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The US has put on hold its discussions with Sri Lanka on its potential participation in an American aid initiative on poverty reduction due to the disruption in the country’s democratic process following the ouster of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, a senior official has said. 

"The United States believes that the steps taken by President Sirisena were unconstitutional and wants the country to get back to its democratic process at the earliest," the official said. Sri Lanka plunged into a political crisis after President Maithripala Sirisena dismissed Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Rajapaksa has failed to muster support of the majority in the Parliament. 

“Because of this disruption to Sri Lanka’s democratic process, we have put on hold discussions about Sri Lanka’s potential participation in Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) programmes,” the senior Trump administration official told PTI when asked about the relationship with Colombo and the Trump Administration.

The latest move by the Trump Administration could be seen as a setback for Sri Lanka, which was expecting a major investment from the US in the island nations transport and land sectors.

The proposed MCC Sri Lanka Compact was designed to spur economic growth and investment by the private sector to reduce poverty and increase economic opportunities for its people, according to MCC Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Nash who visited Sri Lanka in September this year for talks with Sri Lankan authorities.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to arrest the suspects that can be charged over the murder of former Sri Lankan rugby captain Wasim Thajudeen.

The CID informed the Magistrate today (29) that it is possible to present charges against the former Senior DIG of Western Province Anura Senanayake, OIC of the Crimes Division of the Narahenpita Police Sumith Perera and former Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of Colombo Dr Ananda Samarasekara, who are named as suspects, in connection with concealing evidence and falsifying documents pertaining to the murder of Thajudeen. 

The case was postponed to February 28, 2019 as the CID requested for another date in order to seek the advice of the Attorney General.

The United National Party (UNP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) raised suspicions in Parliament today stating that former LTTE Commander Karuna Amman and the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) were involved in some criminal incidents in the North and East.

UNP MP Nalin Bandara urged the Speaker to immediately seek clarification on Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman’s tweet in the context of the murders of two policemen in Batticaloa.

Two police constables, aged 28 and 35, were found dead under suspicious circumstances at a checkpoint at Vavunathivu in Batticaloa this morning. Police media spokesperson said that a special team from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has already been deployed to Batticaloa to conduct an investigation.

Speaking further, Nalin Bandara pointed out to Karuna’s tweet from November 27 which said that some UNPers are trying to scare him and that he would like to remind them about “Karuna Amman from before 2004”.

In this context, MP Bandara said that they are suspicious whether this tweet had anything to do with the murders that took place in Batticaloa this morning.

Meanwhile, TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament today that Karuna Amman’s group was suspected to be behind some crimes in Batticaloa.

He also said that the EPDP was suspected to be behind recent attacks in the North and said that its leader Douglas Devananda was going around telling people ‘he was back’.

The EPDP and the Karuna group was accused in the past of being involved in human rights abuses in the North and East.

The crimes committed by both groups had been listed by the United Nations (UN) with both sides categorically denying any involvement.

 14 MPs representing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) wrote to president Maithripala Sirisena today informing him that they will support the restoration of a government headed by the United National Front (UNF) as it existed prior to October 26th. 

"The view of the majority of the Hon. Members of Parliament on the issue of whether the said Hon. Member (Mahinda Rajapaksa), commands the Confidence of Parliament to be the Prime Minister has been negative and has been demonstrated beyond doubt," the TNA said.

"We the Members of Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi, will support the restoration of a Government headed by the U.N.F. who in the opinion of Your Excellency is able to command the confidence of Parliament as Prime Minister," the TNA added.

The Parliament approved a motion barring all Cabinet Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers and their personal staff from using state funds today.

The motion was passed with 122 votes in favour while the pro-Rajapaksa MPs boycotted proceedings for a fourth straight session.

The motion was moved for Parliament to declare that Secretaries to any and all Ministries have no any authority to approve any payment of monies drawn from the funds of the Republic for Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers and their personal staff.

The motion further states that: 

“Whereas this House on 16th November, 2018, accepted the official statement made by the Hon. Speaker on 15th November, 2018 that, in terms of paragraph 2 of the No Confidence Motion against the Government adopted on 14th November 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers stood dissolved in terms of Article 48 of the Constitution, and accordingly this House further resolved that, since 26th October, 2018, as contemplated in Article 48 of the Constitution, this House had no confidence in the Government including Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa;
“And whereas Parliament has full control over Public Finance as mandated in Article 148 of the Constitution; that this Parliament resolves that from 15th November, 2018, Secretaries to any and all Ministries have no authority to approve any payment of monies drawn from the funds of the Republic to pay for the salaries and other emoluments of Ministers, State Ministers, Deputy Ministers and their personal staff and are also prohibited from defraying expenses incurred in foreign travel, internal air travel including use of helicopters on behalf of the above Ministers and any person taking any action in violation of this resolution will be dealt with according to law.”

A motion was passed in Parliament on Thursday barring 'purported' Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa from using state funds after he lost two no-confidence votes. The motion was passed with 123 votes in the 225-member Parliament as Rajapaksa supporters boycotted the proceedings for a third day.

The Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association (SLWJA) has condemned the attack on reporters by a security officer attached to Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne, in front of Fort Magistrate Courts yesterday (28).

Video evidence showed that three journalists were clearly attacked and obstructed from carrying out their duties.

"Journalists Gayan Amarasekera of Lankadeepa, Indika Handuwela of Derana Aruna and Malith Gamage of Lakbima were disturbed and attacked by a naval officer in civil clothes who identified himself as a security officer of Admiral Wijeguneratne," the SLWJA said today.

Wijegunaratne was remanded yesterday for harbouring the chief suspect responsible for the abduction and murder of 11 youths.

The SLWJA requested president Sirisena to hold a full-scale investigation into the incident as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. They also urged the president to ensure media freedom and the safety of journalists.

Indian Coast Guard Ships CGS Samar and Aryaman are on a visit to Sri Lanka from 01 to 07 December 2018, the High Commission of India said. The ships will arrive in Colombo after participating in the India-Sri Lanka-Maldives Tri-Lateral Coast Guard Exercise ‘Dosti’ that was conducted from 25-29 November 2018 in Maldives. 

Two junior Sri Lanka Coast Guard Officers have also been embarked on the ships since their departure from India on 23 November 2018 to provide valuable sea experience and first hand insight into Coast Guard operations. During their stay in Sri Lanka, the ships would also be visiting Galle.The visit is aimed at furthering the level of cooperation and interoperability that exists between Coast Guards of both the nations and to assist in capacity building of Sri Lanka Coast Guard. 

Interaction between both the services has seen a steady increase over the years with a number of high level delegations and four ship visits undertaken by Indian Coast Guard to Sri Lanka since the last year. 

The operational and professional exchange that takes place between both the Coast Guards has also served to build mutual trust and provide an opportunity to learn from each other.  

ICGS SAMAR

CGS Samar is an indigenously designed state of the art vessel that was built in Goa Shipyard, the same yard where Sri Lanka Navy’s two latest Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessels Sayurala and Sindhurala were built. The ship is designed to carry high speed boats for fast boarding operations, search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol. 

ICGS Aryaman

CGS Aryaman is also an ingeniously designed vessel that was constructed at Cochin Shipyard. Like CGS Samar she is also tasked to carry out fast boarding operations, search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol.

During their visit, the Indian Coast Guard ships will undertake training on aspects such as search and rescue, vessel search procedure and documentation, pollution control etc. In addition, a series of professional exchanges and sports fixtures have been also planned ashore between the ships’ crew and Sri Lanka Coast Guard personnel at Colombo as well as Galle.

Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday provided a detailed statement to the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC), pursuant to a complaint filed by TISL on 5 November, relating to allegations of attempts to bribe MPs. 

In the statement provided, TISL officials highlighted to CIABOC investigators that the contents of telephone conversation recordings shared with the media recently by Palitha Range Bandara MP, clearly indicate an offence under Section 14 of the Bribery Act. 

TISL Executive Director Asoka Obeyesekere said: “There are three key points to flag from the recorded conversations. One is the offer of 500 million rupees (50 crores) to crossover. Secondly, the offer to pay the amount in US dollars and thirdly, the willingness to carry out the transaction in Anamaduwa.” 

The offence of bribing a member of parliament carries a prescribed prison term of up to seven years under the provisions of the Bribery Act.

CIABOC officials confirmed to TISL today that an investigation has been initiated into the complaint and that statements would be obtained from the relevant parties. “We hope that upon the conclusion of this investigation, those who sought to bribe MPs will be held to account and that anybody attempting to do so in the future is mindful of the consequences,” Obeyesekere added.

President Maithripala Sirisena has assured Speaker Karu Jayasuriya that he will hold separate discussions with the leaders of the United National Front (UNF) and the leader of the opposition tomorrow evening to arrive at an immediate solution to the current political impasse, the Speaker's media unit said in a statement.

The Speaker met with president Sirisena for a special discussion at the Presidential Secretariat today.

"The Speaker told the President that all spheres of the country have become unstable today. He said the rapid depreciation of rupee and the collapsing of the investment sector and the tourism sector would be unbearable for the country. Therefore, the Speaker said that immediate solutions should be given to the instability to which the President responded positively. The President also commended the Speaker's contribution to find solutions," the statement said.

Sri Lanka’s dilemma on allocating funds for the year 2019 continues even after the endorsement given by the cabinet of ministers newly appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena for the three month Vote on Account this week as it needs parliamentary approval for drawing expenditures from the consolidated fund, official sources said.

According to article 150 of the Constitution, "the Government may withdraw funds from the consolidated fund once parliament passes a resolution or a law, granting a specific sum of money for a specified public service to be spent in a particular financial year."

Once parliamentary approval is granted, the warrant under the signature of the Minister of Finance alone has to be issued, for the withdrawal of the specified amounts to be effected.

Cabinet spokesman Dayasiri Jayasekara of the 'purported' UPFA government said that they will present a Vote on Account in parliament next week and enact it with a majority vote in the legislature.

Without a legitimate settlement for the current political impasse, the Finance Ministry will find it difficult to make payments to cover the salaries of public sector employees, pensions, samurdhi beneficiaries and public welfare programmes for at least the first three months 2019, official sources claimed.    According to Treasury statistics, the consolidated fund has over drawn a massive sum of money to the tune of around LKR 250 billion at present for state expenditure.

No money from state institutions including state owned enterprises is forthcoming to the fund and the treasury cannot resort to borrowings to swell the consolidated fund, he revealed, adding that the sudden dissolution of parliament without passing a Vote on Account would further aggravate the financial crisis in the country.

To make matters worse, the 'purported' Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's tax reductions introduced recently would cause a massive reduction in state revenue next year as there was no way to present revenue proposals in a three month Vote on Account.

Furthermore, 15 tax revisions will come into effect from January 1 next year, on the directions of the Ministry of Finance, if those amendments are approved in parliament.

Out of those revisions, three such tax measures, namely the Telco levy reduction, VAT threshold increase, and WHT on interest income would result in a loss of LKR 75 billion in revenue, tax experts revealed.  

By removing the 5 percent WHT, the Finance Ministry officials are expecting the interest income to be declared as income tax and subject it to be taxed at 24 percent instead of the 5 percent applicable at present, tax experts added.

According to Finance Ministry statistics, the total state revenue was LKR 925 billon in the first 6 months of this year.

Meanwhile, expenditure on salaries and wages was LKR 316 billion, interest payments at LKR 391 billion, welfare at LKR 223 billion with the total expenditure at LKR 930 billion.

Under this set up, the Finance ministry faces a monumental task ahead to manage the cash flow prudently, he warned.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka signed two multi-million dollar contracts with Chinese firms for a port upgrade project on Thursday in the middle of a political hiatus that has raised doubts over the legitimacy of the government and the legality of the deals.

The debt-saddled island has long been a target of Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure scheme to connect China with countries cross Asia and beyond, while regional power India has also been vying for deals to counter China’s influence.

But a political crisis triggered by President Maithripala Sirisena’s replacement of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in turn sacked by parliament, has raised doubts over who can legitimately make decisions in the country.

Foreign countries have yet to recognize the new government and Wickremesinghe’s party has said any decisions by Rajapaksa’s cabinet are illegal.

An official at the state-run Sri Lanka Ports Authority told Reuters it signed two contracts with Chinese firms worth over $50 million on Thursday after the deals were approved by Rajapaksa’s disputed cabinet last week.

One of Rajapaksa’s cabinet ministers, speaking on condition of anonymity, also confirmed the deals had been approved by the cabinet, while documents seen by Reuters showed the deals were set to be rubber-stamped at the meeting.

The contracts are a $32 million project to enhance the deep berth capacity of state-run Jaya Container Terminal (JCT) in Colombo with China Harbour Engineering Company, and another one worth $25.7 million for the purchase of three cranes from JCT Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd for the same project., according to the ports authority official.

Asked about the deals, the former cabinet spokesperson under Wickremesinghe’s government, Rajitha Senaratne, told Reuters:
“We will have to re-examine definitely. They don’t have the legal power to decide.”

The ports authority official said the tenders for the deals had been advertised in state-owned newspapers, as is the norm in Sri Lanka, and that they were sent to a cabinet-appointment procurement panel months ago.

India, which accounts for around 80 percent of Colombo’s trans-shipment business, has raised concerns over increasing Chinese projects in Colombo. 

New Delhi had been pushing Sri Lanka for the award of an estimated $1 billion contract for a second foreign-operated container terminal in Colombo.

But that deal was the subject of an argument between Sirisena and Wickremesinghe just before his ouster, in which Sirisena reportedly said the country couldn’t give any more of its assets to foreigners.

The political instability and economic malaise have raised questions over Sri Lanka’s ability to service large external debt taken to finance reconstruction following the end the civil war in 2009. It owes around $8 billion to China, including state linked firms and banks, official data shows.

The motion to suspend the expenditures of the illegal Prime Minister’s Office was passed in Parliament with a majority of 123 votes. The 'purported' government's MPs were absent during the vote as they are clearly unable to muster a majority in Parliament.

The motion to suspend was presented to the Parliament by parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake this morning and was seconded by parliamentarian Navin Dissanayake.

The motion states that the Secretary to the Prime Minister has no authority to approve any expenditure drawn from the funds of the Republic.

The motion further reads: “Whereas this House on 16th November, 2018, accepted the official statement made by the Hon. Speaker on 15th November, 2018 that, in terms of paragraph 2 of the No Confidence Motion against the Government adopted on 14th November 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers stood dissolved in terms of Article 48 of the Constitution, and accordingly this House further resolved that, since 26th October, 2018, as contemplated in Article 48 of the Constitution, this House had no confidence in the Government including Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa.”

“And whereas Parliament has full control over Public Finance as mandated in Article 148 of the Constitution.”

“Accordingly, that this Parliament resolves that from 15th November, 2018 the Secretary to the Prime Minister has no authority to approve any expenditure drawn from the funds of the Republic, and any person taking any action in violation of this Resolution will be dealt with according to law.”

MPs of the United National Front (UNF), Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted in favour of the motion.