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Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna National List MP, former State Minister Dr. Sudarshanee Fernandopulle, has pledged her support for Sajith Premadasa in the upcoming presidential election.

She announced her decision after a meeting with Sajith Premadasa this morning.

Dr. Fernandopulle is the wife of the late Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, a close associate of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was elected to Parliament from Gampaha district.

She has held a number of senior government positions, and was also the State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control during the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government.

Irrigation, Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation Minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi today said that she will support President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the upcoming Presidential election.

She said in a statement that most of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party members in Ratnapura district had informed her to support Ranil Wickremesinghe at the upcoming Presidential election.

“When making crucial political decisions, I have always followed the policy of listening to the people and party members of the Ratnapura district who work with me,” she said.

“Furthermore, I believe that a government leader who makes direct and realistic decisions is needed at this moment to further build our motherland, which we have all made stable with great sacrifices,” the Minister said.

“Therefore, I have decided to remain with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and support Ranil Wickremesinghe,” she added.

(dailymirror.lk)

The Government plans to establish Provincial Economic Development Boards to decentralize economic authority across provinces, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

The Government is working to ease numerous legal regulations that have impacted businesses and is developing a new institutional framework to support entrepreneurs, the President’s Media Divisions said.

President Wickremesinghe made note of these developments during a meeting with representatives of the Kandy District Trade Association.

Commenting on the Government’s plans to decentralise the economy, the President said that he expects opportunities for significant progress by mid 2025.

“I plan to include businesses in new legislation and reduce many existing laws and regulations,” Wickremesinghe said, adding that the Government is working towards the new Economic Commission.

“Strengthening regional trade boards is essential as we decentralize the economy. I have also proposed the establishment of provincial development boards, a plan that has received support from other stakeholders,” the President said.

Plans have also been laid out to transform Kandy into a major economic hub, with implementation set to begin next year, the President said.

During the meeting, the Kandy business community representatives discussed their business challenges with the President and also presented their set of proposals.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe met with a group of undergraduate law students from the Open University of Sri Lanka to the Presidential Secretariat yesterday (06), fostering an educational and interactive experience.

This visit marks a part of the initiative by the President to provide school and university students with opportunities to explore places of educational value around Colombo, including the President’s House, the Presidential Secretariat, the Port City, the Central Bank, and the Parliament.

Approximately 280 undergraduate law students were participated in the field trip. During their visit to the Presidential Secretariat, President Wickremesinghe engaged in a friendly and informative conversation with the students, who had requested an opportunity to meet him.

The President inquired about their educational activities and addressed their questions regarding the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary, providing insights into these crucial aspects of governance.

The visit concluded with a group photo of the President and the students, marking a memorable and inspiring day for the future legal professionals.

Secretary to the President Mr. Saman Ekanayake, Legal Advisor to the President Ms. Bimba Thilakaratne and Assistant Director of the Presidential Secretariat Major Nadeeka Dangolla were also present at the occasion.

The National Election Commission has received 112 complaints regarding election law violations within the 24-hour period that ended at 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

Among them, 87 complaints were filed with the Election Complaint Management Centre, while 25 were received by District Election Complaint Management Centres.

Additionally, 269 election law violations were reported between July 31 and August 9, including one act of violence.

Out of these 269 violations, 189 were reported to the National Election Complaint Management Center, and 77 were reported to District Election Complaint Management Centres.

In a significant development ahead of the upcoming presidential election, bonds were deposited for Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the candidate representing the National People’s Power (NPP).

The deposit was made at the National Election Secretariat in Rajagiriya.

Notable attendees at the deposit submission included MPs Vijitha Herath, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, and Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala.

Eight state ministers from the SLPP are planning to step down, lankadeepa.lk reports quoting reliable sources.

They are the ones who have decided against supporting incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe at the upcoming presidential polls.

D.V. Chanaka, Thenuka Vidanagamage, Shasheendra Rajapaksa, Asoka Priyantha, Mohan de Silva, Indika Anuruddha, Prasanna Ranaweera and Siripala Gamlath have been named as those state ministers.

Government MPs have been criticizing them for unethically remaining in their portfolios without supporting the government.

Sri Lankan middle-distance runner Tharushi Karunarathna’s Olympics track kit is set to be displayed in the International Olympics Committee Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The 19-year-old Sri Lankan track and field athlete has donated one of her competition kits used in the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics for this purpose.

Issuing a statement, the National Olympics Committee of Sri Lanka said Karunarathna donated one of her competition kits to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) for display in the IOC Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The National Olympics Committee of Sri Lanka further said that the autographed kit was presented to Ms. Anne Jaccard, Senior Manager of Exhibits and Programs of the IOC Museum at the Games Village.

In recognition of this gesture, Tharushi will receive a certificate signed by the IOC President, it added.

Sri Lankan athlete Tharushi Karunaratne competed in the Women’s 800m event at the Paris Olympics, but her journey concluded after she finished 7th in Heat 4 of the Repechage round.

The youngest athlete to represent Sri Lanka at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Tharushi Karunarathna clocked a time of 2:06.66 in the Repechage round.

Harin Fernando and Manusha Nanayakkara have stepped down from their ministerial portfolios, following today’s Supreme Court ruling to uphold their expulsion from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.

Fernando announced his decision to step down as the Minister of Tourism, Lands, Sports and Youth, addressing staff members of his ministries.

He stressed that his decision to take up a ministerial position was because of his need to serve the country. “If you think I made the decision to take up a ministerial portfolio, I would not have taken it up at a time that Ministers’ houses were being set on fire,” Fernando said.

The former minister said that he believes that it is the best time to step down, as he has performed well in his duties.

Sri Lanka clinching the ‘Best International Tourism Board’ award at the Global Tourism Awards 2024, and Sri Lanka Cricket’s recent success, were testaments to his dedication, Fernando said.

Meanwhile, Manusha Nanayakkara has also resigned from his portfolio as Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment.

Nanayakkara was informed of the Supreme Court ruling today, while attending a meeting with migrant workers earlier today.

“I am unable to work as Minister from today, but I wish everyone success to carry on with the good work,” he said, commenting on successful foreign employment programmes under his tenure.

Addressing the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Summit 2024 at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel , Colombo today (06), President Ranil Wickremesinghe outlined Sri Lanka’s commitment to achieving sustainable development goals and reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The president highlighted several rapid methods to achieve these objectives, including harnessing renewable energy, modernizing agriculture, and addressing water shortages.

The president emphasized that attracting global financial facilities through commercial investments is a key part of Sri Lanka’s strategy. He detailed plans to transform the plantation sector into agribusinesses, promote sustainable tourism, and enhance product improvement and digitization.

The conference, held under the theme “Sustainable Pathways for a Brighter Future,” features presentations from approximately 15 experts in environment, society, and governance, who are sharing crucial knowledge and innovative solutions for achieving sustainability.

During the event, President Wickremesinghe presented the ESG Excellence Awards to micro, small, and medium-scale entrepreneurs, recognizing their contributions to environmental, social, and governance initiatives.

Addressing the gathering the President further elaborated:

“I must thank you for taking up the ESG on which you have been holding your conferences for the last three years. It’s good because you have to learn how the world is changing, especially the private sector and commitment to economic, social, and governance. We have to push it further. And I think we are the best of all the countries in South Asia to do so. The Maldives is like us but a bit too small. The rest, I don’t think they are ready. So we must be the first.

But while I commend the private sector globally and here for moving in this direction, you must also remember the geopolitical situation in the world today seems to be coming in the other direction. All the hurrah of the SDGs and of the Paris Climate Summit and even Glasgow have got stuck. We have not made very much progress since then. And the situation also is not good. The world is still recovering from COVID-19, a year or two.

The Chinese economy is not performing at its best. It will take a few more years. Even the US economy, they talked of a boom, but they have talked now that the job market is disappearing. So we should look at the two major economies in the world. You can’t say this very much of Europe either. I mean, they are going ahead, but there are problems. So it’s going to take a few more years. So it’s in this background that we are looking at the Sustainable Development Goals. How do we achieve them? For us, where are the funds? How many countries can spend money on this? And you see a turnaround, well, how ESG will be treated, and the approach if Trump becomes president, is an open question.
But more disturbing was what happened in the UK. Under Boris Johnson, the Glasgow Conference and the Principals were welcomed by everyone. Within two years, his own successor, Rishi Sunak, had gone back on everything just to get the right-wing vote from reform which he failed also. Today we have a new government in the UK who want to turn it back but remember UK no longer has the money.

We have been talking of all the funds that we are to get. We talk at COP 27, 28, 29. This time I am going to wear a hat and go there because each time they mention this, I will raise my hat because it’s like an old friend passing me by. I don’t think there’s anything more you could do but there’ll be a good fight there. How much money are we giving? We went to Paris for the debt meeting, but results are still not out yet. And to make it worse, I don’t know how the Paris assembly would react to it. But where is the money? They are short of money. In the meantime, the US alone has spent more money on Ukraine and Israel.

I think that money could have helped us out. Then take what Europe is now giving on this. And we don’t know how much Russia has spent.

So all that money could have been used. It’s not being done. Secondly, the Middle East situation is such, Iran seems to be wanting to retaliate. To retaliate is going to be bad for everyone, including Sri Lanka. I have just got a paper on the repercussions. I don’t think anyone would like to read it. Just think of the countries that are worse off than us.

Think of a country like Bangladesh, which is in turmoil. I don’t want to speak about the politics of Bangladesh, a friendly country, but it had to erupt at some time. While Sheikh Hasina has left, I still remember her because she gave us $200 million when we were really in need of money. So I think it’s only fair to say some good word about a person who’s really down at the moment. I also welcome the fact that Khalida Zia had been released from jail. If Sheikh Hasina had done it long ago, she would have still been Prime Minister. Let’s hope there’s tranquillity in Bangladesh. I have no doubt there will be tranquillity.

We should not panic. We are the largest investors; we are providing jobs in that country. So having said that, the world situation per se is not good. But that doesn’t mean that Sri Lanka is moving out of it.

In this global context, steps have been taken to establish the International Climate Change University on 600 acres in Sri Lanka, with legislative work planned by early next year. The Tropical Regions Initiative aims to use tropical regions and the Indian Ocean for carbon absorption, focusing on commercial investments. Sri Lanka is striving to meet sustainable development goals and achieve zero emissions by 2040 through renewable energy, modernizing agriculture, and addressing water scarcity issues. To this end, attracting global financial facilities through commercial investments is key. The transformation from plantation businesses to agribusiness, promotion of sustainable tourism, and product improvement and digitization are main objectives. Additionally, four new technical universities are being established to support technical education and innovation.”

Prominent attendees included Professor HD Karunaratne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Colombo; Mark Surgenor, Chief Executive Officer of HSBC for Sri Lanka and the Maldives; university faculty; businessmen; senior officials from the private business sector; officials of the Colombo University MBA Alumni Association; scholars; and other distinguished guests.

An additional sum of US$ 590,000 has been received by the “Children of Gaza Fund,” which was established by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to provide for the basic needs of children displaced due to the current military situation in the Gaza Strip. The official handover to the Palestinian government took place yesterday (07) at the Presidential Secretariat under the patronage of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The official documents were presented by President Wickremesinghe to the Palestinian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Dr. Zuhair M.H. Zaid, and the Resident Representative of UNDP in Sri Lanka, Azusa Kubota.

Following a proposal by President Ranil Wickremesinghe during the Cabinet meeting on March 4, 2024, the government of Sri Lanka agreed to provide financial assistance of US$ 01 million to cover the essential expenses of nearly one million children trapped in the Gaza Strip due to the war. The Cabinet of Ministers approved this grant.

As per the President’s request, funds allocated by ministries and government institutions for the last Iftar celebration were redirected to this fund. The US$ 01 million received was donated to the Palestinian government on April 01st, 2024, as part of the first phase.

Additionally, in response to the President’s request, business institutions, various organizations, and the general public contributed to the fund, with the opportunity to donate extended until July 31, 2024. As a result, the fund collected a sum of US$ 590,000 by the deadline, which was handed over to the Palestinian government yesterday.

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya and Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardena were also present at the handover ceremony.

Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Presidential Secretariat expressed their gratitude to everyone who contributed to the Children of Gaza Fund.

The agreement for obtaining USD 300 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the implementation of power sector reforms and financial sustainability program has been signed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the ADB.

The Government of Sri Lanka had discussions with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to mobilize three policy-based loans (PBL) amounting to USD 300 million to implement the Power Sector Reforms and Financial Sustainability Program.

The relevant Power Sector Reforms and Financial Sustainability Program, consists of three subprograms and a loan of USD 100 million will be mobilized once the policy actions relevant for each of the subprograms are completed, according to the ADB.

The Program will support the establishment of independent and financially sustainable electricity utilities. Also, it will support streamlined and accelerated development of renewable energy sources for electricity generation under the reform areas.

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies will be the Executing Agency of the above Program and the Ministry of Power and Energy will implement the Program, in collaboration with the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) and Lanka Electricity Company Pvt Ltd (LECO).

Since the relevant agencies have successfully achieved all pre-policy actions related to Subprogram 01, the relevant loan proceeds of USD 100 million will be disbursed to the Treasury once the loan agreement declared effective. The loan will be provided under concessionary terms at a fixed interest rate of 2.0% per year with a repayment period of 25-years, including a 5-year grace period.

The loan agreement for the policy-based lending for Subprogram 01 was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank on 05 August 2024 at the Treasury in Colombo.

Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana and Mr. Takafumi Kadono, Country Director of ADB Sri Lanka Residence Mission, placed the signatures on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Asian Development Bank, respectively, the ADB added.