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Former Secretary to the Agriculture Ministry, Prof. Uditha K. Jayasinghe, who was axed from the post on Wednesday (22), hinted the reason behind his removal could be his educating people about a possible food crisis in the country next year.

Prof. Jayasinghe was removed from the post, days after warning about a possible food shortage in the coming year.

He once again raised concerns over the matter, speaking to the media today (23), adding that he is yet to be given a reason for his removal.

“Therefore, I do not know the exact reason as to why I was removed from the post. Also, I have not been informed about it officially as well,” he added.

“Everyone who has knowledge on the subject can understand that if the current situation in the country continues, a food shortage in the coming year is inevitable. We have to show the actual situation, so preparations could be made to avoid a food shortage. That was what I did in a simple manner. Policies of the Government cannot be violated by doing so,” he pointed out.

Speaking further, Prof. Jayasinghe said, “I have done research about the subject for several decades. If we cannot make a prediction after studying current data, what is the point of us having education about the subject for 30 years? The truth can hurt sometimes for those who try to hide the facts. But this is the reality. It is useless if we cannot inform the real situation to the public. The President also has instructed me that it is my responsibility to educate people. That was what I did.”

Moreover, Prof. Jayasinghe said he is sad about losing the post.

“It does not mean that I am wailing over losing the post. It is okay to lose the post if people are educated. I am sad because I sacrificed my expertise, time and efforts to do something good during the past few months. I did not even get a salary for the post. So I am sad about that,” he said.

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With 18 more Covid related deaths confirmed by the Director General of Health Services, the death toll due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka has climbed up to 14,752.

There will no longer be price controls on bakery products, including bread, from midnight today (21), the All Ceylon Bakery Owners Association announced.

Instead, the prices are due to be determined by the supply and demand, president of the Association, N.K Jayawardena said.

"By stating that there will be no more control prices, we are merely affirming that we will no longer be deciding prices for bakery products. It is not possible to do this any more as prices of goods increase by the day", he said.

Bakery owners will now be given the liberty to decide the prices of their products as per demand and supply and other contributory factors, Jayawardena noted.

Setbacks are part of the journey and the leader should be able to face them successfully and make bold decisions, said president Gotabaya Rajapaksa today (19).

He was giving a speech at the 96th commissioning parade of the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyatalawa.

“Discipline of the highest degree is one of the most important aspects in a military officer’s life. Optimism, self-belief, and confidence in yourself and those in your teams will be at the heart of your success,” said the president.

“The attention you pay to simple tasks builds discipline, it fosters attention to detail, and it provides a sense of accomplishment, no matter how small, as you start your day.”

“There will be many situations in your life where no matter how capable or skilled you are as an individual, you will not be able to succeed without the support of others,” the President said.

“Someday, one of you may even become the Commander of the Army and be responsible for the entire organization and all the people in it.”

“As you start on this journey, you must understand that the soldiers under your command are ordinary people, and not supermen. It is your responsibility to ensure that you get outstanding results from such normal people,” the president added.

A total of 316 officer cadets from Intake five passed out.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 24 more coronavirus-related deaths for December 20, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,795.

According to the figures released by the Government Information Department, the deaths reported today include 11 males and 13 females.

Five of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years and the remaining 19 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 14 more coronavirus-related deaths for December 17, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,734.

According to the figures released by the Government Information Department, the deaths reported today include 09 males and 05 females.

Five of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years and the remaining 09 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

The Government Medical Officers Association says it will launch an island-wide strike action at 8 AM on Tuesday (21).

The strike will take place from Tuesday citing 7 demands.

However, all COVID-19 treatment and emergency treatment services will continue without any obstruction.

The GMOA said the Health Ministry should be held accountable for the issues that may arise, as the ministry failed to solve their matters through dialogue.

(AFP) International ratings agency Fitch downgraded Sri Lanka Saturday by one notch to “CC” due to mounting fears of a sovereign default on its $26 billion foreign debt.

The downgrade came a day after Sri Lanka reported a 1.5 percent contraction in the third quarter of this year as a foreign exchange crisis wrecked its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Fitch said the downgrade reflected its view of an “increased probability of a default event in coming months” as Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves slumped to $1.58 billion at the end of November.

“We believe it will be difficult for the government to meet its external debt obligations in 2022 and 2023 in the absence of new external financing sources,” the agency said in a statement.

It noted Sri Lanka had to repay two international sovereign bonds of $500 million in January 2022 and $1.0 billion in July 2022 with little improvement in capital inflows into the nation of 21 million people.

Foreign-currency debt service payments, including principal and interest, for next year total $6.9 billion, or the equivalent of nearly 430 percent of the island’s official gross international reserves as of November 2021.

“Cumulative foreign-currency debt service, including interest and principal, amounts to about $26 billion from 2022 through to 2026,” Fitch said.

The island’s tourism-dependent economy was hammered by the pandemic and authorities responded to falling foreign exchange reserves with a broad import ban, triggering shortages including food, fuel and medicines.

The crisis has spread to affect manufacturing and services and agriculture has also suffered badly due to a ban on agrochemical imports.

Sri Lanka’s economy had grown 12.3 percent in the second quarter but a third wave of infections that forced a 41-day curfew saw services and industries heavily affected, the statistics office said on Friday.

Its foreign reserves of $1.58 billion at the end of November compared with $7.5 billion when the government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa took over two years ago.

Supermarkets have rationed staples such as milk powder, sugar, lentils, tinned fish and rice as commercial banks ran out of dollars to finance imports.

The central bank has been appealing for foreign currency, even loose change people may have after returning from overseas trips, as the government desperately looks for dollars.

The banking regulator has also warned it will freeze accounts of informal money changers who offer higher prices for hard currency than official exchange rates.

-Agencies

With 19 more Covid related deaths confirmed by the Director General of Health Services, the death toll due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Sri Lanka has climbed up to 14,771.

The Director-General of Health Services has confirmed 22 more coronavirus-related deaths for December 16, increasing the death toll in the country due to the virus pandemic to 14,720.

According to the figures released by the Government Information Department, the deaths reported today include 15 males and 07 females.

#lkThree of the patients are between the ages 30-59 years and the remaining 19 are in the age group of 60 years and above.

Government doctors will stage a 24-hour token strike in five districts tomorrow to protest post-internship appointments without approval by the transfer board.

The union action will begin at 8.00 am at hospitals in Mannar, Trincomalee, Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura and Polonnaruwa, said GMOA secretary Dr Shenal Fernando at a media briefing.

He said government hospitals in these five districts are having major issues due to these unsanctioned appointments.

The Court of Appeal has directed the two largest suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas in Sri Lanka - Litro Gas Lanka Limited and Laugfs Gas PLC – to only distribute products that are in compliance with the standards approved by Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI).

This interim order was issued by Appeals Court Judges Ruwan Fernando and Sampath Wijeratne when the writ application filed by public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku was taken up this morning.

In his petition, Kodituwakku also sought the Appeals Court to direct the Inspector-General of Police to initiate criminal investigations against Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Chairman of Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Director-General of Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) on the matter.

He alleged that the importation and distribution of substandard LP gas have resulted in a number of dangerous incidents across the island.

During today’s proceedings, the judge bench also ordered the two gas companies to recall the unused gas cylinders that have already been released to the market.

Further, Litro Gas Lanka and Laugfs Gas were directed to display a sticker on cylinders indicating the composition of LPG.