Bantota s month
Huffle before the show of y Day
for this procurement is about US$ 46,411,031 million. The deal for a contract amount of over US$ 46 million was worked out with Sberbank. The repayment period will be eight and half years.
Premier Wickremesinghe, also obtained both CCEM and Cabinet approval in the past two weeks to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India. Upon his return from Japan, where he is on an official visit, he is to travel to India. A string of official engagements have been lined up for him. Thereafter, he will be on a private visit to a town away from New Delhi. His visit will be ahead of the visit to Sri Lanka by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Vesak celebrations. Among other matters, whilst in New Delhi he is expected to discuss the proposed MoU and when it would be signed.
Last week in Colombo, Wickremesinghe discussed with Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, (erroneously identified as Shivshanker last week) the contours of the MoU the two countries are expected to sign. It makes provision for Sri Lanka and India to jointly make investments to develop the Trincomalee Port and establish a petroleum refinery and other industries there. It will also encourage Indian companies to invest in a container terminal in the Port of Colombo. The MoU says the objective is “to achieve greater economic, investment and development cooperation in a progressive manner, through joint ventures and other cooperative activities that ensure the well-being of the people of the two countries on the basis of equality and mutual benefit.”
Interesting enough, both the Hambantota Port deal and the MoU with India are issues for the ‘Joint Opposition’ at the upcoming May Day rally. The offer of the Galle Face Green for the JO rally appears to have united an otherwise divided Opposition. Signs of discontent came after Mahinda Rajapaksa and brothers Gotabaya and Basil held their Viyath Maga meeting at Boralesgamuwa. Though the organisation is made up of professionals led by Gotabaya, the presence of Mahinda and Basil was to cause unease within the ranks of the ‘Joint Opposition’. Some ‘JO’ leaders raised issue over whether the meeting was a sign that a new political entity was in the offing posing a threat to their own well-being.
However, the May Day venue, recommended also by Premier Wickremesinghe, has cast a new responsibility on the ‘JO.’ It wants to ensure that it musters crowds for the rally and ensures the vast expanses of the Galle Face Green are full. Otherwise, the message that it does have sufficient backing would come as heavy embarrassment. This has seen ‘JO’ leader Dinesh Gunawardena and Basil Rajapaksa, among others, working together to muster large crowds. Trade union leaders have been co-opted to visit principal towns and speak to not only opposition groups but others who are not supporting the Government. Gunawardena has been placed in charge of resolutions and Basil Rajapaksa is assisting him.
Just last week, Basil was asked to report to the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) and questioned over a deal in the Tourist Board, a body which was under him then as Minister of Economic Development. Some ‘JO’ leaders voiced fears that he may face arrest ahead of the May Day -- a claim which was dismissed by senior FCID officers. Dinesh Gunawardena (leader of the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna) who heads the ‘JO’ told the Sunday Times; “One of the resolutions would be against the sale of state assets, particularly the Hambantota and Trincomalee Ports.” Others, he said, would include the rising cost of living and the neglect of troops of the armed services. Basil Rajapaksa added that “those who are not members of the ‘JO’ will also be invited to attend.” An example, he said, would be Ceylon Workers Congress leader Arumugam Thondaman.
It is not only the ‘JO’ for whom the May Day rally will come as a test of strength, particularly in the wake of reported moves by the Government to hold local or some provincial council elections. It would be the same for the United National Party (UNP) which is conducting its rally at the Campbell Park in Borella. As for the pro-Sirisena SLFP, which is holding its rally at Getambe in Kandy, mustering crowds is a near certainty. Just weeks earlier, a top politico invited contractors and suppliers to his ministry to give them a pep talk. He made the point that there had been no complaints of corrupt activity in this particular ministry since he was keeping a close eye. He then made an appeal – it was necessary to conduct a successful May Day rally so the confidence of the people in the Government would be further strengthened. He said he would welcome any contribution they could make. Needless to say, the appeal turned out to be a great success.
With the National New Year holidays now over, it will be back to business. Ministers who did not conduct their weekly meetings in the past two weeks will meet on April 25, i.e. the week after next. This is just ahead of a re-shuffle of ministers likely before May Day.
Whether it will take place before the ministerial meeting on April 25 or thereafter is unclear. The only two persons who are aware of the upcoming changes are President Sirisena and Premier Wickrememsinghe.
Weeks earlier, ministers approved a multi-million dollar project to replace the Bambalapitiya Flats, one of Colombo’ leading landmarks over the years. It came on a recommendation of Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa, It is being billed as a “Public – Private Partnership Agreement” between the National Housing Development Authority and an Indian developer whose name has not been mentioned in Premadasa’s memorandum. Without any identification it simply refers to a “prospective developer.”
A number of matters that were put on hold two weeks earlier will come up for deliberation.
One is the Energy Supply (Special Provisions) draft Bill. Premier Wickremesinghe has noted in a cabinet memorandum that “a proper legal framework is required to provide for the constitution of an Energy Supply Committee. The objective of the Committee will be to ensure generation, transmission and distribution of an adequate supply of electrical energy, petroleum and other alternative energy requirements to meet the national demand for the next decade on emergency basis. The provisions of this Act will be valid for a period of two years from the date of operation.” He wants the Cabinet to approve (a) to publish the Energy Supply (Temporary Provisions) Bill in the Government Gazette; (b) To present the Energy Supply (Temporary Provisions) Bill in Parliament thereafter.
The draft Bill says that among the ex officio members of the Energy Supply Committee would be the Secretary to the Ministry of National Policy and Economic Affairs, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, the Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy and the Secretary to the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade.
At present, distribution and supply of electrical
Interesting enough, both the Hambantota Port deal and the MoU with India are issues for the ‘Joint Opposition’ at the upcoming May Day rally. The offer of the Galle Face Green for the JO rally appears to have united an otherwise divided Opposition. Signs of discontent came after Mahinda Rajapaksa and brothers Gotabaya and Basil held their Viyath Maga meeting at Boralesgamuwa.
energy is the responsibility of the Minister of Power and Renewable Energy. Petroleum and other alternative energy requirements come within the purview of the Minister of Petroleum Resources Development. The Premier’s concerns come at a time when the different intelligence arms of the Government have been on alert to possible activity including recruitment of locals by foreign terror groups. This is particularly in the wake of reports from their overseas counterparts about the likelihood of groups from neighbouring Maldives operating here. Political leaders and senior officials have given strict instructions to maintain confidentiality over these matters for fear of repercussions.
Another is the Policy and Legal Framework relating to the proposed Counter Terrorism Act of Sri Lanka. The original draft of this legislation with revisions was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in January this year. It was thereafter referred to the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security in Parliament. Now, a Committee headed by Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake has recommended further changes. Thus, the amended document is due for approval.
Official sources said Megapolis and Western Province Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka has expressed strong reservations over some inadequacies in the draft Bill. He is learnt to have forwarded a memorandum highlighting them.
Yet another matter listed for discussion is a proposal by President Sirisena to introduce “guidelines for the media” during times when there is an election or a referendum. These guidelines, however, have not been discussed with the media nor made public earlier, though there were moves by his predecessor President Rajapaksa also to introduce such guidelines. It is to apply to both the electronic and print media and is expected to come in the form of amendments to election laws.
If it is mid-term for President Sirisena, for the UNP, it is half way since it was ensconced in the Government. They formed a Government in January 2015 and they returned victorious at the August parliamentary elections the same year.
Thus, midway in its political journey, the Government will have to look to the post-national New Year challenges. A ministerial re-shuffle, not much to the liking of most, will no doubt give the Government a ‘new political face.’ However, the many promises they made during the polls and the new challenges appear insurmountable. That is when their political wedlock, agreed for two years, comes up for renewal in August this year. It is not only stock taking that is awaiting them and an anxious public. It is also the stock in trade for the rest of the term. For the people at large, the biggest question would be whether it would ease the burdens that are weighing high on them, if not altogether, at least in a small way.