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Today the country is in bane with many crises, as a result of concentrating power around the Executive, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) parliamentarian Eran Wickramaratne says.

He says the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution by the government, which appointed Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister, gives the President the power to keep under his purview subjects of his choice and even the power to dissolve Parliament.

“We are against the transfer of parliamentary power to the executive, which is independent of the executive and the judiciary,” said MP Wickramaratne.

Addressing a media briefing held at the office of the Leader of the Opposition in Colombo today (25), Mr. Wickremaratne further said the Bar Association of Sri Lanka has also expressed concern that the 21st Amendment by the Minister of Justice will not reduce the powers of the President. They had proposed several amendments.

“What are the current powers of the Executive President and the significant change in the powers of Executive President after the proposed 21st Amendment?” The MP questioned.

“When making appointments to senior government posts such as Provincial Governors, Secretaries to Ministries and Ambassadors, the President should consult with the Prime Minister and appoint suitable officials. Since the Prime Minister operates within the framework of the Cabinet, there is ample scope to appoint suitable and experienced persons to such positions if the PM is made the head of the Cabinet. The various crises facing the country today do not arise if the line of separation of powers under the check and balances are well defined with the concept of good governance.”

He said even if the fuel and gas queues were over the country’s economic and administrative crisis would not be resolved, without an internationally recognized stable government.

“The Constituent Assembly, which functioned under the 19th Amendment, was amended by 20A, to increase the number of Parliamentarians and reduce the number of non-Parliamentarians. In the future, while reducing the number of MPs from 7 to 5, the number of non-members should be increased from 3 to 5.”

He said that this should be introduced as a program to bring those who are fighting against corruption and fraud in the regime into the governance.

Mr Wickramaratne referring to the SJB’s position on the taking over of the governance said that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya has a plan to take over the government and solve the problems in the country.

“We mentioned this on several occasions, but we did not get that opportunity. If the SJB to participate in government, we told the President that Executive powers of the President should be abolished or reduced. While this discussion was ongoing Ranil Wickremesinghe who came forward without any conditions was made the Prime Minister. We are ready to support and contribute as a team is needed to resolve the crisis facing the country.”

“The SJB Secretary introduced the 21st Amendment to Parliament. Meanwhile, the government has also now presented with the 21st Amendment. The government’s amendment brings back certain elements of the 19th Amendment, but does not eliminate the executive presidency,” he said.

“The basic tenet of the SJB amendment is that the President should act on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is a member of the Cabinet and the head of the Cabinet of Ministers. According to that theory, the government is governed with the recognition that the Prime Minister is the first among the peers in the Cabinet.”

“But the 21st Amendment proposed by the government does not have such a principle and it does not reduce the power of the President which the people are struggling to demand. Furthermore, the President can take over any subject related to public governance. However, with the 21st amendment proposed by the SJB, the President cannot take over any of the subjects at his whims and fancy. This is the boundary that separates the line of control under the check and balance of governance in developed countries.”

Even when the 19th Amendment was introduced during the period of good governance, President Maithripala Sirisena was granted to carry on the subjects he was pursuing at that time as an interim arrangement until he was in power. However, the constitutional provisions that allowed future presidents to take over subject of ministries were removed.

According to the amendments of the present government, the President can take over any subject. Accordingly, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution proposed by Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksa will not make any significant changes that limit the executive presidency as expected by the people.

“One appointment as the Governor of the Central Bank at the will of the Executive caused such an economic crisis in this country. The former Central Bank governor not only printed billions of rupees saying that printing money would not increase inflation, but also wasted millions of rupees to artificially inflate the value of the Sri Lankan rupee.”

Eran Wickramaratne said that by directing the governance structure of the country to the right path, other problems of the country could be solved and the country could be saved from disaster. He stressed that the system of empowering an individual to appoint officials should be changed immediately for the sake of the nation.

The Russian Embassy in Colombo has categorically denied the statement made by Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara that Russia will not supply crude oil to the island nation.

Noting that they have never held any discussions with Minister Wijesekara, the Embassy reaffirmed its full support to Sri Lanka and stressed that Russia will never turn down a request for assistance when the country is battling a crisis on multiple fronts.

The Russian Embassy further stated that a request made by the Sri Lankan government has already been forwarded to the relevant Russian authorities.

Sri Lanka is looking to fast-track talks with the International Monetary Fund and agree on a loan by mid-June so that it can then approach other lenders for urgently needed funds.

The bankrupt nation will slash its budget expenditure to “bare bones” and hopes to break even or post a primary surplus of 1% of gross domestic product by 2025, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said in an interview at his office in Colombo Wednesday. Even so, that would be smaller than the 2% surplus the IMF has sought, which could be a sticking point.

“We need to find the dollars — the IMF will not bring in the entire thing,” Wickremesinghe said. “But if we start with the IMF, it will be easier for others to help us.”

Wickremesinghe is seeking a total of about $4 billion this year, from the multilateral lender and creditors including China and Japan, to help pay for food and fuel. Easing the shortages could be the first step to soothe public anger that has stoked inflation to almost 40% and triggered protests seeking the ouster of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

“It is good news that Sri Lanka is placing a priority on talks with the IMF,” said Guido Chamorro, co-head of emerging-market hard-currency debt at Pictet Asset Management, which holds Sri Lankan bonds. “The sooner the better, but I think it is difficult to put an exact date on a resolution. These negotiations typically end up taking a bit longer than initially expected.”

Sri Lankan dollar bonds due in 2030 fell for a fifth straight session on Wednesday to 37.8 cents, lingering deep in distress. The extra yield investors demand to hold the sovereign debt over US Treasuries was more than 39 percentage points, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. data.

Wickremesinghe — who took on the additional role of finance minister on Wednesday — forecast that the economy will shrink 4% this year. He fears citizens will face hard times until February, including food scarcities due to a lack of fertilizer ahead of planting season.

“I can feel their anger,” Wickremesinghe said. “Some of them are missing one meal. A lot of people who had reached the middle class feel they’re being moved out. People are without employment. Farmers are without fertilizer for two seasons.”

Once an IMF deal is agreed, Wickremesinghe said he would seek debt restructuring from Beijing.

Bloomberg (Source)

There is a danger of international airlines reducing the number of flights to Sri Lanka due to refuelling-related concerns brought about by the severe fuel crisis in the country, The Morning learnt.

Well-placed aviation industry sources told The Morning yesterday (25) that whilst there was enough fuel for refuelling purposes as of yesterday, there are concerns about the availability of supplies in the coming weeks.

“The Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) has to carefully manage the fuel that they have at the moment. Some aircrafts refuel at airports in Sri Lanka. If they cannot find fuel in Sri Lanka, then they have to carry fuel with them for refuelling purposes when they come to Sri Lanka, and that in turn is a loss for them,” they said.

They explained that if aircrafts carry their own fuel and fly in, then the weight of the cargo and the number of passengers that they can carry is reduced, which in turn inevitably affects their costs.

“About 500,000 litres of jet fuel is needed per day. This is obtained from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC). If they can ensure a constant supply in the coming weeks, then it will not be a problem,” they said.

CAASL Director General/Chief Executive Officer Capt. Themiya Samantha Abeywickrama, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. Chairman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri, CPC Chairman Sumith Wijesinghe, and Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekera were unavailable for comment on the matter despite multiple attempts made by The Morning.

Earlier this month, the national airline of the Maldives – Maldivian – suspended its scheduled flights to Colombo International Airport Ratmalana (CIAR) indefinitely until the current situation in the country improves.

Speaking to The Morning at the time, the AASL Chairman said that the reasons behind this decision by Maldivian were purely financial.

“They cannot operate due to the current situation in the country, as demand for trips to Sri Lanka has fallen. Their reasons are simply financial, as the prices have doubled since they commenced operations to Sri Lanka. Obviously in such a situation an airline cannot continue to operate.”

Maldivian had commenced international regional flight operations between its main hub at Velana International Airport, Male and the CIAR on 27 March 2022, the same day the airport was declared open for international operations following a grand opening ceremony.

Early this year, India initially extended a $ 500 million credit line for fuel imports to Sri Lanka. It was later extended by $ 200 million. With these credit lines now running dry, Sri Lanka is once again facing difficulties in importing fuel as the economic crisis, fuelled by the shortage of foreign exchange reserves, has affected the country’s energy sector. Last week saw some of the worst fuel queues in the country so far, with the public having to endure fuel queues which last days to obtain a rationed amount of fuel for their vehicles.

However, on Monday (23), the Cabinet of Ministers approved a proposal to obtain another $ 500 million credit facility from the Export Import Bank of India to fund Sri Lanka’s fuel imports. Minister Wijesekera said that while India has agreed to this additional facility, the technical discussions are currently underway regarding the matter.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday (24) said that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe must solve the economic crisis before bringing in a Constitutional amendment, adding that such amendments should not be drafted to target any specific individuals, which prevent them from entering Parliament or becoming President.

“The SLPP cannot immediately say as to whether we are supporting the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill. We have to first properly analyse it and then understand the public’s ideas about it. We said that we will support Wickremesinghe to make a new Government to solve the country’s economic crisis. There is no Constitutional or political crisis here. He was appointed to find solutions for the economic crisis. But the economic crisis is still there.

“People are still on the roads in queues. And he is trying to bring a Constitutional amendment. First, solve the economic crisis and create an environment which allows a Parliamentarian to walk freely on the road and have the mental freedom to think. Then, we can discuss a Constitutional amendment,” SLPP General Secretary Attorney-at-Law MP Sagara Kariyawasam told The Morning yesterday.

The Morning questioned as to whether the SLPP’s support to the 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill would depend on the provisions which bar dual citizens from entering the Parliament or holding public office. Responding to this, Kariyawasam said that the constitution of a country should not be designed targeting a specific individual.

“As a country’s constitution is its main document, it cannot be written with one person in mind. No country in the world makes constitutions to stop someone from coming to Parliament or to chase them away, or to prevent someone from becoming President. Constitutions are designed to the needs of the country,” he said.

Controversially, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution also allowed dual citizens to enter Parliament and hold public office, which paved the way for the entry of former Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa into Parliament in 2021. The 21st Amendment to the Constitution is expected to repeal this clause. Basil Rajapaksa is also the Founder and National Organiser of the SLPP, which still holds a majority in Parliament.

Furthermore, Kariyawasam claimed that the previous Constitutional Amendment (a reference to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution), which was also brought forward by then-Minister of Justice and Buddhasasana Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe PC ultimately “resulted in the Easter Sunday terror attacks”.

“No one is accepting the responsibility of the said attacks, including former President and current MP Maithripala Sirisena and Wickremesinghe. These are the same people who are bringing in an amendment again,” he added.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was passed with a two-thirds majority in Parliament in 2020, repealing the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government’s 19th Amendment in 2015, which curtailed the powers of the Executive Presidency.

The 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill has been drafted by a committee led by Wickremesinghe and Dr. Rajapakshe PC.

Kariyawasam cast doubts on the origins of the 21st Amendment and whether it serves a foreign power’s agenda.

“MPs should have a proper environment to understand and study it. Otherwise what they are trying to do is threaten MPs by saying that their houses will be burnt, and so, to sign this as fast as possible. So at this moment, we have a big question about who wants this amendment. Is it a foreign power? We can’t even think about that at the moment. This should be done very thoughtfully.”

However, he stopped short of confirming that the SLPP would vote against the 21st Amendment in Parliament.

“We are not saying that we will not eventually support the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. We first need a suitable environment where the Amendment can be brought in and discussed to do the correct thing for the country,” he added.

The draft 21st Amendment to the Constitution Bill was presented to the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday (23) and was sent to all party leaders representing Parliament yesterday. Reportedly, the draft Bill has reinstated some of the provisions of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, whilst adding a number of other provisions, related to an Audit Service Commission, the Procurement Commission, and Parliamentary oversight concerning the appointment of the Governor to the Central Bank.