Illegal and hazardous constructions LOCAL CASES TOWARDS ... · Bangladesh cricket team which is...

RS. 70.00 PAGES 88 / SECTIONS 7 VOL. 02 – NO. 53 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

DORMANT OIL PIPELINE RESURFACES»SEE BUSINESS PAGE 1

BY SKANDHA GUNASEKARA

The Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) is conducting awareness programmes to warn the public not to chase jackals, after two rabies deaths were reported in Millaniya.

“Awareness programmes were carried out in these areas on how

to avoid jackals and getting bitten. There is a practice to chase away these creatures. This only results in humans getting bitten. We are conducting programmes to educate people that they should not be chasing jackals and that not all jackals have rabies,” DWC Director – Health Dr. Tharaka Prasad said.

Contd. on page 2

Don’t chase jackals: DWC

Sri Lanka is preparing to send the containers of waste exported to Sri Lanka by a UK company, back to its country of origin in the UK from October onwards, once the legal process is completed, the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) revealed.

Contd. on page 2

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SLIDING TOWARDS A GRAVE DISASTER

Illegal and hazardous constructions

Concerns have been raised over the importation of a low-quality boiler from Italy by the previous Government, which spent Rs. 440 million to replace one of four boilers of the 51-year-old Sapugaskanda Oil Refinery owned by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), The Sunday Morning learnt.

Contd. on page 2

Low-quality boiler costs millions

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) reiterated that it would follow all Covid-19 guidelines for the Bangladesh cricket team which is scheduled to arrive in Colombo in late October.

Contd. on page 2

SLC to follow all guidelines

The Government is to incur a cost of Rs. 20 billion annually to fully subsidise fertiliser supplies for paddy farmers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

National Fertiliser Secretariat Director Mahesh Gammanpila told The Sunday Morning that the subsidy begins from the Yala Season.

Contd. on page 2

Rs. 20 b annually

BANGLADESH TOUR

GARBAGE CONTAINERS

OIL REFINERY

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Leader Maithripala Sirisena is pictured having a conversation with party General Secretary Dayasiri Jayasekara at “Bandaranaike Prathyawalokanaya”, the commemoration of the 61st death anniversary of SLFP Founder S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike held on 25 September

PHOTO PRADEEP DAMBARAGE

Remembering their roots

LRT project still alive z Transport Ministry yet

to act on letterz Cabinet decision

required to terminatez Current cost lower

than initial estimateBY MAHEESHA MUDUGAMUWA

The Colombo Light Rail Transit (LRT) Project is yet to be terminated despite the request made by President’s Secretary Dr. P.B Jayasundara as per the directives of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week, The Sunday Morning learnt.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Transport Secretary Monti Ranatunga stressed that the directives to terminate the project should come from the Cabinet; as the

project had been approved by the Cabinet, it should be terminated by the Cabinet, he said.

“There is an evaluation committee, and the committee’s recommendation is that maybe

this is a costly project and we have to think about the country’s economic situation after the impact of Covid. Therefore, the President’s Secretary requested me to think about this project and take proper decisions. The decision of course cannot be made at the ministry level. It should be done by the Cabinet of Ministers because this project started based on the cabinet decision.”

Contd. on page 2

Assessing the marine environmental impact of the MT New Diamond’s bunker oil spill might take at least three years, with monthly assessments required throughout that period, claimed the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) assisting the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) with the site research.

The Sunday Morning spoke to NARA Head of Environmental Studies Division K.W.S. Weerasekara to inquire about the time they would take to assess the full extent of the expected pollution.

Contd. on page 2

Monthly reviews for 3 years

The Government is considering purchasing vegetables directly from farmers through the Agriculture Ministry to sell to the public through Sathosa outlets that are under the purview of the Trade Ministry, as a measure to reduce the skyrocketing vegetable prices.

The decision has been taken by the Cabinet-appointed Cost of Living Committee in

consultation with the Agriculture Ministry and the Trade Ministry, following a successful trial.

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told The Sunday Morning that his Ministry had already successfully carried out a programme through which vegetables were purchased directly from the farmers and sold directly to the public.

“We managed to sell a bag of

vegetables valued at Rs. 700 at Rs. 350 by purchasing directly from the farmers. We managed to achieve this target by cutting out all middlemen,” the Minister said.

The Agriculture Ministry has, in the first stage of the programme, sold up to 10,000 such vegetable bags.

“The wastage recorded by us when transporting vegetables from the farmer was 2%,”

Aluthgamage further explained.Following the successful

programme carried out by the Agriculture Ministry, the Cost of Living Committee decided to expand the programme by formulating a joint mechanism with the Agriculture and Trade Ministries.

The two Ministries are now in the process of finalising the mechanism, Aluthgamage said.

Vegetable middlemen cutMECHANISM TO REDUCE COST OF LIVING

OIL SPILL IMPACT

FERTILISER SUBSIDY

20A STIRS UP A HORNET’S NEST IN AND OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT»SEE PAGES 8 & 9

Labour Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva warned the plantation companies that fail to provide the Rs. 1,000 minimum wage for estate sector workers, claiming they continue to incur losses, could be taken over by the Government and made profitable.

Contd. on page 2

Errant estates could be taken over

COVID-19

174ACTIVE CASES

LOCAL CASES

CASES AROUND THE WORLD

DEATHS

13RECOVERED

3,158

TOTAL CASES

3,345

TOTAL CASES

30,407,457 DEATHS951,473

RECOVERED22,092,196

THE ABOVE STATISTICS ARE CONFIRMED UP UNTIL 7.20 P.M. ON 25 SEPTEMBER 2020

BY SARAH HANNAN

The Ministry of Environment is to look at employing high-tech environment conservation methods, with a method to relocate trees from their original position to make way

for development projects being considered first.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera said: “We are looking at relocating trees to pave the way for development.

Felling prized matured trees for development work would create an adverse impact to the ecosystem of an area. Therefore, we are looking at a technique that is widely used where the tree can be relocated.”

Contd. on page 2

‘Relocating’ trees for development

the sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020

2

NEWSContd. from page 1

Errant estates...Last week, at a meeting chaired by the Minister

between the trade union leaders representing the plantation sector and the representatives of the employers’ federation controlling the plantation companies, de Silva had stressed that it was “surprising” that these estates continue to run at a loss and that it was questionable whether the plantation companies were operating as charities.

The Minister also pointed out that if the companies continue to incur losses, the Government would take over those plantations, as it can maintain the estates in a profitable manner.

Minister de Silva also stressed that a large sum of money had been spent by the Government on the plantation companies and that the construction of estate houses, roads, and other infrastructure development is being carried out by the Government. Therefore, he said the plantation companies would save a lot of money.

Furthermore, he stressed that many plantation companies had failed to provide basic amenities such as drinking water, sanitation, and housing to their employees and stressed that this Government is committed to achieving social justice for the plantation community.

The discussion was held at the Department of Labour with a view to reach an employee-employer agreement to increase the minimum daily wage of the plantation workers to Rs. 1,000.

In February, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa assured that arrangements were being made to pay the proposed daily wage of Rs. 1,000 to estate sector employees from 1 March. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa also promised the same.

– Maheesha Mudugamuwa

Monthly...“So far, we have sent three teams on three

occasions to collect samples of water and oil, and to observe the behaviour patterns of the aquatic species. In these three rounds, the data we gathered and the observations that were made by our team of academics were shared with the MEPA, so they could present it to the Attorney General (AG)’s Department as part of the claims procedure.”

Weerasekara also noted that they are now looking at conducting field visits fortnightly, to assess the extent of the pollution, given that the ship is still in Sri Lankan territorial waters.

“After it is removed from the location, we will then have to continue our research work on a monthly basis. What we would like to stress here is that once an oil spill occurs, the extent of the damage cannot be immediately assessed, as the impact it continues to cause to the marine ecology system can differ,” she noted.

Therefore, according to Weerasekara, the research might extend even as long as three years, during which time the NARA will deploy teams to gather water samples as well as observe and record the behaviour of aquatic species such as whales, dolphins, and turtles to determine the pollution levels that this accident would cause not only to Sri Lanka’s territorial waters but the entire ocean itself.

At the moment, NARA’s Samudrika Vessel is afloat at the site and a team of research scientists are continuing their observations and research to support the marine pollution report that the MEPA will be preparing with the assistance of the other universities.

The first phase of the legal claims that Sri Lanka bills against the owners of the MT New Diamond crude oil is looking at a total of Rs. 440 million as of 23 September.

Sri Lanka billed a further claim of Rs. 100 million towards the cost of fire mitigation and rescue operations to the MT New Diamond crude oil tanker’s owners last Thursday (24), the AG’s Department revealed.

This claim was forwarded to them through a written request after the Greece-based Porto Emporios Shipping Inc., which is the registered owner of the 20-year-old Panama-flagged MT New Diamond, had agreed to pay the interim claim of Rs. 340 million that was named by the AG’s Department on 15 September.

“The additional Rs. 100 million accounts for the costs incurred from 13-23 September as legal fees and investigation fees,” AG’s Department Co-ordinating Officer State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne said.

The claims for the firefighting, rescue operations, and legal fees incurred so far will be paid through the ship’s insurer P.F.I. West of England Ship Overseas Mutual Insurance Association. In total, the Sri Lankan Government has filed insurance claims amounting to Rs. 440 million against the distressed MT New Diamond crude oil tanker owners up to 23 September.

– Sarah Hannan

Low-quality...It is learnt that the boiler was imported from

Italy in 2016 based on a report of a committee appointed in 2013. The purchasing had been conducted via a procurement committee based on engineering estimates, it is also learnt.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, United National Party (UNP)-affiliated Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) CPC Branch President Ananda Palitha said the four boilers of the refinery were as old as the refinery and various requests had been made since 2002 to upgrade the refinery to get at least 100,000 MT of refined petroleum products per day.

“In 2013 too we made a request and the then

CPC appointed a committee. But up until 2016, nothing was done,” he stressed.

The boiler was imported from Italy from the same company which made the equipment of the refinery. After only about a year or two, a leak from one pipeline was noticed by the engineers. During this time, the older boiler had also been repaired by the engineers, he explained.

CPC officials, however, alleged that even though the boiler should be working for at least 10 years, a guarantee period had not been given by the Italian company.

However, the CPC has already instructed the Italian company to send the spare parts, while the local engineers are currently conducting the repair work.


Rs. 20 b...“The Government will give a 100% subsidy

for fertiliser for paddy farmers. This will be provided until further notice,” he said.

He noted that other farmers would also receive a partial fertiliser subsidy.

“Farmers of other crops will also get the fertiliser subsidised at a low rate of Rs. 1,500 per a 50 kilogramme bag. Here, the Government is bearing about Rs. 2,500,” Gammanpila said.

He said the key reason for paddy farmers to receive the subsidy was also part of the initiative to substitute organic fertiliser with chemical fertiliser. “We will be providing organic fertiliser as part of the subsidy programme, but at the same time, we don’t have large quantities of this valuable organic fertiliser, so chemical fertiliser would also be given.”

– Skandha Gunasekara

Relocating...Amaraweera further claimed that the technique

is called tree transplanting, where a matured tree will be carefully uprooted with the entire root structure of the said tree intact and moved out of the path where, for instance, a road, a bridge, or a rail road will be built.

“Sri Lanka does not have the technical expertise or the machinery that is required to carry out such a task. Therefore, we are seeking expert foreign advice on this matter. In the weeks to come, we shall discuss at length with Forest Department officials and experts of the field to be part of this innovative programme,” he added.

Amaraweera also stressed that rather than protesting over the country being rapidly developed in the coming years, concerned entities and environmental activists could provide constructive feedback on how to strike a balance between conserving wildlife and forests and paving the way for the country’s development.

Apart from that, Amaraweera also noted that a cabinet paper was drafted to protect the 103 main rivers of Sri Lanka, where he requested the Government to look at appointing a presidential task force to conserve the river network of Sri Lanka. The task force will have to ensure that the rivers are cleaned up and any pollutants or garbage is moved out from them, so we have clean freshwater flowing through the country through the “Surakimu Ganga” programme.

The cabinet paper is currently being drafted by the Central Environmental Authority (CEA).

Amaraweera noted that once the rivers are protected, the lagoon will be protected, which

will make all the difference in conserving the environment.

The Ministry also issued directives to conduct a series of beach clean-up programmes to coincide with World Coastal Cleanup Day that took place on the 19th, covering the entire coast of Sri Lanka with about 70 beaches.

A meeting between Coca-Cola officials and Amaraweera was held on 21 September, where they discussed the major environmental problem that the country is facing due to the increasing number of plastic bottles being dumped. The company was asked to implement a suitable recycling system to assist the Ministry in reducing pollution.

SLC to...SLC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ashley

de Silva told The Sunday Morning that the SLC is still waiting for a response from the Task Force of the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO).

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has expressed their disagreement over local Covid-19 protocols on Bangladesh’s World Test Championship series in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Bangladeshi fast bowler Abu Jayed has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of their tour of Sri Lanka.

As reported, BCB President Nazmul Hasan had said it won’t be possible for their players to be confined to their hotel rooms for 14 days.

Hasan had further said that they had been working on a schedule with a seven-day quarantine period in mind, but a 14-day period would mean that the Bangladesh Test squad, all of whom haven’t played a competitive match in six months, will get just one week to prepare for the first Test scheduled for 23 October.

He had also said that both cricket boards were having discussions along the lines of a seven-day quarantine period, but SLC’s terms and conditions were nowhere near those discussions and neither were they anything close to what other countries hosting cricket in the pandemic are doing.


Don’t chase...Rabies was spreading among the jackal and

dog population in certain parts of the country and it was confirmed that both deaths in Millaniya were due to the rabies virus.

Meanwhile, DWC Director – Operations Ranjan Marasinghe also requested the public not to hunt jackals to curb the spread of rabies.

“There is no need for the public to get involved and hunt jackals. This can cause other problems such as a decline in jackal population, which in turn can result in an increase in other wild animals such as wild boars and peacocks. We request the people to let the authorities handle the situation.

“In Horana, Millaniya, and Ingiriya, rabies is spreading among dogs and jackals. There is a programme to vaccinate dogs by the Ministry of Health.”

He said the Department was attempting to

determine how much of the jackal population is being infected in the relevant regions.

Back to...An official from the CEA Waste Management

Division, speaking to The Sunday Morning, said:

“The British company is ready to take back the garbage containers. But the shipping restrictions that were imposed due to Covid-19 caused a hindrance to it.”

“Moreover, the legal paperwork that is to be completed to recommence the reshipping process too was delayed.”

The CEA official noted that the institution will be looking into completing the legal paperwork this week and is hopeful that the reshipment of the garbage containers will commence from October onwards.

The UK’s Environment Agency in July agreed to accept the controversial waste containers exported to Sri Lanka by a UK company.

The case was taken up on 23 July, during which time the Attorney General’s (AG) Department of Sri Lanka had informed the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka that the UK Government was in the process of conducting an inquiry on the British company that exported waste material in freight containers to Sri Lanka, violating the UK’s environment and health regulations.

In January this year, the CEA proposed alternative options, including securing the services of a foreign consultancy firm with adequate technical knowledge to expedite the process of investigating into the containers of imported garbage from the UK found at the Colombo Port in 2019.

In 2019, Sri Lanka Customs and the CEA found that some private parties had imported around 240 container loads of waste to the country without the approval of the CEA, breaching the provisions of the Basel Convention.

It was later revealed that the waste consignments were imported from the UK and had been lying at the Colombo International Container Terminals (CICT) and the Katunayake Free Trade Zone (FTZ) since 2017.

The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) filed a writ of certiorari and mandamus in the Court of Appeal, naming the CEA, Sri Lanka Customs, and the AG’s Department as respondents of the case, which ordered the CEA and Customs to conduct an investigation into the illegal importation of container loads of waste at the Colombo Port and Katunayake FTZ.

– Sarah Hannan

LRT project...“Therefore, the Cabinet should take the

decision to terminate, discontinue, or postpone the operation,” he said.

Asked whether he informed the LRT Project Office about the termination of the operation, Ranatunga confirmed he hadn’t yet informed them. “I do want to discuss with the Project Office, and I’m awaiting the Cabinet’s decision,” he said.

In a letter written to Ranatunga and copied to the Secretaries of the Treasury and Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Director General of the Department of National Planning, Director General of the Department of External Resources, and Chairman of the Ministry of Urban Development, Dr. Jayasundara stated that the President had directed him to request the Transport Ministry Secretary to terminate the project and close the project office with immediate effect. Furthermore, the letter stated that a suitable alternative solution for transportation could be worked out in consultation with the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and the Department of National Planning of the Ministry of Finance.

When asked whether the Transport Ministry was going to submit a cabinet paper to terminate the project, Ranatunga said: “I don’t know which ministry should put forward the cabinet paper. This project was put to this Ministry very recently. Earlier, it was under the Urban Development Ministry. They may submit the cabinet paper from the Finance Ministry’s side or the previous Ministry may be asked to submit the cabinet paper. The Transport Ministry may also be asked to do so.”

Costly or cheap?The reason for termination, as specified by Dr.

Jayasundara in the letter, was that the LRT Project was very costly and thereby not the appropriate, cost-effective solution as urban transportation infrastructure it was billed as.

Meanwhile, The Sunday Morning reliably learnt that prior to Dr. Jayasundara’s letter written last Monday (21), a meeting was held on the 18th between Dr. Jayasundara and Ranatunga.

The Sunday Morning also learnt that the detailed design of the LRT Project was already completed by local and international consultants, and based on the final engineering cost estimates, the project cost had now reduced to $ 1 billion.

Furthermore, the cost per kilometre of the LRT Project is now estimated to be around $ 62.5 million, which is far lower than the original estimate.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, University of Moratuwa senior lecturer and transport infrastructure expert Dr. Dimantha De Silva stressed that if the cost of the project was considered to be high, it was because it was a short-distance project. He pointed out that if the distance could be extended to at least 30 km by expanding the line to Kottawa via Kaduwela, the cost per kilometre would further reduce to around $ 55 million.

“The latest calculations made based on the engineering estimates are on a par with international costs as at today, and the cost

is not high,” he noted.Meanwhile, Ministry of Transport Secretary

Ranatunga revealed that the Ministry hadn’t yet analysed the cost of the project, though Dr. Jayasundara said it was costly.

The project and roadblocksThe 15.7 km LRT system with 16 stations

from Colombo Fort to Malabe via Battaramulla involved an elevated railway track, elevated stations, a train depot, the procurement of LRT trains, and the installation of electrical, communication, and signal systems. The project is expected to reduce travel time from Colombo Fort to Malabe to approximately 30 minutes.

The loan agreement pertaining to the project was signed between Sri Lanka and Japan last March.

Accordingly, Japan extended a loan of around Rs. 48 billion to Sri Lanka for the Colombo LRT Project.

The loan for the project was offered on highly concessional terms and conditions, including a 40-year repayment period for funds obtained for consultation services with a grace period of 12 years, a 0.1% interest rate per annum for civil work and equipment, and a 0.01% interest rate for engineering services.

Accordingly, in the project, the preliminary base cost estimated during the feasibility study was $ 1,374 million and including price escalation, contingencies, and interest, Sri Lanka and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) estimated the loan amount to be $ 1,850 million.

In January this year, Ministry of Urban Development, Water Supply, and Housing Facilities Secretary Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama wrote to the Project Director of the LRT Project expressing his concerns over the project funded by JICA.

In his letter copied to the Secretaries of the President, Prime Minister, and Treasury, he raised eight concerns regarding the project, and asked the Project Director for explanations to be given on or before 10 February 2020.

The concerns raised in his letter include the total loan amount, consultancy fee, unit costs of the rolling stock, the Japanese monopoly with regard to the rolling stocks to be used for the project, issues pertaining to the design, the marshy lands in the locations selected for the depot and workshop, cost increases and environmental impacts, and restricting the consultancy service on design and supervision to a lump-sum contract instead of a time-based contract.

The LRT’s Project Management Unit (PMU), in its lengthy explanation to Secretary Dr. Wickrama, as seen by The Sunday Morning, stated that the land acquisition for the project is already in progress, as lands in depot areas were identified and information on the same was sent to the Government Valuation Department for valuation purposes, while the school buildings affected along the trace were also discussed with the Chief Secretary, provincial/zonal directors, and the principals.

BY MAHEESHA MUDUGAMUWA

Disturbing allegations were raised by trade unions (TUs) attached to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) against several high-profile officials of the CPC and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. (CPSTL), as they claimed that the corporation incurred losses due to the corrupt practices of its officials.

Urging President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to investigate the assets of high-profile officials who are dealing with importing and storing petroleum products in Sri Lanka, the TUs alleged that the delays in unloading petroleum products, which resulted in them having to pay massive demurrage costs, was intentional.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, United

National Party (UNP)-affiliated Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (JSS) CPC Branch President Ananda Palitha said the losses were incurred due to the corrupt practices of these officials and about 95% of the losses could’ve been averted by the CPSTL.

Insisting that the President should conduct an impartial investigation into all high-profile officials attached to the CPC

and CPSTL to look into their assets, the TU leader claimed the majority of these losses were a result of mismanagement.

The CPC supplies about 80% of the fuel products required by the transport sector while maintaining almost 100% of the supply of all other fuel products including heavy fuel, kerosene, and naphtha.

The CPC’s refinery has the capacity to produce only around 30% of the total fuel requirement in the country, while the balance is imported as refined products. The CPC supplies petroleum products islandwide through its distribution channel which consists of 1,302 filling stations located around the country.

Demurrage expensesThe losses incurred as a result of

demurrage charges came to light recently along with other revelations in the Auditor General’s report.

In the report, it was mentioned that the country incurred a loss of around Rs. 499 million as a result of demurrage costs due to delays in unloading fuel.

As explained by Palitha, after the construction of the Muthurajawela oil storage facility (CPSTL – Muthurajawla Terminal), there was no reason for the CPC to incur demurrage costs. “But still, it continues,” he stressed.

According to him, the Lanka Indian Oil Company (Lanka IOC) has a 33% share of the storage capacity at the CPSTL, while the rest is with the CPC; in addition, full control of the CPSTL is with the CPC.

Nevertheless, the decisions with regard to the importation and storage of fuel required for local consumption are being

taken by the CPSTL.Furthermore, Palitha stressed that the

demurrage charge for unloading fuel from the Dolphin Pier for it to be stored in the Kolonnawa facility (CTPSL – Kolonnawa Terminal) was $ 3 per metric tonne (MT), but when storing it in the Muthurajawela facility, it costs around $ 0.22.

There are also instances where shipments imported into the country were unloaded to both the Muthurajawela and Kolonnawa facilities, even though, ideally, the Kolonnawa facility should be used only to maintain buffer stocks.

“There is no plan at all when importing and unloading fuel. When unloading fuel to Kolonnawa, it takes days and then some ships are sent to unload in Muthurajawela. Ideally, if the import shipment carried only the amount of fuel that can be unloaded at each port to each respective storage facility, the CPC would not have to pay demurrages,” Palitha explained.

The Auditor General’s report, which is seen by The Sunday Morning, contains details on investigations into the oil pipeline system. The report stated that even though the average time to unload a shipment of 40,000 MT of fuel was around 96 hours, it takes around 120-168 hours in Sri Lanka due to the dilapidated condition of the age-old pipeline system.

Contd. on page 14

SPOTLIGHTthe sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020

3

There is no plan at all when

importing and unloading fuel. When unloading fuel to Kolonnawa, it takes days and then some ships are sent to unload in Muthurajawela.

Ideally, if the import shipment carried only the amount of fuel that can be unloaded at each port to each respective storage facility, the CPC would not have to pay demurrages

JSS CPC Branch President Ananda Palitha

In the Final Budget Position Report of the Ministry of Finance, it is stated that the total cost of fuel-based imports of the CPC for 2019 stood at $ 3,359 million, accounting for about 17% of the total imports of the country. Since the cost of imports accounts for about 95% of the total expenditure of the CPC, its financial performance is directly affected by the dynamics of global oil price movements and the exchange rate.

Contd. on page 14

CPC AND CPSTL

FUELLING LOSSES IN ENERGY SECTORz Auditor’s report exposes demurrage

costs and pipeline issues

CPC’s losses

Once we connect it from the sea to the Muthurajawela Terminal, as we have two pipelines – one black

and one white – which are very fast and cost-effective, we will be able to discharge 40,000 MT within 48

hours, which is very fastCPSTL Chairman Uvais Mohamed

BY SARAH HANNAN

The complacency displayed by several institutions on following the necessary health and safety protocols to prevent Covid-19 from spreading in society got the better of Sri Lanka earlier this week.

While the Ministry of Health was too eager to celebrate the milestone of the first foreign national being treated and sent back to China after making a full recovery, the pats on the back given to government institutions for having everything under control have now been overshadowed, as ground-level issues have arisen, giving way to the breach that took place at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA).

For weeks, Epidemiology Unit Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Sudath Samaraweera has been calling the media in for weekly press briefings to reiterate the importance of following the necessary health guidelines and has also been consistently reminding the public about the proper donning and doffing of face masks, washing or sanitising hands, maintaining physical distance, and adopting proper respiratory etiquette.

“There will come a time when there is a breach in the process that would threaten the wellbeing of the entire nation. Therefore, it is important that each person takes the responsibility of their health and wellbeing into mind and follows these guidelines,” Dr. Samaraweera stressed.

Safety precautions dodgedA 15-member crew arrived at the

MRIA from Bangalore, India on 13 September and had produced PCR test certifications they had obtained in India to confirm that they were not infected with the virus. However, when the crew was to depart, they

were subjected to a PCR test at a private hospital in Matara on 23 September, after which a 52-year-old Russian flight crew member was tested positive for Covid-19 the following day.

Although we do not receive a daily update from the National Operation Centre for Prevention of Covid-19 (NOCPOC) anymore, Army Commander and NOCPOC Head Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva makes it a point at every chance he gets, to address the media to remind the public not to take this situation lightly.

“The incident in Matara has revealed that there has been a shortcoming in following the procedures we have been abiding by over the past six months. The airport authorities had failed to inform the NOCPOC about their arrival and their stay in the country. The group in question too had not adhered to the health guidelines that are issued to them when

visiting another country.”He said that ideally, anyone

entering the country through any seaport or airport should be directed to a designated hotel that is recognised by and registered with the NOCPOC and would be closely monitored by the assigned healthcare officials on a daily basis, adding that the failure to update the NOCPOC, however, had created this breach.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning,

Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd. (AASL) Chairman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri stated: “As soon as the incident was reported, our team visited the MRIA and conducted a preliminary investigation, which went on until Friday (25) 3 a.m. Another team arrived at MRIA to carry out disciplinary inquiries over the various department personnel who were responsible for executing their duties on the days the group arrived at the MRIA.”

Maj. Gen. Chandrasiri noted that disciplinary action will be taken against all personnel involved and the AASL will take all necessary measures to rectify the situation to ensure such a breach would not take place in the future.

We then contacted the Ministry of Health to inquire as to what measures they are taking to rectify this matter and whether strict action would be taken against anyone who does not follow the specified health

and safety guidelines.A well-placed source at the

Ministry of Health said that even the NOCPOC meetings have stopped and the personnel who are authorised to make statements are evading the media, which they believe is an act of deceit.

PHIs’ hands still tiedMeanwhile, Public Health

Inspectors’ Union of Sri Lanka (PHIUSL) President Upul Rohana expressed his displeasure on how they are not provided with accurate information about the persons entering the country and whether they need to be under surveillance by the PHIs of the respective areas.

“Lately, we have been unable to carry out our duties in preventing another outbreak, as we are not given the necessary information. Also, when our area PHI is not updated about the exact whereabouts of visitors who are coming to the country on short holidays, it is difficult for us to determine whether they have been staying in the country since the lockdown period or whether they are new arrivals.”

Rohana also noted that with the health guidelines not being gazetted as a community health regulation, their officers cannot impose arbitrary laws on the public by forcing them to stay indoors, limit their outdoor activities, or instruct them to wear face masks when in public places.

Questions have also been raised by the public over the many public gatherings taking place as of late, such as the Colombo International

Book Fair which saw scores of people gathering to make their yearly purchases.

Even the health authorities and the Epidemiology Unit had made their observations over the possible threat to society, as contact tracing for thousands of people arriving from all corners of the island would be a gargantuan task.

Moreover, the Government’s decision to go ahead and bring down the Bangladesh cricket team too has come under heavy criticism. However, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs had announced that all safety measures will be followed when the team is brought down to Sri Lanka, further stating that it is important that sports activities commence so that the team’s spirit can be lifted.

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) estimated that major industrial parks of Sri Lanka generate approximately 30 million cubic metres of wastewater per year. Although the CEA has set out standards for effluent discharge, the authority indicated that about 10% of the wastewater that is produced from industries gets discharged to the environment without being treated.

This causes a serious threat to the environment as the wastewater gets released to a drain, canal, or lagoon, which then takes it to a river, and eventually falls into the ocean.

In 2017, the CEA had identified 150 sources of pollution caused by industries that were linked to tanning, oil refining, beverages, textiles and clothing, rubber, ceramics, food production, fertilisers, and plastics.

The Sunday Morning this week visited one such site where untreated wastewater was just released to a nearby drain, most often late at night, which goes unnoticed by the residents of the area.

Upon reaching the area in question located in Wattala, down A.S.P. Liyanage Mawatha, we observed that the main canal was carrying a polluted body of water towards the Kelani River.

Right opposite the main canal, a leading international school is situated and at the time we arrived in the area, a long line of school vans were parked right next to the canal, which would possibly be making the students, parents, teachers, and school van drivers sick and uneasy from the pollutant air emanating from it.

To the main canal, wastewater is brought through drains that originate from by-lanes. We traced one of the by-lanes down Governors Park, 1st lane to locate the origins of the wastewater.

Although the water pollution is alleged to be caused by the pollutants released from certain factories, we also observed that garbage had been tossed to the sides of the canal, and as we took a turn towards the by-lane, we observed more garbage floating in the drain, which was adding to the damage.

The residents down the lane were, of course, shielded from the eyesore that is taking place, as all the houses were protected by giant parapet walls and massive gates. The water in the drain was a sludgy black,

and as we reached the end of the lane, the pipelines that were releasing the pollutants to the drain became quite visible.

When we checked our location on an online mapping service, they indicated that we were in the backyard of a fabric product manufacturer in the area. There was no wastewater getting disposed to the drain at that moment. However, we noticed that at the place where the pipeline would discharge wastewater, there were clear indications of traces of green and black dyes that had colourised the drain sides.

The pipeline was capped off and just a few metres away there was a stream of frothing water being gently discharged to the drain.

As there was no sign of people down the lane, we drove out towards the main canal, where we located a grocery shop that was

set up at the Hekitta Road-A.S.P. Liyanage Mawatha intersection. We spoke to Lakshman, the grocery shop owner, to ask whether there were other factories in that area which dispose untreated wastewater to the canal.

“The apparel manufacturer that you are referring to has been functioning for over 40 years now and the wastewater issues too go back that far. This is just one factory, but this water body gathers pollutant wastewater from the Dutch Canal and the Hamilton Canal. There are quite a lot of factories that need to be held accountable for the

pollution that has been caused over the years.”The long-term neglect by the Wattala-

Mabola Urban Council (UC) over the increasing pollutants in the canal too can be noted as one of the growing causes of environmental pollution, Lakshman stated.

“The garbage being dumped right into the canal too causes various issues; polythene blocks the pipes and then when there are heavy rains, the by-roads tend to get inundated, bringing out all the garbage and polluted water to the road. Moreover, when the weather is too sunny and the water levels drop in the canal, there is this unbearable stench that emanates from the mud,” Samantha Perera, a resident of Hekitta explained.

According to them, there are no creatures in the canal, but their worry is that the polluted water falls to the Kelani River and then makes

it to the ocean through Mattakkuliya, just passing Crow Island, spreading the pollutants to anyone residing downstream.

Established wastewater treatment plants

The CEA also noted that Sri Lanka has constructed wastewater treatment plants at its major industrial parks in Biyagama, Seethawaka, Horana, and Greater Colombo that have the capacity of treating 7.5, 9, 11, and 2.5 million cubic metres of wastewater respectively, per year.

Wastewater disposal projectMoreover, an amount of $ 95.1 million

was sanctioned by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) as an interest-free concessionary credit to the Government of Sri Lanka for the implementation of the Ratmalana/Moratuwa and Ja-Ela/Ekala Wastewater Disposal Project.

This was complemented with a grant funding of SEK (Swedish krona) 56.2 million for the engineer/supervision input, an output-based grant of $ 0.1 million, and funding from Global Partnership on output-based aid/World Bank for an amount of $ 3 million, of which SIDA contributed with the counter value of SEK 14 million.

The project, which was implemented during 2008-2016, aimed at improving the environmental conditions in the two areas and mitigating pollution by providing a full-fledged wastewater system comprising sewerage, pumping, treatment, and safe disposal of treated effluent and sludge, which would enhance the living conditions of the people living in the areas as well as sustain industrial development.

No one takes responsibilityWhen contacted for comment over

the possible water pollution that was taking place at the site where the apparel manufacturer was draining out its untreated effluent water, the Wattala-Mabola Urban Council said that the area did not fall under their purview, and the writer was directed to get in touch with the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) Office in Wattala.

The Sunday Morning then contacted the Wattala MOH for comment, and was told that there is always the dispute of whether the drains, waterways, and canals are under the purview of the urban council, MOH, or the CEA.

“The MOH office handles the technical aspect of these issues and we are able to take in complaints made by area residents. Ideally, the institution that you are referring to functions under the Board of Investment (BOI) and should obtain the necessary certification and have a water treatment plant within its factory premises to treat effluent water before it is released to the environment,” an official of the Wattala MOH explained on the condition of anonymity.

He further noted that even if water pollution is reported, the MOH will have to alert the relevant state institution to look into the matter and take legal action against the entities.

Since the polluted water is carried to the Kelani River, ideally the Irrigation Department will have to look into the matter and if the ocean is getting affected, the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) and the Coast Conservation

Department will have to step in.“Without a formal complaint

by a resident, we are unable to probe into the matter or advise the relevant authorities to take action against not one company, but all companies that are releasing untreated effluent water to a canal, which falls to the river and to the ocean. Moreover, the impact from the pollutants is not experienced by a larger population, which can be a reason as to why this matter is overlooked by

authorities,” he elaborated.He added that the garbage dumping

issue should definitely be looked into by the Wattala-Mabola UC as it is their responsibility to ensure that garbage is routinely collected from residential and industrial areas of Wattala.

The official from the MOH office stated that there should be clear assignment of the inland water bodies, canals, and waterways so that when people have to raise issues of this nature, one institution could easily take legal action against those who pollute.

– Sarah Hannan


4

FOCUS

The garbage being dumped right into

the canal too causes various issues;

polythene blocks the pipes and then when there are heavy rains

the by-roads tend to get inundated,

bringing out all the garbage and polluted

water to the roadSamantha Perera,

a resident of Hekitta

The impact from the pollutants is

not experienced by a larger population,

which can be a reason as to why this matter is overlooked

by authoritiesAn official of the

Wattala MOH office

AASL and health authorities commence investigations

Lately, we have been unable

to carry out our duties in preventing the pandemic

from once again causing an outbreak, as we are not given

the necessary informationPHIUSL President

Upul Rohana

As soon as the incident was reported, our team visited

the MRIA and conducted a preliminary investigation, which went on until Friday (25) 3 a.m. Another team

arrived at the MRIA to carry out disciplinary inquiries

AASL Chairman Maj. Gen. (Retd.) G.A. Chandrasiri

PHOTO © AVIATION VOICE

PHOTOS KRISHAN KARIYAWASAM

Traces of green and black dyes that had colourised the sides of a drain

Garbage tossed to the sides of the canal

Protocol breached?

INLAND WATER BODIES

Turn black with pollutantsCanal choked with garbage due to UC negligence

COVID-19 PREVENTION

The result of the third PCR test conducted on the Russian flight crew member at the Hambantota General Hospital, released on Friday (25) at 5.15 p.m., confirmed him to be negative for Covid-19.


5


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Following the catastrophic disaster reported last week of a building in Kandy collapsing, concerns were raised over all illegal and hazardous constructions mushrooming in landslide-prone areas, especially in the Central Province.

This issue was aggravated over the last few years as a result of the sudden influx of tourists which has led to increased commercialisation, resulting in a majority of the existing properties being converted into hotels, restaurants, guest houses, or homestays.

As reported by The Sunday Morning, the majority of these commercial properties are not registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA); Ella, especially, houses around 700 such unregistered properties that have been operational for several years.

Following the incident, several state institutions including the Kandy Municipal Council (KMC) and the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) are now conducting surveys to identify illegal constructions in the Central Province.

The recent incident exposed many loopholes in the construction approval system of the local government institution as well as the practical difficulties of monitoring whether the approved plan was constructed or not.

NBRO Human Settlements Planning and Training Division Director Kishan Sugathapala told The Sunday Morning that the NBRO had already identified areas with a high risk of landslides in the Central Province.

“We are preparing a proposal. First, we are trying to identify public buildings. We’ll start with tuition classes. Then, we will check other public buildings. Then, to the public buildings that include the hotels. It’s a very costly exercise,” he stressed.

Explaining further, Sugathapala stressed that prior to starting on any construction, the necessary approvals have to be taken, but it was difficult to examine the constructions that were already built.

“The Kandy incident was solely due to structural failure and it has nothing to do with landslides,” he said.

“Any type of construction in a landslide-prone area needs to be approved by either the UDA (Urban Development Authority) or the Ella Pradeshiya Sabha, and when those two authorities seek to provide approval, they require the approval of the NBRO,” Sugathapala stressed.

Meanwhile, another report was requested by the Central Province Governor this week following the deadly disaster that occurred last Sunday (20) morning where a five-storey building collapsed onto another building in the Buwelikada area in Kandy.

“I’ve instructed the relevant officials to inspect the condition of all the buildings in the city and to submit a report,” Central Province Governor Lalith U. Gamage said.

He told the media that there were incidents where the owners carried out construction without following the proper plans that were approved by the Municipal Council.

The buildings in these landslide-prone areas, especially in Kandy, should be constructed as per the architectural designs that are made to suit such areas, he stressed, adding that heavy buildings don’t suit the area and therefore, steps should be taken to change the types of designs in future constructions.

“These people have to live in this area and they have nowhere else to go and therefore, similarly to Japan, a suitable structural method should be applied,” he said.

The Governor also stressed the need to take legal action against illegal constructions within the Kandy municipality. “There is a legal officer at the KMC and it’s one of their tasks to take legal action against illegal constructions,” he added.

According to him, the committee appointed to look into the incident is currently conducting the investigation.

The NBRO said the construction of a building on top of a loose or soft soil layer was the cause for last Sunday’s tragedy in Buwelikda, Kandy. After investigating the incident, an NBRO officer said the soil layer was unable to bear the weight of the five-storey building, which eventually resulted in the collapse during the early hours of Sunday. It is also said the building was built blocking a valley path.

According to NBRO Emergency in Landslide Risk Contact Person R.M.S. Bandara, the construction of the property in question began around 2010 and gradually developed to its state prior to its collapse.

NBRO officials are currently investigating the incident to identify the reason for the collapse.

Constructions in Ella

Questions were also raised over the

construction of a number of hotels in Ella which developed as a tourist destination in recent years.

As seen by any visitor travelling to Ella, a number of hotels are still being constructed on sloping hills. As alleged by many experts, a number of these constructions are being built without proper approvals from the relevant authorities. As a result, myriad questions arose over the safety of these hotels and the travellers who stayed in these hotels.

Ella Hotel Association (EHA) President Malith De Silva told The Sunday Morning that only around 20 hotels were operational in Ella several years ago before it was transformed into a more prominent tourist destination.

“But with the increase of tourist arrivals to the area, the number of hotels also increased gradually. Now there are around 829 hotels operating in Ella,” he said, adding: “Out of those hotels, only about 100 hotels are registered with the SLTDA and operate with

a proper license.”The number of hotels operating in

Ella rapidly increased over a short period of time and most of these hotels were constructed without obtaining the necessary approvals from government authorities, he said.

The association urged the Ministry of Tourism, SLTDA, and recently the UDA to control and regularise constructions in the area.

According to the association, there should be a proper mechanism to monitor the construction of these hotels, as it could pose a huge environmental threat to the area if not properly regulated.

The association has also requested the Government to limit the number of rooms in these hotels to about 20. “Additionally, there should be a limitation on the number of floors that could be built and a complete prohibition on the construction of high rises in the area,” De Silva stated.

Ella Pradeshiya Sabha Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) member Pubudu Gimhana alleged that the Pradeshiya Sabha was turning a blind eye to illegal constructions in the area, while some constructors didn’t care about the rules and regulations enforced by the Pradeshiya Sabha.

There were also incidents where approvals had been granted due to political influence, he stressed.

The Ella Pradeshiya Sabha had not done anything for the development of Ella over the past few years, he further alleged.

“Ella should be preserved as a destination while managing sustainable tourism. The damage caused to the environment by constructing illegal buildings in Ella can’t be rectified,” Gimhana said.

He urged the Government to pay more attention to the area’s development and control irregular tourism and overexploitation immediately.

GRAVE DISASTERSLIDING TOWARDS A

Illegal and hazardous constructions

The five-storey building that collapsed onto another building in Buwelikada, Kandy

A search operation was carried out to find the survivors


6

FOCUS/VIEWSBY PUJANEE GALAPPATHTHI AND MAHIKA PANDITHA

Recent reports show that the cost of food in Sri Lanka has increased by 12.3% in August of 2020 compared with the same month in the previous year. However, with import controls in place, this does not come as a surprise.

Advocata Institute Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dhananath Fernando, speaking to The Sunday Morning, highlighted the current economic framework of the country.

When asked what may have spiked the commodity prices to unbearable figures, he said that headline inflation, according to the Year-on-Year (YoY) change in the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI, 2013=100), has dropped to 4.1% in August 2020 from 4.2% in July 2020. This was mainly due to the statistical effect of the substantially high base in August 2019. Moreover, food inflation (YoY) has gone up to 12.3% in August 2020 from 10.9% in July 2020, but non-food inflation (YoY) has dropped to 0.8% in August 2020 from 1.5% in July 2020.

According to Fernando, the increase in food inflation is a result of the import controls and the reduced local production, and the resultant inability to supply to the overwhelming demand. This has a ripple effect; for example, when the corn supply is reduced, the price goes up and in turn affects the poultry farmers as corn is a major food for poultry. This will then increase the poultry prices, thus raising demand on bakery products and increasing its prices.

Effects of the price hikeNelna Farms (Pvt.) Ltd. General

Manager (GM) Kapila Rajapakshe shared that the main reasons for the increase in commodity prices were scarcity and the high prices of raw materials.

“There is a huge shortage in the country and the price has gone up from Rs. 55 to Rs. 90 per kg of maize from March 2020 to September 2020, respectively. Other than this, rice has been banned from animal feed and has gone up from Rs. 60 to Rs. 90 per

kg during the same period. We import soya from the US and the currency fluctuation and scarcity in the material has also resulted in a price hike,” Rajapakshe told The Sunday Morning.

When the grain prices are high, the prices of chicken and eggs are also increased. Rajapakshe commented on the fact that when the prices are high, the consumers’ affordability becomes a problem, which results in them avoiding excess purchases or limiting their purchases only to essential items.

“This scenario is not healthy for us too because the benefit goes to the intermediaries who deal with raw materials. With the increase in prices, the top line is rising but the bottom line has no relief.”

Fernando too said that non-food

inflation usually drops due to consumer behaviour, adding that they decide to cut down all their purchases except food, and as a result, this goes down.

“According to recent reports, there is a 17% drop in the consumer rate of adult soap and an 18% decline in the consumer rate in baby soap. If people have reduced the consumption of a staple product like soap, they are really in trouble,” he added.

Ceylon Bakery Owners’ Association (CBOA) President N.K. Jayawardena shared that the prices are now escalating every day.

“Last month, for the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, an egg was over Rs. 25, and this hits the income of bakery owners. Items like turmeric, flour, onions, and potatoes are also extremely expensive now, and in order to cover the expenses, we spend about Rs. 6,000 daily. We have informed the Presidential Secretariat about these issues. Our complaint on the

overwhelming rise of the price of eggs resulted in the Government lowering it to Rs. 16, which is a very favourable response to us. We are simply coping like everyone else and we are hopeful that the President and the Government will give us a favourable response very soon,” Jayawardena noted.

Measures to curb the issueWhen The Sunday Morning

reached out to Minister of Trade Dr. Bandula Gunawardana, he shared that the Ministry together with the Government is doing everything in their power to curb this situation, although it is a global reality that we have to accept.

“This is one of the worst pandemics in the history of the world, and the global supply chain has been destroyed and the world economy is affected. A World Bank forecast predicts this economy’s downfall to last for the next five years. So in these circumstances, our hands are

mostly tied. We import most of our essential products from India and local production has also dropped, so there is nothing much the Government can do.”

He said that the Government has made it a policy to keep the price of rice low, starting January 2021, and have taken steps to make essential items such as dhal and coconuts available for lowest possible rates. Moreover, the Government has also held discussions with the High Commissioner of India to make an exception to make available the essential food items.

Commenting on their own way of tackling this issue, Lassana Flora Chairman/CEO Dr. Lasantha Malavige shared that they are working hard to maintain the lowest prices for fruits and vegetables.

“We source directly from the farmers and deliver to the customer’s doorstep, avoiding middlemen. In addition, we minimise post-harvest loss by implementing modern technologies for delivery, packing, and storage. The cold chain is maintained to ensure freshness and minimise wastage. Furthermore, our business is conducted entirely online, which avoids expensive shop space. These strategies have helped us maintain lower cost, allowing us to pass that benefit to our customers.”

Meanwhile, all attempts made by The Sunday Morning to contact All Island Farmers’ Federation (AIFF) National Organiser Namal Karunaratne were futile.

Govt.’s recovery tenfoldHarini Perera – Attorney-at-Law

The cost of living increasing due to the elevated prices of goods is going to cause a lot of difficulties for a lot of people, particularly considering that we are still recovering from the pandemic. However, if we, the civilians, are still recovering, then the Government’s recovery is tenfold. So I guess these prices spiking was inevitable. Considering that the effects of the pandemic are felt globally, we cannot single our Government and blame them for these spikes. Sourcing is difficult, labour is scarce, and having the economy pretty much shut down for three months was a huge blow. While many will really feel the adjustment, it would seem there’s no one to blame, but we have to bear with it and hope for the better. Personally, we would have to forego any luxuries or things we would not consider essential and make some adjustments for a less indulgent lifestyle.

Cost of living inevitableChandu de Silva – Head of Client Services at Mint Media

The increase in the cost of living is

inevitable no matter what the cause is, so we have to find alternative ways of income to stay prepared. Government taxes and other external factors are always unpredictable. This may or may not be temporary. The price of an egg was Rs. 12 during Covid, but now it has skyrocketed to an amount close to Rs. 30. Just like that, costs add up to everything we consume, so I believe things improve for our benefit.

Be responsible consumersShenani Komasaru – housewife

The majority of Sri Lankans are of middle-income families and it is expected that a global pandemic affecting the entire world would have a major impact on these families. There is actually nothing we can do about it, except re-evaluate our priorities and learn to be minimalistic. I believe the best we can do to support the country in this difficult time is to also do our part and be responsible consumers.

Must take care of peopleNimasha Dabare – teacher

If it is an absolute necessity to raise food prices like this, then at least the Government should provide concessions for low-income families. Otherwise, we will have starving children, and while Sri Lanka hasn’t been thriving, we are not a country that allows our people to starve. If there’s ever a scenario where people cannot afford their daily meals to sustain themselves, then there’s a problem. Regardless of how difficult it is for the Government and our economy to recover from the current situation, there’s a responsibility to take care of its people,

provide them with the environment where they can afford to eat, and feed their families.

Not only our problemThilanka Rodrigo

The increase in the cost of living is a problem affecting the whole world right now. It is not only our problem. I believe the Government should try to adopt policies of countries that have managed to jumpstart their economies after the lockdown with Covid-19.

People and planet before profitGulzar Ahmed – Co-founder of Global Strategic Network

Eight million of us earn less than Rs. 1,000 a day and two million earn even less than that. As a Sri Lankan coming from a middle-class family, running a start-up and managing work is quite the challenge while keeping up with price hikes in this country. The lockdown was necessary, but the financial constraints it brought upon the common public was at one point unbearable. It’s true that businesses are getting back on their feet, but the employees and the public see no difference in their pay scale – may it be the government sector or private sector – to keep up with the prices pitched.

In a country like ours, sadly, price hikes are permanent or that’s what I have noticed ever since I started to work 10 years ago. We need to think twice about minimum wages of all sectors. The more the cost of living goes up, the more people move out

of the country to places where despite the higher cost of living they receive a better pay. This is possible if we put the people and the planet before profit alone. That strike of balance is what is missing in this puzzle to the financial freedom of future Sri Lankans. So next time you dig into that cheesecake at your favourite coffee shop, remember a family somewhere in this country barely makes the same amount you just spent to feed a family of four three times a day, and that shouldn’t be the case anymore.

Govt. should do their partDilum Fonseka – brand executive

This is a tough time for everybody, but when the general public of the country is battered, I believe it is the responsibility of the Government to do their part in handling the prices, as that is in fact their job. Lower the taxes, impose strong agricultural policies – do whatever it takes. Now is the time to prove to us that it was the right decision to vote them into positions of power.

Face this togetherNilas Arululanantham – photographer

The cost of living is going high at full speed; most people are facing pay cuts and companies are laying people off, so this is really not the best time to have the prices of every food item increased. Although, there is very little we as consumers can do. I believe the Government is also at a loss of resources and strategies as this is a situation affecting the population of the

world. We might not come out of this for a very long time. What we can do right now is let go of things we consider luxurious and try and adapt to the situation, because the only way to get through this is to face it together.

Accept the situationShalini de Silva

The cost of living is rapidly increasing these days and we have nothing but Covid-19 to blame. What we can do is accept the situation and try and limit our purchases to essentials only. We can also start eating vegetables grown in our backyards and maybe share them with our neighbours and friends too. This is the way to help the community at this point in time.

Can we handle it?

Up, up, and away?

COST OF LIVING

COST OF LIVING

z Prices of commodities skyrocketing in 2020

According to the daily reports by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), the prices of vegetables, coconut, and turmeric increased in August 2020. Beans, carrots, and cabbages are priced at a range of Rs. 250-260 per kg this week from Rs. 240 during the same time last month. Prices of rice varieties have significantly increased as well: Currently, 1 kg of samba is priced at Rs. 103, whereas it was priced

at Rs. 96 during the same time last month. The price of fish has remained at a relatively high yet consistent rate since August 2020, with 1 kg of kelawalla fish ranging from Rs. 600-650, for example.

The monthly change of the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) recorded was at 0.0% in August 2020. This is said to be due to setting off the price increase of 0.1% in the food category, with

the price decline noted in the non-food category by the same magnitude. Accordingly, within the food category, vegetables and certain other prices have increased since last month; within the non-food category, prices of payments to medical laboratories, etc. have shown a decline since last month. The recorded core inflation (YoY) has remained at 3.2% during the month of August 2020.

A brief analysis

Manning Market in ColomboPHOTOS PRADEEP DAMBARAGE

BY PUJANEE GALAPPATHTHI

With the prices of vegetables and other essentials going up daily, the cost of living has increased drastically since the beginning of this year. While the Government and the people are already battered by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, these long-term consequences have caused everyone to worry about what the situation would be in our country and the world in the next few years. To get a better understanding on how the general public is dealing with this problem, The Sunday Morning spoke to a cross-section of individuals.

Local vegetable vendors at Manning Market


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Complaints were recorded at various police stations around the country regarding individuals encroaching private lands by creating fake deeds to claim ownership, The Sunday Morning learnt.

Recently, such a land racket was uncovered by the Chilaw Police when a group of people tried to sell a property worth around Rs. 2 million in Mundalama. The Police arrested three suspects last Sunday (20) while the racketeers were trying to sell five plots of land by preparing fake deeds.

Accordingly, one plot was already sold after faking the owner’s National Identity Card (NIC) and preparing a fake deed. The last plot was said to have been sold at Rs. 2 million. The racketeers were identified as aged between 45 and 50 years.

The “Fake Deed” racket, as it has now come to be known, is one of the most common types of fraud happening in Sri Lanka. And according to the Registrar General’s Department, around 50% of land deeds in Sri Lanka were forged documents.

A number of complaints are also recorded by the law-enforcement authorities on a daily basis regarding the production of fake deeds, title abstracts commonly known as “paththiru” in Sinhala, letters of permits, etc., and these types of fake deeds were mainly said to be created by using the seals of deceased notaries.

In July, the Colombo High Court sentenced five suspects, who were found guilty of selling a piece of land in Kollupitiya under a fake deed, to 67 years in prison collectively.

It was reported that a fine of Rs. 130,000 was levied on the suspects and they were ordered to pay Rs. 14 million as compensation to the owner of the land.

The first defendant of the case, Christy Vivian Rodrigo, was sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 20,000, and Rs. 2 million in compensation. Dhammika

Rodrigo, Jeyaraj Amarasinghe, and Chintha Rajapaksa, who were also found guilty, were served 10-year sentences and fines of Rs. 20,000. The trio is also to pay Rs. 3 million each in compensation to the land owner.

The Attorney General served indictments against the five convicts over selling a piece of land on a road adjoining Marine Drive in Kollupitiya using fake deeds on 24 October 2012, and also aiding and abetting the said crime. Following the trial, Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Pilapitiya found the defendants guilty of the charges and handed down the aforementioned penalties.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, the Police

Media Division said a number of incidents were reported regarding land issues, but the Division did not have separate data on the total number of suspects in custody at present over creating fake deeds and selling lands.

An officer attached to the division said the respective police stations handle the cases as and when a complaint is lodged.

How to protect oneself

Explaining the process, Senior Counsel Sampath Perera told The Sunday Morning that

the number of incidents where fake deeds are prepared for lands where the owners are residing in foreign countries is on the rise and around 50% of land deeds in Sri Lanka are forged.

“These are not isolated incidents but very well-organised rackets,” he stressed.

Explaining further, Perera said one of the main reasons as to why these incidents were on the rise was mainly because, in Sri Lanka, there is a system of document registration as against the title registration of lands. Whilst there is a pilot project for title registration, almost all the lands in the country were registered by documents.

“Document registration has paved the way for many people to engage in these types of frauds. If a plot of land is registered by the title, the person under whose name the land is registered can be identified, and the space for fraud is limited,” he explained, adding that in most cases, the racketeers have either created fake documents or impersonated the true owner of the land.

In most of these scams, the racketeers created fake NICs matching the details of the actual owner. Most of the time, the unsuspecting buyers and notaries get caught to this scam as the owner’s details (NIC) match the details on the title abstract, Perera added.

To avoid this type of fraud, Senior Counsel Perera,

who has more than 10 years of experience dealing with civil matters including land-related matters, said it is a must to check the land records either at the Land Registry or at local government offices.

“If an owner wanted to protect the land from this type of fraud, the owner can file a caveat – a notice registered at the relevant Land Registry – which holds a record of the land. When the caveat is in place, the Land Registrar is duty-bound to inform those who register the caveat, when any document or alteration to the registration of the said land is received,” he explained.

“Verification of relevant documents prior to purchasing land is a must,” Perera stressed.

Furthermore, he noted: “To safeguard against any type of fraudulent transactions, the buyers should ensure that through his/her notary, the documents including the original deed, the title report (for more than 30 years), copy of the survey plan recently approved by the local authority, the plan from the local authority to identify any land to be acquired by the government for development projects, a certified copy of the duplicate deed (the copy of the deed with the stamp duly affixed, which must be mandatorily lodged at the Land Registry by the notary), abstracts of the title (paththiru), ownership non-vesting certificate, street/building line certificate, are in order.”

Digitisation plansHowever, to avoid this type of

fraudulent activity, the Registrar General’s Department is taking measures to digitise data on land deeds and birth certificates.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning to ascertain what actions the Land Reform Commission

(LRC) has taken to prevent these types of fraudulent activities, LRC Executive Director D.K.D.

Disanayaka refused to provide information over the phone.

When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Land Minister S.M. Chandrasena said: “A programme to computerise all land-related

data is currently ongoing so as to prevent fraudulent

activities related to lands.”

Document registration has paved the way for many

people to engage in these types of frauds. If a plot of land is registered by the title, the person under whose name

the land is registered can be identified, and the space for

fraud is limitedSenior Counsel Sampath Perera

A programme to computerise

all land-related data is currently ongoing so as to

prevent fraudulent activities related to landsLand Minister

S.M. Chandrasena

If an owner wanted to protect

the land from this type of fraud, the owner can file a caveat – a notice registered

at the relevant Land Registry – which holds a record of the land. When the caveat is in place, the Land Registrar is duty-bound to inform those

who register the caveat, when any document or alteration to

the registration of the said land is received

Senior Counsel Sampath Perera


On 12 March 2012, the “Wiru Nivasa” housing scheme was initiated by the then Government to provide 60 families of war veterans with new homes.

But successive governments have failed to address the issues faced by the project and hand over the houses to the war heroes.

The project was carried out under the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) under the patronage of then Minister of Housing and Construction Wimal Weerawansa.

Addressing the opening of the project, Weerawansa said: “If you had left these lands in fear of terrorist attacks and bombings, then the duties of our armed forces would have been harder and longer. You all are shareholders of the battle to free this country from the grips of terrorism. Therefore, not one housing project but even if we make 1,000 housing schemes, it would still not be enough to repay the debt to you for holding onto these lands.”

The housing scheme is situated in the Damana region of the Ampara District.

Former NHDA District Manager for Ampara P.S. Kalansooriya said the project faced many shortcomings. He said the loan facility was not properly provided to those building their houses and that some owners did not seem interested in constructing homes but merely bought the land.

“It wasn’t completed fully. The Government was unable to provide electricity and water, so the project was

getting delayed. At the time, only around 25 houses were built. The loan was given only that year but no one took it. Some bought the land solely and failed to build homes. It is now prime land to reside in. I think there are a few living there, but this project can be revamped and completed as it is good land to occupy.”

He said the Government at the time had also failed to properly provide electricity and water to the area, adding that the NHDA is only capable of providing

assistance and facilitating matters to do with housing.

“Electricity and water must be supplied by the Central Government. I believe electricity has been provided by now, so if the Government can give a water pipeline, then that problem would be solved.”

Current NHDA District Manager for Ampara K.L. Athula too said the lack of infrastructure facilities was a reason for the delays.

“It was started in 2012 but was stopped

because the needed electricity and water facilities were not provided. Around 30 (houses) have been built as of now, at least partially.”

In addition, residents speaking to the media recently said that the access road to the housing scheme was in an isolated area and that only part of the loan from the Government was provided to build the houses.

Meanwhile, NHDA Director General L. Edirisinghe said that they are now looking at completing the project, for which they are therefore allocating funds.

“They (houses) were up to a certain level. Some are halfway completed, some are completed, and some are not. I’m trying to see the financial cash flow and how we can assist them. We must see if they’re being occupied because our officials have informed us that some houses have been completely abandoned.”

He said that he believed one of the reasons for the halt in the project was the change in government in 2015, adding: “From what I can gather, the project went on till 2014 but thereafter had stopped and nothing had happened in the last couple of years.”

Meanwhile, multiple attempts made by The Sunday Morning to reach Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa to inquire whether he would ensure the project was completed at least now failed.

Waiting for shelterRANAVIRU HOUSING SCHEME

ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

ON THE

RISE

LAND ENCROACHMENT

In most of these scams, the racketeers created fake NICs

matching the details of the actual owner. Most of the

time, the unsuspected buyers and notaries get caught to

this scam as the owner’s details (NIC) match the details

on the title abstract

Land Minister S.M. Chandrasena said a

programme to computerise all land-related data was

currently ongoing so as to prevent fraudulent activities

related to lands

From what I can gather, the project

went on till 2014 but thereafter had stopped and nothing had happened in

the last couple of years NHDA Director General

L. Edirisinghe

The current state of the houses

The much talked about constitutional amendment – the 20th Amendment to the Constitution – was last week tabled in the House amidst protest by the main Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

It was Justice Minister Ali Sabry who presented the 20th Amendment Bill to the House. The Bill was presented without any amendments that were proposed by governing party stakeholders with the agreement that amendments to the piece of legislation would be made during the committee stage in Parliament.

However, the loud shouts of the Opposition legislators drowned Ali Sabry’s voice in the Chamber when the new piece of legislation was presented.

SJB MPs, holding placards saying “apita vissa epa” (we don’t want 20), kept shouting the slogan in chorus while wearing black bands and badges saying “No to 20”.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa claimed that it was a “dark day for the country’s democracy”. He noted that the Bill diminished the powers vested with the legislature. “We register our opposition to the 20th Amendment. This amendment has provisions that will erode democracy in the country and only strengthen the Executive,” Premadasa claimed.

The Opposition legislators then took to the Well of the Chamber, continuing to chorus the anti-20th Amendment slogan.

Several governing party members gathered near the Justice Minister while several other governing party members also took to the Well of the Chamber. The protesting and the verbal barrage between the Opposition and governing party members lasted for over half an hour.

Despite efforts by Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena to get the Opposition MPs to return to their seats and recommence the day’s business, the Speaker failed in his efforts while the Serjeant-at-Arms stood by the mace.

As the protest became more intense, several SJB MPs noticed that the cameras inside the Chamber were turned off. SJB MP Kabir Hashim noted that it was unfair on the part of the staff to switch off the cameras.

The SJB legislators then walked up to the Speaker’s chair to express their protest against switching off cameras. “Switching the cameras off is unfair,” MP Harsha de Silva claimed.

Meanwhile, Minister Wimal Weerawansa raised an objection later and pointed to a precedent that was created by former Speaker W.J.M. Lokubandara, where he had directed the cameras towards the Speaker and the Chair during disturbances in the Chamber.

However, while the governing party moved the motion

to debate several import regulations, the subject of the 20th Amendment continued to dominate the debates during the first few hours.

State Minister Shehan Semasinghe, during his speech, said that there is no room for turning back on the 20th Amendment.

“I have seen how Parliament amended laws and regulations and how democratic the decisions were. The people were given relief after the Covid-19 pandemic. We will not bring amendments that are hostile to this country,” Semasinghe said.

“During the previous Government, we witnessed how no-confidence motions were passed in the House. They did so after suspending the Standing Orders of the House. We do not act in such an undemocratic manner. People have given us a mandate to do away with the 19th Amendment. We act according to that mandate given to us by the people and we don’t need the permission of the Opposition for that,” he noted.

The State Minister said that Opposition protests would not be allowed to disrupt the work of Parliament, which runs on public money.

He further stated that the Minister of Finance will introduce a budget that will provide solutions to many problems, taking into account the strength it brings to the economy.

Meanwhile, Minister

Mahindananda Aluthgamage claimed that there were several Opposition parliamentarians who were prepared to extend support to the 20th Amendment.

He noted that there are 17 Opposition MPs who are in discussion with the governing party to join the Government.

“We will get 20 MPs from the Opposition who will vote for this Bill and we will get 170 votes in support of the Bill,” he said.

However, Aluthgamage added that the Government has only tabled a draft of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution and was prepared to consider any amendments submitted by the Opposition.

“We only tabled a draft of the 20th Amendment and doing so does not mean it has received parliamentary approval. The Opposition can challenge it in the Supreme Court (SC) and will take it up

for debate in Parliament only if the SC approves the draft. The Opposition can submit their proposals at the committee stage. We are ready to consider their proposals,” the Minister added.

Aluthgamage continued to repeat the Government’s slogan with regard to constitutional amendments that the people had given a mandate to the Government to abolish the 19th Amendment and as such they could not disregard it.

“The 20th Amendment is not a demon, as the Opposition was trying to show. We will not do anything detrimental to the country during the tenure of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa,” the Minister said.

He further noted that the 19th Amendment was not introduced for the benefit of the people but to take revenge from the Rajapaksas.

Looking at last Tuesday’s parliamentary proceedings, it was evident that the governing party’s parliamentary group was well prepared to address the objections raised.

The day before the 20th Amendment Bill was tabled in Parliament, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa convened a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday (21) evening. The Cabinet meeting is usually scheduled on Wednesday evenings.

However, last week’s Cabinet meeting was called at 4 p.m. on Monday.

Also, the governing party parliamentary group meeting was held that evening at 6.30 p.m.

The parliamentary group meeting was convened at the Presidential Secretariat and chaired by the President while governing party parliamentary group meetings are usually held with the Prime Minister at the chair in the morning of the first day of parliamentary sessions that week.

The President, it is learnt, had reiterated the importance

20A stirs up a hornet’s nest in and outside Government

the black boxby Capt. Vasabha

z Pro-SLPP national organisations ‘suspicious’ over 20A

z SC to take up 18 petitions against 20A on Tuesday

While the 20th Amendment Bill was presented to

Parliament last week, a group of national

organisations that are stakeholders of the

Government have once again expressed objections

to some of the clauses in the proposed legislation

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa

the sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020 EDITORIAL/POLITICS

It is a standing joke, even though there’s nothing funny about it, that Sri Lankans in general – by nature – have a collective memory span of two weeks. Two weeks is all it takes for most of us to forget even the most profound events, be they good, bad, or even ugly. It’s this psyche that politicians of all hues have grown accustomed to exploit to the detriment of the country.

How else could any rational individual explain the litany of broken promises of politicians over the years who despite that keep bouncing back with more of the same! And the great majority of people who keep buying what is proffered, only to be duped over and over again. It seems that we are a people that finds learning from the past a most challenging pastime.

This explains the spectacle that unfolds in the country’s Parliament every few years following an election. It is the most predictable of events where what is bad in opposition becomes good in government and what is good in government becomes bad in opposition. What is incomprehensible is that the followers and supporters of the respective parties play along, deaf and dumb, and the vicious cycle keeps repeating time and again.

Ever since 1994, the general call among civil society has been for the abolition of the executive presidency and many of its main political proponents have been the honourable members of Parliament who are today fighting to strengthen it while the party that was keen on retaining their creation now wants it scrapped.

It’s been 26 years since this circus began and it has grown into this all-consuming political storm today. It seems the more people forget, the more history keeps repeating itself. Today, with Parliament embroiled in much the same argument that first began in 1994, it looks as if time has stood still in sunny Sri Lanka.

It was Chandrika Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance (PA) that screamed from the rooftops back then that the fountain of all evil in this land was the presidency and dooshanaya and bheeshanaya were its fruits. Many of whom were members of the then PA are today MPs of the ruling party, backing the strengthening of the Executive via the proposed 20th Amendment.

Meanwhile, it is now the turn of Sajith Premadasa and his Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya to do what Chandrika Kumaratunga did and cry out that the proposed amendment would lead to the recreation of the fountain of evil with dooshanaya and bheeshanaya being the consequences. They point out that doing away with the National Audit Commission and the National Procurement Commission would pave the way for unbridled corruption, or dooshanaya, while the proposed concentration of executive powers once again in one individual would inevitably lead to bheeshanaya.

It’s the same old story in a brand new avatar with only the actors changing sides. “How long more and what further price will the country have to pay for the games its politicians play” is the trillion-rupee question today.

It is being said that the 20th Amendment to the Constitution is reflective of the overwhelming mandate given by the people on 5 August 2020. It has also been pointed out that the same rationale can be attributed to the mandate given by the people on 8 January 2015 which spawned the 19th Amendment. What is mind-boggling is that the implementation of both the 19th, which cut the president’s power, and the 20th, which restores all powers, have been attributed to the will of the people obtained within a period of less than five years.

Political analysts point out that the 19th Amendment came about in response to at least two decades of sustained agitation against the presidency. Having struggled for two decades to bring about the 19th, what made the people change their mind in five years, or is it that the 20th is not exactly a reflection of the people’s mandate and has more to do with opportunism, is what analysts are asking these days. The fact that every political party represented in Parliament and civil society organisations united to enact the 19th Amendment where as there is no such unity but rather opposition from many quarters to the 20th points to very different circumstances and very different mandates.

A collective of civil society groups taking issue with the proposed amendment and even the Prime Minister himself weighing in on the matter by appointing a special commission of his own to study and report on the proposed changes indicate that the 20th may not be rooted in as popular a mandate as the 19th. Some pundits have pointed out that if elements of the 20th Amendment were made known prior to the last election, the mandate received may well have been different.

It is accepted that the 19th Amendment strengthened the democratic institutions, and particularly Parliament itself, which is the repository of the peoples’ will, by taking away chunks of executive presidential power and depositing them in independent institutions controlled by Parliament and civil society through the Constitutional Council.

Political analysts point out that despite its many shortcomings, the 19th Amendment brought about positive change in key institutions. For instance, it stopped politicians from lording over the Police and MPs sitting on the OIC’s chair at police stations, directing how the Police should act. It gave teeth to the Election Commission to take charge during an election and punish those who violate the law. It is because of this that election violence became a thing of the past and no election-related deaths have been recorded ever since. It also strengthened parliamentary oversight through the Audit Commission which was vested with wide ranging powers that brought about some semblance of monetary discipline that was lacking in the public sector. It brought about a palpable fear among public sector employees to abide by the law and many could be heard saying that the strict auditing could land them in hot water, should they stray.

These are but a few of the many positive aspects of the independent commissions established under the 19th Amendment. To throw away all the good that has been achieved in order to rectify a few imperfections is akin to throwing away the baby along with the bath water.

The fact that the President has done an excellent job in handling the Covid-19 crisis so far points to the fact that if there is a will, there is a way. We have no doubt in the President’s will to put things right, given his performance so far, and it would be unfortunate if the groundswell of support he enjoys will be compromised as a result of ill-thought-out legislation which has given the lame duck Opposition a new lease of life and a juicy bone of contention.

Therefore, given the pros and cons of both the 19th as well as the proposed 20th Amendment, it is only fair by the people that it is widely discussed among the same groups that championed the 19th for over two decades and an amicable and equitable solution is arrived at, where the best of both are retained until such time a new constitution is introduced.

It is imperative that the chief architect of the 19th, former President Maithripala Sirisena, is also consulted on the matter, for he swore before the casket of late Ven. Sobitha Thera that he will not look back until the post is abolished. The 20th Amendment, if it is enacted in its current form, would mean that all the strife, blood, sweat, and tears shed for the abolition of the presidency over the years would all be in vain.

20th: To or not to?

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of getting the 20th Amendment implemented to overcome the confusions and obstacles to administrative work caused by the 19th Amendment.

President Rajapaksa has been resolute in his stance of abolishing the 19th Amendment sans the clauses on the presidential term and frequency of an individual to contest for the office.

Internal protestsWhile the 20th Amendment

Bill was presented to Parliament last week, a group of national organisations that are stakeholders of the Government have once again expressed objections to some of the clauses in the proposed legislation.

The Federation of National Organisations, headed by Dr. Gunadasa Amarasekera, Attorney-at-Law Kalyananda Thiranagama, and Dr. Wasantha Bandara, held a media briefing to express displeasure at some of the contents of the 20th Amendment and the Government’s failure to address the concerns being raised by the public, including stakeholders of the governing party.

Dr. Amarasekera said the Prime Minister had appointed a nine-member committee to study and propose amendments and when the report was submitted, the recommended amendments were expected to be made, but the piece of legislation was presented to Parliament without any amendments.

“Given the situation, we have lost faith in the process,” he said.

Thiranagama said that a report on the negative aspects of the proposed amendment presented to Parliament would be compiled within a week.

“Why wasn’t this discussed at the Cabinet meeting? Why cant’s the Government parliamentarians take this up for discussion? This is a serious problem. As a result of this conduct, there’s suspicion,” Thiranagama said.

He noted that the present situation has given rise to suspicion that there is an attempt to hide or cover up some issue. “This cannot be done in a discreet manner. Why are they hiding it? Therefore, we wish to tell the Government, the President, and Prime Minister to reveal the recommendations of the committee,” Thiranagama added.

The Federation heavily criticised the inclusion of the clause enabling dual citizens to enter Parliament and engage in governance activities.

“There are foreign intelligence operatives all over. When these people take citizenship in a country, they declare allegiance to that country. What will happen if such a person becomes a minister? Can the secrets of the Cabinet be protected? A US citizen can enter the US Government. This is a dangerous situation,” Thiranagama said.

According to Dr. Bandara, there would not be any crisis if the Government removes the bad aspects in the 20th Amendment and retain the good ones. “A dispute has arisen over the amendment from within the Government because there’s something wrong,” he pointed out.

“If there is a provision stating that the Auditor General cannot conduct an audit on state bodies, all investigations would have to be halted immediately. These

are fraudulent activities that have taken place since the Good Governance Government. People can question if people who supported the Good Governance Government are now behind the 20th Amendment in order to sweep aside the issues,” Dr. Bandara said, adding that there was suspicion whether some of the clauses in the new piece of legislation have been introduced with the intention of signing the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact agreement.

It is believed that a sum of Rs. 743 billion, which is circulated among 150 state institutions, would go unaccounted for as auditing of these 150 state institutions will not be allowed as per the proposed piece of legislation.

Dr. Bandara further observed that the people had given a mandate to the Government to present a new constitution and not a constitutional amendment.

However, it is evident that there’s growing discussion over the report presented by the nine-member committee that was appointed by the Prime Minister to make recommendations on the 20th Amendment.

The failure to present copies of the report to the governing party members has given further rise to suspicion on the real intentions of introducing the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, a senior Government minister said.

Speaking of the report that was submitted by the committee appointed by the Prime Minister to study the 20th Amendment and propose amendments, Minister Weerawansa said the Prime Minister has said that the recommendations of the committee report would be put forward during the committee stage of the 20th Amendment in Parliament.

When the media posed a question to Weerawansa on whether the amendments proposed by him and other likeminded individuals in the Government could be included in the new legislation at committee stage, he responded saying: “It is the Prime Minister of this country who is saying the amendments will be made. He appointed the committee and the recommendations made by this committee will be put forward by him. This is what the Prime Minister has publicly stated.”

SLFP prepares report

Stakeholder of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) Government, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) last week said it will decide the party’s stance on the 20th Amendment following discussions with party members.

SLFP Spokesperson Weerakumara Dissanayake told a news conference last week that the party will vote for the proposed 20th Amendment.

“While the SLFP takes the positives in the proposed amendment, we will also intervene to further improve it,” Dissanayake said. He explained that the party was keen on looking at bringing the 20th Amendment to a constructive place, rather than debating if the party should vote for it.

He added that discussions will take place during these two weeks and different opinions and ideas among party members will be considered.

The SLFP is also studying the proposed amendment and preparing a report to create awareness among party members.

When a question was posed to the SLFP Spokesperson about the party’s’ support for the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 2015, which will now be repealed by the proposed 20th Amendment, Dissanayake noted that serious issues arose during the implementation of the 19th Amendment.

“This is why the former President, even during his term, said there was a need for an alternative,” he added.

He noted that the divisions of power created between the President, Prime Minister, and the Speaker was one of the key weaknesses of the 19th Amendment.

“If there is no conflict between those holding these positions, there is no issue with the 19th Amendment. But it cannot go forward if there are such conflicts. The mandate is to create a solution that does not cause such a conflict,” Dissanayake observed.

As for the independent commissions that were set up by the 19th Amendment, which are likely to be weakened and eventually abolished by the new piece of legislation, Dissanayake said it was important to look at solutions to address the weaknesses of the commissions as opposed to arguing if commissions should be abolished.

When asked if the SLFP will vote for the proposed 20th Amendment if it abolishes independent commissions, Dissanayake said there was time to discuss the matter and make a decision.

Petitions add on

As soon as the 20th Amendment was tabled in the House, petitions challenging the new piece of legislation started to mount before the SC.

The number of petitions before the SC within 48 hours of the Bill being tabled in Parliament stood at 12.

The Constitution provides for interested parties to invoke the jurisdiction of the SC to determine whether any bill or any of its provisions are inconsistent with the Constitution within seven days of it being tabled in Parliament.

If the bill is not challenged in the SC, it can be taken up for debate after seven days. In the event the legislation is challenged before the SC, the Court has to deliver its determination within 21 days from the date of the petitions.

Parliament cannot take any action on the respective amendment bill during that period.

The first petition was filed in the SC by a lawyer challenging the 20th Amendment on Tuesday (22).

The petitioner has stated that a referendum should be called for in order to pass the 20th Amendment.

The petition filed by a lawyer has sought a court decision declaring that the 20th Amendment draft bill, which has been presented in Parliament, requires a public referendum to be passed, as it violates basic rights.

The petition was filed by Attorney-at-Law Indika Gallage through Attorney-at-Law Dharshana Weraduwage while the Attorney General (AG) has been named as a respondent.

The application alleges that the proposed 20th Amendment curtails a number of basic rights and other provisions ensured by the Constitution.

The petitioning party has charged that the contents of the proposed 20th Amendment are severely prejudicial towards the public, such as the removal of the provisions allowing for filing fundamental rights (FR) petitions against the President; curtailing the powers vested with the Election Commission to file legal action against violation of directives issued by the Commission; preventing the Presidential Secretariat, the Prime Minister’s Office, and state institutions from being audited; and removing the restrictions placed preventing a person with dual citizenship from contesting general elections or the presidential election.

The petition has further stated that the proposed amendment has sought to reintroduce provisions allowing the presentation of emergency bills, which had been done away through the 19th Amendment.

It has also stated that the proposed constitutional amendment would abolish the power vested with the Bribery Commission to investigate an incident of bribery or corruption without a prior complaint and that it also removes the qualifications required to be appointed as the Auditor General.

The petitioner has stated that the proposed constitutional amendment violates the basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution as well as other paragraphs, and therefore requests the SC to deliver a verdict declaring the draft bill

will require a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a public referendum to be passed.

Six petitions were filed challenging the 20th Amendment Bill before the SC as of Wednesday (23), including by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

The SJB was the second to file a case in the SC.

“Our lawyers went before the Supreme Court to challenge the 20th Amendment Bill,” SJB General Secretary MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara told The Morning after filing the petition.

The SJB charged that certain provisions of the 20th Amendment Bill violated fundamental rights as well as sections of the current Constitution.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also went before the SC over the same.

“Our legal team tendered papers to courts objecting to the 20th Amendment Bill,” TNA Leader MP R. Sampanthan told The Morning.

The TNA alleged that the Bill was contrary to the current Constitution and infringed the fundamental rights and other provisions guaranteed by the Constitution.

Public interest litigation activist and Attorney-at-Law Nagananda Kodituwakku also challenged the 20th Amendment Bill before the SC.

“People are the supreme authority. The Bill takes away the sovereignty of the people. The Constitution speaks of democracy, independent judiciary, and the separation of power doctrine. The Bill is a direct violation of all this.”

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Executive Director Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and Anil Kariyawasam also challenged the 20th Amendment.

Six more petitions challenging the draft bill of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution were filed with the SC on Thursday (24).

The petitions were filed by former Southern Province Governor and former Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive Director Ranjith Keerthi Tennakoon and five other parties, citing the Attorney General as the respondent.

Tennakoon, in his petition, has claimed that certain provisions of the proposed draft bill severely violated the country’s Constitution. Hence, a two-thirds majority of Parliament is not sufficient to pass such provisions, the petitioner has pointed out, while calling for a referendum as well.

Accordingly, Tennakoon has sought a SC verdict mandating a referendum to pass the controversial articles of the proposed draft bill.

Meanwhile, another six petitions were filed before the Supreme Court on Friday (25).

Thereby, 18 petitions in total have been filed against the 20th Amendment by Friday.

A special judge bench consisting of SC justices was appointed on Friday to consider the petitions filed against the draft bill of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

The judge bench, chaired by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, consists of four other SC Justices, namely Buwaneka Aluwihare, Priyantha Jayawardena, Vijith Malalgoda, and Sisira de Abrew.

The petitions will be taken up for consideration on Tuesday (29).

SJB-UNP allianceThe SJB last week invited the

United National Party (UNP) to join the new alliance that is in the making. The invitation was also extended to the UNP to contest the impending provincial council election as an alliance with the SJB.

The invitation was extended by SJB General Secretary Madduma Bandara at a press conference last week where he had said that the message had been already passed on to the UNP.

“We invite the UNP to join the SJB-led alliance which is in the making. It will also be possible for the two parties to contest the provincial council elections together, if the two parties strike a deal to become partners to an alliance,” Madduma Bandara had said.

“I have already spoken to new UNP Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene as well,” he had further noted.

SJB MP Harshana Rajakaruna, who had also participated in the press conference, had said the ideal scenario would be to hand over the UNP leadership to Opposition Leader Premadasa.

However, a formal discussion between the SJB and UNP had not taken place on the matter of forming an alliance.

Tissa meets RWMeanwhile, SJB National

Organiser Tissa Attanayake had recently met with UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Speaker Karu Jayasuriya.

Attanayake had met with Wickremesinghe and Jayasuriya separately in an unofficial capacity in order to address the conflict between the SJB and UNP and to look at working on a joint platform.

During the discussion with Wickremesinghe, Attanayake had requested him to look at resolving the clash between the SJB and UNP.

“When Maithripala Sirisena was being proposed as the presidential candidate, I opposed it. I felt a UNP leader should be the presidential candidate. I met with Wickremesinghe on an unofficial capacity. It was a meeting pushed by me on a private level. I also met with Karu Jayasuriya. I discussed resolving the present crisis with them. I asked Ranil Wickremesinghe to reconsider my request. I requested that he takes into consideration the people’s mandate and reach a decision. His response was that he will think about it. However, he is well known to slip through issues. I have worked with him for 35 years,” Attanayake said last week during an interview with a private radio station.

20A stirs up a hornet’s nest in and outside Government

z Tissa meets RW and Karu to resolve SJB-UNP crises

z SC to take up 18 petitions against 20A on Tuesday

z SJB invites UNP to join common opposition alliance

It is believed that a sum of Rs. 743 billion, which is circulated among 150 state institutions,

would go unaccounted for as auditing of these 150

state institutions will not be allowed as per the proposed

piece of legislation

The petitioner has stated that the proposed constitutional

amendment violates the basic rights guaranteed by the

Constitution as well as other paragraphs, and therefore

requests the SC to deliver a verdict declaring the draft

bill will require a two-thirds majority in Parliament and a public referendum to be

passed

The 20th Amendment was tabled in Parliament last week amidst protest by the main Opposition, the SJB

SJB National Organiser Tissa Attanayake

9

EDITORIAL/POLITICS

hot seat

BY SARAH HANNAN

The dust seems to be settling to some extent with regard to the one-time largest political party of the country, the United National Party (UNP), following the election of a new Deputy Leader to take charge of the party’s reforms process. Ruwan Wijewardene was recently elected the UNP’s Deputy Leader in a secret ballot held during the party’s last Working Committee (WC) meeting.This week, newly elected UNP Deputy Leader Wijewardene sat in the Hot Seat of The Sunday Morning.Following are excerpts of the interview:

How are you settling into the post of UNP Deputy Leader?

The party members from across the country have positively responded to my appointment. Many called in to wish me, while some dropped by to congratulate me. The grassroots-level party activists are raring to commence their work and get the UNP back on track.

What will be your immediate responsibilities towards rebuilding the UNP?

I am looking forward to visiting the electorates and reviving the party machinery all over Sri Lanka. Rebuilding the party will be done in a two-pronged approach: On one hand, I will have to pay a personal visit to all the electorates and attempt to win over the confidence of the UNP voter base, which will involve a lot of travelling.

On the other hand, to win over confidence, we will have to look at party reforms. The UNP will go through its much-needed party reform in the coming months.

Where do you think the UNP took a wrong turn, which eventually led to its unprecedented defeat at the 2020 general election?

The loss that we suffered in the recent general election can be seen as an opportunity for the party to look into reforms. Over the years, the party has been distancing itself from its voter base, and there have been calls for reform. We see this as a good opportunity to bring in the changes and to win over the lost confidence of our voter base and the rest of the population.

In almost 70 years of Sri Lankan politics, this is the first time the UNP is not in Parliament. How do you take that defeat and the cause that led to it?

For a long time, I think the infighting within the party really took a toll on our voter base. I think they were getting fed up with the leadership tussles, which came to a point where they were openly criticising each other over media platforms. Then of course, Sajith Premadasa breaking off to form his own party made a dent in the voter base that the UNP had built over the years.

But what really happened is that during the time we were in the Government, all the UNP MPs concentrated only on their work in office rather than the grievances of our supporters.

We were out of power for nearly 20 years, and throughout those 20 years, a lot of our party supporters faced various issues that needed to be addressed. There were a lot of expectations and we failed to deliver what was promised to them during the run-up to elections. That is one of the reasons why we suffered this heavy loss.

You have been in the party WC and been the Deputy General Secretary of the party for a while. What prevented you from ensuring the party didn’t end up in its current situation?

We all have to take the blame for what happened. I don’t think we can just blame one person. Usually, it is very easy to assign blame to one person or, in this case, the leader of the party.

When these disputes happen within the party, one can easily get sucked into these situations, where you get involved and attempt to settle the disputes and mediate.

Unfortunately, amidst all that, we lost our way. This can be considered a wakeup call. Now it’s very clear as to where we went wrong and it’s time we fixed these things and went forward.

There have been a few party seniors who have objected to your appointment. How do you plan to unite all forces within the party to move forward?

I don’t know whether they were objecting as such. But obviously there were some of the seniors that were also looking forward to being appointed to the leadership position. So, when it came to the deputy leadership, it was put for a vote, and I got the backing of the majority of the WC.

At this point, we should not alienate anyone in the party, as right now, we need everyone. All those seniors are needed, because they all have vast experience in the political sphere and working in the UNP.

How differently would you carry out the party’s reforms agenda as the new Deputy Leader?

We would need to start reforming the party from the bottom up. We will have to look at how we organise our electorates. From 1977 onwards, we were looking at forming branches in the villages and then gradually building up the party. But now, we have to look at whether that was the most effective way to rally our party supporters from the grassroots level.

We might have to look at a different method of organising our electorates. The party itself needs a facelift, where some are talking about constitutional reforms. I think the party needs to be rebranded and reorganised. Those are two key areas that we would have to look at.

Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement on stepping down from the party leadership has been looked at very sceptically by many who feel he was not sincere about it. Will there be a change in the party leadership?

Ranil Wickremesinghe was very direct when he said that it was time for him to step down. When he announced that he was stepping down, there were four members who came forward to say that

they were interested in becoming the next leader of the UNP.

There were others who were nominated, among which my name was also nominated; by the time there were six nominated names, Ranil Wickremesinghe said, why don’t you all talk it over and come to a consensus, and then one person come forward.

But unfortunately, none of us could come to a consensus, which then led to an election. Although I must say there was no hostility between any one of us. In the run-up to the party leadership election, there were a lot of discussions, and because that was taking a lot of time, Ranil Wickremesinghe suggested appointing a deputy leader first and once that is done, we can have a transition period and look at handing over the leadership of the party to his successor between December 2020 and January 2021.

Does that mean you will become the party leader before the provincial council elections in 2021?

Me? (Laughing) Well, that also depends. There are others that are thinking of taking over the leadership of the UNP. Hopefully, if it comes to a consensus, the next person can take over the leadership. Otherwise, by December 2020, I guess we will have to go for another vote and appoint the new leader of the UNP.

Do you think you have strong enough charisma to be one of Sri Lanka’s biggest political parties?

I hope so. I guess I cannot answer that question. It is the people that support our party who will have to answer the question.

You come from a family that has produced prime ministers and presidents; do you aspire to be the leader of the country at some point in your life?

I guess all of us aspire to become the president or prime minister of the country when we come into politics. Everyone has their personal ambition. What I say is that we should not let our personal ambitions take precedence over the country’s ambitions.

I mean, it all depends on the people and whether they have confidence in me.

Who are the political or non-political leaders you would like to emulate or admire?

I draw inspiration from two figures. Not trying to sound cheesy, but Abraham Lincoln was one person that I was inspired by after reading his biography. Especially because when he was appointed the Head of the Republican Party, he managed to bring the party together, although the other contestants were archrivals. Eventually, they became his biggest strength and biggest supporters. Moreover, he was able to make decisive decisions when it came to the future of the country.

The other person is Nelson Mandela, who was persecuted by the apartheid regime at the time. But when he was released, he forgave all the people who persecuted him and managed to unite that country.

In the non-political sphere I admire Elon Musk, who has broken barriers. He thinks out of the box; not scared to take on challenges and he is really shaping the future of the world in a way.

I don’t know whether I am emulating them, but I do admire them.

Do you think you are more qualified to lead the UNP than Sajith Premadasa?

That I cannot say. That is up to the people to decide. But I will do my best. All I want is to do good for the country and the UNP.

In the run-up to the election for the post of UNP Deputy Leader, there was criticism that it was UNP Leader Wickremesinghe’s plan to handover the party leadership to you, thereby ensuring the party leadership remains within the family. Is this true?

No, I do not agree with that statement. People who really know him know that he does not favour family. That is one of his known characteristics.

I came forward because there were a lot of requests that were made by our party supporters from across the country, even the Mahanayaka Thera and the Maha Sangha.

I don’t think he at any point intended for the leadership of the UNP to be contained within the family.

The UNP is not like any other party and it is not like the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna) or the SLFP (Sri Lanka Freedom Party), where the leadership is passed down from family member to family member.

Eventually, the decision to appoint the Deputy Leader came in via a vote by the WC. Ranil Wickremesinghe did not use his vote and as the Leader of the party, he remained non-partisan.

What role would Ranil Wickremesinghe play in the future within the UNP?

Whatever criticisms are levelled against him, we, as a country or as a party, do not take advantage of the vast knowledge that he has on various subjects; from economics to the environment to even little things about music, his knowledge is immense.

We never took advantage of that, and in fact, when I was meeting the Mahanayaka Thera and the Chief Prelates, they said that although the leadership change is needed for the party, do not discard Ranil Wickremesinghe, and keep him at least in an advisory role to get his advice and make use of his knowledge.

Will there be any possibility of Wickremesinghe performing the role of a de facto leader under your leadership?

No, he would serve the party on an advisory level.

Has the party managed to settle the internal disputes now that a definitive decision is reached on the party leadership?

We do not have a huge dispute right at the moment. I guess the disputes that we had before the presidential election were far greater than what we are facing right now. The present WC can come to an agreement on many matters after discussions, no matter who becomes the leader.

Will there be a change in the WC of the UNP?

We have not discussed that at the moment. Right now, we have 40 members in the WC; the party Constitution says that we can have up to 90 members, and this is another thing that we have to talk about.

Some changes will be needed. Right now, change in the composition of the WC has not been talked about or addressed.

Along with a change in the UNP leadership, would the UNP change their manifesto to match the present times?

Yes, definitely. We do have to consider some changes. We have been quite consistent with our party manifesto. It is just that we haven’t been able to communicate to the people as to what we plan to do. One huge issue that we have is communication; we lack proper communication between the citizen and the party.

Even when we were in government, we just could not communicate our vision to the people and inform them as to what we were doing, let alone communicate what benefits the people reaped as a result of the work that we did.

Instead, only the negative aspects were constantly getting highlighted and we were busy trying to defend ourselves from all these allegations, rather than actually communicating to the people what we had achieved and delivered as a government.

Our manifesto has always been quite current, but there should have been some form of reform done from time to time.

What is going to be the UNP’s main target voter base?

It is surprising to say that we have lost all the types of our voter bases at the moment; we’ve lost the confidence of the Buddhist vote, the monitory vote, and the business community vote as well as the middleclass and every other subcategory.

We need to really sit down and reflect on how to win back the support we enjoyed all these years.

Contd. on page 14

WHEN THESE DISPUTES HAPPEN WITHIN THE

PARTY, ONE CAN EASILY GET SUCKED INTO THESE

SITUATIONS, WHERE YOU GET INVOLVED AND

ATTEMPT TO SETTLE THE DISPUTES AND MEDIATE.

UNFORTUNATELY, AMIDST ALL THAT, WE LOST

OUR WAY. THIS CAN BE CONSIDERED A WAKEUP

CALL

WHEN WE WERE IN GOVERNMENT, WE JUST COULD NOT

COMMUNICATE OUR VISION TO THE PEOPLE

AND INFORM THEM AS TO WHAT WE WERE

DOING, LET ALONE COMMUNICATE WHAT BENEFITS THE PEOPLE

REAPED AS A RESULT OF THE WORK THAT WE DID

WHEN I WAS MEETING

THE MAHANAYAKA THERA AND THE CHIEF PRELATES, THEY SAID

THAT ALTHOUGH THE LEADERSHIP CHANGE IS NEEDED FOR THE PARTY, DO NOT DISCARD RANIL WICKREMESINGHE, AND

KEEP HIM AT LEAST IN AN ADVISORY ROLE TO GET

HIS ADVICE AND MAKE USE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE

WE DIDN’T LOOK AT

z People will decide on the best leader for the UNP

z We all have to share the blamez Defeat is an opportunity for the partyz Party needs rebranding and reorganising

SUPPORTERS’ GRIEVANCES

Ruwan Wijewardene

PHOTO PRADEEP DAMBARAGE


10

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FOCUSthe sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020

11


The 20th Amendment to the Constitution has seen 18 separate objections filed against it in the Supreme Court immediately after it was tabled in Parliament, with those suing for legal recourse charging that it would be the bane of democracy.

On Tuesday (22), Minister of Justice Ali Sabry PC tabled the draft bill of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

Dark day for democracyThis was instantly followed by a massive

protest in the House by the main Opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), who wore black armbands and invaded the Well of the House, holding placards and chanting “No 20”.

“Today is a dark day for democracy,” said Opposition Leader and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa, with regard to the bill that weakened the powers of the Legislature having been introduced to the House.

Following the presentation of the bill, any citizen has the right to file a petition against it in the Supreme Court within seven days.

Eighteen petitions filedOn Wednesday (23), six petitions were

filed before the Supreme Court, challenging the 20th Amendment Bill, including one petition by the SJB.

Attorney-at-Law Indika Gallage lodged a special application, claiming that the bill required a referendum to be enacted, as it violated the basic rights of the people.

The SJB was the second to file a case in Supreme Court.

“Our lawyers went before the Supreme Court to challenge the 20th Amendment Bill,” SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara told The Sunday Morning.

The SJB charged that certain provisions of the 20th Amendment Bill violated fundamental rights as well as sections of the current Constitution.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) also went before the Supreme Court for the same.

“Our legal team tendered papers to courts objecting the 20th Amendment Bill,” TNA Leader R. Sampanthan told The Sunday Morning.

The TNA alleged that the bill was contrary to the current Constitution and infringed upon the fundamental rights and other provisions guaranteed by the Constitution.

Public interest litigation activist and

Attorney-at-Law Nagananda Kodituwakku too challenged the 20th Amendment before the Supreme Court.

“People are the supreme authority. The bill takes away the sovereignty of the people. The Constitution speaks of democracy, an independent Judiciary, and the separation of power doctrine – the bill is a direct violation of all this.”

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) Executive Director Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu and Anil Kariyawasam too challenged the 20th Amendment on Wednesday.

The following day, Thursday (24), saw another six petitions being filed at the Supreme Court. These were by former Governor and Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Executive Director Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), human rights activist Abdul Sanun, S.C.C. Ilangovan, Lohini Fernando, and Lakmal Jayakody.

Further, on Friday (25), six more petitions were filed before the Supreme Court, making it a total of 18 petitions challenging the 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

Utterly authoritarian The 20th Amendment to the Constitution

seeks to repeal several key clauses of the 19th Amendment – clauses seen by many, particularly the petitioners, as ones that strengthen democracy – and essentially reverts back to the 1978 Constitution introduced by the late President J.R. Jayewardene.

Dr. Saravanamuttu, speaking to The Sunday Morning, pointed out that the 20th Amendment removes all democratic principles of the 19th Amendment and strengthens the Executive.

“The 20th Amendment seeks to dismantle all the checks and balances on the exercise of the Executive’s power. In that respect, it is utterly authoritarian.

The clauses violate the spirit of liberal democracy. For example, the President is taken away from any kind of legal suit, the Auditor General’s Department doesn’t look into the accounts of the President’s Office, the Constitutional Council is got rid of, the President can appoint independent commissions, and they are commissions of the State. So, basically you go back to a 1978 Constitution.”

He noted that the President would have unchecked powers over the Judiciary as well as the ability to appoint or dismiss key officials such as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Attorney General, and the Auditor General.

“The President has unfettered sway over the Chief Justice and the judges of the higher courts. The Parliamentary Council has only powers of observation and the President is not mandated to listen to their observations. The IGP, Attorney General, and Auditor General are all appointed by the President according to his liking.”

Contentious clausesAccordingly, the contentious clauses of

the 20th Amendment are as follows:(i) Article 35: No action of the President,

either in his official or private capacity may be questioned in any court – The 19th Amendment enabled an official act of the President to be challenged in the Supreme Court if it infringed a fundamental right by instituting proceedings against the Attorney General. An example was President Sirisena’s 2018 illegal appointment of Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister and subsequent illegal dissolution of Parliament. The repeal of this entitlement

of the citizen may require approval at a referendum since it infringes the fundamental right to a remedy.

(ii) Chapter VIIA: The President shall appoint the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal; he shall have the power to appoint and remove the Attorney General, Auditor General, Ombudsman, Secretary General of Parliament, and all independent commissions including the Election Commission and Judicial Service Commission – The Constitution now requires him to obtain the “approval” of the Constitution Council before making these appointments. That institution is to be replaced with a “Parliamentary Council”, a token body which may only make “observations” on proposed appointments.

(iii) Articles 44-47: The President chooses, appoints, and removes ministers, including the Prime Minister – Under the Constitution now, it is the Prime Minister who chooses Members of Parliament (MPs) for appointment as ministers, and it is only on the advice of the Prime Minister that a minister may be removed by the President. Today, the Prime Minister ceases to hold office only if a vote of no confidence is passed in Parliament and may not be removed by the President.

(iv) Article 44: The President may assign to himself any subjects or functions and create and hold any number of ministries – The Constitution now does not allow the President to be a Minister. Only a MP may be a minister.

(v) Article 70: The President may dissolve Parliament at any time after one year

following a general election – The Constitution now does not permit the President to dissolve Parliament until the expiry of four-and-a-half years following a general election.

(vi) Article 85: The President may secure the passage of a bill that has been rejected by Parliament by submitting it to a referendum – This power does not exist now.

(vii) Article 122: The President may certify that a bill is “urgent in the national interest”, whereupon the Supreme Court is required to determine its constitutionality within 24 hours and communicate that only to the President and the Speaker. The bill will then be rushed through all its stages and will become law without any intimation to the country or its peoples – The 19th Amendment repealed this power in 2015.

(viii) Article 154: The Auditor General will not be required to audit the accounts of the offices of the President and the Prime Minister, nor will he be required to audit the accounts of “companies in which the Government or a public corporation or local authority holds 50% or more of the shares of that company – The power to audit these accounts was expressly conferred on the Auditor General by the 19th Amendment.

(ix) Article 155G: The National Police Commission (NPC) is stripped of its power of appointment, promotion, transfer, disciplinary control, and dismissal of police officers – This power was conferred on the Police Commission by the 19th Amendment.

(x) Chapter XIXA: The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) is abolished – Constitutional status to this Commission was granted by the 19th Amendment.

(xi) Chapter XIXB: The National Procurement Commission is abolished – This Commission was established by the 19th Amendment.

According to the Attorney General, the bill needs only a two-thirds majority to be passed in Parliament and the Government has the required majority with 145 seats won by the ruling party – the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) – at the parliamentary election held on 5 August with the support of allied political parties in the 225-member-strong Parliament.

The Supreme Court must submit its decision within 21 days from the date the petitions challenging the 20th Amendment were filed.

Petitions mount before SC


Would the abolition of the provincial council (PC) system save billions of rupees for the country? Can the government officials run the country without the nine chief ministers and around 638 provincial councillors elected by the people in the respective provinces?

The answer is in the affirmative, according to Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Secretary J.J. Rathnasiri. He said a massive amount of money was needed for the upkeep of the chief ministers, 45 ministers, and council members, and that the staff members of each PC could be retained if the system is run by the state officials under the direct guidance of the Central Government.

When asked about the funds that were saved by the Government over the past years in the provinces where the terms

expired, he said that while the amount was not calculated yet, he witnessed a massive reduction compared to the previous level of expenditure.

“The chief ministry office of a PC has 15 staff members, and a chief minister is entitled to all privileges enjoyed by a cabinet minister including vehicle permits. In addition, there are also ministers and council members and their staff members, and they are entitled to a salary and other allowances. When the system is only run by the staff members, this additional expenditure could be saved,” Rathnasiri explained.

Furthermore, he noted that the Government hadn’t taken a decision yet on whether to hold the PC election, and thereby hadn’t discussed a date for the same either.

No effect on expenses?Meanwhile, election monitors claim

the Central Government can’t avoid the expenses incurred through the PCs once the system is abolished.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) National Co-ordinator Manjula Gajanayake stressed that irrespective of whether the PC system is in place or not, the Government would have to bear the

capital and recurrent expenditure of the PCs.

“For health, education, infrastructure, and others, the Government will have to spend, and it cannot shy away from the responsibility of maintaining these councils,” he stressed.

Stressing the importance of holding

the PC elections, Gajanayake said that in Sri Lanka, no proper research was conducted by the

Government to evaluate whether the system is good or bad.

“While those who live in the South might not need PCs, those who live in the faraway North and East need this system; they never said they didn’t want this system,” he continued.

“The main political parties use this system as

a stepping stone to get into national mainstream politics,

while the system also allows many women and young people to get into politics,” Gajanayake said, adding that even though almost all the parties use this system, they haven’t explored its full potential yet.

According to Ministry of Finance statistics, expenditure on PCs for 2017 was reported at Rs. 286,031 million.

This demonstrates an increase from the previous amount of Rs. 276,147 million for 2016. The average expenditure on PCs from December 1996 to 2017 was

Rs. 103,769 million.At present, all nine PCs are not

functioning as their terms of office expired. The term of office of the Southern PC ended on 10 April; Western PC, 21 April; Sabaragamuwa PC, 26 September 2017; Eastern PC, 30 September 2017; North Central PC, 1 October 2017; Central, North Western, and Northern PCs, September 2018; and the term of office of the Uva PC ended on 8 September this year.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning on an earlier occasion, State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs Sarath Weerasekara said: “A public discussion about the PC system is ongoing, while several organisations too proposed various options to change the present system introduced to the Constitution through the 13th Amendment.”

The State Minister stressed that the Government hadn’t yet taken any decision regarding the PC election.

20TH AMENDMENT BILL

A necessity or waste?

PROVINCIAL COUNCILS

People are the supreme authority. The bill takes away the sovereignty of the people. The Constitution speaks of

democracy, an independent Judiciary, and the separation of power doctrine – the bill is a direct violation of all this

Public interest litigation activist and Attorney-at-Law

Nagananda Kodituwakku

A public discussion about the PC system is ongoing, while several

organisations too proposed various options to change the present system

introduced to the Constitution through the 13th Amendment

State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government Affairs

Sarath Weerasekara

SJB, the main Opposition, protested against the 20th Amendment Bill

The chief ministry office of a PC has

15 staff members, and a chief minister is entitled to all privileges enjoyed by a cabinet minister including vehicle

permits...When the system is only run by the staff members, this additional

expenditure could be savedMinistry of Public Services, Provincial

Councils, and Local Government Secretary J.J. Rathnasiri


12

FOCUSBY SKANDHA GUNASEKARA

With authorities focusing heavily on managing traffic congestion, The Sunday Morning looked at some of the new plans in the pipeline, such as the park-and-ride system project, and also the economic cost of uncontrolled vehicular traffic in the city.

On Monday (21), the authorities brought into force the bus priority lane system while also establishing specific instructions for three-wheelers and motorbikes.

Police Media Spokesman SSP Jaliya Senaratne explained to The Sunday Morning that only buses along with school and office transport vehicles would be allowed in the priority lane.

“Only private and CTB (Ceylon Transport Board) buses along with office and school transport vehicles will be allowed to use the bus priority lane,” he told The Sunday Morning, adding that three-wheelers and motorbikes have been advised to use the middle lane.

“Three-wheelers and bikes can go in the second lane. Only when there aren’t three lanes available can three-wheelers and bikes use the lane for ordinary vehicles. However, the bus lane cannot be used by any vehicle other than those specified at all times.”

The Sunday Morning then spoke to leading economist and former Central Bank Deputy Governor Dr. W.A. Wijewardena on the impact of heavy traffic congestion on the country’s economy.

Negative impactDr. Wijewardena explained

that long hours spent on the road, travelling from home to the workplace and back, results in low productivity among the workforce in the country. “What happens is that the human capital of a country becomes easily exhausted as a result of having to spend longer hours on the road. It reduces

thinking power of the people as well their physical capacity. Right now, Sri Lanka is suffering from that ailment. People are travelling with great difficulty to the city of Colombo from distant locations.”

He noted that foreign nations, especially those with industrial capacities, have adopted methods where workers would reside at the workplace till the weekend or the end of the month. He said that traffic congestion in fact causes huge losses to the economy on a daily basis.

“One can see that people have settled down in the satellite areas of Colombo with a distance of about 20 to 30 km and they take about two to three hours to reach their workplaces. Three hours in

the morning and evening each and as a result, we lose six hours per day in manpower. So the human productivity is pretty low as a result of that. That is why in China, workers stay in the factory premises itself so that there is no travel time or other disturbances. Similarly, the same thing has been introduced by Brandix when they set up the textile (factory) in Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, India.”

Dr. Wijewardena noted that the logistics sector could use the support of the authorities, as it is one of the main areas adversely affected by high levels of traffic.

“There are certain things you cannot avoid. For example, taking manufactured goods

and merchandise to the ports. That cannot be done over the internet – it has to be (physically) transported. So these are the priority areas in Sri Lanka. You must have special roads for these containers to travel.”

Dr. Wijewardena pointed the finger at the politicians and successive governments for the failure to better manage traffic, especially in Colombo, citing “politicking” as the number one reason.

“During the previous Government, there was a proposal to construct a single uni-railway line, but this Government came to power and the project was immediately stopped. We expect that a different government that comes after this could scrap this Government’s project. Sri Lanka needs a roadmap for road transportation, which will be signed off by both the Government and the Opposition so that it can be followed regardless of the government in power.”

SolutionHe then made several

propositions for the authorities to follow to ease traffic congestion in Colombo, key among them being better, developed public transport as opposed to individual, private transport.

“The Government must have a roadmap for road transportation. Maybe within the next five to 10 years’ time, there must be a roadmap which would give the policy guidelines for the successive governments to implement. That roadmap should necessarily contain facilities for mass transport rather than private individual transport, and public transport must be improved. In Thailand, where I have been teaching as of late, they have introduced luxury buses and people travel in these buses rather than in their private vehicles.”

Once again referring to initiatives by foreign countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, he suggested that Sri Lanka too could set up three-wheeler halts for passengers to

embark and disembark from.In addition, Dr. Wijewardena

said an efficient public service too would reduce the need for citizens to travel profusely.

“Another long-term plan should be the automation of the public service so that people don’t have to visit the public offices to get a public service. Public service should be decentralised while everything is shifted online so that people are not required to travel and can access these facilities at home. For those who don’t have access to computers at home, then the Government must enable various communications and computer centres from which one can get the relevant public service from the state authorities.”

Noting that road accidents kills more people than the coronavirus on a daily basis, Dr. Wijewardena emphasised the need for the enforcement of road discipline and urged authorities to go ahead with the new traffic plan despite objections from various quarters.

“The Government should enforce the new traffic laws without going back on it because of the various objections made by people. Road discipline is a must in Sri Lanka. On an economic aspect, these are small changes. People are objecting now to temporary inconveniences, but in the long run, these changes are needed. When the Government started the one-way traffic plan in the city of Colombo, we saw heavy traffic congestion in the first few days, but gradually that dissipated. Similarly, these new changes too will soon become the norm.”

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) is weeks away from kicking off its park-and-ride system programme as a measure to reduce traffic in the city of Colombo and its suburbs.

“From 15 October, we will be starting the park-and-ride programme. The first stage will start from Makumbura to Pettah, and then Pettah through Battaramulla back to Makumbura. From Makumbura the route will go along the highway to Pettah,

Colombo. Another route will be to go from Makumubura to Nugegoda through Narahenpita to Town Hall. There will be both clockwise and anti-clockwise routes. We have allocated low-floor buses for this project. With this project, we hope to reduce traffic congestion, especially if the citizens transition to using the park-and-ride system,” SLTB Chairman Kingsley Ranawaka told The Sunday Morning.

He too pointed out the need for a culture of disciplined motorists. With regard to the current traffic lane law, he said that changes have been met with resistance and objections but will succeed in the long run, adding that it is not the first time vehicular traffic and lane changes have been implemented.

“If you go into rural areas, you will find that when traffic is stopped at a railway crossing, all the small vehicles such as motorbikes and three-wheelers creep their way to the front of the traffic queue and cause even more of a block at the front. This block in turn takes time to disperse, causing further traffic congestion along that road.”

Citing earlier instances where the public had been reluctant to accept traffic law changes, Ranawaka said that masses would see the benefit as time progressed. Noting that Sri Lankans as a people are very resistant to change, he said that even when the current garbage collection system was first introduced, many people protested against it, but the system was successfully implemented.

“Another good example is when Duplication and Galle Road were both made one-way. People said it would never work and would cause additional problems, but now that change has been implemented successfully. I think the people will soon assimilate to the new traffic systems.”

Park-and-ride system“The park-and-ride system is an

initiative by the Government to have motorists in small vehicles such as motorbikes and cars transition to using efficient, quality public transport for their daily travel needs. For the pilot project, we hope to use the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Hub as the starting point where those coming into Colombo can park their vehicles at the designated car park and hop onto a bus to Colombo. The Makumbura Transport Hub can park over a 1,000 cars. At the current assessment, we will only have 15 buses for these two routes, even if a bus was to leave every 15 minutes.”

He said that government expenditure for the park-and-ride system project were being kept at a minimum through various methods including opting for a profit-sharing agreement with Lanka Ashok Leyland to procure the required number of buses. The main reason for profit sharing is due to the risk factor in the project as well as their inability to import new buses at the moment. The buses that are to be used have been brought down a few years earlier for a different purpose but were never used and were parked in the yard. Moreover, they have also negotiated in the agreement to have more buses released as the project progresses.

He said the next step would be to amalgamate the railway system as well. “We need to upgrade the Kelani Valley Railway Line to enable this integration. There is a train from Makumbura to Pettah, but we need to increase the number of trains. Right now, there is an issue on that line with the substations along this route. The Police and the National Transport Commission are continuing to formulate new strategies to ease traffic congestion in the country.”

He said an awareness campaign also would be conducted in the coming days to inform the public of the park-and-ride initiative and its many benefits.

“We hope that the people transition to this system quickly, as it is a guaranteed way to reduce traffic congestion in Colombo. Public co-operation is needed to ensure the project kicks off successfully, considering the investment the Government is pouring into it. We hope to do a publicity campaign soon to educate the masses on this project.”

The Government should enforce

the new traffic laws without going back on it because of the various objections made by people. Road discipline

is a must in Sri Lanka. On an economic aspect, these are

small changes. People are objecting now to temporary

inconveniences, but in the long run, these changes are needed

Leading economist Dr. W.A. Wijewardena

The park-and-ride system is an initiative by the Government

to have motorists in small vehicles such as motorbikes

and cars transition to using efficient, quality public

transport for their daily travel needs. For the pilot project, we hope to use the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Hub

as the starting pointSLTB Chairman

Kingsley Ranawaka

HAZARD ON ECONOMY

TRAFFIC CONGESTION

HAZARD ON ECONOMY

In light of the 20th Amendment (20A) being tabled in Parliament last week, the Prabuddha Lanka Foundation organised a discussion pertaining to the same last Tuesday (22) at the Foundation Institute in Colombo.

The event saw the attendance of a number of lawyers and social activists, including Attorney-at-Law Eraj de Silva, who delivered a speech on certain aspects of the 20A including legitimacy, accountability, and the rule of law.

The speech is produced below. Members of the Head Table,

fellow professionals, ladies, and gentlemen; a lot is being said about the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution.

In essence, the proposed 20th Amendment, as you all may have heard, enhances the power of the “Office of President” or the “presidency”, with other selected aspects like the much-talked-about dual citizenship issue.

Now, many might argue that the enhancement of the power of the presidency is a good thing, something that is even necessary at this juncture. Many blame the 19th Amendment, among other things, for the perceived deadlock in decision making during the last regime, which is generally believed to have come at a cost to the country. Political commentators argue that in fact there is now an overwhelming need, indeed a clear mandate, for efficacious, swift, and efficient decision making, Lee Kuan Yew style, in order to take the country forward towards rapid economic development. Indeed, this appears to be the principal justification, and the spirit and purpose, of the 20th Amendment.

But is it really that simple? Is this really what this proposed Amendment is all about?

We must bear in mind that the 20th Amendment, if passed in its present form, might be here to stay for a very, very long time, given that future governments in power may not have the luxury of a two-thirds majority, to effect constitutional change. So, it is not about this President, or this Government, it is about the propriety and fit of this Constitution, as amended by this Amendment, for long-term Sri Lanka.

Therefore, it is imperative, indeed our duty as professionals and as citizens, that we look more closely at this proposed Amendment.

In this talk, I would like to analyse selected aspects of the proposed 20th Amendment, through three different angles and/or vantage points.

Namely;1. The concept of legitimacy2. Accountability3. The rule of law

LegitimacyFirst, the concept of legitimacy.

What is this concept of legitimacy? In simple terms, it is what is right and/or proper, and must come from the correct source – or “sovereign”, linked to the notion of “sovereignty”.

Global constitutional history, and Sri Lankan constitutional history, aptly demonstrates the evolutionary shift, through hard lessons learnt, in the notion of “sovereign” or “sovereignty” from “crown and/or coloniser” to that of “the people”. Through evolution and lessons learnt, it gets better, more refined, and more legitimate.

In world constitutional history, we see in the Magna Carta of 1215, that it came to boiling point and the barons confronted King John (of Robin Hood fame) in order to bring in the first shift of the power balance from the monarchy to the people. The French Revolution and the American War of Independence, both in the latter part of the 18th Century, were much more bloody. In both instances, however, the monarchy/

colonisers was/were overthrown, and the sovereignty of the people was embraced. In Sri Lanka too, we see this gradual evolutionary process, a process that gets better with time, from crown to coloniser to the Colebrooke-Cameron reforms in the 1830s, Donoughmore, Soulbury, and eventually to the highly symbolic recognition in the 1972 Constitution-making process, by way of the Nawarangahala Constituent Assembly, of the “sovereignty of the people”, a notion that was enshrined in Articles 3 and 4 of the 1978 Constitution.

In modern times, we see that

the “sovereignty of the people” has further evolved into a more meaningful, mature concept: Now, it does not simply mean majority rule, but deeply entrenched within it lie basic norms such as fundamental rights, the independence of the judiciary, and, to a certain extent, good governance, which norms should come as “standard” in any modern constitution that is “legitimate”. Departing from these norms is like, to use a computer metaphor, going back to Windows 95 and/or to MS DOS.

From this vantage point, the vantage point of legitimacy, serious flaws start becoming apparent in the proposed 20th Amendment, in at least three big ways:

Firstly, implications to the independence of the judiciary and to the system of justice.

Secondly, implications to the independent commissions and to good governance.

And, thirdly, implications to transparency.

First, there appear to be serious implications to the independence of the judiciary. If the Amendment goes through, appointments to the higher judiciary – including the appointment of the Chief Justice (CJ), justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal – are, in effect, solely in the hands of the President, whereas right now, under the present 19th, the Constitutional Council has to ratify such appointments.

In short, there is a process: A process which ensures space for independence. Such processes, involving more than one person, are seen, and are almost standard, in other jurisdictions such as the UK, Singapore, the US, and India. Why depart from the present process, particularly when it is functioning so well? Other key appointments of the justice system too suffer a similar fate: The appointment of the Attorney General, the chief law officer of the State, who – among other things – is solely responsible for criminal prosecutions, is also in the hands of the President.

Furthermore, members of the Judicial Service Commission (except the Chairman, who is ex

officio the CJ), who are responsible for the appointment, transfer, and disciplinary control of the lower judiciary is also to be solely in the hands of the President.

Does this not compromise the entire justice system and the independence of the judiciary? Is this legitimate?

There is of course the mechanism of the Parliamentary Council, in place of the present Constitutional Council. But this is largely smoke and mirrors, because the President, according to the proposed Amendment, shall only seek the “observations” of such Council, which comprises solely of members of Parliament.

Secondly, the role of independent commissions is affected, even undermined. (a) Again, appointments are to be made solely by the President, as above, without the involvement of the Constitutional Council, compromising the independence of such commissions. (b) Two of the commissions are to be totally done away with – the National Procurement Commission and the Audit Services Commission, both aimed at eliminating corruption – why? (c) Failure to comply with the directions of the Election Commission is no longer to be an offence in terms of Article 104GG, which was introduced by the 19th Amendment, which is to be abolished. This, arguably, takes away the teeth of the Election Commission, severely undermining its purpose and effectiveness, and thereby undermining free and fair elections.

Thirdly, the role of the Auditor General. Curiously, the new Amendment does not include (unlike the 19th) – in the list of entities to be audited by the Auditor General – “the Office of Secretary to the President” and “the Office of Secretary to the Prime Minister”. Does this mean these offices are not to be audited by the Auditor General?

Furthermore, “companies registered or deemed to be registered under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, in which the Government or public corporation or local authority holds 50% or more of the shares” are also not included. Does this mean that, for example, the accounts of SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Telecom are not to be audited by the Auditor General and/or not to be tabled in Parliament? Does not the pubic have a right to know? If this is so, there are serious concerns, among other things, in relation to transparency and good governance.

The striking feature in relation to all of what has been enumerated above is there does not seem to be any rationale whatsoever for removing these measures, which strike directly at the heart of the independence of the judiciary and at good governance norms, which should be standard in any constitution, in order for it to be legitimate. Again, are we going

back to Windows 95 and/or MS DOS, without any rhyme or reason whatsoever, particularly after such progress has been made in these areas?

The progress made in these areas is in the form of steps towards giving citizens more “rights”

and strengthening the notion of the “sovereignty of the people”. Can anyone argue that there was a mandate given by the people for regress of these norms? How does removing these provisions strengthen efficient decision making? In fact, we must not forget that the conclusion of the war was achieved during the tenure of the 17th Amendment (which was the previous avatar of the 19th Amendment). Any move towards regress of these norms is arguably an affront to the sovereignty of the people and an affront to legitimacy.

Accountability and the enlargement of executive power of the President

The second angle which I propose to analyse in the new Amendment is from the angle of “accountability”, but accountability more particularly in relation to the exercise of

executive power by the President.In terms of the proposed 20th

Amendment, we see a significant enlargement in the scope, exercise, and control of executive power by the presidency, which appears to be the objective, and indeed arguably the principal justification, behind the proposed 20th Amendment.

In terms of the new Amendment, the President controls the entire executive and all the ministers, with the power of appointment and removal of all ministers, including the Prime Minister. The power of the Prime Minister, as set out in the 19th Amendment, is done away with. In the appointment of ministers, the President “may” consult the Prime Minister “where he considers such consultation necessary”. Under the 19th Amendment, the position was very different.

Contd. on page 14

OPINIONthe sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020

13

In short, there is a process: A process which ensures

space for independence. Such processes, involving more

than one person, are seen, and are almost standard, in other

jurisdictions such as the UK, Singapore, the US, and India. Why depart from the present

process, particularly when it is functioning so well?

Thirdly, the role of the Auditor General...“companies

registered or deemed to be registered under the

Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, in which the Government or

public corporation or local authority holds 50% or more

of the shares” are also not included. Does this mean that,

for example, the accounts of SriLankan Airlines and Sri Lanka Telecom are not to be

audited by the Auditor General and/or not to be tabled in

Parliament? Does not the pubic have a right to know?

How does removing these provisions strengthen efficient

decision making? In fact, we must not forget that the

conclusion of the war was achieved during the tenure of

the 17th Amendment (which was the previous avatar of the 19th Amendment). Any move

towards regress of these norms is arguably an affront to the

sovereignty of the people and an affront to legitimacy

In terms of the 19th Amendment, any act of

the President done in his official capacity was subject

to challenge under Article 126 of the Constitution (in the Supreme Court under

the fundamental rights jurisdiction). This is now

expressly taken away. The new provision on immunity

is not new. Once again, we oscillate back to the pre-

19th Amendment position, promulgated originally under the original 1972 Constitution

THE PROPOSED 20A

Legitimacy, accountability,

and the rule of lawAttorney-at-Law Eraj de Silva


14

OPINION/SPOTLIGHT

I think what really knocked us out over the years was that we

were fast losing the party’s Buddhist voter base. But that said, I don’t think we should solely concentrate on winning only the Buddhist votes. We had such a strong minority support base as well, which we have lost now.

The UNP has always been a party that didn’t look into one ethnicity or one religion, and it has always been a party that brought everyone together. We have to keep that basic principle and go forward in trying to win the confidence of the people.

Will the UNP contest as a separate party at the upcoming provincial council elections or will it be looking at forming alliances with friendly parties?

Right now, what we need to concentrate on is building the party, and that is why we are thinking of getting in the reforms and winning the confidence of the party’s support base. But when it comes to the first election, which will probably be the provincial council elections, we would have to be realistic, and I don’t think we can make a big impact at the provincial council elections, looking at where the party is right now.

Then the local government elections will follow, and that is one thing we are talking about.

But I think the way the country is heading right now, where we saw the 20th Amendment to the Constitution being tabled in Parliament on 22 September, there seems to be a huge barrier for democracy to flourish in this country.

Then, you have the environmental issues that are constantly being reported, and environmentalists

are pointing out that since this Government was elected, on average at least seven acres of forest are being destroyed per day.

Then, you have convicted murderers coming into Parliament, which has turned Sri Lanka into the laughing stock of the world.

The way the country is going, not only the SJB but all the Opposition parties will have to find common ground if we are to have some kind of an impact against this Government. But of course, we have to consider this Government’s popularity and they have quite a lot of power over the populous, so alliances among many of these Opposition parties need to be considered.

Do you see a possible alliance between the UNP and SJB? Will the members that left the UNP for the SJB be allowed to rejoin the UNP? And in such an instance, will Sajith Premadasa be eligible for the leadership of the UNP?

Sajith Premadasa formed the SJB and proved to be a successful political leader and managed to get elected to Parliament during the recent general election. Since he has established his own party, I don’t see why we need to take him back and make him the leader of the UNP.

But in the future, we will consider forming an alliance with the SJB and working together, because 90% of the members in the SJB are former UNPers and there are people that I have worked with during the local government elections and provincial council elections. When I gained entry to Parliament, some of them supported demonstrations at the chambers during the Mahinda Rajapaksa Government.

We have history together and it

will be easier to work with them. I do not see any obstacle in working with them or forming an alliance with the SJB and working together with them in the future.

Would you consider running for president at the 2024 elections? Is that something the UNP is looking at with the leadership change?

We will have to, at some point, talk about that. Right now, our concentration is on how to revamp, reorganise, and restructure. So the next presidential election is about four years away, and a lot can happen during that time. Maybe we might have to go for a common candidate; maybe the UNP will field our own candidate.

Since you mentioned considering a common candidate for the next presidential election, do you think the UNP took a wise decision in supporting a common candidate during the previous Government?

With regard to the common candidate; yes, we made a huge mistake, no doubt. We hardly knew the person we were fielding and only once he was appointed President, we saw what he was capable of. I agree that it was the wrong person we decided to back, which led the Yahapalana Government into a tug-o-war.

So it’s not the common candidacy we have to worry about, but rather the person we decide to field as the common candidate.

Are you considering forming a coalition government after 2024 then?

The way politics works in this country, we have to think about coalition governments; it is very hard for one party to win a majority and establish a government or enter Parliament. We have to therefore think about coalitions.

We didn’t look...Contd. from page 10

Contd. from page 3

So for example, the qua president as before (as per the position of the 19th Amendment), the President, in terms of the Constitution, can grant presidential pardons, effect land grants of state lands, declare states of emergency, make emergency regulations and/or summon, prorogue, and/or dissolve Parliament (only when it comes to the dissolution, this has to be after one year, rather than the previous four-and-a-half-year requirement).

In addition, unlike the 19th Amendment, the President can also hold any portfolio of his choosing and exercise the powers given to such ministers by law. So, for example, if the President confers on himself the Ministry of Lands, he has power, qua Minister of Lands, to acquire lands in terms of the Land Acquisition Act and, for instance, qua Minister of Defence, is empowered to make detention orders in terms of the Public Security Ordinance.

Therefore, in theory at least, the amount of executive power that can be exercised by the presidency, in terms of the proposed amendment, is without limit.

This position is not novel to Sri Lanka because it has indeed been the case before and, in particular, was the case during the J.R. Jayewardene presidency and thereafter, after the promulgation of the 1978 Constitution in its original form.

But haven’t we experienced since 1978 that there could be potential for abuse of this kind of power? What prevents the arbitrary exercise of this kind of power, if not by the present incumbent, then by the next? In the circumstances, even if one justifies that there is a need for this power, should there not be checks and balances? Should there not be accountability?

Here, there are at least two types of accountability that are important. One is judicial/legal accountability. The other is political/parliamentary accountability.

Legal accountability is the ability to challenge the actions of the President in court. The 20th Amendment strengthens the immunity from suit provision of the President and provides that “no proceedings shall be instituted or continued against him in a court or tribunal in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him either in his official or private capacity”. There is the exception notably, however, in relation to powers exercised by the president quo minister.

In terms of the 19th Amendment, any act of the President done in his official capacity was subject to challenge under Article 126 of the Constitution (in the Supreme Court under the fundamental rights jurisdiction). This is now expressly taken away.

The new provision on immunity is not new. Once again, we oscillate back to the pre-19th Amendment position, promulgated originally under the original 1972 Constitution. There emerged a body of jurisprudence, notably the judgment of Justice Mark Fernando in the case of Karunathilaka vs. Dayananda Dissanayake (1999) 1 SLR 157, where the court has held that this immunity can be used only “as a shield, not a sword” – thereby, though a direct challenge to the President may not be possible, there is scope for indirect challenge by preventing for example by a writ of quo

warranto, those purporting to function under the cover of an invalid act by the President. If the Amendment is passed, this body of case law may still be relevant. However, there remains ambiguity and problematic areas in this body of case law.

The provision introduced by the 19th Amendment, relating to the “challengeability” of the President’s acts by way of the fundamental rights jurisdiction, provided much-needed clarity in the matter, and, arguably, much-needed legal accountability. Indeed, in the recent past, we saw challenges of this nature in the Supreme Court, for instance, in the case of the Royal Park murder pardon and the seven-judge bench decision in the dissolution case. That is not to say that the Supreme Court should not act with restraint, in the event its jurisdiction is invoked under this Article and/or even impose penalties where someone wrongly invokes this jurisdiction, however, it provides a much-needed safeguard against, for example, the use of arbitrary presidential power.

The second type of accountability is political accountability. For example, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, however powerful he may be, has to face Prime Minister’s Questions time every week in Parliament and give reasons for his decisions which are generally broadcast live to the public. This does not mean that the Prime Minister does not have the power to take those decisions. It just means that the reasoning behind those decisions and/or justifications must be made transparent. Similarly, Lee Kuan Yew, as a Member of Parliament, was susceptible to questions.

We watch on CNN for example, how President Donald Trump, through his Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, regularly faces a cantankerous press in regular press briefings, which have by convention become near constitutional. These are all powerful leaders; however, they have to “justify” their decisions.

As a South African jurist said, we must move towards a culture of justification rather than a culture of authority. In Sri Lanka, this culture of justification, and this form of accountability, is constitutionally nonexistent, particularly under the proposed 20th Amendment. Since the President is not a Member of Parliament, he then does not have to face question time in Parliament or hold regular press briefings of this kind.

In the 19th Amendment, in theory at least, the rationale was that executive power would be excised by the Cabinet and ministers, who in turn would be susceptible, at least, to questions in Parliament and would have to justify their actions.

These forms of accountability, both political and legal, are important and arguably go to the root of democracy. Without these forms of accountability, it can be like the old folktale/story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” where everybody in the village praised the Emperor on his new clothes, which were nonexistent, to such extent that the Emperor himself started believing in the glory of his nonexistent clothes, which may potentially in turn make the culture of sycophancy endemic in Sri Lanka.

Apart from the limited legal challenge to the president qua minister, the only other forms of accountability of the presidency appear to

be “waiting until the next election” and/or the extreme measure of impeachment. This is like waiting until the dam reaches breaking point.

Rule of lawThe final angle that I

want to analyse of the 20th Amendment is the rule of law aspect.

All I have said before in relation to “legitimacy” and “accountability” overlap and fall fairly and squarely within the rule of law, and in fact, there are several affronts to the rule of law.

However, what I want to focus on here is one selected aspect of the rule of law, attributable originally to constitutional theorist A.V. Dicey in the 19th Century. Dicey points out that in order not to offend the rule of law, the law should not be made targeting and/or be tailor made for suiting a particular individual or group of individuals. In other words, the suit should not be tailor made to suit the individual. It should be tailor made for the country and for its people. If the suit is tailor made for the person, it will not suit or fit the next incumbent of the suit.

When one takes the 20th Amendment as a whole, or even selected aspects of it in isolation, like the issue of dual citizenship and/or the age reduction from 35 to 30, even if some of these aspects for the sake of argument could be objectively justified, the allegation is that they are tailor made for an individual or a group of related individuals. If that is so, this in and of itself, will offend Dicey and the rule of law.

Celebrated legal theorist John Rawls, in his work “A Theory of Justice”, talks about the concept of a “veil of ignorance”; that, applied here – for lawmaking and/or constitution making, the populace must be placed behind a “veil of ignorance”. That is, they know not what social situation, race, religion, gender they are going to be born into, but they know they are going to be born into Sri Lanka in its present socioeconomic climate. In these circumstances, behind this veil of ignorance, they must choose a constitution. How in those circumstances would the constitution be framed? Does the 20th Amendment meet the veil of ignorance test?

ConclusionIn conclusion, the last few

constitutional Amendments have seen a political “to and fro”; from the 17th to the 18th, back to the 19th, and now back to the proposed 20th.

Even if one justifies the need for empowering the executive presidency, what is the possible justification for the good provisions of the 19th Amendment to be removed? Do these provisions not further strengthen the rights of the people?

What is necessary is that the good bits are retained, and that the bad bits are dropped. In fact, to its credit, in the proposed 20th Amendment, some of the provisions of the 19th Amendment, such as the Right to Information provisions and the two-term time limit of the presidency, have been retained. If these are retained, why not the other good parts?

Otherwise, it will be like going back to Windows 95 or MS DOS, only in a much more sinister way, which could have long-lasting ramifications for Sri Lanka.

The 20th Amendment has not yet been passed.

Now is the time to do something about it.

Thank you.

Legitimacy...Contd. from page 13

As a result, demurrage charges were incurred by the CPC, causing it to incur losses. For the past five years, the CPC paid a total of Rs. 499 million.

Highlighting another issue that impacts the time taken to unload, the report pointed out that while around 20% of the total fuel requirement of the country is produced by the refinery of the CPC, since the refinery is very old and not up to date, there were instances the refinery was closed for more than 56 days, and instances it was closed due to breakdowns and to conduct repairs. As a result, the amounts of the refined petroleum products that need to be imported to Sri Lanka increased, and with the increased number of units, the delays in unloading also increased, the report stated.

Old pipelinesAs highlighted in the report, two

out of five pipelines that transport fuel from the Colombo Port to the Kolonnawa storage facility were abandoned due to issues with the pipelines; pipelines that were leaking were also used to transport fuel, while most of these pipelines are decayed.

A total of 43.27% of the total refined oil requirement of the country is being stored at the Kolonnawa oil storage facility. The imported refined oil is transported to the Kolonnawa facility via these dilapidated pipelines. In effect, the transportation of refined oil is solely dependent on one pipeline, and in case of a breakdown of this pipeline, there could be a severe fuel shortage in the country, the report observed.

The imported refined oil stored in the Kolonnawa facility is transported from the Dolphin Pier via a pipeline that is over 75 years old. As such, very low pressure has to be used in order to successfully unload oil into this pipeline, where the maximum unloading speed is around 220 MT per hour.

The report further stated that it takes around eight days (192 hours) to unload 40,000 MT of oil, and when several products are being imported, it can take much longer than this. Comparably, this situation is very unproductive. Accordingly, it is observed that irrespective of the country’s fuel requirement, only four ships with 40,000 MT of oil can be

unloaded per month. Accordingly, around 43 fuel varieties covered in this report are being stored at the Muthurajawela facility. The fuel is being unloaded via the Single Point Buoy Mooring (SPBM).

Nevertheless, during bad weather conditions, it is risky to unload fuel via the SPBM. On such occasions, the total requirement of fuel is unloaded to/from the Kolonnawa facility. Therefore, it takes more time than usual.

Even though the transportation of fuel via pipelines was identified as one of the cheapest modes to do so, there is no inter-pipeline system connecting the Kolonnawa and Muthurajawela facilities. And since in inclement weather conditions the Muthurajawela storage facility

cannot be used, the report observed that it poses a huge threat to the country’s uninterrupted fuel supply.

It was further observed that during the past few years, the country incurred huge losses as a result of this. Furthermore, considerable damage was also caused to the environment due to leakages in the pipelines.

Also, since there is no inter-pipeline system between the two main storage facilities, whether the two storage facilities are being utilised to its full capacity was questioned in the report.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, CPSTL Chairman Uvais Mohamed said: “We have to do some work on these pipelines and we will do so within a short period. There are two major installations, one is in Kolonnawa and the other is in Muthurajawela. Fifty percent of the fuel is being stored in the Kolonnawa facility and the other 50% in the Muthurajawela facility.

“So basically, if you take the Kolonnawa facility, we already have three lines in working condition. Out of the five pipelines we have, two are not in working condition; only the offshore parts are in working condition – the onshore parts are corroded.

“What we are going to do is restore the onshore parts so we can enhance the product-discharging process. We have three lines of 14, 12, and 10 inches. In Muthurajawela, we have two working lines.

“Once we connect it from the sea to the Muthurajawela Terminal, as we have two pipelines – one black and one white – which are very fast and cost-effective, we will be able to discharge 40,000 MT within 48 hours, which is very fast.”

According to international standards, it takes about 36-48 hours to unload 40,000 MT in fuel packages. That is based on the capacity and capability of the pipeline.

“At present, what happens is we are unable to unload 40,000 MT within 48 hours, because that would require doing it at a rate of at least 1,000 MTs per hour; due to the size of the pipeline and the age of the pipeline, we cannot go as fast as we want to,” he added.

“To mitigate that problem, we have proposed two different options. One is to come up with new pipelines and the second is to renovate the pipelines we have laid, and different strategies are under discussion at the moment,” he noted.

FUELLING...CPC’s...

While sales to the transport sector was Rs. 430 billion, which accounts for 65% of the total revenue of the CPC, it recorded a loss of Rs. 26 billion in 2019. The balance 35% represents other sectors including aviation, domestic, industry, and power generation, which recorded a profit of Rs. 14 billion, leading to an overall loss of Rs. 12 billion to the CPC, it stated.

The continuous losses accumulated by the CPC over the years, which stood at Rs. 337 billion as at the end of 2019, had a significant impact on its operations, thereby weakening its balance sheet in the absence of equity infusion.

Trade receivables, which stood at Rs. 95 billion at the end of 2018, increased to Rs. 164 billion by the end of 2019, resulting in the CPC’s exposure to Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and People’s Bank (PB) reaching close to Rs. 566 billion.

The CPC financed the operations of the electricity sector too in particular, with about Rs. 102 billion remaining unpaid as at the end of 2019. Treasury guarantees amounting to $ 1.8 billion were issued to cover the CPC’s exposure to the above two banks, according to the report.


15

SPORTSthe sunday morningSunday, September 27, 2020

15

Ranindu played 19.Rxe6!

Ranindu Liyanage, a 16-year-old student from Ananda College, emerged victorious at the recently concluded National Chess Championship. Along with the National Blitz title he won last month, this triumph marks an important milestone in the career of the youngster whose eye-catching performances at foreign tournaments in recent years went under the radar more often than not.

The champion dominated the 13-round event by scoring nine wins and two draws in the first 11 rounds to build up an unassailable lead. As the front-runner, he was consistently under pressure to perform and he did it with some style by producing some memorable games. Two of his victories stood out in particular. Both were high-stake games against tough opposition and both contained high-quality sacrifices.

One of the most difficult things in chess is to assess the consequences of a sacrifice that does not have a calculable forced line leading to winning back the material. Let’s see how our new National Champion did it.

Ranindu Liyanage – Rasika Samaranayake National Championship 2020, Round 08Moving on to the second weekend with a healthy

one point lead over the chasing pack, many expected Ranindu to play a tad conservatively. Instead, he produced this attacking masterclass to enhance his title credentials.

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be3 e6 7.f3 Qc7 8.Qd2 b5 9.g4 Bb7 10.a3

Nc6 11.g5 Nd7 12.Nxc6 Bxc6 13.Be2 Be7 14.h4 Qb7 15.h5 O-O-O 16.a4 b4

17.Nb5! An intuitive sacrifice typical of the dynamic playing style Ranindu excels in. 17...axb5 18.axb5 Bxb5 19.Ra7 Qc6 20.Qxb4 Bxe2

21.Kxe2 (threatening to bring the other rook to the party with Rha1 next) d5 22. Qxe7 dxe4 23.fxe4 Qxe4 24.Qd6 Qg2+ 25.Bf2 Qe4+.

Is black going to escape with a perpetual check after all? (26.Be3 Qg2+ 27.Bf2 Qe4+).

26.Kd2! the king steps bravely into

the hazardous d-file. 26...Qd5+ (Nb6 27.Rc7+ Kb8 28.Rd7+ Ka8

29.Ra1+) 27.Qxd5 exd5 28.Bg3 Rde8 29.Rha1 Nb6 30.Rc7+ Kd8 31.Rb7 Nc8 32.Ra8 Rhf8 33.Rc7 and a checkmate follows. A great way to finish a great game.

After two more rounds it became obvious that the prodigiously talented Minul Doluweera from Royal College, who himself became the National Champion at the age of 17 in 2017, was the only contender standing between Ranindu and the coveted national title.

Ranindu Liyanage – Minul Doluweera National Championship 2020, Round 10

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nc4 Nxe4 5.Qe2 Qe7 6.Ne3 Nc6 7.Nc3 Nxc3 8.bxc3 g6 9.d4 h6 10.g3 Bg7 11.Bg2 O-O 12.O-O Rb8 13.Rb1 Bd7 14.Qc4 a6 15.Nd5 Qd8 16.Re1 b5 17.Qd3 Bf5 18.Qd1 Be6

Ranindu, playing what undoubtedly can be termed the biggest game of his career thus far, has a small but pleasant advantage and can safely nurture it with simple developing moves. With the tournament situation screaming for a safety-first approach, he trusted his instincts and did the exact opposite.

1 9 . R x e 6 ! fxe6 20.Nf4 Qe8 21.d5 Ne5 22.Nxe6 Rf7. Once again the sacrifice is mostly intuitive. Black has a slight

material edge, but white has great compensation.

W h i t e ’ s minor pieces are dominating the board and there is a glaring weakness at g6. Ranindu calmly improves the positioning of

his pieces as if nothing happened. As the instruction

manuals say: “Bring everyone to the party!”23.Be3 c5 24.Qc1 Kh7 25.Be4 Ng4 26.Bf4

Qe7 27.Qd1 Nf6

Now that all

the white pieces are optimally positioned, the decisive blow arrives. 28.Bxg6+ K g 8 ( K x g 6 29.Qd3+ Kh5

30.Qf5#) 29.Bxf7+ Kxf7 30.c4 b4 31.Qd3 a5 32.Re1 Kg8 33.Qg6 1-0.

THE CHESS CORNER

by Dulan Edirisinghe

Ranindu crowned National Champion

Ranindu went “à la Tal” with 17.Nb5!

After 25...Qe4+

Ranindu Liyanage, the National Chess Champion 2020

Iconic Australia cricketer of the 1980s, Dean Jones, nicknamed “Deano” or “Professor Deano”, died in Mumbai, India on Thursday (24) at the age of 59, while he was working as a commentator on the television coverage of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE.

Dean Jones’ impression on Australian and international cricket

y Jones was one of the early orchestrators of cavalier and aggressive batting in the ODI game. That was only in the format’s second decade. “Stepping out and hitting (the ball) out of the park” was not a familiar sight until Dean Jones did it

y In as early as 1980s, Jones made both “running between the wickets” and “fielding” two key aspects of the game – not mere routine occupations – that contribute in their own ways towards a team’s victory

y Jones was called a natural showman from the early days of his career, an aspect that “the limited-over cricket industry” craved to have, about a decade or two later

y He was one of the leading figures of Allan Border’s Australian outfit which revived Australian cricket. They subsequently went on to dominate world cricket, similar to the way the West Indies did in the 1980s

y He was one of the most brilliant batsmen of his time, when fierce fast bowlers held sway in world cricket. His averages of 46.55 in Tests and 44.61 in ODIs is proof of this

y Post retirement, Deano became a TV commentator with an air of forthright,

innovative, and exciting character, the most appealing in cricket’s new era

Cricketers and administrators comment on the legendary player

West Indies’ great Michael HoldingI think people misunderstood Dean Jones. I

have heard people say that he was a racist. There is no way I could ever think of Dean Jones as being a racist. He was a happy-go-lucky guy. He might have been a little undiplomatic with some of the things he said. And, because he

didn’t think it was anything dangerous or anything bad, he just flippantly said things. I remember the row he created in South Africa, for instance, when Hashim Amla was categorised a terrorist. Dean Jones didn’t mean anything bad. If he was as racist as the people think he was, or the type of person that he was, he wouldn’t be going to Pakistan on many occasions and pretty much mixing with people the way he did. He was just a misunderstood guy. My experiences with him were always good.

Australia fast-bowler Brett LeeI think the thing we want to say about Deano

is that he would have wanted us to be here tonight. It’s pretty much the “Select Deano”, as we call it. It’s Deano’s dugout tonight. He is an absolute legend. Firstly, to his family and friends we send our condolences. It’s a real tough day for everyone, not only for his close mates… but the whole cricketing world in general. What Deano would’ve wanted is for us to come out here in the dugout, get it done, and have some fun for the game we all love.

Cricket Australia (CA) Chairman Earl EddingsDean Jones was a hero to a generation of

cricketers and will forever be remembered as a legend of this great game. Anyone who watched cricket in the 1980s and 1990s will fondly recall his cavalier approach at the crease and the incredible energy and passion he brought to every game he played. This is a truly sad day. Deano’s loss will be felt not just at home in Australia, but across the globe. Our thoughts and best wishes are with his wife Jane and daughters Isabella and Phoebe.

Current Australia Coach Justin LangerJones was integral to the rebuilding of the

Test and ODI side that went on to dominate the sport for nearly 20 years. What a great player and a great bloke. We are shocked and very sad to hear of his passing. Deano was a true legend of Australian sport and

world cricket; one of the great players and personalities in a golden time for the game. His role in the team’s World Cup win in 1987 and the 1989 Ashes under AB (Alan Border) were huge turning points for Australian cricket. His double century in Madras was one of the greatest and most courageous innings of all time. We can only hope to make Australians as proud of our team as they were of Deano. He will be missed by the game and millions of people around the world.

Former Australia Captain Steve SmithAwful to hear the news of Dean Jones passing

away in Mumbai. He was a wonderful player for Australia and he will be missed. My thoughts are with his family. RIP Deano!

Australian Prime Minister Scott MorrisonAn absolute cricketing legend. A true

entertainer at the crease, whose flair with the bat and electric running between the wickets changed the game forever. A genuine good guy and a huge loss.

Roy Dias was one of the greatest batsmen in Sri Lanka during the period Dean Jones played international cricket. Here is what Dias has to say about his contemporary:

I first saw Dean Jones when he was just coming into the Australian side in the 1985 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup in Australia. I immediately recognised him to be a great player, who made many runs in both One-Dayers and Tests, as expected.

When I learnt that Dean Jones had passed away, it came as a great shock since I watched his commentaries the previous evening on the IPL (Indian Premier League).

I recall that he was one of the

players who used his feet for both fast bowlers as well as spinners. He was very strong on the on-side – his pull shots

and flicks went for sixes most of the time. He was good at timing the ball.

We didn’t have much time together, but whenever we met, he always had a good word and was polite.

He was a very straightforward and open commentator, which made him a good

commentator. I enjoyed listening to his commentaries and views.

His untimely death is a great loss to the game of cricket.

My sympathies go out to his family, friends, and fans.

May he rest in peace!

Dean Jones’ batting was always an enjoyable sight: Roy Dias

Dean Jones, memory of a

golden eraCricketing world mourns

unexpected death

Jones with wife and two daughters Flags fly at half-mast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge in memory of Jones on Friday (25)

Jones announcing while clad in professors’ attire in Dambulla in 2004. This earned him the nickname “Professor Deano”

At Trinidad in March 1984, Jones making his debut for Australia

The first Australian team to win the World Cup in 1987

PRINT MEDIA PARTNER

Printed by the Kalukodayawa, Malwana Press & Published by Liberty Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. 91, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7

sportsSunday, September 27, 2020

Surfing begins at Arugam BayPost-Covid-19 sports are underway as of yesterday (26), with both local and international surfers in action in a big way at Arugam Bay. The event will end today (27). The first two stages of the event were held before the pandemic outbreak in Matara and Hikkaduwa.

The final round of the Dialog President’s Gold Cup Volleyball Tournament, conducted by the Sri Lanka Volleyball Federation (SLVF), began on Friday (25) at the National Youth Services Council indoor stadium, Maharagama. It was to be over on Saturday (26).

This is the main tournament of the local volleyball calendar, sponsored by Dialog Axiata PLC for the 14th consecutive year.

A new Extraordinary Gazette Notification, dated Wednesday (23), was issued to the media on Friday (25) to give control over the selection process of sports associations and federations to the National Sport Selection Committee.

Sports Law Regulations No. 3 of 1974, to control participants in sports representing Sri Lanka, published in Gazette No. 130 dated 20 September 1974, which was amended by Regulation No. 385/7A dated 20 January 1986, has been amended by this new Gazette Notification.

“The power of making recommendations in respect of appointing the Selection Committee of all national sports associations/federations should be vested only in the National Sport Selection Committee and the particulars about dates, venues, relevant details, and selection criteria of the selection trials should be informed to the athletes before 14 days pass,” the amended Gazette mentions.

It also notes: “The copies of all such details should be presented in writing to the National Sport Selection Committee also on

the same day. The National Sport Selection Committee has the power to cancel the selection trials of the national sports associations/federations that do not present such particulars and the selection trials held on the personal discretion of the president /secretary and coaches of national sports associations/federations as well as the selections made thereby.”

The new Extraordinary Gazette also states: “All national sports associations/federations should present the selection criteria to the National Sport Selection Committee 28 days before the selection trials, and the selection criteria should be published in their official website and the website of the Ministry in charge of the subject of Sports (Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs). Also, at the end of the selection trials, its results should be published in their official website and the correct name list of selected athletes should be

submitted for the recommendation of the National Sport Selection Committee.”

It further states: “The participation of the project officer in charge of the relevant national sport at the Ministry of Sports (and Youth Affairs) should be taken for the selection trials and the National Sport Selection Committee should be informed accordingly.

“At the end of the selection trials, the following particulars should be provided to the National Sport Selection Committee in

writing on that day itself or the following day:(a) Attendance sheet of the selection

committee members who participated in the selection trials certified by the President or Secretary of the national sports association/federation

(b) Name list of athletes who participated for the selection trials signed by the selection committee members of the national sports association/federation

(c) The record describing the method of selection of all the athletes and the sheet of marks awarded to them, certified by the selection committee of the national sports

association/federation(d) Details of the events participated in, the positions achieved by the selected athletes, and their correct name list, including the additional athletes

Notably, the new Gazette also adds the following:

A nomination should not be given for any international tournament prior to obtaining the approval of the National Sport Selection Committee and an appropriate method should be followed in recommending

coaches/managers/assistant coaches/sport trainers/masseurs for such international tournaments and the agreement of the National Sport Selection Committee should be obtained thereto in line with the below criteria:

(a) The contribution to the field of sports thus far

(b) Their present performance in the field of sports

(c) Knowledge, understanding, and experience in the relevant sport

(d) Skills shown as an athlete/coach

National selection process centralisedz Sport Selection Committee given ample control

Dialog President’s Gold Cup Volleyball in Maharagama

Anushka Sharma, India Captain Virat Kohli’s wife, has criticised Sunil Gavaskar for his “distasteful” commentary on Thursday (24), “accusing a wife for her husband’s game”, Cricinfo reported on Friday (25). In an Instagram story posted the day after Kohli’s team, lost an IPL match Sharma objected to a part of the commentary where Gavaskar was discussing Kohli’s lack of practice with co-commentator Aakash Chopra.

‘Diack probe’ restartsDisgraced former International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) President Lamine Diack has made his latest appearance in front of a French judge as part of an investigation into the alleged corruption linked to the respective awarding of the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Diack, found guilty of corruption by the Paris Criminal Court last week, following an

investigation into cover-ups of Russian doping cases for cash, has been “interviewed” by the judge, according to Agence France-Presse.

Ever since the global health emergency for Covid-19 was declared around the world, the word of sports has been in a state of utter chaos. Sri Lanka has been no exception. Ever since the country emerged from lockdown in mid-May, sports have been trying to make a comeback in one way or the other.

Even then, school sports, which play such a vital part in the local sports scene, were not

even allowed to start until late last month or early this month. And no competitions from any sports have been held in the country. These are all very common sense decisions because the consequences of not taking t h e p r o p e r precautions would be absolutely drastic.

A noteworthy featAt the time of writing this column, no school

competitions were started. In fact, in most sports, it has already been announced that no competitions would be held for the calendar year 2020. Against this backdrop, the Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) etched a notable milestone by conducting and concluding one of its long-postponed tournaments very successfully at the SLTA courts last weekend. It is a noteworthy

achievement which can perhaps be studied and copied by the other sports associations in the country.

The SLTA opened its gates to the tennis-loving public on 1 June under strict health guidelines issued by the relevant authorities. Everyone connected with the game took great pains to try and stay within the laid down guidelines, and friendly but firm warnings were given if they were flouted. Having conducted practices under these conditions for about a month, the SLTA then conducted a pilot tournament for invited players covering all age categories. This was done to study the impact of the guidelines in a tournament environment.

Confidence created by pilot tournament

It should be mentioned with praise that all stakeholders of the game, from the players to

the umpires and the organisers to the parents, as well as the spectators, fully co-operated to make the pilot tournament a success. Everyone was most concerned that the tournament went off without a hitch. Another very noteworthy feature was the fact that the SLTA hierarchy had made arrangements to invite public health inspectors (PHIs), doctors, as well as all other relevant officials of the health authorities to witness the pilot tournament and to give the necessary advice to conduct future tournaments.

This action had two results. Firstly, there were well-qualified people watching the action and the arrangements from “a neutral point of view”. Secondly, this action gave confidence to the parents that the SLTA was taking all possible precautions to make sure the tournament being conducted was done in as safe a manner as possible. Having then garnered the views of the medical profession as well as the other relevant bodies, the SLTA then got ready to restart the postponed tournament, the Clay Court Nationals. But then there was another twist round the corner.

Kandakadu incidentThe incident at the Kandakadu Treatment

and Rehabilitation Centre happened just as the tournament was about to start. The SLTA authorities then took a very quick decision to postpone the tournament again and wait for that particular incident to settle down – thus, once again, taking the safety first approach, which is what is necessary in this particular situation. Having observed that situation for some time, finally the tournament was restarted in the first week of September and was conducted smoothly within strict observation and guidelines. Once again, all concerned – the players, the coaches, the parents, and the spectators – fully co-operated with the authorities to make sure the tournament was conducted in as safe a manner as possible.

Tennis community has shown the way

No handshakes were allowed; the players were asked stay as far apart as possible and the spectators were limited. But even with all these in place, at least we were playing tennis matches again. Under the guidance of Referee Dharaka Ellawala, Tournament Director Ganendran Subramaniam, Tournament Co-ordinator Zareena Saleem, and all the other relevant officials contributing with all their might, this was a well-conducted tournament which passed off without any major glitches. Once again, the tennis community rose up to the challenge and has showed the way. Everyone connected with the game of tennis can certainly take a bow.

PHOTOS ISHAN WANNIARACHCHI

Dinith Pathiraja

ON COURT

SLTA successfully conducts Clay Court Nationals 2020

Yasitha de Silva

Anika Seneviratne

Kohli’s lack of practice

This is to announce that as per the stipulation of S. 9 (2) of the companies Act. No. 7

of 2007, the below mentioned company name has been

changed from4th September, 2020.

Current company name: ARMX International Lanka (Pvt) LtdCompany No: PV 71763New Company name: ARMX Security Solutions (Pvt) LtdAddress: L1-58 Realty Plaza, Ja-ela 11350, Sri Lanka

Notice to inform changeof Company name

businessSunday, September 27, 2020

BY MADHUSHA THAVAPALAKUMAR

The construction of a cross-country pipeline from the Colombo Port to the Kolonnawa Terminal which was launched in 2015 has got a new lease of life after a report by the Auditor General revealed colossal losses caused by the absence of the said pipeline.

The Auditor General recently revealed that the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) paid about Rs. 488 million over the last five-year period to shipping companies as late fees. This was attributed to the delay in unloading fuel consignments at Sri Lankan ports due to the existence of only one active pipeline to transport fuel, and insufficient fuel storage facilities.

The Sunday Morning Business uncovered that in mid-2015, a project to construct a cross-country pipeline from the Colombo Port to the Kolonnawa Terminal received the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers. However, work

on the project had not commenced until now.

When we contacted Ministry of Energy Secretary K.D.R. Olga, she stated that the Ministry is aware of the losses caused by the absence of the pipeline and also the recent report by the Auditor General on this matter.

“The Colombo Port to Kolonnawa Terminal cross-country pipeline project was being dragged for years. But our Ministry is planning to complete it under this Government’s tenure. We are having a meeting pertaining to this project this week with the relevant authorities. We understand the losses

caused by the lack of pipelines on this route,” Olga stated.

Considering the dilapidated status of the existing – and only – active (12-inch) oil pipeline connecting the Colombo Port and the Kolonnawa Terminal, then Minister of Power and Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka in 2015 proposed the construction of a new cross-country pipeline on the same route.

On 17 June 2015, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the construction of the project and to call for international bidders for the project. With no significant development in the project reported during the interim period, on 10 May 2016, then Minister of Petroleum Resources Development Chandima Weerakkody obtained the approval of the Cabinet to implement the said project as a government-to-government (G2G) project considering the dire need for this pipeline.

Contd. on page 2

Dormant oil pipeline resurfacesz Set to reduce

CPC lossesz Auditor General’s

report the catalystz First launched

in 2015


A large-scale rice scam that had gone on unhindered for five years by exploiting the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan was uncovered by the authorities last week, The Sunday Morning Business learns.

The Pakistan-Sri Lanka FTA (PSFTA) permits the importation of an annual quota of 6,000 metric tonnes (MT) of PK385 variety of basmati rice or super kernel basmati from Pakistan on a duty-free basis.

However, a recent quality verification test conducted on rice, which was imported from Pakistan last year but is still stuck at the Port, has been found to be an inferior basmati lookalike rice variety, according to Ministry of Trade Spokesperson Mahesh Wickrema.

“Although the rice that had been imported is of inferior quality, it has an appearance similar to basmati or

super kernel basmati. This inferior quality rice is the rice variety that has been imported for the last five years under the Pakistan FTA,” Wickrema told The Sunday Morning Business.

Wickrema added that the scam had been conducted by a group of private businesses with the support of state institutions, which were provided the necessary permits to import rice from Pakistan.

“The permit to import rice was with several state institutions. The private businesses had got together and ordered rice through these licences.

When it arrived in Sri Lanka, they would sell it to wholesale and retail rice sellers, mainly in Pettah. So they have misused the FTA to maximise profits by importing substandard rice and misrepresenting it as basmati,” Wickrema added.

Contd. on page 2

Pakistan FTA rice scam exposedz Profiteering with

‘imitation’ basmatiz Masterminded by

Private companies

BY THE SUNDAY MORNING BUSINESS DESK

The recent Cabinet decision to temporarily suspend commodities that could be cultivated domestically only applies to agricultural crops that are being cultivated in Sri Lanka at the moment, the Ministry of Trade clarified to The Sunday Morning Business on Thursday (24).

On 16 September 2020, the Cabinet of Ministers approved three proposals as an interim measure to prevent a foreign exchange crisis. The recommendations that formed the cabinet proposal was made by a committee appointed to determine tariffs.

One of the recommendations was a “temporary suspension of the importation of non-essential goods and commodities that could be cultivated or manufactured domestically”.

However, the proposal seems to have created confusion over

whether agricultural crops that have the potential to be cultivated in Sri Lanka but are not being cultivated at the moment in the country, at least on a large scale, were also included. If this was the case, it could create a shortage of

a number of essential agricultural products in the country.

When The Sunday Morning Business contacted a spokesperson from the Ministry of Trade for clarification, the spokesperson said that the Ministry would only

restrict produce that is being produced in Sri Lanka on a large scale.

“We do not want to restrict agricultural items that are not being cultivated in Sri Lanka as it would create a market shortage until we cultivate them in our country. It is also impractical to ban such things,” the spokesperson added.

Following the local spread of Covid-19 in mid-March, the Government imposed stringent import restrictions to avoid a foreign exchange crisis in the country. Sri Lanka, a country that is mostly dependent on imports to cater to local demand, was forced to rely heavily on local production.

One such agricultural crop that was banned from being imported was turmeric. The ban is expected to enable Sri Lanka to become self-sufficient in terms of turmeric by early 2022, according to the Department of Export Agriculture (DEA).

Only if cultivated locallyAGRI IMPORT BAN

SRI LANKA’S AUDITOR GENERAL AND STEVE JOBS’ GARDEN FENCE

»SEE PAGE 3

NEW PLANTERS’ CHIEF TO USE

ELPITIYA TECH TEMPLATE ON

INDUSTRY»SEE PAGE 5


Following concerns raised by exporters and local manufacturers, the Ministry of Trade is planning to restrict selected ready-made apparel products which were permitted to be imported through an extraordinary gazette notification recently.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Minister of Trade Dr. Bandula Gunawardana stated that this decision was taken following a meeting between the President and exporters on Wednesday (23).

“We will appoint a committee to look into each ready-made apparel item one by one and decide to restrict imports of items which can be produced in Sri Lanka,” the Minister stated.

This is the latest turn in the

Government’s policy on apparel imports. On 1 April, it banned all imports apart from pharmaceuticals, fuel, and raw materials required for export purposes. On 19 April, the import restrictions were extended until 15 July and further expanded to restrict rice, sugar, liquour, and apparel-related products.

However, following requests made by heads of leading apparel businesses,

the Ministry of Finance issued an extraordinary gazette notification under the Imports and Exports (Control) Act No. 1 of 1969 on 15 September 2020, permitting ready-made apparel products to be imported considering the upcoming festive season. Now it appears that another change is in the offing.

Contd. on page 2

Govt. sways on apparel imports again

BY UWIN LUGODA

Both The Hotels Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) and the Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) have expressed concerns over the number of PCR tests the country has imposed on tourists entering Sri Lanka.

During a media briefing organised by SLAITO at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on 23 September, THASL Chairman Sanath Ukwatte pointed out that the number of PCR tests stipulated by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) might act as a deterrent for prospective visitors. He explained that other competitors such as the Maldives require only one PCR test from tourists entering the

country, instead of three as in Sri Lanka.

“I don’t know whether tourists are going to like that; it is quite an inconvenience for them. Therefore, we need to review this and open our doors for a limited number of tourists to come in, and try to restart our industry as

fast as possible.”Speaking to The Sunday

Morning Business, SLAITO President Mahen Kariyawasam agreed with Ukwatte’s statement, saying it will definitely act as a deterrent to tourists looking to enter Sri Lanka.

Contd. on page 2

Multiple tests to deter tourists

Samples for PCR tests being collected from the airport staff by health authorities in June

the sunday morning businessSunday, September 27, 2020

2

ANALYSIS/NEWS

Contd. from page 1

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC (CLLP) announced that Muhammad Najam Shamsuddin was appointed the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company effective 1 October 2020.

Shamsuddin’s appointments follow the leadership transition at CLLP with the resignation of Pat McCloud, as McCloud moves to a different role within Chevron. Shamsuddin brings more than 15 years of international industry experience in the oil and gas sector,

joining Chevron in 2004 and moving through multiple positions of increasing responsibilities in Pakistan, the Middle East, and several markets in Asia.

“The Chevron Lubricants Lanka team is strong as demonstrated by the company’s improved performance and strong results in a period of great adversity,” said CLLP Chairperson Rochna Kaul. “While we will miss Pat in Colombo, Najam’s leadership and knowledge of the industry will prove to be a great benefit to the

company.”Prior to joining CLLP,

Shamsuddin was the Area Business Manager for Chevron’s Asia Pacific Cluster Markets, a position he held since April 2019. In that role, Shamsuddin oversaw profitable growth for Chevron Lubricants in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other export countries, CLLP said. Shamsuddin holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration (Hons) and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Institute of Business

Administration Karachi, Pakistan.McCloud joined CLLP in October

2018 and has led the company to achieve top-line and bottom-line growth in FY2019. McCloud will assume a new position with Chevron based in the UK.

Kaul added: “Pat has made noteworthy achievements in his two years at CLLP, with his strong focus on customer needs and workforce morale. We thank him for his significant contributions to our business and the Chevron Lanka team.”

Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC (CLLP) was incorporated in 1992 and is based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is Sri Lanka’s leading marketer of world-class lubricants and engages in blending, manufacturing, importing, distributing, and marketing lubricants, oils, greases, brake fluids, and specialty products in Sri Lanka. The company offers its products for industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. CLLP markets its products under the Chevron, Caltex, and Texaco brands.

Chevron Lubricants Lanka appoints new MD and CEO

Pat McCloud Muhammad Najam Shamsuddin

BY CT CLSA SECURITIES

The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), in order to encourage fresh foreign inflows to the country, decided to offer “USD/LKR Buy-Sell Currency Swaps” for tenures beyond one year and up to two years to Licensed Commercial Banks (LCBs) under the scheme “Inward Investment Swaps Scheme (IIS Scheme)”. The IIS Scheme’s objective is to facilitate LCBs to hedge the foreign exchange risk pertaining to foreign currency inflows that are directed through Inward Investment Accounts (IIAs).

Operating instructions issued to LCBs indicate the IIS Scheme is applicable on forex inflows directed through IIAs. Although IIAs are used to facilitate investments in many instruments, i.e. equity, government securities, debentures, unit trusts, bank deposits, etc., State Minister of Finance Ajith Nivard Cabraal

indicated to the media that the said announcement is only applicable for investments in government securities as of now.

This announcement comes into effect at a time when Sri Lanka is expected to honour its $ 1 billion International Sovereign Bond (ISB) payment that is set to mature on 4 October 2020, amid a muted

ISB market due to Covid-19. This move is likely to stimulate FII (Foreign Institutional Investors) investments in the fixed income market with the total value of swaps capped at $ 1 billion.

However, extending the hedge towards the equity market would have resulted in a 10-year CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) gain of +4.8% in the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), if the hedge was implemented during the past decade for CSE investments of this magnitude.

On the assumption that the IIS Scheme is extended towards the equity market, to be entitled for the swap, CSE’s top 20 market cap companies indicated following minimum percentage holdings for a ticket size of $ 25 million as at the closing of 23 September 2020.

With Sri Lanka heading towards a new chapter in foreign investments as per the State Minister of Finance, it will be essential to revive both the fixed income and equity markets by introducing mechanisms of this nature. We estimate this announcement to be positive on the overall economy, especially in

reviving the fixed income market. We believe extension of similar hedging instruments to equity investors may assist a FII revival in capital markets in the near term.

This type of government policy support will help to attract much-needed foreign currency flows into Sri Lanka, amid ambitious plans of a near-term economic revival.

Govt.’s Inward Investment Swaps will revive fixed income market

Dormant oil...Accordingly, it was planned that 100%

financing of the project on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) turnkey basis would be obtained by receiving only one comprehensive proposal each from the US, China, India, and Malaysia upon the recommendations of the respective embassy/high commission.

The Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development in its 2017 annual report stated that it co-ordinated all the activities of the project with the CPC and Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Ltd. (CPSTL).

“Almost all the preliminary steps of this project such as the preliminary topographical surveys, geographical surveys, initial environmental examination, identification of most suitable (feasible) pipe-laying route, and provision for compensation and remedies to the affected parties have been completed. Now it is in the process of finding funds and selecting a suitable contractor to implement the said project in time,” the 2017 report added.

No major developments were reported in the project up until 15 November last year, on which date China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd. (CPPECL) on its website noted: “On 30 October, CPP received a letter of award from the owners of the Kolonnawa cross-country pipeline project in Sri Lanka.”

Confirming the awarding of the tender to CPPECL, Ministry of Energy Secretary Olga noted that following the selection of a Chinese company last year, the project came to a standstill, citing that a feasibility study had not been done prior to awarding the tender.

“We are going to do a feasibility study

and hand over the project to the same company that was selected. They have quoted a cost of $ 50 million. The selected party does not come with a funding agency. We have to find a source of funds through the Department of External Resources (ERD),” she added.

The existing three pipelines from the Dolphin Pier at the Colombo Port to the Kolonnawa Terminal were built in the 1940s for the transportation of petroleum products. Out of these pipelines, two were abandoned many years ago due to the inability to carry out maintenance and repairs as a result of illegal encroachment on the pipeline terrace by squatters.

Govt. sways...According to Sri Lanka Retailers’

Association Founder Chairman Hussain Sadique, the circular permits selected ready-made garments to be imported under a 90-day loan facility.

“Importers have to apply and make a request from the Department of Imports and Exports Control to get the approval to import these selected items. It is a conditional approval,” Sadique told The Sunday Morning Business on Thursday (24).

Nevertheless, following the introduction of this circular, exporters and local manufacturers have been raising concerns over the importation of ready-made garments that could be easily produced locally.

National Chamber of Exporters (NCE) Secretary General Shiham Marikar told The Sunday Morning Business that some of the items that could be produced within the country, such as those under HS Code 6208 (nightgowns) and HS Code 62.13 (handkerchiefs) have been allowed to be

imported with an insignificant cess amount under this Gazette Notification.

In addition, the Extraordinary Gazette also permits the importation of shawls, scarves, mufflers, mantillas, veils, knee and ankle guards, ties, bow ties, nightshirts, pyjamas, and cravats under a 90-day loan facility.

“Local companies have already commenced the production of such goods and a relaxation of import restrictions now could result in a negative impact on the slowly developing local industries,” Marikar claimed.

Speaking further, he said that the NCE is of the view that import restrictions should be imposed with a long-term development view.

Pakistan FTA...According to him, the sole purpose of

the scam was to achieve a wider profit margin by selling a kilogramme of inferior quality rice for the price of a kilogramme of basmati, which is generally an expensive rice variety.

The Ministry launched an investigation into the scam and is in the process of obtaining the names of the private businesses that were part of the scam. All our attempts on Thursday (24) to reach former Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen, under whose purview the PSFTA came into being during this five-year period, proved futile.

The PSFTA became operational from 12 June 2005 onwards. Under the FTA, Sri Lanka and Pakistan had agreed to offer preferential market access to each other’s exports by way of tariff concessions.

Accordingly, Sri Lanka enjoys duty-free market access on 206 products in the

Pakistani market including tea, rubber, and coconut. Pakistan in return has duty-free access on 102 products in the Sri Lankan market, including oranges, basmati rice, and engineering goods.

The agreement mentions that during the month of October every year, the Department of Commerce would publish a newspaper advertisement in all three languages on the availability of the annual quota of the 6,000 MT of the PK385 variety of basmati rice or super kernel basmati for duty-free importation during the following calendar year (January-December). Importers who were willing to import rice under the PSFTA registered with the Department and imported rice under a duty waiver.

Multiple tests...He explained that since health is the

number one concern from the country’s perspective, SLAITO does not object to multiple PCR tests, but hopes that the requirement will be relaxed as the situation gets better.

“It will definitely be a problem, because no one would want to come and stay in one hotel for 14 days. Other countries like the Maldives and Singapore have already decided to open their countries to tourists with just one PCR test, so I think we need to work our way towards less tests. Once we open Sri Lanka again, we will see very low numbers of tourists, but it will get better as we go along.”

The Maldives reopened to international tourists in mid-July, with minimum requirements for their visitors. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) of the Maldives later made it mandatory for all tourists and

short-term visitors to present a negative PCR certificate on arrival, with effect from 10 September.

However, during the SLAITO event, SLTDA Chairperson Kimarli Fernando stated that the industry should be careful when drawing comparisons between Sri Lanka and countries like the Maldives. She explained that the Maldives consists of several islands, most of which only have just one resort.

“If there is an outbreak, all they have to worry about and control is that particular island, while here, we are just one big island.”

She added that the current requirements for tourists entering the country were put forward by local health officials. She explained that as it stands, these tourists have to do the first test 72 hours before departure, which is already a requirement in most airlines, another PCR test once they land in Sri Lanka, and a third PCR test within the first five to seven days.

The requirement of three PCR tests was first put forward by then Minister of Industrial Export, Investment Promotion, Tourism, and Aviation Services Prasanna Ranatunga at a media briefing on 17 June. During the event, he stated that tourists are required to bring the reports of the PCR tests conducted in the country of origin.

These reports will be inspected by local authorities, and a second PCR test will be done at the airport. Tourists will then be kept at the airport until they receive the PCR test reports, after which they will be directed to hotels or lodges registered with the SLTDA.

A third PCR test will be conducted during tourists’ stay in Sri Lanka, he said, adding that they will be under constant health supervision.


3

INSIGHT/INNOVATION

The Lanka Electricity Company (LECO) together with the University of Moratuwa (UOM) launched a pioneering pilot project on microgrid with a grant assistance of $ 1.8 million (approximately Rs. 325 million) from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday (24).

Diesel and Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO), together with the German specialist DHYBRID, has been selected for the supply of a comprehensive renewable energy microgrid consisting of power generation and storage; a model which can be scaled up for uninterrupted power distribution for customers across the country, DIMO announced.

The pilot project contains a commercial microgrid and R&D (research and development) facility which will be used as a research platform for studies in the nature of renewable energy integration and smart grids. The data obtained from the commercial microgrid as well as the equipment and simulation environment will facilitate these R&D functions towards meeting the predefined research targets.

The UOM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LECO in establishing the “LECO Smartgrid Laboratory” and the facility will be maintained by LECO for the first 20 years. The South Asia Energy Division of ADB, along with the Ministries of Power and Energy, conceptualised this as part of its assistance to expand clean energy development in Sri Lanka. LECO was selected as the instrument to realise this concept and the UOM premises was selected to be the site for the pilot cross-sectoral project due to the many advantages it offers. UOM will provide the rooftop and laboratory location and a set of targets are to be met by UOM post commissioning. The initial investment and capacity development support are financed through ADB’s Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility.

“ADB has been a long-term partner in Sri Lanka’s energy sector development. Our assistance in clean energy includes Sri Lanka’s first large-scale 100 MW wind park

in Mannar, 30 MW hydropower station in Moragolla, and the solar rooftop credit line, among others. Similarly, ADB has been supporting the strengthening of power evacuation from distributed renewable energy generation, both at transmission and primary distribution levels, in addition to its support to both the supply side and demand side of energy efficiency improvements. ADB is always committed to supporting Sri Lanka’s inclusive energy sector development, focusing on clean energy with new and innovative technologies and solutions,” said ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Dr. Chen Chen at the launch event.

“LECO is always dedicated to maintaining a safe and hassle-free electricity supply to our customers round the clock on their demand. This project will be developed as a solution for power interruptions that consumers face due to breakdowns as well

as outages during maintenance activities. During such power failures, solar inverters also withdraw from the system by anti-islanding protection, driving even the customers who have sufficient power to power up their premises through their solar generation, go out of power,” LECO Acting General Manager Dr. Narendra De Silva said.

He added: “Microgrids are identified as a solution for these problems where it can increase the hosting capacity of the distribution network and can feed the power to the network when the grid is not available, since the excess power can be stored while storage issues like reverse power flow and subsequent voltage issues are also expected to be mitigated. Through this pilot project, LECO will seek the possibility of replicating the concept for other transformers and similar premises, to improve power supply

reliability, and the lessons learnt through this project will be shared internationally.”

Furthermore, he highlighted the contribution and assistance from ADB and in particular, the strong support from Energy Sector Group Chief Dr. Yongping Zhai, South Asia Energy Division Director Dr. Priyantha Wijayatunga, Country Director for Nepal Dr. Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, Senior Energy Specialist Dr. Aiming Zhou, and Energy Specialist Ranishka Wimalasena, and Dr. Tilak Siyambalapitiya and Upali Daranagama for formulating this novel concept.

DIMO Chairman and Managing Director Ranjith Pandithage said: “As a company which plays a significant role in the power sector through transmission and distribution projects and power generation – mainly focusing on renewable energy – we are indeed privileged to work together on this historic project that will take the local power

supply to the next level. DIMO’s highly qualified and experienced team of engineers is assigned to execute this project while sharing the knowledge with our German partner DHYBRID. We believe that this project will help DIMO enhance expertise in developing the microgrid concept in Sri Lanka. DIMO has also been contributing to the construction of the utility grid of Sri Lanka for the past 50 years.”

DIMO Director Wijith Pushpawela stated: “The microgrid concept is experimented and utilised not only in Sri Lanka but all over the world, and is recognised as the latest innovation in power generation and distribution, as this will completely exclude the power transmission, giving financial benefits while also improving the quality of power. If this concept suits Sri Lanka, the country will look at establishing microgrids in the long run to improve national power supply.”

DHYBRID Country Manager Fabian Baretzky commented: “We are honoured and proud to be a part of the exciting transition of the energy system in Sri Lanka together with our partner DIMO. We believe that LECO is pursuing an ambitious and advanced approach to increase renewable energy penetration in the grid, while at the same time enhancing the resilience of the grid. Together with DIMO, we plan to further support the transition of the country towards a more independent and greener energy system.”

DHYBRID is a specialised international solutions provider of renewable and hybrid energy systems for industries, utilities, and islands. They combine conventional energy supply, such as diesel generators or unstable utility grids, with renewable energy systems and storage technology – perfectly controlled and comprehensively visualised.

This partnership of ADB, LECO, and UOM with strong expertise and wide experience, together with DIMO and DHYBRID, is expected to help Sri Lanka’s drive for clean energy development and to achieve its target of 70% of its power generation from clean energy sources by 2030.

ADB-funded renewable energy microgrid project launched

Representatives of partnering institutes and businesses together with Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma and ministry officials at the project inauguration ceremony

A few days ago, I read up on an interesting anecdote from the life of Steve Jobs. When Steve was a child, his father had asked him to paint the fence around his house. Steve took the task up and painted the outside of the fence. When he proudly presented his hard work to his father, the father questioned why only the outside of the fence was painted.

Steve replied: “Dad, no one sees the other side of the fence!”

To that, his dad responded: “Steve, but we will see it.”

Many years later, when Steve briefed his engineering team on the deliverables of the Macintosh computer, he said to them: “I want the outside of the computer’s aesthetics and design to be outstanding. But I also want the inside of the computer to be more outstanding than the outside.”

To that, his team responded: “Why do we need to spend so much time, effort, and money on the inside of the computer? No one really sees the inside!”

Steve replied: “But we will see it.”

The ongoing debate on the dilution of the Auditor General’s powers has reminded us of the need to paint both sides of our fence if we want to see a developed and prosperous Sri Lanka.

The development, prosperity, and progress we see in any society or institution are a result of structural changes, self-discipline, and systematic advances of working on an in-depth value system. That is why self control is always better than state control.

Audits and checks and balances are unseen on the inside. What

we see on the outside is a reflection of our society on the inside. Therefore, Sri Lankans not reaching our full potential is interconnected to the absence of many systems of accountability and transparency. Audits and checks and balances should come from within. What we see outside is merely a reflection of who we truly are on the inside. Sri Lankan society lags behind for this very reason, as we lack the many systems of accountability and transparency necessary for growth.

Systematic misgovernance If you ask any Sri Lankan why

their country is still developing, they will give you three reasons: corruption, waste, and misgovernance. What we see on the outside as low productivity, inefficiency, and delays are a result of a lack of accountability, transparency, audits, and checks and balances. This is not only valid

for our public sector but also for our private sector.

In the context of the 20th Amendment, the proposed Clause 31 repeals article 153 (1) of the Constitution which mandated that the Auditor General be a qualified auditor subject to the approval of the Constitutional Council (CC), following which, s/he would be appointed by the President.

The removal of this by the 20th Amendment opens the risk of appointing an Auditor General who wouldn’t possess the qualifications required for the position.

The risk of providing constitutional leeway in appointing an unqualified Auditor General

is multidimensional. A greater degree of Sri Lanka’s corruption and crime is white collar crime, and given the legal structure of Sri Lanka, even qualified auditors are finding it difficult to audit.

The VAT (value-added tax) scandal reported many years ago and the more recent Central Bank bond fiasco all indicate the enormous cost of ignoring simple processes, which when multiplied can cripple our entire economy. Unfortunately, the need for such processes only come into the limelight when things go wrong, while the positive results of having due process usually don’t make it to newspaper headlines.

Accountability is keyEven under the 19th

Amendment, the Auditor General’s powers did not include the ability to audit state-owned enterprises (SOEs) incorporated through the Companies Act in which the government has a stake of less than 50%. Maintaining accountability in most of our gigantic SOEs that the Treasury has supported with taxpayer money has failed! Most SOEs have failed to produce even a basic annual report over the years for the benefit of the public, even though the revenue of some public enterprises is nearly half a trillion.

There are more than 500 SOEs of different scales which waste a colossal amount of taxpayer money, and there is no excuse that can be provided for not producing annual accounts when earning half a trillion rupees in revenue.

The space created by the 20th Amendment for SOEs to not get audited by the Auditor General will set a bad example for all businesses. The collective losses of only 16 strategic SOEs in 2018 amounted to Rs. 156.73 billion, which is equivalent to more than thrice (Rs. 47 billion in 2017) the expenditure of the Samurdhi Programme.

One may ask why corruption levels were still high with the Auditor General having the power to audit under the 19th Amendment, and when there were additional checks such as having an Opposition member heading the Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) and opening COPE meetings to the media; it is true that neither the Auditor General nor opening COPE meetings to the media will solve all corruption problems within SOEs.

If the level of corruption and misgovernance was high even with the Auditor General’s powers under the 19th Amendment, imagine how the situation would be without such supervision. We sincerely hope that at the committee stage, matters

pertaining to the transparency and accountability of SOEs will be taken seriously.

Improving systems and doing things better than we did in the past must be the way forward if we are serious about a “system change”. In order to strengthen governance, we should at least list strategic SOEs at the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) so that these institutions will have no choice but to adhere to the governance structure of the CSE. One other measure is to provide the Auditor General with more power to investigate SOEs incorporated through the Companies Act in which the government has less than 50% stake, as most SOEs have the practice of incorporating subsidiaries and sub-subsidiaries under the main SOE with different stakeholder arrangements.

In public policy, dismantling an existing accountability measure without an alternative could be highly problematic, given the level of corruption rooted in Sri Lankan society. Sri Lanka has dropped from 89th to 93rd in the Corruption Perception Index for 2019 by Transparency International.

If you observe any successful private company or society, there are systems and procedures that have been refined over the years with the advancement of technology to reach where they are today. Our attitude towards accountability measures has to change as a way of painting the fence on the inside even though no one sees it. Ultimately, what we see on the outside is what we build inside.

(The writer is the Chief Operating Officer of Advocata Institute. He can be contacted at [email protected]. Learn more about Advocata’s work at www.advocata.org. The opinions expressed are the author’s own views. They may not necessarily reflect the views of the Advocata Institute, or anyone affiliated with the institute)

Sri Lanka’s Auditor General and Steve Jobs’ garden fence

By Dhananath Fernando

The

Coordin tion Problemby


4

VIEWSFor many businesses, 2020 has been an annus horribilis, the likes of which they haven’t experienced before. There seems no end in sight to these unprecedented circumstances, even though life in Sri Lanka feels a lot more normal than it is in most other parts of the world. For companies large and small whose business models have been placed under severe strain by the new normal, this is a moment of reckoning to change and adapt quickly or risk perish.

This is the time to make good use of collaboration as a business tool to emerge stronger post pandemic. Collaboration in business takes many forms – from the more

easily achieved collaboration between people and functions and companies within an entity, to the more complex collaboration between peers and competitors,

public and private institutions, and even with academia. In the current circumstances, such collaboration allows businesses to share new knowledge and technology and explore new products and services without the large capital infusions and the risks associated with venturing out on their own.

In markets such as ours, most large businesses are ultimately interconnected and have dealings with each other throughout their domestic supply chains. The handful of large, successful entrepreneurs may be competitors but many also share close relationships, and use their networks of influence

frequently. This is only mildly different to those business arrangements of the past – gentlemen’s agreements struck on golf courses or at exclusive men’s clubs by a genteel, closely connected set of men who often shared very similar backgrounds and upbringing. By making collaboration part of the new normal, businesses would only be formalising and bringing to the fore what has always been a practice, albeit at a low, silent scale.

Collaboration between two independent entities would naturally come with challenges – resulting even in a clash of cultures. But the benefits of good collaboration

far outweigh the negatives. From the financial benefits of sharing assets and resources, to the infusion of new knowledge and access to more experts, and the ability to explore new markets, there are many plusses to businesses stepping out of their silos to collaborate in ways that complement each other. In a best-case scenario, it would result in the inspiration to find new ways of solving problems and fresh connections to create new opportunities.

Knowledge transfer is especially important to the way we do business today and co-operating with other specialised experts, businesses,

public institutions, and academics on research and development offers great potential.

Take for example the global race to a Covid vaccine; it is a project of epic proportion to research, develop, mass produce, and distribute a shot that would guarantee herd immunity and bring an end to this pandemic. The collaboration is immense – among governments, scientists, public health officials, and rival pharmaceutical companies at a scale never seen before. This vaccine endeavour we hope would result in success and set the tone for business in the post-Covid era.

Collaboration gives business a chance to succeed in a new way – by partnering for mutual success and perhaps even for the greater good. Nurtured well, it’s a business superpower for these changing times.

Partners in crisisTHE

HEADLIGHT

BY THE COLOMBO STOCK EXCHANGE

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC) announced the launch of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), which now gives average investors an opportunity to reap the benefits of real estate investment and the advantages associated with investing in publicly traded securities on the CSE.

While investing in real estate appears to be a popular choice, the rising cost of property poses a significant challenge to individual investors who typically resort to bank loans to finance such investments. This timely introduction by the CSE and SEC provides greater access to all investor segments to commercial real estate projects and an opportunity to benefit from the recently observed spiraling property prices.

REITs were first introduced in the US in 1960, creating a mechanism for individual investors, especially middle-income earners, to generate income through investing in large commercial real estate. This product has made rapid progress within the Asian markets as well with its growing popularity, especially in Thailand, Malaysia, and India, and is also viewed as a mechanism to broad base the real estate ownership within a country.

An REIT is essentially a structure which typically owns and operates income-generating real estate. The income-generating real estate assets owned by an REIT may include office buildings, shopping malls, apartments, hotels, resorts, self-storage facilities, and warehouses.

An REIT would enable unit holders to earn a portion of the income that is generated through renting, leasing, or selling these properties which is required to be distributed directly to the unit holders of the REIT. The CSE and SEC have introduced a framework which mandates the distribution of 90% of the generated income to its investors.

This innovative introduction, which has been formulated specifically taking into consideration the local environment, would open up new horizons for real estate developers and owners to convert completed income-generating projects into an REIT, have its units listed on the CSE following the mechanism now made available to them, and have them publicly traded in the secondary market, similar to equity securities listed on the CSE.

The framework for REITs has been introduced by the SEC via rules made by the SEC in terms of Sectiona 53 and 13 of the SEC Act which came into effect from 31 July 2020 in the form of a Gazette Notification. The comprehensive formation of SEC rules will govern the overall mechanism of REITs in Sri Lanka. The CSE has also formulated Listing Rules for the listing of units of REITs. An REIT would enable investors to further diversify their portfolios by investing in this lucrative investment vehicle which would produce long-term returns. Investors would benefit from a stable stream of income, swift entry and exit route through the secondary market, and also benefit from the returns of the overall real estate asset appreciation.

The economy at large would also benefit from the introduction of REITs with the anticipated creation of jobs, economic growth, increased tax revenues, and liquidity through listing, and would also attract foreign direct investments into the country. REITs would also require stronger corporate governance and increased transparency which would help the investor community and regulatory bodies to assess the viability and quality of projects.

Similar to any stock market investment, the investor is required to take into account his/her own financial status and also consult with an investment advisor prior to making an investment decision. A review can also be carried out on the REIT’s disclosure filings, including the annual and quarterly reports, prior to making a decision to invest in REITs.

The CSE and SEC will continue to focus on setting up a more conducive environment along with the regulatory authorities to facilitate greater company and investor participation.

REITs: An opportunity to benefit from real estate investment

The consumer sector of the Sri Lankan conglomerate Sunshine Holdings completed its acquisition of leading Sri Lankan confectionery company Daintee Ltd. in August. The transaction, valued at Rs. 1.7 billion, added several well-known brands to Sunshine’s portfolio, including Daintee and Milady. In his first interview since the acquisition, Sunshine Holdings Director and Sunshine Healthcare Lanka Ltd., Watawala Tea Ceylon Ltd., and Healthguard Pharmacy Ltd. Managing Director Shyam Sathasivam spoke to The Sunday Morning Business on his plans for Daintee, the state of Sunshine Holdings’ other subsidiaries in the Covid environment, and his view on the national economic policy.The following are excerpts of the interview.

Sunshine Holdings’ acquisition of Daintee Ltd. was mainly to expand your operations in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. Are you planning to expand the current product portfolio of Daintee?

Broadly, Sunshine Holdings is primarily in healthcare, consumer, agri, and renewable energy. In healthcare, we are a significant player. Consumer is a space we are looking to expand. We are Sri Lanka’s number one branded tea company and Watawala Tea is the largest brand in Sri Lanka, followed by Ran Kahata and Zesta. We are a large player in the tea segment. Our aspiration was to grow, so we looked for an acquisition in the local market. Our customer base is primarily Sri Lankan and Daintee was one such opportunity, so we made this investment for the brand.

The Daintee brand is a very strong local brand. We all grew up with Milady and all of those products from Daintee. So, we bought it for what we thought was a very strong brand with a wide range of products. We will work with the team to see what opportunities there are to expand on.

What are the other FMCG sectors you are looking to venture into at the moment?

For now, I think food and beverages is the area of interest for us and that is what we have past experience in. Now with confectionery, that is a new space for us. We will take some time to study that space and then will continue to look into opportunities. We are conscious about weighing in segments that can sell across Sri Lanka. We are in value-conscious segments, so our Watawala Tea and Daintee’s Choco Mint reaches the majority of Sri Lanka. Therefore, if we expand, it will be more in terms of products that reach across the market.

What would be the marketing strategies that will be used to transition Daintee to a more premium product category? Are you looking at any partnerships for this purpose?

Sunshine has been very successful because of our partnerships. In the healthcare space we partner with global leaders in pharmaceuticals and medical devices. We entered the agri business in partnership with Tata Tea in India as well as Wilmar International in Singapore. We are always open to partnerships; they have been part of our business. So, the

same goes for the Daintee business. For now, it is a successful domestic business, but we will look into opportunities where we will bring in exciting new products to the Sri Lankan market. Nevertheless, we are very keen to ensure that our products have a Sri Lankan flavour. For example, one of Daintee’s biggest successes was its tamarind flavour. Our innovation would be flavours our local population fancy.

At the moment, Daintee has a market share of 40%, mainly in rural areas. How much of a market share are you targeting for Daintee islandwide?

Sri Lanka has a large enough population that can sustain significant food and beverage spaces. We have seen this in tea. We have continued to grow because there are so many unbranded opportunities. We experience the same thing in the confectionery space. Here, people either make at home or buy at home. There are less and less people making it at home so it will be more about introducing new products as consumers become urbanised and look for packaged products of what they used to make at home or what others would make. It is more about market size and market growth. The overall market will expand within the confectionery space and there will be new segments. People are looking for multiple segments and healthy food is one of those areas.

Now that the President has advised officials to implement plans to meet the local demand for liquid milk, what are the new plans you have for Watawala’s dairy unit?

In the agri business, we do two segments. One is the palm oil and the other one is dairy. For dairy, it is a greenfield project, in that we have invested significantly to start a brand new, modern dairy farm. We have more than 1,500 herd animals. Most of them are imported and high yielding. We are one of the largest single sources of fresh milk. We believe more and more consumers will convert from milk powder to fresh milk and consume more dairy. Overall, Sri Lankans consume less dairy, but they will gradually consume more. Yoghurt is becoming a healthy snack and there is more consumption of fresh milk.

At this point we are still at the farm stage, where the focus is on stabilising the farm, but we are talking to multiple people in the market. We have brand-

building experience. We are piloting a farm fresh product in Colombo. We will learn from that and look at opportunities and also partnerships.

Has Watawala’s palm oil unit had any discussions with the authorities with regard to the recent ban on cultivating oil palm trees? How much of an impact will it have on your business?

We continuously engage with the Government and other stakeholders. Watawala has been in the palm oil business prior to privatisation. We were the largest palm oil company before; we have only continued to develop. So for us, it is not about planting afresh, it is more about renewing what we have. We will engage with them. Planting anew is the area of discussion of the Government, but we are continuing to engage with the authorities. We have not experienced any disruption to our current operations.

Last November, Sunshine’s energy contribution to the national grid was increased by 2.4 MW to 7.7 MW. Are you planning to increase your contribution further?

We have entered the renewable energy space because we felt that it was an area of opportunity. The country is looking to grow its energy capacity. It was a sector we felt that we can contribute significantly to. We have ventured beyond the hydropower and solar as well. We have partnered with our Japanese shareholder SBI Holdings and are investing more in solar. Therefore, we continue to invest in the energy sector.

Solar is where most of the focus is now. There has been more technology improvement with regard to panels. We are working with our local technical partners, the Japanese company, and local manufacturers of panels. What you will see is low-cost solar panels. There will be lot of opportunities for renewable energy.

Is your healthcare arm affected by the ongoing import restrictions?

No, it is not. Sunshine Healthcare is a significantly large part of the group. It is a large player in the market. We cut across three areas. Firstly, pharmaceutical imports across the world as well as cost-effective products from the region; from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh as well. So what we see is availability through Covid-19, because we have an excellent distribution system of our own. We

ensure that our products are available. For example, we represent and work with the authorities to ensure that a particular product is available across the country. The second space for us in healthcare is medical devices; we are a large player in diagnostic lab equipment, so we run on Siemens equipment which the company has invested in. Here again, we have not seen any disruption.

The third part of our business is the Healthguard pharmacy chain. We have 20-plus pharmacies in Colombo. Our focus again has been to provide a very qualitative environment for people to buy pharmaceutical products. Due to Covid-19, of course there were restrictions, but what we have done is make products available, especially immunity products.

Are you looking at any local production in the healthcare sector?

Definitely, we are exploring it. We are keen to explore and expand the healthcare sector. Local production is definitely on our radar. I think the Government has announced lots of new plans to strengthen the sector, so we are going to explore that further. We are also open to partnerships.

How did the lockdown impact your company? Have your businesses bounced back to their previous levels post lockdown?

Lockdown was a shock for all Sri Lankan businesses. For example, tea is freshly manufactured. In this case, it took us two weeks to get the factory up and running and the packaging back out. There was a huge demand for our national brand Watawala Tea, so we had to scramble and settle down, but we were able to work with Ministry of Defence and get essential service permits. Healthcare from day one was a priority sector of the Government, so we had the Ministry to help as well. Quarter one was a difficult quarter for all our businesses, but we have bounced back well. Even during the last few months of the second quarter we bounced back well. Things are settling down now, but we are continuing to make plans to ensure that we can sustain. We are quietly bullish.

How do you expect the third quarter to be?

There is greater awareness about the healthcare challenges while we wait for a long-term solution like a vaccine, whereas in the short term there are self-precautionary measures as well as anti-viral products. We are in the healthcare space and we represent the multinationals that are manufacturing these products. When Hydroxychloroquine was put out as a potential medicine, we had that. And now we have other anti-viral products. We have Covid-19 testing kits. I think what will happen is that we will all have to deal with the virus as it is.

Amidst a strict ban on imports, what would be your marketing strategies going ahead?

When it comes to healthcare products, we have not been impacted by imports per se, because they are necessary essential goods. We will look into alternate production options and local production. Our consumer category is 100% locally manufactured. Therefore, there is no impact. Imports for these categories have always been small. Overall, the Government’s policy of import control stabilises the exchange rate. That gives us a more positive economic outlook.

Shyam Sathasivam

Focusing on packaged products for urbanised customers


5

PLANTATIONSBY UWIN LUGODA

Sri Lanka’s plantation sector has more or less remained the same since its initiation centuries ago, resulting in it not staying abreast of technological advancements in the global plantation industry. This has now led the industry to face challenges due its lack of digitisation, also leaving its technological involvement decades behind its competing nations. In order to combat this issue, the new Chairman of the Planters’ Association of Ceylon (PA) plans to usher in a new digital era for the sector.

During the 166th annual general meeting (AGM) of the organisation, held on 17 September at the BMICH, newly elected Chairman Bathiya Bulumulla announced his plans to supplement the industry with technology. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, he stated that Sri Lanka is around 50 years behind its competitors in terms of technology, with countries like Malaysia and Kenya having already adopted technology into their plantation sectors.

“If you walk into almost any plantation company in a country like Malaysia, which has estates spanning around 8,000 hectares, you will only find a maximum of two or three people working in the offices, because everything is automated.”

Bulumulla explained that this level of automation will help the local industry resolve one of its biggest issues, which is the out-migration of youth from plantations to urban areas like Colombo, creating an acute shortage of workers. He stated that this is why the industry must start mechanising certain aspects of the plantations and bring in technology to where manpower is lacking.

“To meet this issue, we must think differently and focus on enhancing how our industry performs and how it is perceived. The introduction of new technology will be essential to this endeavour, enabling us to overcome longstanding barriers in order to achieve maximum productivity from our asset base – land.”

His own company, Elpitiya Plantations PLC, faced the same problem a few years ago, which eventually led it to make the decision to mechanise a majority of their operation. Bulumulla explained that this allowed them to keep their agricultural calendars accurate, letting them know when to uproot trees and old bushes as well as when to replant.

The company chose to mechanise the harvesting process for its tea plantations, as it is a major part of the operation. However, he stated that local tea estates are at a disadvantage when mechanising their tea plantations due to the hilly terrain most of the estates are located in.

“What we are currently using is the single or double human-operated plucking machines to harvest tea because of the slops,

but it is difficult to be selective with this type of plucking, unlike hand plucking. But with the decrease in manpower, this is better than no plucking at all.”

According to Bulumulla, another reason for the automation of the industry is because data is still being recorded on books and pieces of paper. He explained that while this is entered into computers, it still takes up to seven to eight days to make a monthly report and see whether they have run at a profit or loss.

“Today, technology has advanced to the level where massive volumes of data can be rapidly analysed in order to improve the quality and speed of decision-making. In the future, we will not be able to wait till the end of the month to see whether a company or estate is able to run at a profit or not. However, by capturing and analysing vital information on a performance parameters basis, we will be able to identify and respond to issues as they happen. Such capabilities will ultimately make our organisations more agile, resilient, and better able to navigate an often constrained and increasingly competitive global market.”

Taking his company as an example again, he stated that for the first time in Sri Lanka, Elpitiya Plantations introduced “paperless technology” into the sector last

August and that this technology will not only gather data, but also ensures a smooth workflow.

Generally, work is distributed amongst the estate workers every morning by field officers by handing over chits with the workers’ names and which fields they will be working on. Assistant managers then have to go around the fields to ensure the work is being done, and other officers mark people who have completed their task at the end of the day. This has remained unchanged for the past 150 years.

However, Bulumulla stated that as of August, the new technology they developed with the help of a small IT firm has given tabs for all the field staffs which help them assign each worker with a respective field by just dragging and dropping their profiles. He explained that assistant managers and field officers can also monitor the workers and the work done, finally uploading the data collected to the system at the end of the day, which helps make the workers’ salaries.

“Companies can use these technologies to check their productivity each day, and also do it all the way from Colombo.

We have gone up to that level of digitisation, where the information will be derived very fast and the decision-making will also be very fast, unlike earlier where we had to wait for the end of the month for the accountants to tell us whether we are running at a loss or profit.”

Their next step in the digitisation journey of the industry is to provide barcodes and QR codes to pluckers so that when they weigh their harvest, they can scan the code and it will automatically be added into the system under their names. He explained that this type of technology was already present in avocado plantations in Kenya over 10 years ago.

Speaking on the level of interest of the local industry, Bulumulla stated that a lot of companies have introduced similar technologies to the country, some brought down from countries like India and some developed in Sri Lanka itself. However, he stated that these attempts have been futile, and Elpitiya Plantations’ solution is the first to develop a tailor-made solution for the plantation sector.

He stated that the company is more than willing to share everything they learnt and developed with the other companies, but they should be willing to adopt these new technologies. He went on to state that these companies should also be able to invest a certain amount of capital in these technologies and training of the staff.

Bulumulla predicted that 50-60% of the local companies should be willing to adopt such technologies and stated that his goal is to get a majority of these companies to make this change by the end of this year.

“We are a very technologically rich country, and when it comes to IT, we are almost on a par with countries like India. Therefore, it is a matter of taking the interest, implementing it, and training our staff.”

New Planters’ Chief to use Elpitiya tech

template on industry

PA Chairman Bathiya BulumullaPHOTO KRISHAN KARIYAWASAM

Bathiya Bulumulla pledges to extend learnings from his own estate to all estates


6

LAUNCH

“The world today doesn’t foster intelligence or intellectuals; it now produces a generation of creatures with qualifications” was a statement made by a recognised professor, said Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, kicking off an evening that explored the paradigms of change in life, marking the launch of the translation Divi Maga Dinana Maga published by author, poet, and engineer Ajantha Seneviratne.

This special insightful discussion, held on 15 September at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, discussed the different paradigms of change in life and how to face them positively. Also present at the launch were Ven. Maha

Sangarathana, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) Chairman Rohan Fernando, Guest Speaker Attorney-at-Law Dilith Jayaweera, along with a large audience of literary enthusiasts.

“What that professor meant by the generation of qualified creatures was that our humanity is slowly deteriorating. In the past, we saw an educational system that developed intelligence and intellectual. Intelligence at its core becomes the key driver behind overcoming any challenge, be it Covid-19 or even its rumoured sibling virus that is predicted to come in 2024. Nothing becomes a challenge with intelligence,” he stated in an interesting revelation about the

current Sri Lankan educational system.

“That same education system that once built intelligence has unfortunately failed in four different ways, the first being that we

have started producing educated individuals and focused less on building intelligence. Restricted within the white-collar mentality, we have lost a lot from the core of our education that once stood strong

upon fostering intelligence. Parents and children who walk into my clinics portray the grave truth about education, where many parents are now more focused on their children passing educational milestone and

not on the gains that come with true knowledge,” he continued.

Adding to this, Jayaweera stated: “Instead of westernising what we have built over the years, we should be adapting our own unique versions to fit in and accommodate the changes and developments to further build the future.”

The Divi Maga Dinana Maga translation is an adaption that captures the true essence and importance of effectively managing the change in all circumstances of the business world. Jayaweera further elaborated that the success behind change management lies beneath the grasp of this perceptive translation.

The revolutionary publication Divi Maga Dinana Maga by Ajantha Seneviratne intends to help fulfill the gaps present within individuals in the face of change and nurtures them with strategies to adapt to the volatility of it successfully.

‘Divi Maga Dinana Maga’ launchedz Discussion on dynamic paradigms of change

Ajantha Seneviratne, Sarasavi Publications Chairman H.D. Premasiri, and SLT Chairman Rohan Fernando

Attorney-at-Law Dilith Jayaweera

GMOA President Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya

BY UWIN LUGODA

While fast fashion in the early 2000s focused more on pushing products out and embarking on ambitious expansion schemes around the world, the more recent past has shown them shifting their focus towards ethics and corporate transparency.

In order to fulfil this new narrative, the Amsterdam-based global initiative Fashion for Good, is now aiming to transform the fashion industry, by driving its transition to a circular economy and bringing industry players together to “reimagine how fashion is designed, made, used, and reused”.

Aimed at making all fashion good, the platform supports indigenous innovators across various fields in fashion, made possible through collaboration and community-building. Having first entered India on 28 January 2020 with a South Asia programme, the initiative is now set to leave its mark on Sri Lanka as well.

The Sunday Morning Business interviewed Fashion For Good Managing Director Katrin Ley to speak about the initiative and their plans for Sri Lanka.

What does Fashion For Good stand for?With Laudes Foundation as a founding

partner, and building on our Co-Founder William McDonough’s philosophy of Cradle to Cradle, which is a globally recognised measure of safer, more sustainable products made for the circular economy, Fashion for Good was established as a global, collaborative innovation platform to tackle the problems faced by the fashion industry.

In order to create a truly good fashion industry, incremental improvements are not enough to make the change; disruptive innovation is needed. The good news is we see game-changing technologies that can bring real disruption to the industry and can offer major leaps forward towards circularity, but they are unfortunately currently not being scaled. We increasingly see large corporations that are committed to becoming more sustainable, have pledged towards circularity and who want to adopt these innovations to achieve their ambitions.

We work directly alongside the most promising innovators, bringing them together with market players, such as brands, retailers, and manufacturers, in order to make it easier for them to work together effectively, bridge the innovation gap, and bring these innovations to the mainstream.

To move the industry forward we act on two fronts. First, as an innovation platform;we give promising start-ups the support they need in order to grow and scale. Secondly, as a convenor for change; with our museum in Amsterdam, we are building a Good Fashion Movement to help people understand and reimagine the ways in which they can make a difference through their clothing choices, from before the point of purchase, to garment care and beyond.

What is the market gap that Fashion For Good looks to fill?

Fashion for Good looks at the biggest problems facing the fashion industry and brings together the entire fashion ecosystem to work on solving them through disruptive, sustainable innovation. For true good fashion and a circular supply chain to exist, all elements, from design to end-of-use, must be reconsidered and for this to happen, considering the enormity of the challenge, collaboration is required.

It’s our mission to bring together the entire apparel industry — brands, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators, funders, and the wider public — to innovate and collaborate for good fashion. Drawing from the Cradle to Cradle framework, good fashion is not fashion that simply looks good or is mostly good; it is good in five important ways:

y Good materials — safe, healthy, and designed for reuse and recycling

y Good economy — growing, circular, shared, and benefiting everyone

y Good energy — renewable and clean

y Good water — clean and available to all

y Good lives — living and working conditions that are just, safe, and dignified

How many countries have already adopted this initiative?

Fashion for Good operates on a global scale. Collaborations in the fashion ecosystem are mandatory and absolutely essential — only a global partnership can create the movement needed to create real, structural change.

Our programmes are supported by our global network of partners and like-minded organisations from across the world and we scout innovative start-ups with the potential to disrupt the current apparel and textile value chain, bringing a positive environmental and/or social impact.

How has the South Asian market received the initiative?

South Asia is a global leader in manufacturing and one of the largest consumer markets for fashion. The rapidly growing region presents significant opportunities to create value and impact both socially and environmentally from a transition towards a circular economy. With a rich heritage in textile manufacturing and production, we are seeking to spark and scale promising innovations from this region that have the potential to disrupt the current fashion supply chain worldwide.

We are staunch ambassadors of industrywide collaboration. The launch of our regional programme in South Asia strengthens our network and positions us to better serve local manufacturers, key supply chain actors, brands, and innovators. By connecting them to our global network and leading players in the fashion ecosystem, we help the innovators’ solutions and technologies reach scale and our presence has been met with optimism and a positive show of support.

Why did you decide to venture into Sri Lanka and what plans do you have here?

Fashion for Good is looking for innovative start-ups from across South Asia, including Sri Lanka, with disruptive sustainability solutions applicable to

the fashion supply chain. Of particular interest are the unique perspectives of home-grown innovators focusing on key areas including raw materials, dyeing and finishing, manufacturing, retail, end-of-use, and transparency and traceability. Fashion for Good is actively working on scaling innovations in the region, by catalysing collaborative pilots, which address areas such as making organic cotton traceable and solutions for the treatment of wastewater from the apparel manufacturing process.

Can you tell us a bit about the Wastewater Treatment Pilot and the Full Circle Textiles Project ?

With regard to the Wastewater Treatment Pilot, fashion brands and their suppliers need a cost-effective solution for sustainable wastewater treatment. The high expense and environmental impact associated with water treatment creates an attractive opportunity for innovation. To investigate solutions in this area, Fashion for Good initiated a pilot project with scaling programme innovator SeaChange Technologies, whose focus is the treatment of industrial effluent.

Seeking new solutions to the environmental impact and high costs associated with wastewater treatment,

Fashion for Good corporate partners Arvind Ltd., Bestseller, C&A and PVH Corp., provided business support, development funding, and expertise to this pioneering pilot project. As a global leader in apparel manufacturing and with a focus on textiles, advanced materials, and environmental solutions, Arvind Ltd. provided access to their Effluent Treatment Plant near Gujarat, India, one of the world’s largest textile manufacturing operations, to conduct a field evaluation. The SeaChange system was implemented over a period of three months to test and evaluate the feasibility of wide-scale implementation of the system.

The pilot provided an opportunity to test SeaChange’s technology in multiple different waste streams. The waste streams tested included sludge, dyeing concentrates and combined effluent, Reverse Osmosis (RO) Reject, and Mother Liquor. All waste streams were successfully treated by the SeaChange system and reduced to minerals in a single pass, demonstrating the technical viability of the technology to process wastewater. Sludge was selected as the most viable application for SeaChange, given its hefty environmental impact and cost of disposal.

A typical dyehouse generates one to three tonnes of sludge per day from wastewater treatment, costing over $ 200,000 annually for its disposal and generating over 5,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. Across thousands of suppliers and/or dyehouses, these costs are tremendous and are only increasing as options for its safe disposal become more limited under public pressure to improve sustainability. Implementing the SeaChange system into their treatment facility will effectively eliminate such costs as well as the associated environmental impacts.

With regard to the Full Circle Textiles Project, as much as 73% of clothing produced is sent to landfills or is incinerated, and of all new clothing made, less than 1% of material used comes from recycled sources. Focusing on cellulosic fibres, this Project aims to validate and eventually scale promising technologies in chemical recycling from a select group of innovators to tackle these issues.

Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF), which are most commonly derived from wood, have the third largest share in global fibre production after polyester and cotton. MMCF production has great potential from a sustainability perspective; moving production away from oil-derived synthetic fibres and reducing the depletion

of freshwater through reduced cotton cultivation.

The “Full Circle Textiles Project: Scaling Innovations in Cellulosic Recycling” is a first-of-its-kind consortium project with the overall aim to investigate economically viable and scalable solutions for cellulosic chemical recycling to enable a closed loop system converting textile waste – of cotton and cotton-blend materials – to produce new man-made cellulosic fibres.

Over an 18-month period, project partners will collaborate with innovators, Evrnu, Infinited Fibre Company, Phoenxt, Renewcell, and Tyton BioSciences, to validate the potential of their technologies in this still nascent market. The recycled content produced by four of these innovators will be converted at Birla Cellulose’s state-of-the-art pilot plants to produce high-quality cellulosic fibres. From there, fibres will move through the project partners’ supply chains to be manufactured into garments. Given that Infinited Fibre Company produces industry-ready fibre through their process, their fibre will be delivered directly to the project partners’ supply chains for garment production. The Project will provide an assessment of the innovator’s environmental impact, technologies, recycled output, and subsequent garments. These results along with the Project’s key learnings should determine how best to support and scale these promising solutions.

What is the process adopted by Fashion For Good?

Fashion for Good’s Innovation Platform supports innovators and helps them to scale their innovations in the fashion supply chain. Connecting the innovators with large, corporate players in collaborative pilot projects, is a crucial step to driving mainstream adoption of innovative technologies to shift the fashion industry to a circular system that is regenerative and restorative. Fashion for Good facilitates these collaborative pilot projects, offering innovators coaching, bespoke fundraising support, hands-on guidance and, in some cases, financial support to manufacturers through the Good Fashion Fund.

Are you already in touch with local industry leaders?

Fashion for Good is already active in Asia and is continuously expanding our activities with local manufacturers. We have established partnerships with India-based textile manufacturer Arvind, global home textile leaders Welspun, and are collaborating with world leader in viscose staple fibre and raw materials Birla Cellulose. Additionally, we have established a partnership with the Circular Apparel Innovation Factory (CAIF), an initiative of the innovation platform Intellecap, who provide support in our local activities and expanding our partner and innovator network.

Are you only targeting big companies, or are you going to the grassroots level as well?

We are working with big companies mainly through our platform due to the fact that if they implement innovations, the impact is a lot bigger on the industry and they often have the set-up to make those changes in their supply chains. That doesn’t mean we don’t work with smaller brands though, since all the work that we do, and everything that we learn through our projects, reports, or pilots are being published and made available for free for everyone. So everyone can learn from what we are doing. Next to this, in the museum in Amsterdam we have a shop where we feature and sell smaller sustainable brands like Emroce, Flavia la Rocca, Wires, and many more. We also often invite brands and innovators or entrepreneurs on stage during our (virtual) events, to share their story and key learnings with our audience. If we want to change the industry, we need to work together.

‘Good’ fashion to enhance Sri

Lankan industry

Fashion For Good Managing Director Katrin Ley

Travel to a developed country and there’s something you notice immediately: The deafening sound of silence.

Advanced cultures have understood the harmful nature of loud noise on humans, and have imposed limits on the level of noise that can be generated in public, resulting in less stress, unbroken sleep, and an accompanying increase in clear thought processes and economic activity and innovation.

But in Sri Lanka, we have no such limits. Sri Lankans regularly arrive at work or school tired out, exposed to loud speakers bellowing all night pirith, mosque calls to prayer, kovil ceremonies, church prayers, election rallies, musical shows, neighbours playing loud music, “choon paan” men, vehicles without silencers, bus horns...

The loss to productivity – both physical and mental – can only be imagined.

Key factors y The WHO (World Health Organisation) estimates 360 million people have hearing loss worldwide, 32 million of whom are teenagers. The WHO says one of the key causes is unnecessary noise

y Cairo banned honking in an attempt to eradicate its image as the noisiest place on earth

y Recent research found that Guangzhou had the worst noise pollution in China, and Zurich was the quietest city in Switzerland

y Digital hearing technology maker Mimi Hearing Technologies GmbH developed the Worldwide Hearing Index

y There are no-honking policies in the US; Dallas, Phoenix, Atlantic City, Miami. In China, new car owners have caused havoc in recent times, and Shanghai has been encouraged to ban it. Egypt encouraged the liberal use of the horn

y A 2013 study by the Ministry of Health showed that 9% of Sri Lankans had hearing disorders

y The Sri Lanka Police charged 7,906 motorists for unreasonable horn use in 2019

y The basic principle should be that one person’s or community’s actions, including religious freedom, should not affect citizens’ sleep and quality of life. This will silence the loudspeakers of religious institutions

In torture camps of dictatorial regimes, loud music is often used as a technique of torture in the form of sleep deprivation. In Sri Lanka, neighbours, vendors, and religious organisations are the culprits.

Noise pollution causes horrific and irreparable harm to our physical and mental health as something we are unable to just see. Indeed, it is called the “underestimated hazard” by the WHO. Noise may cause a range of short and long-term health issues, such as sleep disorder, cardiovascular effects, reduced work and school results, audiology disorders, etc.

Noise pollution has everyday implications for millions of people. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most common health conditions. Loud noise exposure can also cause high blood pressure, cardiac problems, sleep disorders, and stress.

Globally, noise pollution is recognised as a major environmental pollutant that directly harms human health, and studies and policies focus on permissible levels of sound. Figure 1 maps noise levels of major cities around the world.

What is noise pollution? Noise above 65 decibels (dB) is

considered noise pollution as defined by the WHO. Precisely, if it is more than 75 dB, noise becomes dangerous. Consequently, noise levels below 65 dB are recommended during the day, and restful sleep is not possible with noise levels above 30 dB in the atmosphere at night.

International context Decibel level: Sound is measured by

decibels. Each action has a decibel level, from rustling leaves (20 to 30 dB) through thunderclaps (120 dB) to siren wails (120 to 140 dB). Sounds approaching or exceeding 85 dB can damage eardrums. Sound sources that go beyond this are common, including power lawnmowers (90 dB), metros (90-115 dB), concerts (110-120 dB), etc.

International standard: For the purpose of good teaching and learning environments, WHO’s recommendations on noise in communities suggest less than 30 A-weighted decibels (dB[A]) in night-

time bedrooms and less than 35 dB(A) in classrooms. For the prevention of adverse health effects due to night noise, the WHO guidelines suggest less than 40 dB(A) per year of average nights (night) outside bedrooms.

Vulnerable segments of the population

Infants – only those who have cared for infants know how difficult it can be to put a wailing infant to sleep. But noisy societies such as Sri Lanka have not taken into consideration the rights of infants and carers.

Pregnant persons – pregnancy can be tough. But sleep deprivation during pregnancy can adversely affect both mother and child.

Elderly – elderly persons need a lot of rest, including during the day.

Sick persons – there’s a reason that hospitals are considered quiet zones in which motorists should avoid horning. But the vast majority of patients are not in hospitals and are recovering at home, whether it’s from the flu or something more serious.

Persons who work night shifts – hospital staff, night shift doctors, firefighters, policemen, factory workers on night rosters, etc. Sri Lanka too has all of these categories of people who need to sleep during the day. But apart from the negative health effects of staying up all night, they also are vulnerable to health effects of not getting proper sleep

when they rest during the daytime, since daytime permissible noise levels are higher in many societies.

Effect of sounds y Hearing problems: Our ears can tolerate only a certain level of sound and exposure to high levels of noise; either one sharp noise or constant exposure over a longer period can lead to deafness, eardrum damage, and hearing loss. It also reduces our vulnerability to the sounds that our ears absorb unconsciously to regulate the rhythm of our bodies.

y Sleeping and cardiovascular problem: Although at this stage it might not seem like it, excessive noise levels will probably disrupt your sleep cycle and cause discomfort. You can have several exhaustion issues without a decent night’s sleep. This will impact your success both at home and in the workplace. So it is best to sleep soundly in order for you to rest properly. There is a growing prevalence of blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and cardiac stress issues. Studies show that high-intensity noise leads to elevated blood pressure and enhances heartbeat as the regular flow of the blood disrupts.

y Psychological issues: Studies show that human as well as animal excessive noise can be associated with the incidence

of aggressive behaviour, sleep disruption, chronic stress, exhaustion, depression, anxiety, hysteria, and hypertension. With increased noise, discomfort increases and people are increasingly becoming patients. This can lead to more serious and chronic health problems later in life. Many children living close to noisy airports or streets suffer from stress and other issues, such as memory, concentration, and reading difficulties.

y Cognitive and behavioural problems: Research has revealed that members of society living near airports or highways typically have more headaches, require more sleeping pills and sedatives, and are more likely to sustain minor injuries and seek psychiatric treatment.

y Wildlife problems: The wellbeing and protection of animals is also impaired by noise emissions. This can lead to economic loss. For example, studies have shown that noises contribute to less chicks for birds, including chickens.

Generators of sound Social events – in most social activities,

noise is at its peak. In Sri Lanka, weddings, birthday parties, other social gatherings, or religious ceremonies typically disregard local government rules and cause noise pollution that inconveniences the neighbourhood.

Marketing promotions – a common noise generator in Sri Lanka. From “choon paan” to politicians in vehicles demanding that we vote for them and shops seeking to attract attention to themselves by hiring DJs, few parts of Sri Lanka escape this type of pollution. Although this may not seem serious, over time, it affects the hearing abilities of people who are exposed to these sounds constantly.

Industrial sound pollution – in Sri Lanka, large factories generally stay below noise levels. However, smaller neighbourhood factories often do not.

Horning culture – Sri Lanka has a horning culture unlike many nations where drivers are more patient on the road. Over time, the sound of the car horn has become more common, easier to identify and also understand in the heat of the moment, in the interest of clarity and security. Most horns are currently a sharp F, sometimes louder, at 110 dB.

Religious institutions – in Sri Lanka, God is deaf, hence the need for almost every single place of worship of every religion to blast prayers that can be heard for many miles, no matter what religion other people may belong to.

Legal measures Periodically, there have been attempts to

reduce noise levels in Sri Lanka. Despite the laws being exhaustively detailed, they have failed due to discrepancies in the wording of laws and challenges to the measurement of noise levels. But the biggest cause for failure has been the apathy of the Government, Provincial Government, Local Government, and the Police towards noise pollution. Among the laws are:

y The National Environmental Act No. 40 of 1980

y National Environmental (Amendment) Act No. 56 of 1988

y National Environmental (Noise Control) Regulations No. 1 of 1996

y Traffic laws such as the Motor Traffic Act which prohibit unauthorised alterations to vehicles, including fixing of additional horns and sirens

y Requirements of police permits and municipal permits for large gatherings of people are expected to include limitations on noise levels such as the use of loudspeakers. However, this is very rarely enforced

The way forward y For policymakers

Î Establishment of preventive and corrective legislation

Î Clear policy direction as to which authorities are empowered to clamp down on noise pollution, and awareness creation of that role, both among the public and officials of those authorities

Î Ban public loudspeakersÎ Protecting certain areas, residential

areas, school zones, hospital zones, courts, areas of natural interest, urban parks, etc.

Î Compulsory separation of noise sources such as airports from residential areas

Î The establishment of areas where traffic is not allowed, except for unloading goods, at certain times

Î Impose fines if noise thresholds are violated

Î Better urban planningÎ Creating public awareness of the

harmful effects of noise pollutionÎ Growing trees – buffers provided by

clumps of trees are known to reduce noise levels from 5 to 10 dB

Î Restriction on use of loudspeakers during election campaigns

Î Use of computer models to plan and predict noise levels in neighbourhoods

y Neighbourhood awareness programmeÎReduce noise in households by

reducing radio, music, and TV volumes

ÎPrevent very loud recreation and go to very noisy places as well

ÎIt also makes a difference to do your homework at the correct time

ÎIn devices that produce too much noise, use good noise absorbers

ÎHearing music with headphones often represents a positive step forward

ÎWhen in a noisy area, use earplugs to reduce the overall noise of the building

ÎPrior permission should be necessary if loudspeakers are to be used at any time

ÎConstruction work must be banned within 500 metres of residential areas and permitted only during certain times that are informed in advance to neighbourhoods

ConclusionSri Lanka has recognised other aspects of

environmental pollution, whether they harm humans directly or only harm other species. These include climate change, deforestation, hunting, plastic pollution, industrial pollution, use of pesticides, and much more. It is high time that our country recognises noise pollution as an important issue that directly affects the health of humans and the economic and social wellbeing of the nation.

(The writers are Managing Partners of Cogitaro.com, a consultancy that finds

practical solutions for challenges faced by society and different industries. Dr. Dias is a digital architect and an educationist

based in Kuala Lumpur. He holds a BSc in Computing from the University of Greenwich, a Master’s in Computer

Software Engineering from Staffordshire University, and a PhD from the University

of Malaya. He is completing a second doctorate in Business Administration

from Universiti Utara Malaysia [[email protected]]. Eliatamby is a lecturer in marketing, human resources, and mass

communications based in Colombo. He is an author and was formerly the

associate editor of a newspaper and editor of various industry magazines. He holds

an MBA from London Metropolitan University and an LLM from Cardiff

Metropolitan University [[email protected]])

Noise pollution and the economy


7

INSIGHTBy

Dr. Nicholas Ruwan Dias and Niresh

Eliatamby


8

TECH/ADVERTORIAL

Printed by the Kalukodayawa, Malwana Press & Published by Liberty Publishers (Pvt.) Ltd. 91, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7

The Rainforest Ecolodge wins PATA Gold Award

The Rainforest Ecolodge, an alliance comprising leading hoteliers, clinched an award under the category “Sustainability Natural Heritage” at the prestigious PATA Gold Awards 2020, which was announced in a virtual ceremony held at Shanghai on Thursday morning (24).

Chairman Prema Cooray, jubilant after

the announcement, said: “We as an industry ventured on this project to showcase best practices in ecotourism. Enhancing the potential of Sinharaja as an ecotourism hub was the main goal of this initiative and we are delighted with this honour in further promoting this biodiversity hotspot to add to the rich profile of Sri Lanka’s tourism.”

COO Bimal Mahagedera receiving the award virtually

AIA Sri Lanka has partnered the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the International Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in presenting “Sri Lanka’s Most Admired Companies Awards 2020” as a platinum sponsor. This is the third year of the awards ceremony for which AIA has been the platinum sponsor.

The awards are aimed at recognising companies that are a cut above the rest in terms of not just their financial performance, but also on the value they create in a sustainable and ethical way for their employees, customers, investors, and the general community.

Companies that have been in business for over five years as at 30 June 2020 and are 30% or more Sri Lankan-owned, are eligible to enter this awards competition which is open

to both listed and unlisted companies in Sri Lanka.

AIA CEO Nikhil Advani said: “As Sri Lanka’s ‘Best Life Insurance Company’, as recognised by the Global Banking and Finance Review, and as a key player in the country’s corporate sector, we appreciate that these awards are the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka. It gives us great pleasure to support, recognise, and reward companies that not only excel financially but more so, are committed to creating value in a sustainable and ethical way for their employees, customers, investors, and the community.

“AIA Director and Chief Officer – Legal, Operations, and External Relations Chathuri Munaweera added: “As part of the largest life insurer in the world, AIA endorses international standards of excellence

in business and enduring elements of successful business organisation. With over three decades of experience doing business in Sri Lanka, AIA is truly appreciative and respectful of companies that succeed financially, but more so, through sustainable and ethical value creation. In this light, we are delighted to be a part of this effort to recognise honesty and integrity in Sri Lanka’s most reputed corporates.”

ICCSL Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody noted: “This pioneering initiative which rewards excellence across a number of performance criteria is aimed at recognising companies with the strongest reputations, that inspire other organisations and entrepreneurs. This is also unique in that it facilitates and encourages unlisted companies which usually don’t get the

recognition they deserve, although they contribute significantly towards the country’s economic growth.”

He added: “We are delighted to have a company of AIA’s stature and repute on board for the third consecutive year to recognise and applaud companies that add significant value to the country’s economy and overall development. As platinum sponsor, AIA will not be a contestant for the awards but as a company, AIA most certainly upholds the values of excellence required to be associated with an event of this nature.”

The awards ceremony is scheduled to be held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) Lotus Ballroom on 10 November from 4 p.m. onwards, amidst a gathering of corporate and non-corporate attendees.

AIA Insurance platinum sponsor of Most Admired Companies

National Savings Bank (NSB) was recently recognised as a “Company with Great Managers” with five individuals of the bank winning awards under four different categories at the Great Manager Awards 2020 hosted by the Colombo Leadership Academy of Leadership Excellence. NSB is the first state bank in Sri Lanka to receive this award.

The managers of the bank, C.N. Ekanayake, J.M.A.K. Jayasinghe, and Dilukshi Tashiya Perera were awarded Great Manager Awards under three different categories,

namely, “Driving Results and Execution” , “Coaching Others for Growth” and “Aligning Organisational Vision”, respectively, while V.S. Fernando and D.C. Olaboduwa were awarded under the category, “Team Effectiveness and Collaboration”.

NSB Chairperson Keasila Jayawardena said the bank is proud to have committed leaders at many levels within the organisation thanks to very good human resources practices adopted which is recognised by the facilitators of the Great Manager Awards.

The “Company with Great Managers” award recognises organisations with credibility and best practices in nurturing great managers through a culture of high performance where career paths and roadmaps for growth are provided with great clarity, alignment of learning and development to drive performance and execute strategy, a culture to challenge the status quo and instigate creativity and innovation, and where more managers are natured through a well-structured programme that ensures sustainability.

The organiser of the event, Colombo Leadership Academy said that a number of nominations were received to contend and validate true leadership and managerial excellence, benchmarking the best practices among Sri Lankan corporate entities.

Colombo Leadership Academy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Riaz Hassen, NSB Chairperson Keasila Jayawardena, and members of the senior management of the bank and Colombo Leadership Academy were present at the occasion.

NSB becomes first state bank ‘with great managers’

Abans recently launched LG DualCool Inverter air conditioners (AC) featuring the innovative ThinQ technology for the first time in Sri Lanka.

The LG ThinQ app allows users to remotely access the LG DualCool Inverter AC using a smartphone to switch on the AC and set the ideal temperature. It also provides an energy consumption report at the end of the day to help determine when and where to cut down on the AC usage.

“LG DualCool Inverter ACs are all equipped with a dual inverter compressor that helps save energy up to 70% while cooling faster than other ACs. The inverter compressor consistently adjusts and adapts its speed to maintain optimum temperature levels, with a power-savings operation range frequency that saves more energy than conventional compressors. Therefore, it’s no wonder your electricity bills will reduce drastically and you can save more money as well,” Abans said.

It added that LG ACs use R32 environment-friendly refrigerant gas with a lower

global warming potential – compared to other commonly found refrigerants. LG ACs operate at low sound levels, due to LG’s unique skew fan design, which eliminates unnecessary noise and operates silently to assure you peaceful sleep at all times.

“The climate conditions and weather in Sri Lanka tend to cause damage to air conditioners, which is why LG ACs are designed

with a special Ocean Black Protection that is applied to both the indoor and outdoor units of the AC. This ensures exceptional durability and an extended lifespan for the air conditioner,” Abans further stated.

LG DualCool Inverter ACs are priced at Rs. 124,990 onwards, and come with a 10-year warranty on the compressor, as well as special offers on selected cards.

Abans introduces LG ThinQ technology to Sri Lanka

BY UWIN LUGODA

Amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Sri Lanka has been lagging behind in fully embracing digital transformation to drive sustainable development. In order to promote such inclusion, Huawei Technologies Lanka is set to bring to Sri Lanka their long-term digital inclusion initiative “TECH4ALL”, with the theme of “Leaving no one behind”.

During a presentation at a media networking session, Huawei Enterprise Business Group in Sri Lanka Vice President Indika De Zoysa stated that the vision of the initiative is to bring digital resources to every person, home, and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world.

This initiative has already been launched in several countries in the region, such as Bangladesh, Malaysia, and the Philippines, improving four key domains which include education, environment, health, and development. These domains have their respective goals of enabling equity and quality in education, mitigating the effects of climate and enabling nature conservation, enabling inclusion and equity in health, and using ICT (Information and Communications Technology) to boost rural development.

Outside of Asia, the initiative is also widely present throughout Africa, and has had success digitising the education sectors of

several African countries. Their success was evident in 2019, when DigiTruck “Skills on Wheels”, a mobile, solar-powered classroom, with the aim of bringing digital skills to under-served communities, provided training for more than 1,500 young adults and teachers in rural areas in Kenya. It is a success the company hopes to replicate in countries like France, the Philippines, and several others in

the next two years.Furthermore in South Africa,

the TECH4ALL initiative recently launched the DigiSchool project, which aims to connect 100 urban and rural primary schools over the next year, in addition to the 12 already connected through 5G technology.

The initiative was launched in Sri Lanka earlier this year, but its progress was slowed down due to

the current Covid-19 pandemic. Two of their programmes have already been launched in the country. These include “Seeds for the Future”, which takes a group of 10 to 12 university students to China where they can interact with other international students and learn new technology trends, and for the second programme, Huawei has partnered up with the University of Moratuwa and General Sir John

Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) to open two research labs to promote digital adoption.

In his presentation, De Zoysa stated that there are three critical ways for ICT to drive sustainable development and help countries, governments, and cities achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These include increased access to information and services, increased connectivity between people and organisations, and increased productivity and resource efficiency.

“A country cannot progress without adapting to the rapid technological changes taking place. It is with this in mind that our policies will create the environment required to develop the IT competencies and language skills of future generations, in order to enable them to conquer global markets,” he said in his presentation.

He stated that their three priorities are technology, application, and skills. The technology aspect is to make connectivity affordable

and remove coverage barriers through innovations in connectivity, AI (artificial intelligence), the cloud, and mobile devices. The application aspect is to create digital ecosystems and help developers build applications for different communities and industries. Finally, the skills aspect is to work with local governments, communities, organisations, and other partners to enhance the digital skills of society.

During his presentation, De Zoysa named 2021-2030 the “Decade of Skills Development”, with goals that include reducing the population of unskilled labour to 10%, providing higher education opportunities to every student, creating global technocrats and positioning Sri Lanka as the epicentre of human resource development in Asia.

“The 21st Century is known as the knowledge-centric century. In order to remain competitive globally, it is imperative that ICT is integrated with every sector of the economy,” he said.

Huawei on a mission to digitise Sri LankansChinese tech giant aims to ‘leave no one behind’

brunch »SEE PAGE 3

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Comedy, amongst many other distractions, has been keeping us afloat amid these times of global pandemic.

The photo pictured here depicting an interaction between two rose-ringed parakeets in the Kaudulla National Park, Sri Lanka, while putting an involuntary smile on our faces, has made it to this year’s finalists’ list of the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. The person behind the capture is amateur wildlife photographer Petr Sochman. What are the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, you ask? Founded in 2015 by two photographers, Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the initiative essentially functions with an aim to promote conservation through brilliant and uplifting imagery.

BY NAVEED ROZAIS

Batik is one of Sri Lanka’s most loved and versatile heritage crafts. This form of resist dyeing has been given elevated status, being included under its own Ministry, the State Ministry of Batik, Handloom Fabrics, and Local Apparel Products.

Recently, State Minister Dayasiri Jayasekara spoke on his vision of developing the batik industry and bringing it up to the same level as Thailand’s and Indonesia’s batik industries (batik is, in fact, an Indonesian textile printing technique that Sri Lanka has embraced and made our own). Jayasekara also spoke about encouraging government sector workers to wear batik and other local textiles at least once a week as well as reducing the prices of batik and handloom apparel to make it more affordable for such employees.

With the batik industry due for a facelift, The Sunday Morning Brunch reached out to prolific batik designer and Buddhi Batiks Creative Director Darshi Keerthisena De Livera for some insight into Sri Lanka’s batik industry, how the impending government policy can affect change, and how the industry can hope to evolve for the future.

Ä Tell us about Buddhi Batiks and how you came to take it over.Buddhi Batiks was founded by my

parents. As newlyweds, my mother wanted to give my father a gift, and she commissioned a batik maker from the nearby village to make a batik shirt. Something went wrong though, and she never got the shirt, which prompted my father to propose that they make a shirt together. It just went from there; they received lots of compliments and began making more things.

On a personal note, growing up, I hated clothes, but I was still interested in making things that I wanted to wear. I used to make batik shirts for my brother, and he used to love them. I just knew that I wanted to be a textile designer. After completing my degrees abroad, I started working at Brandix, where I received a lot of exposure. I visited fabric shows in Europe and the US and frequently met with top clients.

At this point, batik was in a slump. It had its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, but in the 1990s and early 2000s, there was no innovation in the marketplace. The war had impacted tourism which had impacted income and demand, and people had stopped experimenting. No experimenting meant no demand, and it had become a cycle. Buddhi Batiks, though very innovative in the 1970s and 1980s, exporting to markets like Seychelles, had also scaled down greatly.

I’d studied textile technology, so I understood that different kinds of natural fabrics could be enriched with batik and I decided to introduce silk chiffons, silk satins, and silk georgettes into the market when I took over Buddhi Batiks in the mid-2000s and showed this range of new batik designs at Colombo Fashion Week (CFW) in 2007. It was extremely well received, and since then, batik has had a big resurgence, as have sarees, which at the time were not regarded cool.

│Contd. on page 2

The future of batik

SRI LANKAN ROSE-RINGED PARAKEETS

BY JENNIFER ANANDANAYAGAM

│Contd. on page 2

Petr Sochman

MAKE IT TO UK-BASED COMEDY WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Darshi Keerthisena De Livera on Sri Lanka’s iconic local craft and where the future may lead

With raw materials, a lack of

standardisation means that our suppliers are usually random, and

the products we use – be it dye, fabric, or even wax – can vary in quality, and we also don’t have clear information on how it has been sourced and what impact it has had on communities and the

environment

PHOTO ESHAN DASANAYAKA

A BOOK FAIR AMIDST A PANDEMIC: CAUSE FOR CONCERN?»SEE PAGE 4

DO SRI LANKAN BUSINESSES CARE ABOUT BEING INCLUSIVE?

PEOPLE/EVENTSthe sunday morning brunch


BY NAVEED ROZAIS

Colombo Fashion Week’s (CFW) new programme “CFW Retail Week” has made quite an impression on Colombo.

With a three-week programme of theme-specific knowledge and engagement-based experiences like expert talks on related topics, workshops, retail events, food events, movie screenings, and a few children’s programmes as well, CFW Retail Week provides guests with an alternative look at retail in the wake of the pandemic, which saw international travel heavily curbed, and highlights how value-driven engagement can enhance the retail experience.

Taking retail to the next levelFor CFW Managing Director

Ajai Vir Singh, a focus on retail has always been in the offing, given that retail is the logical

next step to fashion after it is presented and promoted. “The current environment where we needed an interesting interaction between designers and fashion consumers led to developing and experimenting with a new form of retail,” Singh said. “This new form of retail goes beyond just monetary value. It includes knowledge-based value and engagement.”

With Covid-19 demanding the re-evaluation and fine-tuning of fashion, the mindset of a post-lockdown society was also something that needed opening and an infusion of positivity, which is something CFW Retail Week hopes to inspire. CFW Retail Week focuses on weekly themes such as Fashion and Wellness Week, Environment and Conservation Week, and Literary Week, curating experiences and drawing attention to these themes that CFW has always held close to its heart.

“These topics are, no doubt, part of our brand’s value system and these are the very topics which will continue to evolve as fashion evolves because it deals with societal and environmental wellbeing. CFW Retail Week takes this discussion forward by starting new dialogues with experts in their fields connected to these topics,

with a focus on encouraging action and conscious consumption.”

Bringing creative industries together

On connecting literature and fashion, Singh shared that this link highlights the importance of collaboration between different creative industries and disciplines,

building on the blending of performance art and fashion that marked the recently concluded HSBC Colombo Fashion Week 2020, which included an excerpt reading by Ashok Ferrey of his latest book on the runway as well as performances from several renowned Sri Lankan performing artists.

“CFW believes in the collaboration of creative industries. This collaborative approach of ours has been in place for the last five years. Bringing in literature was the next step, making us probably the first fashion platform in the world to bring literature and fashion together,” Singh commented.

Looking to the futureAs always, for CFW,

responsibility in fashion and circularity will continue to be a primary focus. CFW Retail Week saw the introduction of Circular Colombo, a new campaign that promotes circularity and conscious consumption through a platform that connects designers and companies together to identify and repurpose excess garments, fabrics, and waste.

CFW Retail Week provides a unique opportunity to add value to Colombo’s fashion customer, particularly mid-pandemic in what is most definitely a troubled time. Singh shared that it is CFW’s belief that this new experiment of knowledge-based retail will catch on amongst the fashion and design-based consumers and will generate more commerce and much-needed financial value to our nascent fashion industry.

REIMAGINING RETAIL IN THE NEW NORMAL

Social distance, please!Although titled “Social distance,

please!”, the capture is actually of two parakeets using their feet to clean the partner’s beak. “The photo is of course taken out of context…but when realising, back home, that the picture made our friends laugh, my wife convinced me to submit it to the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards,” shared Sochman.

Sochman lives in Brussels, Belgium, although his hometown is Prague in the Czech Republic.

“It was a pure accident,” he elaborated, adding: “We chose Kaudulla hoping to see mainly some birds of prey, such as the changeable hawk-eagles or the grey-headed fish eagles. The rose-ringed parakeets were not on my list at all, as the bird also lives here in Brussels where it escaped several decades ago from a breeder and has thrived in the city parks ever since.”

Sochman began photographing the scene, not because he was particularly interested in that specific bird species but because he really liked the light and the interaction between the birds.

Sri Lanka, an island worth returning to

Sochman spent a good part of his childhood in communist Prague and once the regime collapsed in 1989, he tried to enjoy the possibilities that arose, especially the chance to travel and study abroad. His first job, following his education in history and law, was at a law firm in Prague. However, soon after the Czech Republic joined the European Union (EU) in 2004, he was offered a position in the headquarters of the EU in Brussels.

Photography, he said, is something he fell into in pretty much the same “classic route” anyone with a penchant does. “Initially, just holiday pictures and in the end, selecting holiday locations in view of available photo opportunities.” Sochman started mainly with landscape photography but was quickly drawn to the life of animals which he described as being “often very intense in the mornings when one is standing somewhere on location, waiting

for the sunrise”.His first visit to Sri Lanka was back in

2019; his wife and him immediately fell in love with the country. Their trip was dotted with experiences that brought them a combination of culture and nature – visiting classic historic monuments and national parks in search of wildlife.

“It became quickly clear to us that we need to come back soon, and we were very happy to do so in January this year,” he said. Their second visit was almost entirely dedicated to birdwatching, but the duo still had a chance to enjoy other fascinations in the island, local cuisine being one of them.

“We now have a number of cookery books at home; we hunt for ingredients to re-create some of the dishes we ate in Sri Lanka. (It’s) hard to believe that before visiting Sri Lanka for the first time, some of our friends warned us (that) Sri Lankan food is comparatively bland!”

Recalling a favourite moment during his travels, Sochman spoke of the sunset over Sigiriya viewed from Pidurangala. Having been told that the place would be full of tourists albeit with stunning views, he trekked up first just for some shots. “But the experience went far beyond my expectations, even though I had seen many pictures and videos on the internet beforehand. I just had to return there to sit quietly,” he recounted, to watch the sun disappearing behind the mountains in all its glory.

With apologies to its people, food, and history, Sochman shared that if he were to select only one thing he liked about the country, it would have to be its natural environment. “The richness and variety of wildlife is simply incredible.”

Something he didn’t quite enjoy? Apart from the “extreme heat” in the southern provinces that to someone from central Europe felt “really infernal”, it was the impoverished state in which many people lived in the island that affected him. “From the perspective of a visitor who cannot offer any remedy, it is a painful reminder of how little we have control over in our lives and how much it is a lottery, being born into a certain situation. Many people in Europe take things such as social security or healthcare for granted, sometimes losing the wider perspective…”

An amateur photographer is hardly disappointed

Sochman feels that amateur photographers everywhere should cherish the independence they have. It’s a great privilege, according to him, that they don’t need to “get the shot to be paid”. This allows them to better respect the animals they photograph. “If the bird we want to see does not show up, no problem, we can still enjoy being in nature. If our gear cannot cope due to low levels of light, well, we still have that beautiful evening walk. Bearing this in mind, an amateur photographer can hardly ever come back home disappointed.”

Although not deterred by the Easter Sunday bombings of 2019, and even the Covid-19 pandemic, Sochman is happy to come back to the island once travel restrictions in Europe and Sri Lanka are loosened, if in the least, hoping they can contribute their tiny bit to the economic recovery of the country.

Referring to their “guide and friend” in Sri Lanka – Akila Nuwan – who is one of those directly affected by the pandemic, Sochman shared that he is deeply grateful to him. “He is not only a great tour guide but also a keen birdwatcher with amazing knowledge of the Sri Lankan avifauna. My wife and I were very happy to benefit from his knowledge and he gave us great insights into the society of Sri Lanka on top of navigating us through the local wildlife.”

Covid-19 and BelgiumCommenting on the pandemic,

Sochman said that although Belgium was heavily affected by the first wave of the pandemic, right now, the numbers aren’t growing that quickly. “On the other hand, my home country, the Czech Republic, has overcome the first wave seemingly fine but things appear to be getting out of control now. I don’t have any medical or epidemiological expertise, but the lesson which I think we need to take from this as citizens is to select our political leaders with care, to avoid populism, and to do our best to put in power trustworthy, reliable politicians who will take responsible decisions in these difficult times where human lives and national economies are at stake.”

This year’s winners for the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards will be announced on 22 October.

SRI LANKAN... Ä What are the biggest challenges the batik industry faces today?I think the main challenges

today would be labour and a lack of standardisation of raw materials. Labour is hard to find because batik is a very difficult and time-intensive craft. The number of people practising it has reduced because batik was not popular for a very long time, and the people who were doing batik were not having much success and mainly focused on souvenirs and things like wall hangings. When Buddhi Batiks started, we had over 350 team members; now, we only have 60. We’re still scratching the surface, but with batik becoming cool again, it’s likely to improve.

With raw materials, a lack of standardisation means that our suppliers are usually random, and the products we use – be it dye, fabric, or even wax – can vary in quality, and we also don’t have clear information on how it has been sourced and what impact it has had on communities and the environment.

For us to be able to truly claim that we are sustainable, we need to have a good, transparent supply chain. Standardising materials will also automatically standardise quality, as well as pricing for our manufacturers because you will always know what your prices are going to be like for the next few months.

Ä How do you see the new potential policies by the Government affecting the batik industry?The Government said they will

be looking into standardisation, which is something that we as an industry have asked for. They’re also looking at effective waste management and have already included, in their budgeting for next year, plans to build water purifying plants, where water can be purified and dyes won’t be released to the environment.

The batik industry has different market levels. Batik is essentially a print technique – you have different batik designers selling at different market levels, from wholesalers to the niche market. Buddhi Batiks is a niche brand, and with Buddhi Batiks, we have our own diffusion lines “Buddhi” and “BB” that sell to different customer segments.

I met the Minister last week when he visited Marawila, and he shared that he was expecting to see good design across all market levels in the industry. One potential way he hopes to do this is through collaboration with local design universities where students

and young designers collaborate with batik designers and entrepreneurs at all levels of the market for design input and R&D (research and development).

Collaboration is a very important way forward; no brand is strong in everything. Within Buddi Batiks, we frequently collaborate with other brands and designers; one of our most recent collaborations being with local craft brand Kanatala, which works with hana weaving.

I prefer to concentrate on my immediate area of expertise, as do most people. This is why collaborations are win-win and can result in new and innovative products.

Ä How do you see things unfolding for the batik industry in the future?I’m very hopeful that standardising

raw materials and introducing water disposal management systems will be a huge achievement and create big, positive change for the industry. These changes will make us better able to compete in the international market, which will increase competition across the board and make everybody become better and create better designs and products. However, it is important that we as an industry work with the Government and participate in their efforts to create new systems and processes.

Batik is approaching a new heyday, as Covid-19 and the temporary closing of the economy have given local artists and entrepreneurs the chance to grow their businesses locally. Many batik producers don’t have their own shops because they don’t have easy access to the market in a way that is viable for them in terms of business. They also don’t have the time to devote to R&D. Raw materials standardisation, design collaboration, and boosting the industry offer a solution to this.

It is our responsibility now as batik producers, entrepreneurs, and creative people to be original and think out of the box. R&D is the biggest part of the industry. Change is consistent, and if we don’t change and innovate as we go, what happened in the ‘90s will happen again.

the sunday morning brunch editorial 011 [email protected]

Crested serpent eagle

Blue-faced malkoha

Grey hornbill

Contd. from page 1Contd. from page 1

THE FUTURE...

Ajai Vir Singh on CFW Retail Week PHOTOS LALITH PERERA

Collaboration is a very

important way forward; no brand is strong in everything...I

prefer to concentrate on my immediate area of expertise,

as do most people. This is why collaborations are win-win and can result in new and

innovative products

From left: Chatham Luxury Watches Director Sid Hirdaramani, HSBC Sri Lanka Head of Marketing and Communications Tharanga Gunasekera, CFW Founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh, Shangri-La Hotel Colombo Vice President and General Manager Timothy Wright, and Crocodile Lanka General Manager Chamal Fonseka PHOTO KRISHAN KARIYAWASAM

CFW Founder and Managing Director Ajai Vir Singh

SOCIETYthe sunday morning brunchSunday, September 27, 2020

3

Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo opened the doors of “Central”, its vibrant all-day dining restaurant and café, on 20 September 2020. This new gastronomic journey takes guests’ taste buds on an adventurous culinary tour of the globe, whilst also celebrating Sri Lanka’s tapestry of native cuisine.

PHOTOS ESHAN DASANAYAKA

Fox Kandy, operated by Fox Resorts, the hospitality arm of Capital Maharaja Organisation, is delighted to announce that they are now welcoming well-behaved doggie friends!

Set amidst the rolling hills of Hantana, this 26-bedroom boutique hotel was opened in November 2019. Featuring a gourmet restaurant, a spectacular infinity pool, and luxury rooms, Fox Kandy received rave reviews for its fabulous cuisine, stunning views, and exemplary service. The hotel also houses a rare treasure gallery: Copies of never-seen-before artwork by renowned Sri Lankan and foreign artists from the personal collection of the Chairman of the Capital Maharaja Organisation. These pieces, including Aubrey Collette’s whimsical caricatures of famous Sri Lankan political figures, have been carefully curated around the rooms and public spaces of the property.

Fox Kandy is run by a team of ardent dog lovers who chose to welcome family dogs as guests to the hotel in August 2020. With Sri Lankans only being able to travel domestically for the foreseeable future, and our dogs being accustomed to getting attention throughout the day, Fox decided to minimise the stress on these furry friends by letting them travel with you. As you travel locally, the hotel encourages you to take your pooch along, rather than leaving them to languish in neglect or

depression. Fox Kandy now provides the ideal opportunity to bond with your dogs as well as enjoy a well-deserved holiday with your beloved canine by your side.

Fox Resorts is uniquely prepared to host your furry guests, offering pet beds and bowls as well as meals and treats served from an especially designed pet menu. The hotel, which is laid out in four-room villas, has assigned two villas exclusively for bookings with dogs. While dogs may dine with guests in a separate dining area close to the villas, they will not be allowed into the restaurant so as not to disturb guests who are not comfortable with them. Separate walking paths have also been laid so you and your dogs can get some exercise. Even grooming and training appointments can be arranged upon prior request.

BY DIMITHRI WIJESINGHE

An incident took place recently at a well-known establishment where an openly identifying member of the LGBTQ community was denied entrance to the establishment based on her “appearance”.

While the discriminatory act seemed to be a result of one employee’s personal bias, the establishment was quick to take responsibility and the necessary action by issuing an apology.

They released a statement subsequent to the incident and an initial statement made earlier. Among other things, they said: “After extensive discussions with the guests concerned, we have decided to withdraw the employee’s termination and instead include him in our sensitisation programme which will be conducted next week…we will do everything in our power to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

With reference to the incident, we took a look at the importance of adopting sensitisation programmes, particularly for businesses where staff interact with customers on a one-on-one basis.

We reached out to a number of business owners who conduct businesses where their staff interact with customers, and spoke to them about how they approach such issues if it were to arise, whether they employ such sensitisation programmes, and whether Sri Lanka overall is open to a more inclusive discussion.

Speaking to MSD Capital Holdings Group Managing Director Dinesh Wijesinghe, referring to the incident itself and sharing with us his experience, he said that to be perfectly honest, they do not conduct training that is specific to certain social issues or communities, adding that what they do is create awareness where every one of their guests must be treated with respect and everyone must be treated equally, regardless of race, colour, creed, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

However, he addressed this particular incident, stating that the underlying problem here is a deep-seated cultural issue. In Sri Lanka, people have a public face and a private face that people put on, and everyone can agree, if they are honest with themselves, that people often talk behind closed doors; minorities are referred to often in dismissive and derogatory terms and no amount of training on an individual capacity is going to solve this, he opined.

He said that if we are to truly

address the issue, it must be done on a national level as it is a much larger issue than that of a dress code and one single employee expressing their personal biases that the majority of Lankans actually share.

He said that in Sri Lanka, for the most part, people are not so aggressive when it comes to their likes and dislikes, and this here happens to be an unfortunate incident where it was caught on camera where things escalated. The ugly truth of the matter is it happens more often than you think, and it is done in the guise of many pretences, he said.

Even when you look at the previous attempts at trying to bring to the forefront these issues with regardsto LGBTQ persons, people were not willing to have that conversation and nobody wanted to hear about it.

He said: “Broader society is still not ready to accept certain minorities and, to this day, consider these perversions and abnormalities. Our society is still very conservative in these matters and to truly find a solution, it must be taken up at a higher level.”

Speaking about the way they have gone about training their employees and the level of importance they place on training with regards to sensitivity and also corporate etiquette, many of the business owners we spoke to shared that, similar to what Wijesinghe

expressed, they do not conduct training that is specific to LGBTQ issues or other minority issues, whilst they do focus on being non-discriminatory regardless, and placing customers first.

Across the board, all business owners expressed that Sri Lanka has some work to do when it comes to being inclusive and creating awareness and acceptance at a broader level.

Sushi Kai Owner Pasindu Peiris shared that while they are not a fine-dining restaurant and so do not require a dress code for their customers, meaning issues similar to the referred incident do not tend to crop up, they do carry out regular training for their staff with regards to customer care and etiquette.

He said: “We carry out annual seminars where we bring down professionals who conduct workshops for our staff on how best to carry out their duties, and for the most part, the management is hands-on that if there ever is an issue, the customer is immediately directed to the owner so it can be dealt with efficiently.”

Tayo Bear (Pvt.) Ltd. Owner/Director Shanaz Fouze shared: “Basically, the girls I have at the café are quite young, and the way we train our girls is that they are made aware of the importance of being sensitive to their customers at all times.”

She added also that the way they

work is the store manager would give the management a daily progress report and after considering all the goings-on, they would gather all the employees every month and briefly remind them of how to remain calm in a difficult situation with a customer and to always be polite.

Fouze also shared that while she does educate her employees on the importance of maintaining customer relations and being courteous, at the same time, they do not tolerate any harassment or misconduct by customers towards their employees, sharing that they have CCTV coverage and have advised their staff to remain polite until the footage has been reviewed and both sides have been listened to. She shared that they had to deal with such a situation once.

Speaking further, she shared that they operate under the assumption that putting a lot of pressure on employees serves no purpose, and that gradual awareness and education is the way forward.

She also added that as the clientele they deal with are quite different, in that pet owners are quite sensitive when it comes to their pets, treating them as their children and so on, they must extend greater care towards their valued customers.

Colombo Court Hotel & Spa Operations Manager Kevin Schumacher shared his perspective as someone from the hospitality industry, stating: “In the case of hospitality, form the front desk onwards, it is all about how you treat your guests,” he said, sharing that there is no room for error in his line of business.

“In the 21st Century, it is so very easy to get a black mark on your reputation for the slightest thing and therefore, there is no such thing as small mistakes.”

He also shared that at Colombo Court Hotel, they employ a system where employees undergo training on how to deal with customers and especially how to greet them, which is absolutely important.

He also shared that they give a lot of importance to sensitivity and being non-discriminatory as all are equal; considering that their establishment was often patronised by foreign guests and now due to the pandemic it is mostly locals who patronise it, they have not been any different when it comes to their guests.

He said that they remind their staff and train them to be sensitive and to always behave in a polite manner with guests, regardless of what spa treatment they have come for, and that the management will take over in any difficult situations.

Shangri-La unveils ‘Central’, all-day dining restaurant and café

Dogs are now welcome at Fox Kandy

To reserve your stay, email info@foxresorts.

com or call 0778 857 778.

Do Sri Lankan businesses care about

being inclusive?

PHOTO BRUNO AGUIRRE ON UNSPLASH

EVENTSthe sunday morning brunch


BY DINITHI GUNASEKERA

The Colombo International Book Fair (CIBF), organised by the Sri Lanka Book Publishers’ Association (SLBPA), commenced its 2020 edition on Friday, 18 September at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) under strict Covid-19 health and safety guidelines. The book fair is scheduled to be held until Sunday, 27 September (today) from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

It was with miserable realisation that many bookworms all over the island came to terms with the stark possibility of the absence of the annual book fair in its usual glory during the initial stages of Covid-19, with it being declared a global pandemic.

For better or worse, the CIBF, Sri Lanka’s largest book exhibition, is now open for the public for the 22nd consecutive time, astonishing masses across the seas and offering a wide selection of over 400 stalls, both local and foreign, with the participation of around 150 publishing companies.

Presently, social media is being flooded with the hashtags #CIBF and #CIBF2020, and avid booklovers and happy customers uploading their purchases online are guilty as charged. In conversation with SLPBA Director and Vijitha Yapa Group of Companies Chairman Vijitha Yapa, The Sunday Morning Brunch raised concerns about the annual book fair being held in its typical regard with the ongoing threat of a second wave in the island.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

Ä What are the differences between the typical CIBF held any other year and CIBF 2020? With the Covid scenario, what are the extra health precautions taken into consideration this year?The main difference is that specific

health/safety precautions have to be observed at this year’s book fair. All who enter the premises must have their temperature checked and those having excess temperatures are not allowed in. All must wear masks and keep it on at all times.

For the convenience of visitors, we have partnered with a company to sell masks at only Rs. 15 each, which is the lowest price in Sri Lanka as far as I know.

All visitors have to wash their hands and sanitise with special sanitisation liquid. They must maintain social distancing at all times and our staff do their rounds to ensure they (customers) adhere to the health regulations imposed by the health authorities.

People have been cooped up in their houses for months and this is an opportunity for them to step out and buy new books as well as bargain books. This book fair will show that people accept the limitations and are willing to observe the rules and regulations to pave the way for society to return to normalcy.

Ä So far, are there any changes in the numbers and the crowd this year in comparison to other years?The numbers were understandably less

in the first five days (up to the time of this interview), but the enthusiasm is high. This is

also an opportunity to meet up with friends, attend literary discussions, and enjoy the entertainment offered each evening with songs, dances, and plays.

But it’s a pleasure to see almost every visitor carrying a parcel of books. That is the joy of shopping as the whole BMICH has become a huge 40,000-sq. ft. bookshop.

There is an entrance fee of Rs. 20, which is utilised to award scholarships to economically underprivileged students to be educated at a university level. The scholarships are given up to four years as a monthly stipend. Members of the armed forces and the Police are allowed free entry as well as members of the clergy and schoolchildren in official school uniforms.

Ä What are the challenges the organisers faced in the process of making CIBF 2020 a reality?The main challenge was to accept that

it was essential to have the book fair despite foreign participants not being able to attend due to quarantine restrictions and the lack

of flights. However, foreign publishers have made arrangements for their local distributors to run stalls. We have had a good response from local publishers and over 400 stalls. It is the largest public event in Sri Lanka and runs for 10 days.

Ä What was the response from the Government and other state authorities?The authorities were cautious and were

surprised by our request. Nevertheless, as long as health guidelines were observed, they were happy to give permission. The expenses on our side are higher as staff members had to be recruited for the duration of the book fair, but we are happy to go through with it. The BMICH and other service providers responded with lower rates as well and we responded with

concessions for the stall-holders. Moreover, all those running the book fair are obliging on a voluntary basis.

Ä Were any regulations or special advice specified by the Government and state authorities?We are following them – temperature

checking, washing of hands, use of sanitisers, and compulsory wearing of masks – and to the best of our ability in order to assist customers to maintain social distancing. We also have the co-operation of the Ministry of Health, the PHIs (public health inspectors), and the Police.

Ä How is the response so far from the customers and the crowd?Excellent. They also recognise the

importance of the book fair. We have been able to jointly keep Covid-19 at bay and we must now return to normal life. Bus and train travel, visits to cinemas, and opening of schools have taken place. Now we have to show the world what this little island has achieved, especially when Covid cases are rising in other countries like India, Brazil, and the US. It is indeed a pity that world press has hardly carried any news of our success.

Ä Was an online or virtual approach to CIBF 2020 considered at any point in time?The major booksellers in Sri Lanka have

their sites and many orders were serviced in the last months. It’s nothing new. In many cases, we have been able to achieve 24-hour deliveries as well. Unlike other commodities, books are not easy to market online as people want to feel the books, read the synopses, and choose what they want, rather than what the publishers want. This is the importance of book fairs like ours, where customers have the best opportunities to choose rather than stare at computers, making choices. Foreign companies using online platforms know about the limitations regarding the sale of foreign books. Many local booksellers sell the books at up to 50% discounts.

All I can say is, come visit the book fair, have a look, and buy what you really need.

BY DIMITHRI WIJESINGHE

Stefan Andre Joachim, one of Sri Lanka’s eminent fashion personalities, amidst launching his brand new venture “The Badass Fashion Week” (TBFW), opened up about our country’s fashion industry and its continued failure to nurture

its talent and advance through creativity.Stefan has made some bold statements

about the fashion scene in Sri Lanka, primarily Colombo, claiming that true talent does not often get the opportunity to shine, referring to an abundance of nepotism, “fashion-thieving”, having close relationships with the current who’s who of

the scene, and the overall need for the right connections. However, he shared that he’s hopeful that things can and will soon change and that TBFW might possibly be a step in the right direction.

Ä What is TBFW?TBFW is a project that has been

launched to harness the very best of Sri Lanka’s creative talent in the fashion industry. There are many platforms to TBFW that we will roll out in time. It is not an agency or simply a show either; the objective of it is to be able to take Sri Lankan creative talent to the world, while showcasing the very best of the country.

ÄHow can people get involved with TBFW, and what kind of people are you looking for?We have call-outs on all social

media platforms, with Instagram being the strongest. We are looking for start-up designers, models, hairstylists, makeup artists, videographers and photographers, graphics and animation professionals, and social influencers.

ÄWhen you say Colombo’s “fashion scene”, do you mean the designer retailers, or events such as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week or Colombo Fashion Week? What do you include when you refer to the collective?Let’s break this down. Designer

retailers and shows are all private entities that are entitled to showcase or retail in any way they choose to. They have all added value to the overall growth of the industry like the new retail malls have.

What I meant when I said “gagging for years at the fashion scene” was that we have watched mediocre design being rolled out year after year and being accepted time and time again, especially by the apparent fashion media, only because there are no checks and balances to call a spade a spade.

Like most things in Sri Lanka, someone is either related to another person’s auntie or they go to the same church or they “feel sorry to say anything because the designer’s gardener died of cancer”. This is supposed to be the business of fashion and if we are going to make it internationally, we have to let go of the privileged and sympathy connections!

We also don’t have anyone qualified in the media to truly critique the industry’s work, so what we end up with is a bunch of pictures and a description of the obvious.

Time and time again, a few of us who follow the international fashion scene like a religion have corrected many a journalists privately, but due to media complacency, nothing happens. Very fortunately now, social media exists and therefore, we are able to call out the fashion thieves.

Another very important aspect of this to understand is that if any media personnel are affiliated to a brand by way of free goods, they should never be taken seriously as a critique.

Ä Don’t you think this elite status of those in the industry is attached to you as well? You yourself may seem to people as part of the gatekeepers. Can you say that you’re different to “the privileged”?Anyone who truly knows me knows

that I have never been a gatekeeper. If at all, I have broken down all gates to get here and when I was not this strong, being attacked by the older designers when I started, I scaled those gates in secret. This goes for my entire panel and team as well.

There have been many people who have tried to stop us and still do. Thinking back on the struggle and the constant need to earn this place, it all seems so insignificant now, considering that fact that we were actually fighting the privileged and not the talented.

Ä What do you see in TBFW and how do you see it disrupting the current trend and making real change? What kind of change do you want and see happening?

What I see is immense potential. It’ll disrupt the fashion scene by making it accessible and providing a stepping stone for many people who otherwise won’t have any idea of where to start or who to reach out to. We have a team of the best talent in the country right now, with additional guest mentors who are also the trailblazers of this industry. There’s never been a scenario before where

so many such people have come together to materialise one “badass” idea for Sri Lanka.

I am a designer, but my passion has always been political science and investigative journalism. I am an entrepreneur but a storyteller at heart. I was an athlete, a swimmer, and a rugby flanker for my street team. Like I said, no one’s daddy handed me this. Failing has never been an option and is certainly not a part of my DNA.

‘No one’s daddy handed me this’Stefan Andre Joachim on TBFW and the fashion scene in Sri Lanka

A book fair amidst a pandemicCause for concern?

People have been cooped up in their houses for months and this is an

opportunity for them to step out and buy new books as well as bargain

books. This book fair will show that people accept the limitations and

are willing to observe the rules and regulations to pave the way for society

to return to normalcySLPBA Director and Vijitha Yapa

Chairman Vijitha Yapa

Stefan Andre Joachim

PHOTO LALITH PERERA

HEALTHthe sunday morning brunchSunday, September 27, 2020

5

BY NAVEED ROZAIS

Iron is an integral part of our lives. Besides being one of the most useful metals known to humans, iron also plays a crucial role in our biology, most notably by forming part of the substance “haemoglobin” which allows our blood to carry around oxygen.

Anaemia, in other words a deficiency of iron, can affect us a lot more than we think, and surprisingly, iron is not always something we automatically get enough of.

In light of this, The Sunday Morning Brunch sat down with nutritionist Shayana Ameresekere (MHumNutr, RNutr) to learn more about iron deficiency (ID) and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) in children and what we can do to keep our children healthy.

Defining ID and IDA ID is defined as the decrease of the

total content of iron in the body, and IDA occurs when the lack of iron in the body is sufficiently severe enough to hinder the production of red blood cells, which in turn limits the amount of oxygen carried in the blood.

Oxygenating blood is not iron’s only role in the body. Iron is involved in many fundamental biological processes within the body, including DNA synthesis, mitochondrial respiration (mitochondria are responsible for cell function), neurotransmitter, and myelin synthesis. Balanced iron levels are needed to maintain normal physiological brain function as well.

“Essentially, iron affects our functionality,” Amarasekere explained. “It is stored in our liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, and other anatomic areas and is involved in a lot of our internal processes. It is very important for younger children’s cognitive development. Tracking the iron levels in expecting mothers is also very important because iron plays a huge role in foetal development during pregnancy.”

ID and IDA in the Sri Lankan context

The Ceylon Medical Journal (CMJ) recently reported that 7.3% of children under the age of five years suffer from IDA in Sri Lanka. Amarasekere shared that while genetics can sometimes play a factor in iron deficiency, with South and Southeast Asian people tending to have lower rates of iron absorption, a key component in iron deficiency is diet. Iron is not something the body produces naturally, and as such, it has to be included in the food we eat.

“Diet plays a crucial role; there are two main sources of iron: haem iron (meat-based) and non-haem iron (non-meat based, derived from dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and broccoli). Per gram, meat sources have more iron than non-meat sources. If we’re not eating meat for whatever reason, we need to make sure our vegetables are compensating for this.”

ID in children can lead to physical growth and cognitive difficulties. Amarasekere commented that treating ID is a longer term process.

“It’s not something that can be fixed

overnight and is predominantly done through nutrition. There are avenues of treatment for severe deficiency and IDA, like iron fortification and supplements, but we must first look at the nutrition of the child. When it comes to ID in younger children, paediatricians look at development milestones starting from birth to age five, by which time we hope children have formed healthy eating habits that they can keep through to becoming teenagers.”

While there is a focus on ID and IDA in younger children because they are in the formative stages of their development, this is not to say that older children are not at risk. Girls approaching puberty, in particular, are susceptible to ID, both due to menstruation as well as the changes in their diet due to peer pressure that sees them curbing their appetites. Young boys are also at risk of developing ID based on their levels of activity when combined

with their diet.Speaking on which groups of children

are most at risk of having ID and IDA, Amarasekere commented that ID is found in children across all socioeconomic groups.

“Children from affluent backgrounds have high incidences of ID because increased disposable income often leads to a lot of processed foods and other less nutritious food being in their diets. In villages, children live on the simple staple of rice and curry, which, for the most part, is a well-balanced and nutritious meal. Children in rural areas tend to have ID because meat is expensive and a luxury in their meals.”

Covid-19 and Sri Lanka’s lockdown has given parents the chance to spend more time with their children and pay more attention to nutrition as a whole, particularly in the early days, although those early stages saw a brief scarcity in food until things started settling down.

Watching out for symptoms of ID and IDA

ID can present itself in several ways. In younger children, doctors look at various growth and cognitive development milestones. “Physically, there are two growth charts paediatricians refer to when tracking growth: One by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the other by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Most paediatricians follow the WHO chart, comparing height, weight, and head circumference,” Amarasekere explained, adding that if children drop out of the percentile they have been tracking along from birth, then it is time to discuss with the paediatrician what could be causing this shift.

From a cognitive perspective, keener observation is needed; a delay in speech and a short attention span are common

symptoms of ID along with pale skin, a faint heartbeat, and an enlarged spleen. Looking at how children respond to the things around them; if they are irritable and how they react to being asked to do simple tasks is also a way to gauge if there may be a potential nutrient deficiency. Some children do take more time with some aspects of development, so it is important to also be mindful of the child’s individuality as well.

Battling ID and IDA With the lockdown over and kids

going back to school, it is now an important time to pay attention to children having difficulties learning so as to make sure the problem isn’t something like iron deficiency.

Fixing the early stages of iron deficiency is relatively easy, and making sure children have a balanced diet is important. Cutting out processed food and snacks is an important first step, as is focusing on wholesome home-cooked meals. Even with babies, homemade pureed food tends to be richer in nutrients than processed baby food. Iron-rich sources of food include legumes and lentils, eggs, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, oyster mushrooms, sweet potato, and red meats.

Additionally, the body absorbs iron better when consumed with a source of vitamin C. To enable the body to absorb more iron, serve iron-rich foods alongside foods rich in vitamin C should be consumed. Good sources of vitamin C are oranges and other citrus fruits, tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, and papaya.

Amarasekere also stressed the importance of education, for both children and parents. “Having campaigns and building awareness on nutritional education in general, especially for parents, is essential. Educational programmes and seminars that talk to children about what they’re eating and getting them excited about what they’re eating and why, are also strong positive steps that can be taken.

“It also comes down to the education of parents on what healthy introductory diets are for children. Babies are born with enough iron stored in their bodies for the first six months of life. From the seventh or eighth month, it becomes important to introduce iron sources like meat into their food. Parents should maintain open communication with their paediatricians. I always encourage parents to make lists of questions before they visit their paediatrician to ensure their paediatricians can give them the most effective care. Paediatricians also must make sure parents have access to as much information as possible.”

Building awareness

The induction of the 20th President of the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka (CGPSL), along with the presidential address, was held on 12 September at Earls Court, Cinnamon Lakeside amidst a large gathering of eminent medical professionals.

Newly elected President Dr. D.K.D. Mathew stated that the CGPSL is a voluntary organisation committed to enhance the medical practice of general practitioners (GPs) of Sri Lanka. Established in 1969, CGPSL is the apex academic and professional body of GPs in the country. It was incorporated by the College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka (Incorporation) Law No. 26 of 1974, followed by amendments to the Act in 1980, which empowers and ensures the college’s validity as an academic body of national importance.

He said that a GP is the first point of care for anyone of any age in the community, whether it is concerning physical or mental health ailments. The profession of a GP is not limited to any one medical speciality or organ of the body, but covers a variety of medical

problems, requiring GPs to solve clinical puzzles and make accurate and timely diagnoses of diseases and proper management.

A GP’s approach takes into account the spiritual, cultural, social, economic, and emotional aspect of the patient, thus arriving at treatments and

management in a very patient-centric manner. They adhere to and maintain high professional, clinical, and ethical standards in providing the best possible care in a cost-effective way to patients. The life of a GP is an enviable one as it provides professional development, a secure livelihood, camaraderie among colleagues of the profession, and, most importantly, the sense of fulfilment of

seeing the joy of healing their patients.In 2008, then World Health

Organisation (WHO) Director General Dr. Margaret Chan stated: “Primary healthcare offers the best way of coping with the ills of life in the 21st Century: Globalisation of unhealthy lifestyles, rapid unplanned urbanisation, and the ageing of populations.”

Patient demand is soaring and their needs are becoming more complex, but the number of GPs is far from keeping pace. In the future, our health service will rely on GPs with the capabilities and competence to deliver care closer to home and reduce the state’s reliance on hospital care. At present, at least half of the population in the world does not receive the health services they need, while about 100 million people are pushed into extreme poverty each year because of out-of-pocket spending on health.

The recent Covid-19 pandemic can be viewed as a disrupting agent which has had a significant impact on the way in which a GP has operated thus far. It has become evident that the time is ripe for GPs to embark on adopting digital solutions which will allow unhindered access to patients, ensuring the relevant security and ethical standards of the practice. GPs must seek out such digital solutions and online tools that will enable the patient to receive advice, treatments, prescriptions, and referrals.

Dr. Mathew stated that if we do not find better, smarter ways to help the growing elderly population remain healthy and independent, our hospitals will be overwhelmed, which is why we need effective, strong, and expanding general practice more than ever before in the history of our medical services.

The profession of a general practitioner Embracing its unparalleled

commitment to its customers, Arpico Insurance PLC recently introduced Diabcare, a unique policy cover dedicated exclusively for patients diagnosed with diabetes. Over two million Sri Lankans are diabetic, according to the National Diabetes Centre of the Diabetes Association of Sri Lanka (DASL). Globally, there are approximately 463 million cases with a significant increase in low and middle-income countries. The disease is dubbed as the silent killer with one person dying from it every six seconds.

Diabetes is one of four major types of non-communicable diseases prevailing in the world today. In the past, opting for health insurance could have been difficult for people with diabetes. However, recent reforms have improved access to coverage. Inspired by the parent company’s Group Chairman Dr. Sena Yaddehige’s vision to serve all Sri Lankans in their hour of need, Arpico Insurance now offers this unique product to persons currently being treated for diabetes.

“Diabetes is undoubtedly a life-threatening disease if one doesn’t manage it well, and the number of those diagnosed with it is skyrocketing in Sri Lanka just like abroad. As a leading insurance provider, we make it our obligation to stand by our people and society. We thrive to seek ways in providing the best possible solution

to issues we face today,” said Arpico Insurance PLC Chief Executive Officer Harsha De Alwis. “Diabcare is a unique plan specifically designed to provide customers with the financial protection and support in fighting this self-managed disease.”

What makes this product stand out is that the sum assured to be paid in the event of the demise of the insured or if the insured is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses covered; namely cancer, stroke, blindness/total loss of sight, end-stage renal failure (ESRF), and amputation of a limb. In addition, upon the completion of three years of the policy, the insured will be able to receive reimbursements towards medical expenses for diabetics-related tests prescribed by a doctor, up to the value of Rs. 5,000 annually, until the end of the policy term.

Arpico Insurance launches Diabcare for diabetic patients

on nutritional education

SHAYANA AMERESEKERE

ON IRON DEFICIENCY ANAEMIA IN

CHILDREN UNDER FIVE

Babies are born with enough iron stored in their bodies for

the first six months of life. From the seventh or eighth month, it becomes important to introduce iron sources like meat into their food. Parents should maintain open communication with their

paediatricians

Induction of new CGPSL President

Arpico Insurance PLC CEO Harsha De Alwis (left) conversing with General Manager – Sales H.E.T. Sampath while GM – Sales N.C.P. Nishan lights the oil lamp at the Diabcare launch

PHOTO ESHAN DASANAYAKA

Newly elected President Dr. D.K.D. Mathew

GAMES/TOONSthe sunday morning brunch


Complete the grid so each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9. For strategies on how to solve Sudoku, visit www.sudoku.org.uk.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONSudoku

(Answers next week)

(Last week’s)

Across1 Like some stressed text7 Perfect pass13 Imp19 Rattler commonly used in pairs20 University staying power?21 Mild, in Milan22 Film with a feline baseball ace?24 Not on TV yet25 Roy Rogers’ birth name26 Ninja Turtles’ ally April __27 One end of the Chicago L’s Blue Line29 Shattering grenade, to a GI30 Shunned the paper clip32 Biopic about Frank from “Men in Black”?34 Scraps38 Cookout glowers40 Artist’s asset41 Clicked ballot42 __ Martin: Bond’s car44 AOL alternative45 Flier to Oslo48 Comedy about a lost mutt?53 Sports channel that shows college games55 High-five, e.g.56 “Insecure” star Rae57 Not supporting

59 Mets’ slugger Alonso60 Catalog62 Greek vacation isle65 Essential67 Film about a composing pooch?71 Not alfresco74 Year, to Yves75 Sampled78 Deli order79 Org. monitoring possible alien signals81 Gillian’s Emmy-winning role on “The X-Files”83 Settled85 Small egg87 Drama about organized disobedience at obedience school?92 Frying pan spray93 Mix masters, briefly?95 Vols’ school96 Golf caddie, e.g.97 Help-wanted ad abbr.98 “Me too”100 Maria __, the last House of Habsburg ruler102 Film romance starring Puss?106 Like volcanic rock109 “By yesterday!”110 Clock __

112 Long-legged wader113 Chops117 Reeled off119 Film in which Fido wins a place at the Round Table?122 Unpaid debt123 Pump part124 Imitated125 Flirts with126 Rose to great heights127 Hen holders

Down1 Little devils2 Detective, at times3 Affectedly creative4 Shoestring5 “__ bin ein Berliner”: JFK6 Holly Golightly’s creator7 __ throat8 Danger9 Changes one’s tone of voice10 QuŽbec street11 With a bow, to Anne- Sophie Mutter12 Beyond harmful13 Goes back on one’s word14 Gasteyer of “Mean Girls”15 Put the kibosh on16 Wispy clouds17 Shaking like __18 Pigeon’s perch21 Trusted adviser

23 Some, in San Salvador28 Courses for coll. credit30 Load31 Assure the failure of33 Since, in a seasonal song34 “Bill & __ Excellent Adventure”35 Throat dangler36 Beverage aisle options37 It helps you get up39 “__ objections?”42 Horace’s “__ Poetica”43 Last word of the most recent version of “America the Beautiful”44 “The A-Team” actor45 Didn’t dillydally46 One chip, maybe47 Sought damages49 Personnel staff50 O.T. book after Neh.51 Brit’s informal eatery52 One, on a one54 Fan at the game58 Clothes line61 “Lookee here!”62 “Anderson Cooper 360¡” channel63 Poetic tribute64 Landmark ‘70s case anonym66 Autobahn hazard68 Censor’s target69 Together, in Toulon70 Eclectic magazine

71 Chain with links72 St. Petersburg’s river73 Originate, with “up”76 A-listers77 Eats well80 Theoretical visitors81 Cacophony82 Landers of letters84 Banks of “America’s Got Talent”86 Ancient Dead Sea kingdom88 Something to chew89 Yours, to Yvette90 Kramer, to Jerry91 Sun Devils’ rival94 Angry 54-Downs97 Catches sight of98 Down99 Ear malady100 Captured101 Take shelter, with “down”102 Fort Knox unit103 Rhone tributary104 Pelvic bones105 Bounders107 Author Zora __ Hurston108 Went astray111 “Horrors!”113 Greeting from Kermit114 Star features115 Put an edge on116 Benchmarks: Abbr.118 __ kwon do120 Spanish “that”121 Cpl., e.g.

CROSSWORD CLUESCrossword SOLUTION FOR 13 SEPTEMBER

Entries should be written clearly and addressed to: The Features Editor, The Sunday Morning, No. 91, Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 7 to reach us on or before 12 noon on 7 October 2020.

Write “The Sunday Morning Brunch”, on the top left hand corner of the envelope.

Name: ............................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................Address: ............................................................................................................................ ............................................................................................................................Contact No: .......................................................................................................................Bank account details: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

(Account number, bank name, branch name, and name as per bank account)

This week’s winners will be announced on 11 October

CROSSWORD WINNERS OF 13 SEPTEMBER

First prize (Rs. 5,000) M. Prasanna, Valaichchenai Second prize (Rs. 3,000) U.R. Morias, Colombo 13

Consolation prize winners 1. N. Bonaventure, Negombo2. Shanthi Rajapaske, Gampola3. S.L. Caderamanpulle, Colombo 154. Amali Samaratunga, Colombo 45. Judy Amanda, Colombo 15

1st of October

7the sunday morning brunchSunday, September 27, 2020

The Commons Coffee House, the foremost home-grown coffee house concept in Colombo, offers an excellent selection of hot and cold coffees, ranging from a regular coffee to cappuccino, crème brulee cappuccino, café latte, caramel latte, choc chunk cookie latte, and hazelnut macchiato, to name a few. The iced coffees include cinnamon spiced iced coffee, Thai iced coffee, and caramel frappe among the delicious cold coffee selection.

A celebration deal is on offer from 27 September to 2 October with a 20% discount on a delicious cappuccino, café latte,

or spiced latte from 8-11 a.m. daily at The Commons.

The Commons coffee house concept is synonymous with the style of great coffee houses in the world. Most people love their coffee in the morning and enjoy coffee at The Commons to catch up with friends and colleagues.

International Coffee Day is to savour and appreciate the beverage and it also marks the long history of the drink where the properties of coffee beans are thought to have first been discovered in Ethiopia; originally popularised in the Arab world from around the 15th Century, spreading across Asia, then to

Italy and across Europe, and to the Americas, and finally to your coffee cup.

Enjoy a cup of coffee on International Coffee Day; inhale its aroma, taste its dark and full-bodied flavour, and indulge in the excellent choice of flavors at The Commons Coffee House – your cosy hangout spot.

Celebrate Int’ Coffee Day at THE COMMONS

ANSWER AND WIN!Win a voucher worth Rs. 2,000 from The Commons Coffee House by answering the following question related to International Coffee Day! When and where did instant coffee make its first appearance?Email us your answers along with your full name and contact details to [email protected] on or before Wednesday, 30 September.

0112 694 435

www.thecommonscolombo.com

for more details or visit

BY THARANI SERASINGHE

Sipping a cup of finely brewed coffee is a journey many fail to experience, which is why Colombo Coffee Company, the market pioneers within the nation, is enthusiastic to revolutionise the local coffee industry. Colombo Coffee Company is no more just a place of distributing and selling coffee; it is now about everything to do with “coffee”. Especially following the Covid-19 pandemic, they have changed their navigation, Colombo Coffee Company Deputy General Manager Kushan Samararatne highlighted.

Colombo Coffee Company is the only total coffee solutions provider within the country. Having a history of more than 10 years with over 350 clients over Sri Lanka, the company is the greatest coffee supplier to hotels, eateries, restaurants, cafes, bistros, workplaces, and even households.

It is also the authorised distributor for Lavazza coffee in Sri Lanka. With more than 120 years of history and making more than 100,000 tonnes of coffee annually, Lavazza is one of the greatest coffee roasters on the planet. Having more than 50 guidelines centres generally and supportability programmes through which coffee farmers are made and managed with, Lavazza is known as one of the best advocates towards the upliftment of the coffee commerce around the world. As a brand, Lavazza is one of the foremost sought-after brands around the world and is known for their consistency in high calibre and wide range.

“The coffee plant isn’t inborn to Sri Lanka, having been taken into the country by Muslim pilgrims in Yemen via India. It was George Samuel Bird, a former British Army officer, who established the island’s first coffee plantation in 1824 while it was still British Ceylon. His brother, Colonel Henry Bird, later began to cultivate coffee plantations in Sinhapitiya. Soon after that, British forces settled and continued the maintenance of the coffee plantations established by the Bird brothers.”

Sri Lanka’s coffee industry experienced such vast growth during the 1800s that British forces recruited large numbers of lower-class native and South Indian labourers. Sir James Emerson Tennent comments in Ceylon (1859): “In spite of the reality that the plant had existed from days of yore on the island (having likely been displayed from Mocha by the Middle Easterners), the local people were unaware of the estimation of its berries, and fair utilised its takes off to season their curries, and its blooms to excite their havens.”

Then in 1882, the coffee industry in Sri Lanka was almost completely wiped out by blight.

Colombo Coffee Company

acknowledges that the possible fate of Sri Lanka’s coffee industry is the thing that we depict. At the centre, with all things considered, lies its noteworthy and critical asset – its family. This is the reason Colombo Coffee Company is centred on upgrading each single angle of their lives. This includes educating farmers, providing employment opportunities, empowering women, and teaching children – in a nutshell, “giving back to the community”.

“Thus, we have made Toscana Ceylon, a 100% locally sourced coffee. With 100% Arabica beans product created with beans from the central hills of Sri Lanka, Toscana Ceylon is available in coffee beans, coffee powder, and Nespresso-compatible capsule packs. The most creative thing about this project is the remarkable corporate social responsibility and other ambitions married to it.

“One of the key concentrations behind the Toscana Ceylon brand is the need to

progress and highlight the coffee industry in a new dimension to the world. The Toscana project has given us the opportunity to work even closer with our farmer networks and processors, thus creating a better understanding of the needs and wants of them. At the heart of the project lies the dream and goal of taking Ceylon coffee globally,” he noted.

With these ambitions in mind, Colombo Coffee Company is investing its time and effort further down the supply chain by getting involved in the green bean sourcing levels in different regions in Sri Lanka. Working closely with the coffee processors in those regions to educate farmers on proper harvesting methods and technologies while developing the effectiveness and efficiency of the processes, Colombo Coffee Company hopes to take the Ceylon coffee to the world with improved quality and competitive pricing in the time to come.

“Colombo Coffee Company is taking giant strides in taking the Ceylon Coffee to the international markets while maintaining high standards and excellent quality. In fact, a sample we sent for quality check came out with a 90+ cupping score, placing that in the ‘Specialty Coffee’ range, which is a huge boost for us. We have excellent coffee in Sri Lanka, but it is about maintaining that consistency of quality that we

are eager about.“Also, with the aim of developing

the Sri Lankan coffee culture, we are introducing many new products with special focus on B2C, and many activities/events are planned ahead to engage more people in the coffee experience. One such event will happen on 3 October in celebration of World Coffee Day. Please follow us on social media for more details of this and many upcoming events,” Samararatne concluded.

COLOMBO COFFEE COMPANY

Toscana Pack

Toscana Ceylon Tin

The only total coffee solutions provider in Sri Lanka

BY THARANI SERASINGHE

Many memories were brought back with the atmosphere and the smell of coffee at Café La Défense, reminding me of the boarders of Paris. Café La Défense is a small, stylish spot for great coffee and an array of delicious French, English, and Sri Lankan dishes and baked goods. As you step inside the café, its friendly staff warmly welcomed me with a friendly “hello”. The place is almost like a second home; this French-style coffee shop affords bright, brown interiors decorated with iconic sceneries and motivational quotes. Each partition, separated from the main zone, is arranged to fit into the preferences of all kinds of coffee lovers.

The café incorporates a conference room, smoking zone, as well as a larger space of parking with unlimited free WiFi. During the evening, Café La Défense is filled with great music and excellent food, making it an excellent choice to hang out with your loved ones. Café La Défense is not only the ideal place to hang out, but also for study sessions and work discussions, and guarantees that you’ll have a good time with

everyone around you.The other branch is located

at 124, Park Road, Colombo 5. Established in 2016, the Park Road outlet is open from 6.30 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. Very interestingly, they serve their customers all year around. Meanwhile, the branch in Colombo 4 serves its customers from 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The café has more news to share with its customers: They are in the process of opening up a new branch in the near future. However, the mystery will continue as to where they have picked as the location.

“Our goal of revisiting the classic Parisian café comes with quality and customer satisfaction in mind. Boasting top-notch ingredients in everything, from its classic sandwiches to its house-made hot chocolate, Café La Défense is the perfect spot for anyone looking for a classic Parisian ambiance and excellent coffee,” shared Café La Défense Managing Director Chandana De Silva.

With things gradually returning to normalcy, people now seem more relaxed and are smiling more. So what are you waiting for? Do not hesitate to get a heavenly taste of coffee from one of the best coffee destinations in Colombo and experience the best throughout the year!

1st of October

Sri Lanka’s largest and most sought-after coffee house chain Barista recently launched its “Everyday Great Value” campaign as part of its series of initiatives to help boost the post-Covid recovery of the coffee industry and the Sri Lankan economy as a whole. This time concentrating on giving its customers great value for money and the highest-quality products, the campaign focuses on adhering to safety regulations that are now imperative for the industry.

The latest initiative sees Barista’s skilled culinary team opting to create its own cakes, desserts, and confectioneries in its own newly built, state-of-the-art bakery. The new delectable range includes croissants (butter, chocolate, and blueberry danish), muffins (chocolate, banana, and blueberry), cakes (death by chocolate, carrot, and red velvet), and chocolate brownies.

Available at Barista outlets at the World Trade Centre

(WTC), Laksala Thummulla, Bambalapitiya, Staple Street, the latest outlet at the Southern Expressway Service Area in Welipenna, and the signature outlet Café Mocha, the dessert range also comes in combos with your favourite coffee drinks. For instance, customers can choose a butter, chocolate, or blueberry danish and couple it with a cup of coffee for just Rs. 590.

“Covid-19 certainly impacted the way we do business and also the way consumers make their purchases. Customers are now more cautious when selecting a café to visit as safety and value for money is their utmost priority. Our latest campaign focuses on safety, cleanliness, the highest quality, and providing our customers value for the money they spend,” said Barista General Manager Dilupa Pathirana.

During the lockdown period, the management and staff of Barista came together to create a strategy that would benefit all stakeholders once they were allowed to reopen. In a step-by-step approach, Barista has been rolling out this plan by opening selected outlets that adhere to health and safety regulations stringently, opening strategic new outlets in preparation for tourist influxes, and introducing new value additions to the café’s offerings.

8the sunday morning brunch


Managing Director Café La Defense Chandana De Silva

Barista General Manager Dilupa Pathirana

‘Everyday Great Value’ at Barista

This recipe is quick, easy, budget-friendly, and tastes just like in the gourmet coffee shops, if not better! Yield: 1 serving Prep time: 5 minutes Total time: 5 minutesIngredients: • 1/2 cup sugar • 1/2 teaspoon

vanilla extract • 1 cup coffee, at

room temperature • 2 tablespoons half

and half*, or more, to taste

Directions: 1. To make the simple

syrup, combine sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved

2. Let it cool completely and then stir in vanilla extract; set aside

3. Serve coffee over ice with half and half and simple syrup to taste

Note: *Milk or cream can be substituted (Courtesy Damn Delicious)

YOUR COFFEE DESTINATION CAFÉ LA DÉFENSE

Perfect iced coffee

Date post:	28-Sep-2020
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