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President Maithripala Sirisena had reportedly stated that the proposed US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact agreement will not be signed before November 16.

The 2019 presidential election is to be held on November 16th.

The President had given this assurance to MPs Wimal Weerawansa, Udaya Gammanpila and Ven. Athuraliye Rathana Thera, who had met him to verify reports that the MCC was to be signed within a few days.  

“When we informed this to the President, he telephoned Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in our presence and asked him about it. We understood from the conversation that it would not be signed in a hurried manner,” Weerawansa has told the media.  

“President Sirisena told that the cabinet nod was granted for the agreement on the condition that it would not be signed before November16,” he has added.

The proposed MCC agreement consisted of grant funds for traffic management in Colombo, road construction island-wide and land administration improvements covering the whole country.   

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MCC agreement drafted with the consent of AG: Finance Ministry

The Elections Commission said nearly 659,030 were eligible to cast their postal votes from today (31) till November 5 with November 7 as an additional day for postal voting.

Elections Commission Director Channa P. De Silva has told the media that the Elections Commission had initially set aside October 31 and November 1 for public servants and November 4 and 5 for police and armed forces personnel and public servants deployed on election duty.

Postal voting will be held at government offices, divisional and district secretariats with an executive officer of the respective public institution serving as the presiding officer at each of the voting centres.

Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga andthe United National Front (UNF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today(1) where Kumaratunga along with a group of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP)members extended their support to the New Democratic Front (NDF)presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa.

The agreement was signed at the Taj Samudra Hotel inColombo at 9 a.m. today.

PrimeMinister Ranil Wickremesinghe and senior members of the UNF attended theevent.

Kumaratunge hasopposed the SLFP’s decision to back Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the forthcoming presidential elections.

President Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly informedthe Cabinet of Ministers yesterday (29) that he would not accept the reportcompiled by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that probed the EasterSunday attacks.

The PSC presented its report to parliament last Wednesday(23) and Committee In its findings had blamed the incident mainly on the lapseson the part of the State Intelligence Service (SIS) and government leaders forfailing to take action to prevent the attack that killed more than 250 people.

The PSC report was presented to the Cabinet chaired byPresident Sirisena yesterday.

Accordingto sources, the President has said he would not accept the report and asked theCabinet not to record it as approved by the Cabinet. The President has insteadasked the government to look into areas where security lapses had beenhighlighted by the Committee.    

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and 14 other political parties have joined together to form the Sri Lanka Freedom People’s Alliance (SLFPA).

The relevant memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute (SLFI) in Colombo yesterday.

The alliance will contest the upcoming general elections under the symbol of the ‘chair.’

The United States appreciated Sri Lanka’sdecision to approve the much delayed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)grant of USD 480 million.

The US Embassy in Colombo announced that underthe agreement, Sri Lanka will retain oversight and control of all aspects of theproposed projects.

The Embassy said the grant includes investmentsto reduce traffic congestion in Colombo, modernize the bus service, and upgrade inter-provincial roads in the center of the country.

It also includes support for the government'sinitiatives to improve land administration.The Cabinet of Ministers yesterday approved the MCC grant of US$ 480 million, the largest grant ever received.

Earlier, President Maithripala Sirisena had blockedthe MCC grant passage in cabinet saying that he will not approve the deal assome of the main opposition had raised concerns over the agreement.

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Cabinet approves US$ 480 million MCC grant

The whole process and final agreements with regard to the the largest single grant ever received by Sri Lanka that was awarded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) were done under the guidance of the Attorney General and was well within the legal framework, a statement from the Ministry of Finance said.

"The Attorney General is in the opinion that Agreements are in order and there exists no legal impediment to execute the same. A Cabinet Memorandum along with the final drafts of the Agreements was submitted on 31.05.2019 to the Cabinet of Ministers. The Cabinet appointed a committee for further discussions of the matters in detail. Subsequently, the Ministry of Finance submitted the Cabinet Memorandum dated 05.07.2019 seeking the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers for signing the Compact Agreement and the Programme Implementation Agreement. The Cabinet of Ministers has granted its approval for signing above Agreements on 29.10.2019.," the statement said.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a bilateral United States Foreign Aid Agency established by the United States Congress in 2004, applying a new philosophy towards foreign aid. It provides time limited grants and assistance to developing countries that meet rigorous standard for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights.

On the request of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL), the MCC undertook a “constraints to economic growth analysis” in year 2016. MCC and the GOSL subsequently decided to focus on the land and transport sectors, which were identified as binding constraints to growth. The constraints analysis concluded that traffic congestion in the Colombo Metropolitan Region, poor transport connectivity between Provinces, and weakness in land administration constrain economic growth. Accordingly, the MCC agreed to grant USD 480 million for financing the above projects.

Final negotiations on the Compact were conducted in October 2018 between the MCC and a Cabinet approved GoSL delegation which consisted of officials from the relevant Ministries and Government Agencies for implementing the selected projects including a representative from the Attorney General’s Department.

Land Administration

The MCC Sri Lanka Compact has no bearing on land ownership, administration and management in the island.

The USD 67 million land administration project has an estimated economic rate of return of 30% and aims to expand and improve existing Government of Sri Lanka initiatives to increase the availability of spatial data and land rights information. The project will initially focus on districts in the Central, North-Western, North-Central and Eastern Provinces.The project will also help the Government identify under-utilized state land that can be put to more productive use and maximize rents from lands that the government leasesLand activities will help the Government create an inventory of state lands, modernize methods of valuing lands, strengthen tenure security for smallholders, women, and firms, and digitize deeds records so that they are less vulnerable to damage, theft, and loss.

The US Government will not buy, sell, or own any actual land - or take control of any actual land - under this agreement, the US Embassy said in a statement recently.

Transportation

The Transport Project is budgeted at $350 million and aims to improve urban and rural mobility in the Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva Provinces in two ways. First, it will ease traffic congestion and improve public transportation in the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Getting transport right is key to making Colombo a more livable, well-functioning city.

Second, the Transport Project will improve connectivity between the central part of the country and ports and markets in the Western Province. The Transport Project will upgrade transport infrastructure and systems and has three activities.

USD 160 million has been allocated for an Advanced Traffic Management System (ATMS) for the Colombo Metropolitan Region. ATMS combines physical improvements and civil works with technology enhancements to optimize the efficiency of the existing road networks along eight heavily traveled corridors that link central Colombo with its suburbs.

The activity will also introduce modern technologies for vehicle detection, real-time data collection and analysis of traffic flows; an interconnected traffic signal system; and dedicated bus priority systems throughout the network.

The USD 50 million bus service modernization activity would improve bus services in greater Colombo. Bus service accounts for 45 percent of all passenger miles traveled in greater Colombo and disproportionately serves low-income individuals. The activity will introduce automated fare collection systems based on smart cards; create single schedules for multiple bus operators running on a given route; introduce GPS bus tracking to enable transit operators to know buses’ locations and determine if they are operating according to schedule; and improve safety and accessibility for women, the elderly, disabled and other vulnerable groups.

The USD 140 million rural transport activity would upgrade approximately 131 kilometers of interprovincial roads in the Central Ring Road Network connecting the Central, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva Provinces with ports and markets in the Western Province. MCC will rehabilitate various segments of the network.

Passengers and goods from the Eastern Province also travel through this network. Improvements to this network would net several benefits as the central region is a center of the agriculture and tourism industries, is one of the most ethnically diverse, and has large concentrations of poor.

Related News:

Cabinet approves US$ 480 million MCC grant

MCC compact to improve 300 km of urban and inter-provincial roads in Sri Lanka

MCC compact streamlines land data and information

The United National Party (UNP) has decided to expel State Minister Wasantha Senanayake from the party, UNP General Secretary, MInister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam has said.

Kariyawasam has told the media that action will be taken to remove his State Ministerial portfolio shortly.

State Minister Senanayake had earlier announced that he will not support the party’s presidential candidate, Sajith Premadasa.

During last year’s 52 day illegal coup, Senanayake crossed over between the UNP and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) on several occasions.

New Democratic Front (NDF) presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa was prevented from participating in a rally in Kurunegala yesterday (30) after his helicopter was unable to land in Kurunegala due to alleged sabotage.

Premadasa was to address a rally in Kurunegala yesterday.

Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera has told the media that the electricity was cut off in the area just before the helicopter could land.

Perera has noted that the Kurunegala Municipality had cut off the electricity at the spot the helicopter was to land placing Premadasa’s life in danger.

The Kurunegala Municipal Council is controlled by the Rajapaksa led Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP).

According to Perera, the helicopter was eventually diverted forcing Premadasa to skip the Kurunegala rally.

At the rally, State Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe had said that Premadasa was unable to attend as his helicopter faced difficulties when landing as a result of a sudden power cut and has added that the area had also experienced a water cut.

Meanwhile, an election office of the NDF in Eheliyagoda was also burned down in the early hours of yesterday.

The Elections Commission has taken the necessary steps toincrease the time allocated for voting at the presidential election on November16th after political parties agreed to the proposal presented by theCommission to extend the voting time period by one hour.

The proposalwas agreed upon during a meeting held at the Election Commission between theCommission members and political party representatives yesterday (29).
Accordingly,a gazette notification was issued extending the presidential polls voting hoursfrom 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Attorney General’s (AG) Department has concluded action in 13,283 criminal cases within the first 10 months of this year.

The Department has further said it has forwarded 8,319 indictments to the High Courts during the same period. This was revealed by the Attorney General’s Coordinating Officer, State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne.

On a proposal made by the Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera, the Cabinet of Ministers today (29) approved the implementation of the Millenium Challenge Corporation's (MCC) US$ 480 Million grant.

According to Samaraweera, the funding is granted for three main projects to be completed within a period of five years.

“A special transport development program covering the Colombo metropolitan area to reduce the traffic congestion by reduced travel time, traffic emissions, and accidents combined with the bus transportation service modernisation programme including private and public sector transportation service,” he said.
Samaraweera also said under transport development, a 131 kilometre road network on Central wing road connecting Sabaragamuwa, East, North Central, Central and Wayaba provinces to Colombo markets and export hub will be developed.  

Further, he said improvement on land administration process also will be done in eight districts.

“This will include the land valuation system, upgrading 10 land registries and preparations of parcel fabric map of all State and private land to facilitate the activities of Survey Department,” he noted.

These compact programmes to be funded by this project have been developed by the Sri Lankan officials of the relevant line ministries and departments based on the needs of the country. The Sri Lankan government has the option of amending the identified projects even after the signing of the agreement, spokesperson of the Ministry of Finance said.     

Sri Lanka is the 37th recipient of such grant funds from the people of the United States of America. The Minister of Finance will sign the agreement in the near future as it was confirmed by the Cabinet today and the  implementation will begin in early 2020, the spokesperson added.

This is a great victory for the government and augurs well for the future. Sri Lanka began negotiations with the MCC in 2001 at the direction of Ranil Wickremesinghe, the then Prime Minister. MCC negotiations were led by the Ministry of Finance and the MCC compact was developed and finalized by the Compact Development Team of the Prime Minister’s Office.