Category: News

India has doubled its grant to Rs 600 million to support education in Sri Lanka’s plantation areas for the Indian-origin Tamil community.

Indian High Commission to Sri Lanka Santosh Jha and Secretary of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Education and Science and Technology J M Thilaka Jayasundara on Friday signed and exchanged diplomatic letters to formalise the modalities.

“The project envisages the upgradation of infrastructure of 9 plantation schools identified by the Government of Sri Lanka. These include 6 schools in the plantation areas of Central Province and one school each in Uva, Sabaragamuwa and Southern Province,” Jha said.

With the additional funds infused at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka, India’s total commitment to the project now stands at 600 million Sri Lanka rupees (INR 172.25 million).

The project would add to India’s numerous past and ongoing development partnership initiatives in Sri Lanka in the important sector of education.

Besides support for infrastructure development and equipment supply, training and capacity-building have formed an equally important focus area for India’s development cooperation projects in the sector in Sri Lanka.

Source: PTI

The Election Commission has officially announced the spending limits for political parties, independent groups, and candidates in the upcoming election campaigns.

In the Colombo district, the highest expenditure cap has been set, allowing candidates to spend up to Rs. 5,750,000.

Political parties and independent groups in Colombo may allocate a maximum of Rs. 79,493,756.

For national list candidates in Colombo, the spending limit is established at Rs. 34,698.

In the Gampaha district, candidates can spend a maximum of Rs. 5,643,387, while political parties or independent groups may expend up to Rs. 81,735,055.

For national list candidates in Gampaha, the spending limit is established at Rs. 345,667.

The lowest spending limit has been designated for the Wanni electoral district, where candidates can allocate Rs. 1,673,243.

For political parties or independent groups in Wanni, the maximum expenditure is capped at Rs. 9,913,964.

National list candidates are allowed to spend Rs. 4,327 on their campaigns.

Candidates are required to submit a detailed expenditure report to the Election Commission within 21 days following the announcement of election results.

The Election Commission mandates that the signatures of the party secretary, independent group leader, and candidates must be certified by the Commissioner for Oaths or a Justice of the Peace.

India has completed 60 grant projects in Sri Lanka and implementing 16 more currently, the development coming more through investments and grants and relatively less through debt instruments, India’s envoy to Sri Lanka said on Tuesday.

Santosh Jha, the High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, also reaffirmed India’s support for island nation’s debt restructuring efforts, securing IMF support, and extending bilateral financial support to overcome immediate challenges.

Emphasising the importance of a robust partnership between India and Sri Lanka, highlighting the intertwined destinies of the two nations, Jha – who was speaking at the 45th National Conference of CA Sri Lanka – underscored the shared geography, history, and future that bind the two countries.

Source: PTI

Former presidents Ranil Wickremesinghe and Chandrika Kumaratunga engulfed in an argument over an incident of a certain political leader’s young son hiding USD 1000 million in a Dubai bank, where Mr. Wickremesinghe rebuffed the allegation claiming that his 2015 government could not find any even though teams were sent to Dubai.

Ms Kumaratunga said it was found out in 2015 that a young son of a certain political leader had hidden USD 1000 million in a Dubai bank but the government could not bring it back.

“I saw the bank statement with my own eyes. But, we could not charge him in court because we needed the original documents,” she said speaking at the 45th National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka on Wednesday night.

Responding to the allegations, Mr. Wickremesinghe said the government sent in teams to Dubai but could not find any.

“I was told that the member’s relatives had kept money abroad. The bank was named as National Bank of Dubai. We sent in teams which had officials from the Police, AG’s Department and the Bribery Commission. We were not able to get anything at all. It was not there. Minister Thilak Marapana spoke to the foreign minister of the UAE. There was no trace of the money. The bank said they cannot disclose anything unless we have a court order,” he said.

He said the then government sent teams to Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore but could not find any dollar alleged to have been hidden.

“The person who claimed of hidden money in Uganda is also withdrawing the allegation,” he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka would not be able to control corruption unless sophisticated machinery is brought in.

“Everyone talks of corruption. They talk of doing away with corruption within one year. Have they been able to do that? How many governments have come to power saying that they will do away with corruption? Why we have not been succeeding while some other countries have. Corruption has become a political tool and something for the media. No one looks at what has to be done. We have not had a sophisticated machinery that is needed to control corruption. It is not like 40 years ago, you can do something and you can get paid elsewhere. If you get money in Bitcoins, we don’t have the ability. Our own machinery cannot do that. I don’t think even the present president will be able to do that. That is why we discussed with the IMF as to what we should do,” he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said the government filed number of cases in 2015 but most of them got acquitted.

“The present president talks of anti-corruption law. If you talk of bringing the money back, first, you need to identify it. So far there has not been any fund identification. Secondly, how can you bring it back? We need people who are trained for this. Some of the cases got rejected due to legal deficiency on our side,” he added.

The Government on Tuesday (15) reaffirmed its commitment to investigate all past crimes and prosecute those responsible, whilst clarifying the decision to select seven high-profile cases that have been prioritised for expedited review.

Addressing the media at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting briefing, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Vijitha Herath assured that the Government would not limit its inquiries to these cases alone, but would pursue justice for all reported, yet stalled crimes, including economic offences, murders and disappearances.

The seven cases prioritised include the Central Bank Bond scam, the Easter Sunday terror attacks, the kidnapping and murder of journalist D.P. Sivaram, the disappearance of Lalith Kumar and Kugan Muruganadan, Vice Chancellor Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath, the murder of businessman Dinesh Schaffter and the shooting outside the W15 hotel in Weligama.

In addition, he said investigations into prominent incidents such as the deaths of rugby player Wasim Thajudeen, journalist Lasantha Wickremetunge and the disappearance of cartoonist Pradeep Ekneligoda.

Herath explained that these cases were selected because the investigations are nearly complete or require minimal additional work

“This does not mean that the Government exclude other cases,” he stated, promising investigations into all big and small accumulated cases that got delayed due to various reasons.

He also reassured the public that systematic investigations are already underway into the Easter Sunday attacks and Central Bank Bond scam adding the Government will ensure accountability without safeguarding any individual involved.