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Sri Lanka has got a fresh complaint from India – this time over delaying its development projects, only days after the giant neighbour sought clarification from President Maithripala Sirisena over serious allegations reportedly made against New Delhi that Colombo has staunchly denied.
 
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed bitter disappointment and regret about the Sri Lankan Government constantly delaying Indian development projects in the island, and urged Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to pick up the pace, during talks between the two leaders in New Delhi yesterday.
 
The concerns were raised while the Government was still reeling from doing diplomatic damage control with India over remarks at the Cabinet meeting last Tuesday (16). In an unprecedentedly candid media release about the bilateral talks held at Hyderabad House in New Delhi last afternoon, the Prime Minister’s Office said the Indian Prime Minister had expressed serious disappointment on Sri Lanka’s delays in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding signed on Economic Cooperation in April 2017.
 
Premier Modi said, he had spent the most of his time allocated to diplomatic matters, on Sri Lanka, and expressed his discontent over the response of the Sri Lankan government towards the assistance given by India, the release from Wickremesinghe’s office noted. The Indian Prime Minister requested the Sri Lankan Prime Minister to discuss, without hesitation, if there were any concerns or doubts about him or the Indian government.
 
The official release said Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had stressed that neither he nor Sri Lankans have any doubt or issue about Premier Modi or the Indian Government. He further expressed his apology if any omission had created that kind of misunderstanding.
 
When he spoke with President Maithripala Sirisena about strengthening bilateral ties in Katmandu recently, the pair exchanged ideas about conducting all matters in line with the 2017 MOU, Prime Minister Modi had noted during the discussion.
 
The MoU on Economic Cooperation identifies certain areas of cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture and livestock, but specifically mentions the re-gasified LNG fired 500MW plant, an LNG Terminal with a floating re-gasification unit in Kerawalapitiya, a 15 MW solar power plant in Sampur and the Upper Tank Farm in Trincomalee – all to be jointly developed by India and Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s three day visit to India was specifically aimed at talks about these projects and the development of the Palaly airport, the Mattala airport and the East Container Terminal through India-led investments.
 
The critical comments from the Indian Prime Minister come in the backdrop of heated arguments reported at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers last week, specifically referring to the proposal to lease the Colombo East Container Terminal to an Indian joint venture company in line with these agreements for economic cooperation.
 
Extending his gratitude for the support extended by India, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe assured the Indian PM that he would take necessary steps swiftly to ensure that development projects were back on their original trajectory.
The two met at Hyderabad House as Premier Wickremesinghe concluded his three-day visit to India.
 
During the meeting, Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted, “Special place in our hearts for Sri Lanka. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes the Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe. At the delegation level talks, the leaders took stock of the entire range of our bilateral relations, especially the development projects in Sri Lanka.” There was no corresponding read out of the meeting from the Indian Prime Minister’s Office at the time of going to press, but highly placed sources said any official statement was unlikely to be quite as candid. Delighted to meet PM Ranil Wickremesinghe in Delhi today. We had fruitful discussions, reviewing our various aspects of India-Sri Lanka cooperation,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted from his official Twitter account.
 
Prior to that meeting, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe met Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. During the meeting with the former, the Prime Minister discussed security and anti-terror cooperation between India and Sri Lanka.
 
On Friday (19), Prime Minister Wickremesinghe met with Indian National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, another high level meeting during his visit. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka also met former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday, where they discussed ‘Freedom of Navigation in the Indian Ocean’. (Sunday Observer)

The fuel pricing formula was revealed by Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera, today (18), during a press conference held at the Treasury. 

Accordingly, the much hyped fuel pricing formula is as follows:

MRP = V1 + V2 + V3 + V4

Samaraweera said that the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) was based on four factors. They are landed cost, processing cost, administrative cost and taxation.

The government is taking measures to release the private lands taken into custody of the Tri‑Forces during the period of conflict in the Northern and Eastern Provinces to the original owners of those lands.
 
Plans are in progress to release a 23-acre block of land in Mullikulam, Mannar, a block of 53 acres of land in Mullivaikal, Mullaitivu held in the custody of the Sri Lanka Navy and a 3-acre block of land in Thoppur, Trincomalee where the 224 Brigade Headquarters of the Sri Lanka Army has been established, to the original owners of the lands, a statement on cabinet decisions said.
 
Also, in order to enable the people to be resettled in those areas to maintain sustainable livelihood activities, three small tanks so identified will be renovated while developing the infrastructure facilities in such areas and handing them over to the original owners.
 
Accordingly, a proposal made by Minister of Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Northern Development & Hindu Religious Affairs D.M. Swaminathan to re‑establish such facilities enabling to release the lands being occupied by the Tri‑Forces and to secure the funds required for the development of infrastructure facilities in the areas, was approved by the Cabinet. (ColomboPage)

State Minister of International Trade Sujeewa Senasinghe said that he will resort to legal action against High-Speed Railway Corporation Pvt Ltd, its two project directors as well as several media institutions on defamation charges.  

Senasinghe who held a media conference in Colombo yesterday stressed that he will sue the company and its two directors for making false allegations on soliciting a commission of USD 25 million to provide the Board of Investment's (BOI) approval for the high-speed train project. 

He reiterated that as the State Minister of International Trade, he has no involvement in the approval process of projects under the BOI. 

The credentials of the directors and the company were questionable and they have failed to submit documentary proof relating to their financial status, capability and technical know-how, Senasinghe said.

He said this was the reason for the delay in approving the project by the government's Single Window Investment Approval Committee. 

Senasinghe revealed that he has written to the Bribery and Corruption Investigation Commission, the CID , FCID ,IGP, the President and the Prime Minister to initiate an investigation in to the allegations made by High-Speed Railway Corporation Pvt Ltd, its directors and certain media institutions.

Sri Lanka’s government is committed to further opening up the economy and import controls imposed recently are temporary moves to protect the economy, Minister of Finance and Media Mangala Samaraweera said. 

Speaking at a Retailer's Forum, Samaraweera noted that the recent, rapid depreciation of the rupee is largely due to external factors. 

"The recent depreciation of the rupee was largely due to external factors as the US interest rate hike, trade wars, and rising oil prices, have resulted in global investors taking capital out of emerging and frontier markets," he said.

Samaraweera said that however, from a policy perspective, the government has taken all necessary measures to address the factors that are within the government's control. 

The recent hike in import duty on small cars and the introduction of market-determined fuel prices are key policies to address the two sectors that caused a sharp increase in imports in 2018, he said.

“It was a tsunami of vehicles – we had to take measures to stop this flow,” Samaraweera said. 

 "I must stress that these are temporary measures ", Samaraweera added while noting that the cash margins on vehicle imports and restrictions placed on non-essential imports will be reviewed regularly.

A stupa restored under a project funded by the U.S. Department of State through the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) was inaugurated yesterday by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. Funding for the project, initiated in 2013, totals nearly LKR 43 million (USD 250,000), the US Embassy announced.

The project includes the conservation and restoration of cave dwellings, monuments, and buildings belonging to the Rajagala Buddhist forest monastery.  The project also restored the walkways that connect stupas, common buildings, caves with meditation paintings, and other significant structures. Additional excavations were conducted that identified a pre-historic human settlement, which were the first-ever research excavations carried out in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. 

“I am delighted to have joined the Prime Minister in inaugurating the stupa that has been restored with funding from the U.S. Department of State” said Mr. McGuire.  “Rajagala’s heritage is an important reminder of the breadth of the human experience in Sri Lanka.” 

Since 2001, AFCP has funded 13 projects in Sri Lanka, including the conservation of a Buddhist temple, the restoration of the Batticaloa Dutch Fort, the preservation of Buddhist, Hindu, and other collections in the Anuradhapura Archaeological Museum, and the preservation of the intangible heritage of ritual music and dance forms of the Adivasi, Tamil, and Buddhist communities.

The famed Northern lands where Sri Lanka’s chemical giant Paranthan Chemicals Company (PCC) was situated have now been earmarked for a large industrial zone which will also house Sri Lanka’s first Heavy Chemical Industry Zone. 

“Northern factories of the PCC that were discontinued in 1985 are to be revived. The site will also expand to include a Heavy Chemical Industry Zone” said the Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, today (19), in Paranthan. 

Bathiudeen was speaking to the media after his inspection tour of the defunct Paranthan Chemical factory site.

The Paranthan factory site spreads across 227 acres and all factories were destroyed during the war. In many ways, the Northern PCC factories spurred the development of the Sri Lankan manufacturing by producing and supplying domestically made, low cost chemicals that were promptly absorbed by many local industries.  

Bathiudeen said that he plans to develop the entire Paranthan site to become an industrial zone involving general and chemical industries. 117 acres in Paranthan are allocated for chemical industries, 67 acres for revived Paranthan chemical factories and another 50 acres for a Heavy Chemical Industry Zone. 

The 50 acre chemical zone will border a 110-acre general industry zone.  The first stage targets low polluting chemical production and related industries as well as industries based on mineral resources with export market potential and processed industries that work on raw material from the area.

At present, through the PCC, Sri Lanka imports its entire annual requirement of liquid chlorine. 98% of this liquid chlorine is absorbed by the Water Supply and Drainage Board. With the recommencement of PCC factories, domestic production of Sri Lanka’s total chlorine requirement would recommence saving an estimated USD 860,000 (around LKR 147 million) annually.

Sri Lanka’s Green Power Development and Energy Efficiency Improvement Investment Program will be receiving French loan facility as its second tranche towards this end. 

French Agency for Development (AFD), France’s inclusive public development bank will provide  a Euro 30 million loan to finance part of the total project cost. The balance will be borne by the Ceylon Electricity Board, the Ministry of Financey announced. 

Dr. R H S Samaratunga, Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Mass and Martin Parent, Country Director of AFD Sri Lanka Resident Mission , signed a Credit Facility Agreement on Wednesday (17), in Colombo. 

Total cost of this project is estimated at USD 260 million. Asian Development Bank has already provided USD 150 million loan to finance a part of the project. 

AFD has already provided financing to the tune of Euro 22 million for the implementation of Tranche 1 of the programme. 

The tranche 2 of the Green Power Development and Energy Efficiency Improvement Investment Program will also include three major components; 

It included transmission infrastructure enhancement; (ii) Efficiency improvement of medium voltage network and (iii) demand side management improvement for energy efficiency through development of a smart grid and metering pilot subproject.

Revenue collected from excise duties on the sale of alcohol has dropped by LKR 7 billion during the first nine months, officials from the Excise department said. 

Senior officials pointed out at a recent meeting that there was no point in blaming the officers or the department for the loss in revenue as it is caused due to economic difficulties. 

Meanwhile, a top official of the Finance Ministry has severely reprimanded excise officers publicly at a meeting blaming them for their inefficiency in tax collection, a senior excise officer said. 

Excise Department officials have informed the Finance Ministry that the low-income level population tend to consume illicit liquor such as moonshine as liquor prices have been rising steadily over the last decade. 

They also noted that the dearth of knowledgeable officers on the subject at the Excise Department was one of the main reasons for poor tax collection.     

The Ministry of Finance expects to gain an additional revenue of around LKR 20-25 billion as a result of the increase in excise duty imposed on liquor. 

The Parliament recently passed the Excise (Amendment) Bill with new amendments including a decision to introduce a sticker for every bottle of arrack that was produced legally. 

According to ministry sources, this initiative would lead to a reduction in illicit liquor from hitting the market while increasing government revenue through excise duties. 

Keeping up with international standards, an alcohol volume based excise duty was introduced through the 2018 budget discarding the ad hoc duty structure that was in place before.

The Kurunegala High Court today released former minister of cooperatives and internal trade Johnston Fernando and two other defendants, who were charged with misusing Rs. 5 million from the state-owned wholesale network Lanka Sathosa during his tenure as the Co-operatives and Internal Trade Minister.

Johnston Fernando was accused of issuing orders to the Yanthampalawa, Wehera and Mallawapitiya Sathosa Outlets to release a stock of goods worth 5.2 million rupees and that these goods had been used for election propaganda work for his son, Johan Fernando during the last Northwestern Council elections held in September 2013. 

Financial Crime Investigation Division (FCID) of police arrested Johnston Fernando and two others in May 2015 and charged over the alleged financial misappropriation.

The two other defendants who were remanded along with Former Minister Johnston Fernando are former Sathosa Chairman Nalin Fernando and Johnston Fernando's Private Secretary Raj Mohamed Shakir.

Australian Police are dropping terrorism charges against a NSW University student who was accused of plotting to assassinate Australian politicians, with the lawyer for the Sri Lankan national threatening legal action against the police.
 
Mohamed Kamer Nizamdeen, 25, was arrested in August and accused of writing in a notebook about plans to kill former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and his former deputy Julie Bishop.

He was released on bail last month after prosecutors conceded a handwriting expert could not prove he had written the notes in the notebook.
 
The ABC understands police are dropping the charge of collecting or making documents likely to facilitate terrorist acts.
 
Speaking outside court on Friday, Nizamdeen’s lawyer Moustafa Kheir said the process had taken a toll on the student, who spent a month in a maximum-security prison after being charged. “He’s gone through super max jail — unforgivable circumstances.”
 
Police had alleged Nizamdeen possessed a blueprint to target several “symbolic” Sydney locations, after officers from NSW’s Joint Counter-Terrorism Team (JCTT) arrested him at Kensington, in Sydney’s south-east in August. His arrest and time in jail sparked protests in his Sri Lankan hometown, with hundreds of people gathering. Kheir said Nizamdeen would be suing the police for compensation.

“We are seeking justice through every avenue we can,” he said. “We are seeking justice in the NSW Supreme Court.”
 
Last month during his bail hearing, prosecutor Christina Choi told the Central Local Court in Sydney evidence for the charge had been “significantly weakened” after a conclusive expert opinion suggesting the defendant was the relevant author could not be found.

Nizamdeen’s lawyer said police had conducted eight hours of interviews with the student which also did not uncover anything against the suspect. “Let’s be clear, Nizamdeen today was granted bail because the case against him is extremely weak, almost non-existent,” his lawyer Moustafa Kheir said during the hearing last month.
 
The court also heard other material belonging to Nizamdeen — such as his computer, mobile phone and other documents — did not show any extremist ideology.
 
Source: ABC News

The fuel pricing formula controversy took a new turn yesterday when head of the Economic Research Unit of the Joint Opposition MP Bandula Gunawardena alleged that Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera was implementing a formula introduced by the UNP-led United National Front (UNF) government way back in 2002.

Addressing the media at a temple in Punchi Borella, on Sunday (Oct. 14), Gunawardena displayed half a page advertisement carried in an English daily in its July 29, 2002 edition to back his claim.

Declaring that all governments had slapped taxes on oil imports, Gunawardena, subsequently contradicted his previous statement by alleging that current fuel pricing formula was introduced by the Sirisena- Wickremesinghe administration at the behest of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Gunawardena said that the IMF had made an intervention in terms of the agreement that paved the way for Sri Lanka to receive USD 1.5 bn bail-out package in six installments following the 2015 presidential election. Referring to recent claims by the government that pricing formula would be reappraised, Gunawardena insisted that no change was possible without the consent of the IMF.

When The Island pointed out that Gunawardena had made contradictory statements with regard to the pricing formula and whether he couldn’t remember he was a cabinet minister of the then Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe’s short-lived UNF government that introduced the pricing formula published in the media, the Colombo District MP said that the 2002 policy was being implemented.

Gunawardena said that the Rajapaksa administration had never burdened the public by following pricing formula based on international market prices.

Gunawardena pointed out that the Rajapaksa administration had paid USD 105 for a barrel of oil whereas the current price was around USD 80. Responding to media queries, h said that as Sri Lanka paid approximately USD 45 per barrel for 2015, 2016 and 2017 there were substantial savings amounting to over USD 5 bn.

The Island sought an explanation from Gunawardena as to how the Rajapaksa administration had made available petrol, diesel and kerosene without adhering to the pricing formula introduced in 2002, Gunawardena claimed that it had been suspended by the then President.

When it was pointed out that the President couldn’t have taken a unilateral decision in respect of taxes as the parliament was solely responsible for financial decisions as quite often emphasised by Gunawardena himself, the MP claimed there was no need to consult Parliament regarding the suspension of a pricing formula.

The issue was raised after Gunawardena claimed that the Rajapaksa government hadn’t acted on Supreme Court directive issued in late 2008 as regards a pricing formula as the parliament was solely responsible for such matters.

The Supreme Court directed Treasury Secretary to formulate a formula to regulate fuel prices in line with the oil prices in the world market. The directive followed two petitions filed against the then Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman former national cricketer Ashantha de Mel over the signing of controversial hedging agreements with two private banks that finally cost the country dearly.

Asked whether the Joint Opposition had a proper plan to manage the economy, Gunawardena said that they were ready to take up the challenge. The MP said that they had an experienced team capable of addressing economic issues and unlike those enjoying power today the former President’s team proved its capabilities during a very difficult period when the country was fighting a costly war.

Gunawardena said that the media recently quoted some three wheeler drivers as having wished that the parliament might collapse along with its 225 members. Gunwardena was the second lawmaker to make reference to parliament in this regard.

Last week, MP Dayasiri Jayasekera said that the people cursed the entire parliament over extremely difficult economic conditions experienced by them in the wake of the steep depreciation of the Rupee and hike in petrol and diesel prices. The media covering the JO briefing said that they, too, felt the same way.

Gunawardena found it difficult to explain how he could stabilise local oil market prices amidst increase in global prices. Asked whether the JO and Gunawardena as the future Finance Minister of a new government had calculated at what rate a litre of petrol could be sold now, Gunawardena admitted they hadn’t worked that out.

Gunawardena faced a barrage of questions regarding the failure on the part of the Rajapaksa administration to rein in the then Sri Lankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickremesinghe, brother-in-law of the President. Gunawardena was asked whether those aspiring to return to power could guarantee the likes of Nishantha Wickramasinghe wouldn’t engage in such abuse again.

Gampaha District MP Sisira Jayakody, seated next to Gunawardena, refrained from commenting on media queries regarding Nishantha Wickramasinghe’s questionable decisions which ruined the national career.

(The Island)