Budget 2021 was passed in Parliament on Thursday, December 10 with a two-thirds majority again showing the political stability of the SLPP-led Government.
The Budget received 151 votes in favour and 54 votes against. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB) and the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) voted against the Budget while the Ilangai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) MPs were not present in the Chamber at the time of voting. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister presented the Budget for 2021 in Parliament on November 17 and that was the 75th Budget of the country and the inaugural Budget of the SLPP Government.
President meets entrepreneurs
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa held a discussion with private sector entrepreneurs at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday to revive the economy which is in doldrums with the spread of Covid-19 and achieving long-term economic development.
The President told the entrepreneurs, “It is easy to import everything and sell. If we do so we will not be able to build a strong economy. The growth of the economy must take place in a manner that secures the wellbeing of all segments of the society. In this regard the contribution and new approaches of the private sector are pivotal.”
President Rajapaksa said that his objective is to bring about a balanced growth in all sectors of the economy and suggested to the private sector to come up with measures that would help reaching this goal and identify obstacles that stand in the way.
Entrepreneurs who attended the discussion hailed President Rajapaksa’s consistent and systematic policies to build a strong economy and praised concessions provided for economic growth in the 2021 Budget.
They explained the prevailing issues faced by them such as lack of skilled manpower, institutional inefficiency, shortage of building materials, lethargy of some employees and difficulty in finding new markets were among the main issues they mentioned.
The President said, “Economic empowerment of all segments of the society is a priority. Farmers make 35 percent of the population of our country. Agriculture is linked to the livelihood of 70 percent of the population. While increasing the productivity of this sector youth should be attracted to it.” President Rajapaksa assured the entrepreneurs that solutions will be provided to the problems faced by them after a careful study.
Ayurvedic tonic
Several Parliamentarians who had gathered in Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena’s chamber on Thursday, December 10 had consumed the ayurvedic tonic produced by ayurvedic practitioner Dhammika Bandara which caused a stir in Kegalle a couple of days ago, despite health authorities stating that it had not been scientifically tested.
Pictures of the Parliamentarians consuming the ayurvedic tonic went viral on social media on Thursday with several posts querying as to how the MPs could consume the concoction if it was not yet scientifically tested. Several had also criticised the move saying the tonic should receive clearance prior to being consumed.
Some Parliamentarians who consumed the tonic had told the media that it was not an endorsement of the product by the Government but they had consumed it as it was presented by Dhammika Bandara himself who visited Parliament on Thursday with State Minister of Indigenous Medicine Sisira Jayakody to present the tonic to the Speaker. The tonic is said to contain pure bee’s honey and is undergoing clinical trials by health authorities to ascertain if it can be used as a suitable cure for the coronavirus.
UNP group meets
UNP Leader and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held a discussion at former Minister Vajira Abeywardena’s official residence in Colombo on December 8 regarding the UNP’s program for the next year.
Former UNP MPs Ruwan Wijewardena, Vajira Abeywardena, Sandeep Samarasinghe, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Arjuna Ranatunga, Range Bandara and Sagala Ratnayake participated in the discussion chaired by UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Former UNP Parliamentarians Ravi Karunanayake, Navin Dissanayake and Lakshman Wijemanna who were distanced from party activities after Ruwan Wijewardena was appointed the Deputy Leader of the party were also present.
The discussion which commenced around 4.00 pm continued till midnight. Ravi Karunanayake, Lakshman Wijemanna and Navin Dissanayake had expressed their views as to how all should unite to work for the future prospects of the party without any division. The first round of talks had ended after fixing another date to conduct further discussions.
Northern and Eastern MPs meet PM
A group of Tamil Parliamentarians representing the Northern and Eastern Provinces met Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Parliament complex on Thursday, December 10. It is reported that the group had presented a letter to him.
The Parliamentarians through the letter had requested the Prime Minister to intervene to release the Tamil political prisoners detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. The group of Tamil parliamentarians has also requested the Premier send the letter to the President. This letter has been signed by 15 members of the Tamil National Alliance and the Tamil National People’s Front representing the Northern and the Eastern Provinces.
Humane manner
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa instructed officials to act immediately to resolve shortcomings in prisons and provide the prisoners with facilities while adopting a more humane approach towards them.
Observing that over 12,000 drug-addicts were in jail, the President stressed the importance of implementing a drug rehabilitation program with special attention to them. He was addressing a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday, December 10 to look into the prevailing problems in prisons and recommend solutions to them.
He instructed officials to look into the possibility of constructing prisons in the locations already identified using prefabricated material. The President stressed the need to study models of prisons in foreign countries and provide such facilities to prisons in the country. Many people are languishing in prisons due to delays on the part of the Government Analyst’s Department, Attorney General’s Department and the Police Department. He said that a Presidential Task Force comprising the Customs, Police, Prisons Department and other agencies must be formed to resolve the prevailing issues in prisons.
Chairman of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Political Victimistion retired Supreme Court Judge Upali Abeyratne presented its report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat on December 8.
The three-member Presidential Commission of Inquiry was appointed by the President on January 20, 2020. The Commission was entrusted with the task of inquiring into political victimisation and related issues took place in the wake of investigations conducted by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, FCID, CID and the Special Investigation Unit of the Police from January 8, 2015 to November 16, 2019.
The Commission also has conducted an in-depth investigation into serious fraud, corruption, abuse of state resources, privileges, power and authority. The Commission had received 1971 complaints for investigation and its report consists of three volumes and 2,043 pages.
Foreign Minister meets two HCs
Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena met the British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton and Canadian High Commissioner David McKinnon, last week to discuss matters of bilateral importance. The Minister addressed the mutual concern of security of countries, particularly in the context of the increasingly visible activities in the past few weeks by non-state actors engaged in glorification of terrorist acts of the LTTE, including suicide bombers.
Serious note was taken by the envoys regarding the use of children in terrorist propaganda activities, leading to the radicalisation of new generations of youth and children. The High Commissioners conveyed the strong position of their governments that there was no tolerance for terrorist activities nor glorification of terrorism, in their countries, and the recent spate of acts of non-state entities in no way reflected a change in their official position on such matters.
Minister Gunawardena thanked the High Commissioners for the continued commitment in the global fight against terrorism, including the commitment to ensure non-resurgence of the LTTE, which remains proscribed as a terrorist group in both the United Kingdom and Canada. He said that being Commonwealth countries, the relations between Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom and Canada are deep-rooted, steadfast and wide-ranging, and expressed confidence of continued close cooperation.
Parliamentary Acts
UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the abolition of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) set up by an Act of Parliament can only be done by another Act and added that it cannot be done by an order of the President.
Wickremesinghe was speaking at a recent discussion held with a group of party seniors at his residence. The former Prime Minister stressed that the PUCSL which was set up in 2002 during the presidency of Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga with the aim of regulating institutions such as the Electricity Board and providing relief to the people, was able to intervene in the problems of the Board. Wickremasinghe said the closure of the Commission would cause major problems for consumers as well as raise doubts as to whether the order was made to increase electricity prices.
Secretary to the President Dr. P.B. Jayasundera in a letter instructed the Secretary of Treasury S.R. Attygalle to take procedural steps to close PUCSL, the electricity sector regulator and the designated regulator for water services.
State Minister of Money and Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms Ajith Nivard Cabraal told Parliament that Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa’s questions on the management of the Government reminded him of a person who drives recklessly, knocks down a person and then queries from the latter what happened.
Foreign debt
State Minister Cabraal said, “The Yahapalana Government where Opposition Leader Premadasa was a powerful minister brought the economy to its knees and is now asking us to rectify the issues they created.” He said the former Yahapalana Government obtained US$ 6.9 billion in loans and sovereign bonds at an interest of 7.8 percent.
“With US$ 6.9 billion, we could have been built six harbours the size of Hambantota harbour. The absurd thing is that many local and foreign institutions kept mum about your reckless loan taking.
During the tenure of our Government before 2015, we borrowed only US$ 5.5 billion for the entire nine year period. The debt was at 91 percent of the GDP when we took the office and we brought it down to 70 percent of the GDP. During the period of the Yahapalana Government it has been increased to 86 percent from 2015 to 2019. Therefore, some of the questions are asked from us now, Sajith Premadasa should have raised them in the Cabinet during the time of the Yahapalana Government.”
PC elections
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has directed the members of the Election Commission to look into the possibility and legal implications on holding the Provincial Council elections.
The directives came during a meeting held with the Election Commission’s Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa and the Election Commission members at the Premier’s official residence in Wijerama on Thursday. Accordingly, Premier Rajapaksa has instructed them to explore the possibility of having the election either under the new or old electoral system.
The Election Commission members had told the Prime Minister that legal work for changing the electoral system must be carried out at ministerial level. They have suggested that the upcoming PC election be held under the old system. They said that the election laws require amendments and emphasised the need for a parliamentary select committee for this purpose. Responding to the Election Commission members, the Premier said he has already referred this matter to the Speaker.
Protest
The SJB staged a silent protest in front of the Presidential Secretariat a few days ago demanding an immediate stop to oppression. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also took part in the protest which was staged mainly based on Mahara prison riots.