Category: News

Former Ministers Namal Rajapaksa, Johnston Fernando and D. V. Chanaka today visited the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headquarters for discussions with the party leadership.

SLFP Chairman Nimal Siripala de Silva, along with Duminda Dissanayake, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, and Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, were also present at the meeting.

Following the discussions, Namal Rajapaksa told reporters that talks focused on the opposition rally scheduled for November 21. “After several years, we returned here for discussions about the upcoming rally that will expose the government’s lies to the public,” he said.

Rajapaksa added that despite policy differences, opposition parties are uniting to reveal what he described as government deception. “We have discussed with all opposition parties and expect everyone to join. Let’s see what happens on the 21st,” he remarked.

Criticizing the government’s performance, he said that many of the promises made during the last budget remain unfulfilled. “The President spoke for four and a half hours, but nothing he said has been delivered. Who requested the import of double cabs? From which ministry? Our MPs don’t need those vehicles—we’re giving them to the Health Ministry,” he said.

Meanwhile, SLFP National Organizer Duminda Dissanayake said the discussion centered on the November 21 opposition rally. “The government is misleading the public. We are coming together not to ask for an election, but to expose falsehoods and injustice. Regardless of our policy differences, we are united for the people,” he said.

He added that the government had failed to fulfill its promises and predicted a setback at future elections. “They are the same people who once brought youth and students to the streets with promises. Now they say no one should protest. Let’s see how they face the next election,” Dissanayake said.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has proposed a significant increase in the minimum daily wage of the estate workers as part of Sri Lanka’s 2026 Budget.

The President announced that the current minimum daily wage of Rs. 1,350 for estate workers will be raised to Rs. 1,550 starting January 2026. In addition to this wage increase, the government will introduce a daily attendance incentive of Rs. 200, effectively raising the potential daily earnings of estate workers to Rs. 1,750.

“It is our position that estate workers should be paid a fair daily wage commensurate with their service,” President Dissanayake stated.

To support this initiative, the government has earmarked Rs. 5,000 million in the upcoming fiscal year. The allocation is expected to directly benefit thousands of families across Sri Lanka’s plantation sector, many of whom have struggled with stagnant wages and poor living conditions for decades.

The Socialist Alliance (SA) has slammed the NPP over further delaying the Provincial Council polls.

The following is the text of the statement issued by Communist Party General Secretary, Dr. G.Weerasinghe, on behalf of the SA: “Provincial Council elections have been overdue since 2018, so that government-appointed officials run all nine provincial councils which means the absence of the public accountability, ensured through elected administrations. The prolonged delay has weakened democratic norms and transparency in governance, increased bureaucratic inefficiency, and contributed to social unrest, especially in regions dependent on Provincial Council-led services.

The National People’s Power (NPP) government continues to delay the long-overdue Provincial Council elections, citing incomplete boundary delimitation as the reason. This justification has been used by successive administrations since 2017 to postpone the polls.

The current government, which previously opposed such delays, is now employing the same tactic, raising doubts about its commitment to democratic processes. Legally, the government has viable options to resolve the impasse, such as forming a new committee to finalise boundaries or passing legislation with a simple parliamentary majority to use the old electoral system. Its failure to pursue these avenues suggests a lack of political will to hold the elections.

The Socialist Alliance (which comprised Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, Democratic Left Front and Communist Party of Sri Lanka) has always supported the devolution of power through the Provincial Councils. It calls upon the NPP Government to take action immediately to hold the elections, providing the public with a roadmap laying out target dates, including a date for holding the elections.

Further, the Socialist Alliance requested all political parties to come together in demanding the elections for Provincial Councils without any further delays.”

(Daily Mirror) – Sri Lanka’s Net International Investment Position (NIIP) remains one of the deepest in Asia nearly USD 68 billion in the red, or about –70% of GDP. This figure reflects decades of accumulated foreign borrowing, weak export earnings, and limited FDI inflows. It is the real balance-sheet story behind our external vulnerability. On paper, this reflects strong IMF-backed fiscal discipline. But beneath the surface, these same IMF preconditions are choking the economy’s external balance sheet and limiting recovery.

The 2026 Budget shows fiscal maturity and adherence to IMF targets but doesn’t help our external balance sheet debt situation, despite these glossy measures:

A primary surplus of 2.5% of GDP,

Revenue rising to 15.4% of GDP, and

Expenditure restrained under the new Public Financial Management Act.

But the key question is, does this fiscal discipline translate into external wealth?

Unfortunately, not yet.

Fiscal Balance (% of GDP)

2023 –8.3

2024 (est.) –6.8

2025 (proj.) –5.3

2026 (budget) –5.1

Current Account Balance (% of GDP)

2023 +1.7

2024 +1.2

2025 –1.0

2026 (budget) –2.5

Estimated NIIP (USD bn)

2023. –$65.0 (negative)

2024. –$64.0

2025 –$65.5

2026 –$67.5

NIIP (% of GDP)

2023 (– 75) = negative

2024 (–72)

2025 (– 70)

2026. (–70)

This projection indicates a continued but slower deterioration in NIIP, as the external deficit outweighs the limited reserve build-up.

While the budget narrows the fiscal deficit to 5.1% of GDP, the current account deficit is projected to widen to –2.5% of GDP (≈ USD 2.3 billion).

That means the economy will still require about Rs. 800 billion of additional financing to pay for imports and external obligations. If foreign inflows or FDI don’t fill this gap, the Central Bank must supply the rupee liquidity recreating inflation and exchange-rate pressure.

The result:

The NIIP stabilises, but does not improve.

External liabilities remain high, foreign assets too low.

Even with better budgeting, the country’s net external wealth remains negative.

To genuinely reverse this IMF dependency, Sri Lanka needs:

Sustained current-account surpluses of 2–3% of GDP for several years

Debt restructuring with face-value reductions, not just reprofiling, and

Strong, equity-based FDI inflows of USD 3–4 billion annually.

Fiscal consolidation stops the bleeding, but external rebalancing heals the wound.

Until these structural shifts occur, Sri Lanka remains fiscally subordinated and firmly IMF compliant, yet externally indebted. The 2026 Budget is therefore credit-stabilising, not yet credit-enhancing. The path to a positive NIIP lies not in tighter budgets alone, but in building foreign-currency earning capacity and real investment inflows.

The government is to convene a meeting of all political parties and relevant civil society organizations to find ways and means to hold provincial elections which are locked in an impasse due to a legal snag since 2017.

Public Administration, Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister Dr. Chandana Abeyratne said that the government has resorted to this move as the law under which the Provincial Council elections are to be held is not clear due to this legal issue.

Following the mixed electoral system introduced for Provincial Councils in 2017, Parliament rejected the delimitation report submitted by the then Provincial Councils Minister with even the minister himself casting his vote against the report.

This required a review committee for the delimitation purpose appointed by the Speaker and headed by the Prime Minister to submit a report to the President within two months of the minister having submitted the rejected report. If this requirement is fulfilled, the elections could be held without the approval of it by the Parliament, according to the report.

However, as the President did not receive a review committee report within the prescribed two months period, Provincial Councils elections met a legal hitch which has not been resolved for the past eight years.

The minister said that currently there is no applicable law in respect of provincial council elections as the previous law has expired while the new law is incomplete.

Currently powers devolved to the provincial councils are implemented by the relevant Governors of Provinces as there are no elected Provincial Councils.