Category: News

In a major blow to Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, the proposal for the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to curb the unfettered powers of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, scheduled to be referred to the Cabinet on Monday, was not presented before it.

According to sources, the proposal was not presented in the Cabinet after parliamentarians of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) objected to it in its present form. They demanded that the proposed legislation be approved by the Attorney General before referring it to the Cabinet.

The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20A which gave unlimited powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment which had made Parliament powerful over the president.

The constitutional reform was a major plank of the agreement between Rajapaksa and Wickremesinghe when he took over the job of prime minister on May 12.

Rajapaksa had also pledged reforms in the Constitution in an address to the nation earlier this month.

The 21st Amendment would make it impossible for those with dual citizenship to hold a seat in Parliament. President Rajapaksa, who is facing growing demand for his resignation for mismanaging the country’s economy, had relinquished his US citizenship in April 2019 before contesting the presidential elections.

Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapaksa had earlier said that the 21st Amendment seeks to further strengthen the powers of the existing commissions and to make them independent as well.

In addition to the existing Independent Commissions, the National Audit Commission and the Procurement Commission will be amended as Independent Commissions under the proposed legislation.

The justice minister said the new amendment also proposes the appointment of the Governor of the Central Bank to come under the Constitutional Council.

The powerful Rajapaksa family tightened their grip on power after their massive victory in the general elections in August 2020, which allowed them to amend the Constitution to restore presidential powers and install close family members in key positions.

In his 2019 presidential bid, Gotabaya Rajapaksa won a convincing mandate for the presidency during which he sought full presidential powers over Parliament.

Sri Lanka has been grappling with unprecedented economic turmoil since its independence from Britain in 1948.

A crippling shortage of foreign reserves has led to long queues for fuel, cooking gas and other essentials, while power cuts and soaring food prices have heaped misery on people.

The economic crisis has also triggered a political crisis in Sri Lanka and a demand for the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The crisis has already forced prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the president, to resign on May 9.

An inflation rate spiralling towards 40 per cent, shortages of food, fuel and medicines and rolling power blackouts have led to nationwide protests and a plunging currency, with the government short of the foreign currency reserves it needed to pay for imports.

Source:India Today

Sri Lanka will obtain another short-term loan facility of USD 500 million from the Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) to purchase petroleum products, the government says.

The new Cabinet of Ministers, which convened yesterday, approved the relevant proposal tabled by Minister of Power and Energy Kanchana Wijesekara.

The national consumer prices rose 33.8 percent in April over the same month in 2021, accelerating from 21.5 percent in March, as the after effects of the rupee weakness against the dollar sent shock waves across consumer markets, resulting in a multifold increase in the prices of everything from essentials to discretionary to durables.
This is higher than the 29.8 percent increase in the Colombo consumer prices reported for the same month a couple of weeks ago.

In April, both indices, the Colombo Consumer Price Index and National Consumer Price Index, recorded their highest ever inflation figures since their compiling began, signalling that the country has entered into a hyperinflation cycle, as the rupee lost 80 percent of its value since it was floated on March 7, exacerbating the price pressures already coming from higher commodities prices globally.

Meanwhile, the so-called core prices measured barring the often-volatile food, energy and transport, rose by 27.9 percent in April 2022 from a year ago, significantly up from 17.3 percent through March.

Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe last week said that the near-term prices could hit upwards of 40 percent before any easing could happen with the decline in demand.

However, he said inflation happening beyond this point is out of the scope of their monetary policy tools, as the bulk of the price pressure at present is supply driven. Hence, he said they wouldn’t raise interest rates further higher to contain price pressures.

The monthly prices measured by the NCPI also rose by 10.2 percent, sharply up from 2.9 percent, reflecting the underlying price pressures, which were largely caused by the rupee weakness.

The food inflation measured by the NCPI rose by 45.1 percent in the 12 months to April 2022, up from 29.5 percent through March, as the prices of all food items, except for a couple of items in the NCPI basket, rose sharply.

The change in monthly food prices was 12.1 percent from March levels, compared to 2.4 percent between February and March.

Non-food inflation was recorded at 23.9 percent in the 12 months to April 2022, sharply accelerating from 14.5 percent through March, of which the largest contributor being the transport subcategory, as the fuel prices soared during April.

The prices measured on a monthly basis climbed 8.4 percent in April, compared to 3.4 percent in March over February levels.

There wasn’t a single subcategory under non-food inflation, which had even a slightest decline in prices in April, reflecting how broad-based and how deep the inflation runs through.

While inflation isn’t a phenomenon confined only to Sri Lanka, as almost every country, including the most inflation resistant countries such as Japan is confronted with ugly price pressures, the situation in Sri Lanka is more acute and painful, due to the weakness of its currency.

Following a meeting of the Constitution Amendment drafting committee held yesterday (23) at the Prime Minister’s office, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was presented to the Cabinet of Ministers last evening, while the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) expressed concern that the draft Amendment has omitted several provisions of the 19th Amendment.

The Cabinet decided to distribute copies of the amendment amongst the Parliament party leaders for their observations and the amendment will be discussed on Friday (27). Following this, the Amendment will be sent back to Cabinet for final approval. The first meeting of the new Cabinet was held yesterday under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The Bill has reinstated the provisions of the 19th Amendment, whilst adding a number of other provisions, such as those related to an Audit Services Commission, Procurement Commission, and parliamentary oversight during the appointment of the Governor to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The 21st Amendment Bill has been drafted by a committee led by Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and newly appointed Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapaksa.

However, the BASL has expressed concern that while the 21st Amendment will bring back the provisions of the 19th Amendment regarding the Constitutional Council and the Independent commissions, there are several vital provisions contained in the 19th Amendment that are missing in the draft of the 21st Amendment.

The BASL said that the 21st Amendment must include a provision amending Article 44(2) of the Constitution to remove the power of the President to retain ministries and assign any subjects or functions to himself.

In letters addressed to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka recommended that the following matters which were contained in the BASL proposals be included in the 21st Amendment:

A provision for the members of the Monetary Board to be appointed with the approval of the Constitutional Council (in addition to the Governor of the Central Bank);
A provision for the appointments of the Secretaries to the Ministries, Governors of the Provinces, and Ambassadors and Heads of Missions be made on the advice of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Cabinet of Ministers;
A provision to require Presidential Pardons to be granted according to the recommendation by a body established by law, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Constitutional Council; and
A provision to enhance the financial independence, transparency, and accountability of the Independent Commissions.
The BASL further recommended that the number of members of the Constitutional Council who are not MPs be increased from three to five and conversely the number of MPs on the Constitutional Council be reduced from seven to five, as stipulated in the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. It noted that this is consistent with the position taken by the BASL in 2015 when the 19th Amendment was enacted.

The BASL called on the Government to ensure the early enactment of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, as it is a necessary step towards achieving stability in Sri Lanka.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said the government was planning to present a diluted version of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

Issuing a statement, Premadasa said the draft amendment his party presented the abolition of the Executive Presidency and the re-enactment of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in its full force. P

Premadasa accused the current government of diluting those reforms and engaging in political conspiracies to hoodwink the public.

The latest consignment of 40,000 metric tons of petrol under the Indian credit line has been delivered to Sri Lanka today, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said.

The Ship GT Freedom carrying the 40,000 MT petrol has arrived in Sri Lanka today.

“Commitment delivered!! Around 40000 MT of petrol under Indian assistance reached Colombo today,” the High Commission tweeted.

It is reported that with this 40,000 metric tons of petrol, India has so far supplied over 500,000 metric tons of various types of fuel to Sri Lanka under Indian assistance.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has expressed concerns about the proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution.

SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam has said that the SLPP is not in favor of reintroducing the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in its previous form.

However, he has stated that the party is agreeable to reducing the powers of the Executive President and handing them over to Parliament.

Therefore, it is still not clear as to whether the SLPP – the party commanding the majority support in Parliament – will support the 21st Amendment.

The proposed 21st Amendment to the Constitution is drafted by the newly appointed Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe.

Although the draft amendment was expected to be presented to the Cabinet today, informed sources said the move has been postponed.