Author: TELO Admin

It is reported that most major banks in Sri Lanka have stopped issuing Letters of Credit for the importation of goods. According to reports while commercial banks accept applications for letters of credit, their issuance is continuously being postponed.

Country towards an economic abyss…

It should be noted that the failure to issue letters of credit by commercial banks for the importation of raw materials or spare parts for local industries and export based industries is leading the country towards an economic abyss.

From mid-2020 onwards, the government continued to restrict imports and restrict foreign exchange, a common feature of these policies.

Severe shortage of goods in the next three months..

Unless a permanent solution is found, the country will face a severe shortage of goods in the next three months resulting in the collapse of manufacturing plants and the inability to ship exports on time, which will further affect the country’s already dwindling foreign exchange reserves.

Simply put, it’s surprising that some commercial banks are refusing to even merely send a Telegraphic Transfer message to import USD 10,000 worth of spare parts for a factory.

Meanwhile, the refusal of some banks to send foreign currency to their children studying abroad has caused concern among parents.

Commercial banks haven’t foreign exchange reserves…

The Minister of Finance of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Saubhagye Rajya (Prosperous Government) commenced his work by issuing Gazette Notification No. 2184/21 on 16 July 2020 directing the opening of letters of credit only within 90 day and 180 day credit limits for the importation of nearly 175 items. The importation of a wide range of goods was also banned by gazette notifications signed by the Minister of Finance.

While the above order allowed for the opening of letters of credit on the basis of Usance letters, it has now been revoked and the banks have recently once again been given the power to open sight letters of credit. However banks are still refusing to open letters of credit to its customers due to lack of foreign reserves, while very few customers are being given the opportunity to open a small number of letters of credit to be payable in the next 90,120 or 180 days.

Central Bank is dumb..

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka is also following a policy of silence in this regard.

As one solution to this, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has empowered commercial banks and other financial institutions to obtain foreign loans.

When the government or the Central Bank of Sri Lanka is unable to obtain foreign exchange, it will take time for commercial banks to decide whether they can do so.

It is also a known fact that in the last 18 months, the country has banned the import of wall and floor tiles, bathroom sanitary ware, tires, motor vehicles, fertilizers and agro-chemicals and given the opportunity to its crony businessmen to become millionaires.

Attempts have been made to save foreign exchange by licensing the import of sugar, palm oil and motor vehicle spare parts, but to no avail.

When this country was handed over to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the end of our tenure, in 2019, the government revenue was LKR 1895 billion.

One third of the national income was given to business friends..

It should be pointed out that the main reason for this crisis is that as soon as this government came into power, it provided tax concessions amounting to LKR 600 billion (approximately one-third of total revenue) for mere political gain and to please their business associates.

Inexperienced officials and ministers were appointed to manage the gradually developing economic hubs. The state corporations and the statutory boards are now all recording huge losses.

The letters of credit issued by our banks were accepted by any bank in the world based on the trust placed in our country by international financial institutions due to the high ratings given to the country and its banking system.

International confidence in the government has been lost…

Shortly after the current government came to power, that breach of trust reduced the international ratings of the country and its banking system to ‘CCC’.

It is reported that there are instances where international banks are refusing to accept letters of credit issued by our country’s banks on the grounds that this government is unable to repay its foreign loans putting Sri Lanka’s business community in further peril.

All are Man-made crisis..

All these crises have been created by the present government in the last 18 months.

With six months left in our good governance government, Parliament was dissolved to introduce a new economic vision for the country.

All of that has become a dream today.

When the country was handed over to Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the new government, foreign exchange reserves stood at USD 7.6 billion but declined to USD 4.1 billion in the next 18 months.

Foreign exchange reserves are maintained in that sense as a deposit to import crude oil, petroleum, etc., which are essential for the medicines, foodstuffs, and energy required by the people of an import- export-oriented country.

But due to the use of those reserves to settle long-term foreign loans obtained under your governments a long time ago and the short-term international sovereign bonds obtained during your last reign, our country today has fallen to the level of Venezuela in Latin America as well as Greece in Europe.

When the loan repaid, the reserve will be fallen to USD one billion..

The international sovereign bond to be settled this month was issued in the year 2011 when Mahinda Rajapaksa was in power.

USD 1 billion issued at 5.875% on July 25, 2011 was due on July 07, 2021.

If these are settled by using our foreign exchange reserves, the balance would be reduced to USD 3 billion.

It is also reported that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has USD1.3 billion in outstanding bills to be paid for oil imports.

As of last Friday, many commercial bank loan applicants have been told to deposit at least 50% of the value of the letter of credit in foreign currency with the bank in order to open their letters of credit.

Here is the destruction in the next three months…

Today, the economic crisis is on Sri Lanka’s door step.

Due to the continuous non-opening of letters of credit by commercial banks, there will be a shortage of essential commodities such as food, medicine and spare parts for the next three months, creating a depression in the country.

If such a situation arises in the country, this government cannot escape that responsibility.

Lack of chemical fertilisers and agrochemicals will reduce yields, create food shortages in the country and drive up the prices of limited commodities in the market.

We are not late yet..

There are many economic solutions that can be done to lift the country out of the economic crisis.

We urge the government to seek national and international advice to steer the country’s economy in the right direction.

On behalf of all Sri Lankans, I further urge the government to not hide the economic crisis from the people and to stop empty development programmes and work to win this economic war as a team without placing its trust on a few individuals.”

Mangala Samaraweera
Former Finance Minister

The Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena has issued an updated notice on relaxation of existing travel restrictions and permitted public activities.

Accordingly, existing travel restrictions will be further relaxed from today (July 10).

However, the restrictions to limit interprovincial movement will be effective for a period of another 14 days, the communiqué read further.

Dr. Gunawardena noted that the level of permitted functions can be subjected to amendment depending on the epidemiological situation.

He appealed to the members of public to strictly comply with the guidelines issued for permitted levels of functions.

Meanwhile, all government and private institutions have been urged to be responsible to ensure that their functions are in accordance with the ‘new normalcy.’ They have been advised to continue operations with minimum staff for most essential functions. The head of the institution is authorized decide on the exceptions to be made.

As per the notice, places of worship in all districts are allowed to remain open now that the restrictions are eased further.

Wedding parties are permitted with the seating capacity limited to 25% or maximum 150 participants.

Funerals, except COVID-related deaths, should be held within 24 hours of release of the body from the hospital/inquirer into sudden deaths with maximum 50 participants.

Essential meetings will be allowed only with 25% of the seating capacity, the notice read further. Meanwhile, permission has been granted to hold conferences, seminars and brand launches with maximum 50 onsite participants.

Public transportation services are advised to operate island-wide with seating capacity limited to 50%, however, only 30% of the seating capacity is allowed within the Western Province.

Health officials have also decided to permit economic centres to carry out wholesale operations under strict health guidelines.

Meanwhile, mobile vendors, street vendors and retail shops, grocery shops, bakeries and pastry shops have also been authorized to function under health guidelines. Supermarkets will remain open with a maximum of 25% of the total customers that can be accommodated in the space available at a given time.

The DG of Health Services added that tailors and dress makers, communication/photocopy shops and other retail/service-related shops, furniture shops, laundry services, hardware shops, libraries, dining-in restaurants, spas, hotels and rest houses are allowed to operate under health guidelines.

Meanwhile, beauty salons and barber shops are permitted to continue services by appointments only.

Prisons and care homes will remain closed for visitors further.

With regard to sporting activities, Dr. Asela Gunawardena stated that group activities will not be given permission. However, individual training is allowed under the guidelines on sports and sporting events issued by the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, gymnasiums, indoor sporting centres, swimming pools will remain open for the public during this period. Walkaways will also be opened, however, only for individual exercises.

The Basilaagamanaya or the New Rise of Basil Politics is having its immediate impact on the Rajapaksa Power Display.

Here is a clear warning to protest politics. Covid-19 is the new tool of Rajapaksa Power, with quarantine being the system of dominance. Leading trade unionists and student protesters are the showpieces of the new Basil Power in Sri Lankan politics.

Those who protested against the crisis facing paddy production, and against the Bill for new military dominance in the Kotelawala Defence University, are the symbols of the new Covid-19 power dominance of the Raja Vasala. Putting protesters into quarantine camps, and taking them there with the most foul and repulsive behaviour of the Police, is the new showpiece of Rajapaksa Power.

The protesters in one place who were taken to a courthouse and charged with violation of the quarantine rules, were given bail by the Court, and not remanded, The Magistrate also said the Court did not have the legal authority to order quarantine of the accused. When the bailed-out persons walked out of the Court, a different legal power was functioning, with the Police being the manipulators of Power vs Justice. The persons bailed out by a court of law, were immediately seized by the Police, in the most brutal and hardly civilized manner, pushed into vehicles and forcibly taken for quarantine. Covid – 19 has scored over the law and the principles of Justice.

What we have moved to is the Quarantine-Remand or QR stage of social disorder, which will be remembered as the system of shameful Police dominance, with the entry of Basil into the Rajapaksa Posse of Power.

The students and trade unionists who carried out a protest near the Parliament also faced the same situation. While the Remand Prisons are being emptied due to the problems of Covid-19 spread, the Police are now displaying the Quarantine as the new Remand Strategy of Law and Order in the country.

This is the new message sent out to the paddy farmers protesting against the lack of fertiliser, the fisherman who protest against the increased hardships in fishing, and possibly students who may protest against the absence of signals for distant learning, and the many more sections of society who would want to come out in protests against increased hardships and necessities in life.

This Quarantine – Remand Strategy is a move far away from Democracy that has been accepted as the system of governance in Sri Lanka. With the addition of a fifth Rajapaksa member – Gotabaya, Mahinda, Chamal, Namal and Basil – to the Cabinet of Sri Lanka, we have moved away from the ‘family-ocracy’ that some writers have been commenting about in recent months.

We have in fact come to a familarchy – a monarchic system where the family is totally dominant in the government, economic management and social organisation of the country. It is time to begin remembering our 2,000 plus years of history, where such family dominance has prevailed, and also learn more about how much of enmity prevailed over the successions of power and monarchic dominance.

This Basil included familarchy, where nothing of power goes out of the family, is making huge milestones in all aspects of governance. We have become the first country in the world to issue a special coin in our currency – Rs. 1000 – to mark and celebrate the 100th year of the Chinese Communist Party. What other countries celebrate the success of political parties even in friendly countries?

This familarchy will soon give us a show of what it has done to give a Rajavasala reward to Jayantha Ketagoda, who made the road clear for Basil’s entry to Parliament, beating all the other SLPP MPs who said they were ready to resign from their parliamentary seats. Will he be a diplomat in an important country that has turned down other nominees? What about a big place in the Central Bank, having so much to do about printing more money? Or, could it be a big post in SriLankan, where he could help add to the mounting losses, with a really huge salary, many vehicles, friendly secretaries, entertainment costs, and free flying power, too?

The swearing in of Basil Rajapaksa, as Minister of Finance, was clearly a very warm family affair at the President’s Office. One brother was President and the other was Prime Minister. The worshipful greetings were clearly seen. Next came the swearing in of Mahinda, who had lost or given up Finance, to be Minister of Economic Policies and Plan Implementation. Can his Economic Thinking move away from Basil’s Financial Thinking?

What stressed the prevalence of Rajapaksa power was the additional swearing in of the Rajapaksa nephew, Shasheendra, as the State Minister of everything, from fertiliser to onions and potatoes, and Advanced Technology for Agriculture. Organic Fertiliser Production.

What is the situation of Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage? Anything more of the Rajapaksa dominance that is sweeping away all other political players of today?

There is certainly another nephew, although without a Rajapaksa surname, who is entitled to more stuff and authority. There will be several nieces to follow, too. Let;s wait and see,

It is also important to wait and see how Basil Rajapaksa’s entry to the Rajapaksa Familarchy will show the importance of governance and economic thinking of the USA, of which too he is a citizen. Will we see a new China – America friendship via Sri Lanka, or will the dominance of China prevail in the policies of Sri Lanka?

The Rajapaksa Familarchy are certainly the rulers of this Monarchy of Power that Sri Lanka has been taken into.

Sri Lanka signed an agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of $150 million to purchase vaccines against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and improve vaccination information, delivery, and monitoring systems, said the country’s Finance Secretary on Saturday (10).

On the 08th of July, the ADB h approved a loan of $150 million for Sri Lanka.

The project is part of ADB’s $9 billion Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) launched in December 2020 to offer rapid and equitable vaccine-related support to ADB developing member countries.

The ADB loan will help finance the purchase of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines to immunize about 4 million Sri Lankans, contributing to the government’s target to reach 80% vaccine coverage by 2023.

In addition, the project will support the upgrading and establishment of new systems to monitor vaccine deployment, supplies, and logistics, as well as track real-time beneficiary data for an efficient response to the pandemic.

Vaccines eligible for financing must meet at least one of the APVAX eligibility criteria: the vaccine has been selected for procurement through the COVAX mechanism; the vaccine has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) or WHO emergency use listing; or the vaccine has received regular or emergency licensure or authorization by a Stringent Regulatory Authority.

The project will support the establishment of sewerage systems in secondary care hospitals, and incinerators and waste segregation facilities in 12 satellite hospitals to safely dispose of vaccine-related medical waste.

The Archaeology Department says that no damage has been caused to any artefacts or historical sites surrounding the ancient Tissa Wewa tank in Tissamaharama by the recent dredging and cleaning up activity by a Chinese joint venture (JV).

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, the Archaeology Department Director General Prof. Anura Manatunga said that according to the preliminary report in relation to the probe conducted by the Archaeology Department into the dredging of the Tissa Wewa tank, it was observed that no damage had been caused to any artefacts and or historical sites in the area.

He noted: “The Chinese JV had not obtained permission to dredge and clean up the tank. Therefore, we temporarily suspended the operation until we completed the necessary protocols. Usually, before starting these kinds of projects, we have to mandatorily conduct an Archaeological Impact Assessment.”

Prof. Manatunga reiterated that the main mistake that was made was that the Chinese JV had not informed the relevant authority of this in order to conduct an Archaeological Impact Assessment before commencing the project.

He added that the Archaeology Department had since deployed a special team to conduct the assessment and that after following the necessary protocols, the Chinese JV could recommence the project.

Earlier, Cabinet Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Army had conducted an investigation into whether the Antiquities Ordinance or any other law had been violated during the process of cleaning up the ancient tank.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed his younger brother Basil Rajapaksa as finance minister, in a move that further tightened the family’s grip over the island nation.

Basil on Thursday was sworn in as a member of parliament and took over as minister of finance from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, also his older brother.

Basil, who holds dual US-Sri Lankan citizenship, according to DPA news agency, takes control of the country’s important institutions, including the Treasury and Central Bank under his purview.

Mahinda was also given an additional role as minister of economic policies and plan implementation, according to the presidential media division.

In addition to the latest changes, another of Gotabaya’s brothers, Chamal, is minister of irrigation and a junior minister for defence.

Mahinda’s son, Namal, is minister for youth and sports.

Gotabaya and his older brother Mahinda won an overwhelming majority in parliamentary elections last year, giving the family the power to enact sweeping changes to the island nation’s constitution.

Mahinda was the country’s president from 2005 to 2015, holding the position in two successive terms and again took over a premier post after winning the 2020 vote.

Some members of the governing Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (People’s Party) predict that Basil will stand in the next presidential election.

Tourism-dependent Sri Lanka is battling the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the total confirmed COVID-19 infections in the country increased to 268,676 and the death toll was 3,351, according to health ministry data.