Category: Featured Headlines

Sri Lankan reserves have been strengthened by the receipt of influx of USD 787 Million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and USD 150 Million from Bangladesh Central Bank as a swap arrangement, says Finance Secretary S.R. Attygalle.

In addition, Sri Lanka is expecting RMB 2,000 million (around USD 300 Million) from the China Development Bank today (August 31), he added.

Funds from Bangladesh is provided under the currency-swap agreement signed between the Bangladesh Bank (BB) and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) on August 03.

According to the deal, the BB is set to provide USD 250 million in total to help boost the island nation’s fast-depleting foreign reserves and ease pressure on its exchange rate.

On August 18, the BB transferred USD 50 million to the CBSL as the first tranche under the currency-swap deal initiated in March this year. The remaining two tranches involve USD 100 million each.

As the second instalment, Bangladesh released USD 100 million today, increasing the total to USD 150 million.

The BB will transfer USD 50 million more shortly to Sri Lanka if the CBSL sends a request within five working days after receiving the second tranche of the aid, a Bangladeshi newspaper reported quoting officials.

Last week, the IMF allocated a total of USD 650 billion as Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to its member countries to be exchanged as reserves or used as currencies.

Considered the largest allocation of SDRs in history, it came into effect on August 23.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka was allocated 554 million SDRs, which converts to about USD 787 million.

Speaking on the allocation, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva said: “SDRs are being distributed to countries in proportion to their quota shares in the IMF. This means about US$275 billion is going to emerging and developing countries, of which low-income countries will receive about US$21 billion – equivalent to as much as 6 percent of GDP in some cases.”

Georgieva also stated that the allocation is a significant shot in the arm for the world and, if used wisely, a unique opportunity to combat this unprecedented pandemic crisis.

Sri Lanka is set to recognise school teachers’ and principals’ services as a “closed service”, according to Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, in a bid to resolve a crisis that has brought online education to a standstill, without stirring other public services.

Though the move, the result of a proposal approved by the cabinet of ministers on Monday (30), could help end a long strike by teachers and principals and restart online school education, it will open many a can of worms in the future, two government officials said.

Both teachers’ and principals’ services were under the public service. But declaring them a closed service will allow the government to treat teachers and principals separately from the rest of the public service when resolving their demands of salary anomalies, wages, transfers, and other benefits.

This will also mean that cadres from the teachers and principals services cannot be transferred to any other public services, government sources explained.

“The implementation of the national decision to close down the teachers’ service will be implemented in the next few months,” Gunawardena said, adding that the cabinet decided to issue a gazette before November 20 declaring the services a closed service.

“All these decisions are taken to provide solutions to existing problems and the decisions are made taking into consideration the 4.3 million children in the country and their teachers who will pave the way for their future.”

The closed service move comes in line a the recommendation by a four-member cabinet subcommittee which looked into the salary anomalies of teachers and principals.

However, two senior government officials warned the move could be detrimental to the public service in the future.

“The government is setting a bad precedent,” said one official who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“Tomorrow doctors or nurses or another pubic service can also demand to declare them as a closed service and resolve their issue.”

Another official said Sri Lanka Railways had demanded a similar request two years back.

Forced decision

The government was forced to look into the teachers’ protests as a raft of trade unions of teachers and principals have been on strike since July 11 and have withdrawn from online education and from issuing results of the GCE Ordinary Level exam held early this year.

The education minister said despite financial difficulties, a special allowance of 5,000 rupees will be granted for teachers and principals who will be on duty during September and October 2021, the months in which the government has planned to hold GCE Advanced Level and grade 5 scholarship examinations.

The government has postponed the two key exams that help students select a national school for grade 6 and university entrance, drawing public criticism.

The minister, however, said, implementation of the salary revisions will be done in stages through a 2022 budget proposal. Full implementation will be done in the next four years.

“A decision was taken on Monday (30) to implement these measures in parts before the next four years to find a permanent solution,” he said.

A key teacher trade union welcomed the government’s decisions on “closed service” and salary hike through 2022 budget proposals.

“But we do not accept the 5,000 rupee allowance. We want our salary anomalies to be fixed as a part of the previous Subodhini committee report,” Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of Sri Lanka Teachers’ Union told EconomyNext referring to a report which teacher unions had demanded the most.

“We don’t accept these increments or allowances otherwise. We will continue our strikes if that does not happen,” said Stalin.

An ongoing National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe into the seizure of 300 kg heroin, five AK-47 rifles and 1,000 live rounds of 9mm ammunition off the coast of Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram has led to speculation that an international drug running and weapon trading racket is aimed at reviving the Sri Lankan Tamil separatist group LTTE.

The case relates to the March 18 interception of a boat with the contraband by the Coast Guard following an intelligence input. The mastermind behind the operation was Sri Lankan Tamil Suresh Rajan, a resident of Colombo who had been living at Kundrathur, a Chennai suburb, for some time, the Indian Express reported.

Multiple sources in Kerala and Tamil Nadu intelligence agencies said they failed to closely look at the case as it was being probed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). “The NCB was about to chargesheet six Sinhalese who were on board when NIA stepped in and probed further,” said an intelligence officer attached to Kerala Police.

The NIA probe would later find that six Sinhalese were labourers. Meanwhile, Rajan was arrested from Angamaly, Kerala in August and was later taken into custody by the Tamil Nadu Q-branch for his links with LTTE groups still active in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

But after the NIA stepped in and took over the probe, they found scientific evidence of a Dubai link from a Thuraya handset (considered an advanced satellite phone) which was seized from the boat. “That was the crucial evidence that led to the arrest of Suresh and his associate Soundararajan,” the officer said.

During searches conducted by NIA at premises linked to the accused in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, several incriminating documents, including books relating to LTTE and several cellphones, gadgets and SIM cards were seized.

According to the officer, the March 18 incident was not an isolated case. “Evidences collected from Rajan after his arrest, including those of transactions worth crores, shows that he was an international drug smuggler with active links with Pakistan-based drug runner Haji Salim, who often shuttled between Dubai, Pakistan and Iran. Rajan held a prominent role in drugs and arms trafficking to Sri Lanka through the backyard of India,” the officer said.

A Tamil Nadu intelligence officer said there was evidence that Rajan met Sri Lankan drug lord Madhush Lakshitha alias ‘Makandure Madush’, who was killed in a shootout in the island nation in October 2020. “Rajan also was in touch with Salim,” said the officer.

There was also evidence that Rajan and Soundarajan worked closely with individuals who are being monitored for their sympathies for LTTE and its reported revival mission. “If drugs were to earn money, the five AK-47 rifles seized from the boats were supposedly for LTTE sleeper cells,” the officer said.

The Director General of Health Services has confirmed another 194 coronavirus related deaths for August 30, increasing the official death toll in the country to 9,185.

According to the figures reported by the Department of Government Information today (31), the victims include 100 males and 94 females while three of the deceased are below the age of 30.

Forty-five of the Covid-19 deaths are individuals between the ages of 30-59 and the remaining 146 are persons aged 60 and above.

216 COVID-19 deaths were confirmed for Sunday (29), said the Director General of Health Services on Monday (30).

Accordingly, the total number of fatalities in the island increased to 8,991.