MINISTER SAYS NO POWER CUTS, OFFICIALS SAY THEY’RE INEVITABLE

Sri Lanka is currently grappling with one of its worst ever economic crises in decades with the shortage of essential commodities and with prices of whatever is available especially vegetables rising to levels those in the middle and low income groups and the poor can least afford and amid the still unresolved fertiliser muddle and the continuing explosions linked to domestic gas cylinders being reported from various parts of the country, comes the news of an electricity and a fuel crises triggered by the country’s rapidly dwindling foreign currency reserves and the resultant dollar crunch.

Last week, the Central Bank paid US$500 million for the international sovereign bonds, which came up for settlement on January 18, 2022 despite economic experts and analysts, business leaders and opposition politicians urging the government to implement a loan restructuring programme and a payment deferment so that these funds could be more gainfully used to pay for food and fuel imports urgently needed to overcome the calamity the country is struggling with. We on our part would not envy the government, for which it must have been a catch-22 situation – either to pay and prove the rating agencies wrong or to default and prove them right in the wake of international rating agencies having expressed doubts over Sri Lanka’s ability to meet its international sovereign bond payments amounting to USD 1.5 billion, including the first tranche of US$500 million which matured last Tuesday.

“Sri Lanka has paid the US$500 million sovereign bond that matured today (Jan 18),” Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal tweeted. This came days after India had earlier this month announced a US$900 million loan to Sri Lanka to build up its depleted foreign reserves and for food imports.

Economic affairs not being our forte, we make no comments either way other than to highlight the fact that in the next few days, weeks or months the crises, which if not efficiently handled, are bound to overwhelm this Island Nation and would without doubt turn from bad to worse.

Be that as it may with regard to the ongoing power crisis, Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) officials are saying power cuts are inevitable because several power plants are running out of fuel while Power Minister Gamini Lokuge is continuing to say there will be no power cuts. Ironically though not long after his assurances, power cuts were reported from several parts of the country on Tuesday. In a situation where there is no fuel; bus and train services will also ground to a halt while without fuel even the generators at business establishments, factories and apartment complexes would be powerless.

Under the current circumstances it is not too difficult to imagine what is in store for this country and its helpless citizens, who for no fault of theirs are compelled to bear the brunt of the rampant mismanagement of the country’s affairs, which is plunging our motherland into the doldrums of despondence and despair.

That said, we move away for a moment from the darkness that threatens to engulf Sri Lanka to pay our tribute to iconic musician, singer and entertainer Desmond de Silva, who passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 77 in Melbourne, Australia. Often when icons, who have carved a niche for themselves, leave us never to return; it always seems as if it has happened too soon; it always seems as if they had left us with so much work undone. It was so with musical giant Sunil Perera and a few weeks ago with Desmond de Silva both musicians and entertainers without compare unexpectedly bidding farewell to their fans and music lovers, who appreciated every bit of the music they produced. Music and entertainment was written large and clear in their vibrating body language from the moment they stepped on stage giving their all to keep audiences young and old, happy and cheerful and asking for more. Desmond often teamed up with Sunil to entertain their adoring fans with some of the best songs they produced.

Space restrictions prevent us from listing the numerous songs Desmond sang and with which he wowed millions of music lovers in Sri Lanka and abroad. We conclude with a few lines from one of his best loved songs, a must at every gathering -- ‘Sumihiri pane, padamata gahala, heta marunath hithata sapai ada jolly karala; noka nobi lobakamata wasthu hoyanne, marunadata coffin eke api nidiyanne’.

Goodbye Desmond until we meet again ‘In the sweet by and by where there’s a land that is fairer than day; And by faith we can see it afar; For the Father waits over the way, To prepare us a dwelling place there’.