said a new law was required to subject all state enterprises to parliamentary control to prevent further deterioration […]

By Rathindra Kuruwita The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has significantly overestimated the cost of electricity production and transmission for 2024 and this is reflected in their estimated cost of production, says MP Gamini Waleboda, head of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis. The overestimation is around Rs 140 billion, […]

In a welcome development in relation to Sri Lanka’s regional policy, some state functionaries of the Ranil Wickremesinghe regime have gone on record as having stated that Sri Lanka would be taking notable cognizance of India’s security concerns, going forward. This is as it should be. None of India’s immediate neighbours could afford to overlook […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando With the presidential election scheduled for later this year, political parties represented in Parliament have stepped up efforts to forge alliances. In terms of the Constitution, presidential elections will have to be conducted between Sept 18 and Oct 18, 2024. The last presidential election was held in Nov 2019. Even though the […]

… Collective Agreement introduced in 2000 continues Successive goverments have abided by it for 24 years By Shamindra Ferdinando The controversial salary hike granted to the employees of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) had been endorsed by three trade unions affiliated to the JVP, the UNP and the SLPP, informed sources told The Island. Of the other […]