Category: News

Sri Lanka’s Public Security Minister Vijitha Herath says that six individuals who allegedly acted in a manner that posed a threat to national security and the safety of tourists have been arrested, and that investigations are being carried out.

A foreign national is also among the arrestees, the minister revealed.

He stated that the suspects have been arrested in connection with the intelligence information received indicating a potential attack in the Arugam Bay area, as well as incidents involving the photographing of major financial sites in Colombo.

Minister Herath noted that they immediately acted upon receiving information about a potential danger to foreign tourists to safeguard their safety and ensure national security.

“The opposition was waiting to take advantage of this issue. That is the truth,” he charged.

“So far, we have arrested six individuals. A Maldivian and five Sri Lankans are in custody and investigations are ongoing. From those investigations, we still cannot say what kind of plan or attempt this was. Because it is not possible to draw such a conclusion from the information obtained from the 06 arrested persons and the investigations.”

Therefore, there is no need for a wrong interpretation about this, however, the people of the country want to ensure that security, he added.

The minister stated that the three-member Cabinet convened the National Security Council (NSC) immediately, and the necessary instructions were given by the President as the defense minister.

Former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte, who was arrested and remanded on charges of using a luxury car illegally imported from abroad and assembled in Sri Lanka, has been transferred to the prison hospital.

He was arrested by Mirihana Police on October 31 in Katugastota, Kandy.

Ratwatte was subsequently produced before the Acting Magistrate of Nugegoda from the Mirihana Police Station, and was ordered to be remanded until November 7.

However, the Acting Magistrate granted permission for Ratwatte to receive treatment at the prison hospital.

Police said that the former state minister was arrested in Kandy over an incident of discovering an unregistered car at his wife’s house in the Mirihana area of Nugegoda.

The car without registered number plates was found on October 26, 2024, according to police.

Police had found the luxury car in question during an inspection carried out based on information received by the police headquarters that there is a luxury car without number plates in a three-storied house in the Embuldeniya area in Mirihana, belonging to Shashi Prabha Ratwatte, the wife of former State Minister Lohan Ratwatte.

During the investigation, both Ratwatte and his wife had explained to the police that his mother-in-law resides in the said house. They had claimed that the car had been brought there three weeks ago by Ratwatte’s private secretary, who was recently found dead with gunshot injuries in the Katugastota area of Kandy.

Ambassador Qi Zhenhong on Wednesday pledged that China will fully consider the development needs of the new Government in Sri Lanka.

“In the new year, the Chinese Government will fully consider the development needs of the new Sri Lankan Government, improve the pertinence and effectiveness of training programs,” Ambassador Qi said at the 2024 China Aid Training Alumni Reception held in Colombo.

The event, the first China Aid Training Alumni Reception, celebrated the fruitful results of China-Sri Lanka human resources cooperation.

The Chinese Ambassador expressed his sincere gratitude to the Department of External Resources of the Ministry of Finance for its support and cooperation in China’s foreign aid training.

“As a Chinese saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” China’s foreign aid training is a concrete action to implement global development initiative raised by President Xi Jinping and an important measure to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” he said.

According to the Ambassador, China’s foreign aid training adheres to the concept of sharing, consultation and co-construction, builds a platform for countries to exchange experience in governance, and fully shares the successful experience of Chinese modernisation. Since China launched foreign aid training programs in 1950, it has trained over 510,000 people for developing countries.

“The Chinese Government attaches great importance to all-round educational cooperation with Sri Lanka. Over the years, it has used foreign aid funds to hold various training programs in China, inviting nearly 13,000 Sri Lankan friends of various circles to participate in seminars in China. By the end of October this year, over 1,000 Sri Lankan participants went to China for training, and the training topics covered 17 major areas including public management, scientific research, information technology, economy and trade, education, health, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, resources and environment, and disaster management. Through mutual learning and exchanges, we have grown together and deepened the traditional friendship between our two countries,” said Ambassador Qi.

He said President Xi Jinping clearly pointed out that we must insist that science and technology are the primary productive force, talent is the primary resource, and innovation is the primary driving force. All in all, it highlights the importance of education and talent cultivation.

“The Chinese Government will continue to deepen human resources cooperation with developing countries, to stay committed to encouraging the development and revitalisation of the “Global South”, injecting robust impetus into global progress,” the Ambassador emphasised.

Sri Lanka aims to conclude its debt restructuring process by year-end, with expectations for a prompt exit from the default rating category soon after, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told Economynext in an interview in Washington, D.C. this week.

“To complete the process, certain procedures must be followed, including documentation, due diligence, and related formalities,” Weerasinghe said.

“It will take 2-3 weeks to complete the debt exchange and get the investor participation. That will take some time. The idea is to complete before end-December,” Weerasinghe said.

Backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international advisors, Sri Lanka has secured a debt restructuring agreement with its official creditors and reached an in-principle deal with the private creditors.

The arrangement with the bondholders includes macro-linked bonds tied to the island nation’s economic growth trajectory.

Sri Lanka is also expected to finalise a debt deal with China Development Bank and pursue debt treatment deals with other remaining official and private creditors, holding less than a billion dollars worth of debt by the end of 2023.

Governor Weerasinghe also expressed confidence that Sri Lanka’s default rating would see an upgrade shortly after the debt restructuring process is finalised.

“We met with all the ratings agencies here in Washington. They obviously mentioned that they will follow the normal procedure. Once we start repaying our obligations, we will come out of the selective default or the restrictive default category,” he said.

“Then we’ll be starting with normal CCC or depending on the outlook we will get a better rating. The immediate action would be to remove Sri Lanka from the default category.”

DELAY IN IMF REVIEW

Weerasinghe noted that completion of the third review of the IMF loan deal will be delayed, as a staff-level agreement in this regard will be entered in by late November or early December.

The third review of Sri Lanka’s $3 billion, 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF) was initially scheduled for completion in December.

However, the October presidential election and the delay in submitting next year’s budget to Parliament have postponed the timeline.

“The government has expressed their willingness to complete the third review and go ahead with the debt restructuring. The president made this statement. So on that basis, an IMF team came to Sri Lanka and then we continued the discussions here (Washington),” Governor Weerasinghe said.

“This is a review mission. We are here trying to negotiate and complete the review as soon as possible. Obviously, there will be a delay because there is no parliament.”

“The third review should have been completed by end-December. That was the original timeline. But there were prior actions like submitting the budget to the Parliament for next year.”

“What we are trying to do is to at least to reach a staff level agreement with the fund to complete the third review. Once we have discussions here, there will be elections. Soon after that a new Cabinet will be appointed and a parliament established. Then the mission will be there to complete and announce the staff level agreement.”

Sri Lanka is scheduled to hold polls to elect new members to the Parliament on November 14.

While a staff-level agreement could be finalised by early December, the IMF Executive Board approval is likely to be delayed as Sri Lanka must first complete the prior action of presenting next year’s budget to Parliament.

“Going to the board will be delayed because for the compilation of the third review we have some prior actions such as submitting a budget to the parliament for the next year. That will happen during the first three months of the year. Then there will be a vote on account,” Weerasinghe said.

“Because of this, there will be a delay in the completion of the third review. Soon after the new government establishes a cabinet and a proper government, that’s their invitation to start the staff-level agreement.”

Out of the $3 billion IMF facility, Sri Lanka has up to now received approximately US$ 1 billion in three tranches.

The Government Printer said that the printing of official Ballot Papers for 11 districts is complete. A senior official stated that these Ballot Papers have been handed over to the Election Commission.

The official also mentioned that the printing of Ballot Papers for the remaining districts is currently underway.

A total of 17,140,354 voters are eligible to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Postal voting for Sri Lanka’s 2024 General Election is set to commence today, providing an early voting option for Government employees, armed forces, and police personnel.

The Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) has announced a detailed plan to ensure a smooth and secure postal voting phase, establishing polling stations in strategic locations across the country, including all police stations, District Secretariats, and Election Commission offices.

The ECSL has scheduled 1 November and 4 November as designated postal voting days specifically for members of the armed forces and Government institutions, offering flexibility for those in critical service roles.

Additionally, a second voting date, 4 November, has been set for those unable to cast their ballots today. For those who miss the designated dates, arrangements have been made to allow them to vote at the District Secretariat associated with their workplace.

In a bid to maintain transparency and uphold electoral integrity, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi confirmed that nearly 1,000 PAFFREL officials will be stationed nationwide to monitor the postal voting process.

The Election Commission said that it has submitted a comprehensive report to the Attorney General’s Department regarding the activities conducted so far in relation to the general election.

This submission is in response to a fundamental rights petition filed in the Supreme Court concerning the election date.

The Attorney General’s Department had requested observation reports from the Election Commission regarding the election date.

The department stated that it would present its findings to the Supreme Court on the 4th of next month, based on these observation reports.

A fundamental rights petition was filed in the Supreme Court on the 21st of last month, seeking a ruling that the decision to hold the parliamentary election on November 14th is unconstitutional.

The petition was filed by H.M. Priyantha Herath, a civil society activist and convener of the “Api Sri Lanka National Organization.”

The petition claims that the announcement of the nomination period and the election date violates the provisions of the Election Act.

According to the petition, the nomination period was set from October 4th to October 11th, as per Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act.

It added that the Act stipulates that the election date must be set within a period not less than five weeks and not more than seven weeks from the end of the nomination period.

It noted that therefore, the five-week period from the end of the nomination period on October 11th concludes on November 15th, while the seven-week period concludes on November 29th.

The petitioner argues that the correct timeframe for holding the election, according to the Election Act, is between November 15th and November 29th.

The petitioner further asserts that the gazette notification issued by the President announcing the election date is entirely contrary to the law and constitutes a breach of the rule of law.