What matters most
Dr. Saman Kelegama, the Executive Director of the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka, has passed away at the age of 58 in Thailand today, Sri Lankan Embassy in Thailand confirmed.
He was a leading economist and an alumnus of Royal College, Colombo. Dr. Kelegama served as a Research Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies prior to be appointed as the Executive Director in 1995.
Heavy traffic was reported onthe Colombo-Kandy Main Road at Kegalle this morning following an accident involving a container truck, a bus and a three-wheeler.
Police said the container truck had crashed on to a bus and a three-wheeler which were parked beside the road at Meepitiya Junction in Kegalle.
It was reported that the container truck driver had fallen asleep. Two people who were injured in the accident were admitted to the Kegalle Hospital.
By Chandeepa Wettasinghe
Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy is advocating a more measured approach to financial technology (fintech) in the country, despite the significant industry opportunities highlighted by an official from the Singaporean Central Bank.
“What we have been thinking of in the Central Bank is how we respond to fintech. One worry is whether the disruptive aspects of fintech would cause damage to the market, the banking and non banking financial institutions,” he said.
He said that while the Central Bank cannot ignore the potential benefits of fintech, technological progress has to be moderated in order to prevent too much disruption in the financial services sector.
“You can have a modular approach to phase this in,” he said.
Dr. Coomaraswamy noted that resisting change will also not be to the benefit of the market, since the service providers might disappear like dinosaurs, once consumers start using fintech not provided by the traditional market players.
“We shall disappear if we can’t adapt in an environment, which contains spaceships, computers and thermonuclear weapons.
Today, 17 years later, this sentiment is more pertinent and bears greater resonance as we are going through the 4th industrial revolution, characterized with robotics, artificial intelligence and 3D printing,” he said.
Fintech such as virtual currencies, peer-to-peer transactions among consumers and businesses, and more innovations to come could gradually end even the relevance of central banking, according to financial sector analysts.
However, Dr. Coomaraswamy expressed confidence in the Sri Lankan central bankers to grasp fintech better by noting how the Central Bank had set up LankaPay’s parent LankaClear (Pvt) Ltd back
in 2002.
Fiscal policy interferences however have already threatened this position held by the Central Bank.
Former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, during the 2017 budget, proposed to set up a separate national payment gateway under the ICT Agency outside the purview of the Central Bank to facilitate peer-to-peer transactions, which drew widespread criticism.
Ironically, Karunanayake in the same budget proposed to protect the traditional leisure sector from innovative tourism technologies.
Meanwhile, Monetary Authority of Singapore Chief Fintech Officer Sopnendu Mohanty, who briefly touched upon the drawbacks of fintech, however said that the narrative has changed over the past 2-3 years into the situation today where fintech could gain more by collaborating with traditional market players.
He said that Sri Lanka could become a world-class fintech centre based on the demographics of the country.
“I think Sri Lanka could be a world-class centre for fintech to succeed. I truly believe that and I’m surprised at the (level of) fintech in Sri Lanka today. When I go back to Singapore, I will insist my Central Bank Governor to partner with Sri Lanka to work on fintech,” Mohanty said.
He gave a number of policy suggestions for Sri Lanka to develop a fintech environment as complex as in Singapore, which Dr. Coomaraswamy said that Sri Lanka should learn from.
Mohanty heavily stressed that investments in cyber security would be required in order to rely on fintech.
Meanwhile, Governor Coomaraswamy quipped that foreigners have more confidence in Sri Lanka and its economic prospects than the local private sector.
“Foreigners seem to have faith in the future of Sri Lanka, which doesn’t seem to be shared by our local private sector,” he told an audience full of bankers at the recently held LankaPay Technovation Awards 2017 in Colombo.
The Governor was basing his opinion on the fact that the US$ 1.5 billion sovereign bond issued in May was oversubscribed by seven times, while the local firms were seen holdings back their investment, adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach.
The Colombo Stock Exchange has been experiencing positives interest from foreigners as well, with net foreign inflows of approximately US$ 125 million for the first 5 months of 2017, up from a net foreign outflow of US$ 37.3 million during the same period in 2016.
Dr. Coomaraswamy said that the situation is not the fault of the local private sector, since government policies have been inconsistent in the past.
“The government has been constraining itself. There was no predictable or consistent policy. That is what I was trying to explain to you. In terms of the framework we’re putting in place, so hopefully, going forward all of you in the private sector will think carefully about recalibrating your risk appetite,” Dr. Coomaraswamy added.
He said that the Central Bank will be trying its best to maintain stable price levels through inflation targeting, while the fiscal policies will aim to reduce the budget deficit and the ‘stop and go’ cycles that led to a heavy debt burden.
Despite Dr. Coomaraswamy’s comments on the confidence of foreigners, foreign direct investments (FDIs) to Sri Lanka over the past 5 months were termed as ‘nothing significant’ by Fitch Lanka Managing Director Maninda Wickramasinghe earlier this month.
The Central Bank in a puzzling move has stopped publishing FDI information in its monthly external sector statistics bulletin.
FDI inflows to Sri Lanka in 2016 amounted to less half a billion dollar, most of which arrived in the latter part of the year.
Muslim community leaders had stressed the importance of amending the 1951 Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act when they met with US Ambassador Atul Keshap late last week, the US Embassy said in a statement.
There has been a dialogue within the community for the reforming of this law for over a long time.
“Ambassador Keshap also paid respects to local religious leaders, including Jesuit Fathers Miller and Laurio, Americans, who have each served the people of Batticaloa for over 60 years. In addition, he hosted the US Embassy’s First Iftar in Batticaloa and met with Muslim Community Leaders, who stressed the need to modernise the outdated 1951 Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act,” it said.
Fast bowler Lasith Malinga is being investigated by Sri Lanka’s cricket board after comparing the country’s sports minister to a monkey, the BBC reported.
Sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara told Sri Lanka’s players they were too fat after they failed to reach the Champions Trophy semi-finals.
Malinga, 33, responded by saying he did not care for criticism “from those who are simply warming chairs”.
“What does a monkey know about a parrot’s nesting hollow?” he added.
“This is like a monkey getting into a parrot’s nest and talking about it.”
Jayasekara said Malinga’s comments were a breach of his contract with the country’s cricket board.
“In my criticism of the appalling fitness levels of our players, I did not name Malinga, but he has chosen to put the hat on and attack me publicly,” he added.
Malinga won the Indian Premier League title with the Mumbai Indians before the Champions Trophy, and missed Sri Lanka’s high-altitude training.
Jayasekara spoke out after Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed was dropped twice off the bowling of Malinga as Sri Lanka failed to progress from their Champions Trophy group.
“The typical body fat amounts for a cricketer should be about 16%, but most of our players have over 25%,” he said.
“I want the results analysed and in future no-one will be included in a national squad if they are above 16%.”
The Police had launched an investigation into the incident in which a group of university students had forcibly entered the Health Ministry premises and damaged public properties on Wednesday, Police Spokesman DIG Priyantha Jayakody said today.
A tense situation prevailed at the Health Ministry building in Maradana, when the members of Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) forcibly entered and besieged the building.
On Wednesday morning the Colombo Chief Magistrate had issued an order preventing the IUSF from causing public disturbance as well as forcibly entering Government institutions.
Addressing a press briefing DIG Jayakody said the university students had violated a court order and damaged public properties during the protest against South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM).
He said the Government Valuation Department and other institution were evaluating the damage.
“We will examine CCTV footages and other evidences and then will submit them to the court. It is a crime to cause damages to public properties under the Public Property Act.
“The Police will not let anyone take law into their hands and we will take stern legal actions against those who were involved,” he said.
DIG Jayakody said five Police officers and 62 students had been hospitalised during the incident.
However, no one had been arrested as of today.(Darshana Sanjeewa)
Sri Lanka Cricket yesterday (21) announced that it had established a high-profile evaluation and monitoring committee headed by Asanka Gurusinha to oversee the physical fitness & conditioning of the National Performance Squad ahead of their upcoming campaigns against Zimbabwe and India in Colombo.
Issuing a statement the SLC said that the move comes in the wake of Sri Lanka’s unfortunate exit in the quarter final stage of the Champions Trophy 2017, where they lost to eventual champions Pakistan in a nail-biting game on the 12th of June.
Elaborating on the plans set in motion, Team manager Asanka Gurusinha stated –
“We know how much resource and effort was invested in the team ahead of the CT17, and we now how much effort each and every player made both on and off the field – but we have the face the reality that we were just not good enough on the day, and look to the reasons behind this.
We have had several internal discussions with the coaches, trainers, the selectors, and the players themselves, and we all agree that there is a disparity in our fitness levels. We have incredibly talented cricketers, with the passion and the commitment to fly the flag on high – but they are not quite cricketing athletes, which is where we need to be.
The National Selectors met on Friday (16) and have selected a provisional squad of 30 players – these 30 players will undergo rigorous testing & evaluation this week, and will only make it into the squads for the Zimbabwe and India tours provided they meet the required grading,” Gurusinha said.
The initial testing of the 30 member provisional squad was conducted this morning under the supervision of SLC HP Training & Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingham who commented –
“Sri Lanka Cricket High Performance Sports Medicine and Sports Science Department are running a battery of fitness tests encompassing body composition, speed, power and endurance.
We will provide this information to the selectors to help guide their decision making but more importantly give players a plan to improve areas of concern in a realistic time frame,” Mr. Thanabalasingham said.
The Committee which has formulated a strict evaluation criteria is comprised of Chairman National Selection Committee Sanath Jayasuriya, Team Manager Asanka Gurusinha, Chairman SLC Medical Panel Professor Arjuna de Silva, High Performance Manager Simon Willis, Rehabilitation Manager Nirmalan Thanabalasingham and National Trainer Nicholas Lee.
The Executive Committee of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) last night decided to resort to a trade union action that will lead to a countrywide token strike to begin at 8.00am today, GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr. Haritha Aluthge said.
Speaking to Daily Mirror Dr. Aluthge said the decision to launch an indefinite strike was taken for two reasons, firstly condemning the brutal attack on university students who protested at the Health Ministry building yesterday and secondly for not extending the tenure of Professor Carlo Fonseka as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), a decision taken by Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne.
Dr. Aluthge pointed out that according to the SLMC Ordinance a Chairman could be appointed for five years. Professor Fonseka’s five-year term expired in December last year. After a request by the SLMC Professor Fonseka’s tenure was extended by another six months by the Health Minister. That extension was to expire on June 30 and while his tenure could be extended by the minister for another six months thereafter, Minister Senaratne seems to be against this and was trying to appoint one of his favourites to the post, Dr. Aluthge said.
An emergency Executive Committee meeting will be held at 12 noon today at the GMOA Head Office to decide on further action.
He further said that doctors at hospital emergency units, Dengue control units and hospitals in the disaster affected areas would continue to treat patients as before. (Chaturanga Pradeep)
REUTERS: Sri Lanka’s Central Bank is expected to keep its key interest rates steady at more than three-year highs at a policy meeting tomorrow a Reuters poll showed, to boost faltering growth hit by adverse weather.
Thirteen out of 14 economists surveyed predicted the Central Bank would keep its standing deposit facility rate (SDFR) and standing lending facility rate (SLFR) unchanged at 7.25 percent and 8.75 percent, respectively.
The lone outlier expected a 25-basis-point hike in both rates. All 14 economists predicted the statutory reserve ratio (SRR) to stay at 7.50 percent. “With the slower-than-expected first-quarter growth, the Central Bank would keep the rates steady,” said First Capital Holdings PLC Head of Research Dimantha Mathew.
“With improvement in the reserves, inflation under control and slowing private sector credit growth, they (the Central Bank) might see the current conditions to be appropriate to hold the rates steady.”
The US $ 81 billion economy grew 3.8 percent in the quarter ended March 2017 from a year earlier, slowing from the 5.3 percent growth in the previous quarter and marking its weakest period since the second quarter last year.
The full-year growth is expected to be hit by extreme weather, after the island nation faced its worst drought in 40 years in the first quarter and heavy rains resulting in floods last month, the country’s worst in 14 years.
Sri Lanka’s 2017 growth rate is likely to be significantly lower than the official forecast, private economists have said. The Central Bank tightened monetary policy four times since December 2015 through March this year to fend off pressure on the fragile rupee and curb stubbornly high credit growth that had pushed up inflation.
Analysts said previous policy tightening cooled inflation and private sector credit growth in the last two months. Private sector credit grew 20.4 percent in March from a year earlier, up from February’s 21 percent.
It has eased from a near four-year high of 28.5 percent hit in July. Consumer prices rose 6.0 percent in May from a year earlier, slowing from the previous month’s 6.9 percent. Policy tightening also dragged on the economy, which grew at a slower 4.4 percent annual pace in 2016 compared with the 4.8 percent growth a year earlier.
The Sri Lankan rupee fell 3.9 percent in 2016 and has eased around 2.3 percent so far this year, pressured by dollar demand from importers and withdrawal of foreign investors from government securities in the first three months.
The Central Bank has quit defending the rupee after it missed an end-December reserve target set by the International Monetary Fund for a US $ 1.5 billion loan.
Police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody today admitted that the Police had failed to arrest Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Galagodaatte Gnanasara Thera until he surrendered to Court.
Responding to a barrage of questions from the media at the weekly Cabinet news briefing, he said a Buddhist monk could not be arrested like any other citizen.
Journalist: There were four police teams deployed to arrest Gnanasara Thera but still the police failed to arrest him.
DIG Jayakody: Yes. Our attempts to arrest him were not successful.
Journalist: Was there pressure from any quarters not to arrest him?
DIG: Arresting a Buddhist monk in a temple is not an easy task.
Journalist: People ask why arrest only Gnanasara Thera when many other Tamil and Muslim extremists have made comments causing religious tension.
DIG: No We have received 21 complaints from several people making allegations against not only Gnanasara Thera but against Tamil politicians like Sivajilingam, Minister Rauff Hakeem and some doctors.
Journalist: Has action been taken against them?
DIG: We are awaiting the Attorney General’s advice. Under the Criminal Procedure Code there are two categories of offences over which suspects can be arrested — one is hate speech that might cause racial or religious hatred among communities and the other is racially or religiously motivated attacks.
Journalist: Under what law was Gnanasara Thera arrested?
DIG: On allegations involving remarks reportedly made to create racial tension.
Journalist: Have you arrested any one on allegations under the second offence?
DIG : Yes, indeed. We have arrested 15 suspects up to yesterday for attacking commercial establishments and places of religious worship. Among those arrested are 12 Sinhalese, two Muslims and one Tamil. The attacks have taken place at Maharagama, Nugegoda, Panadura and Kurunegala. A Buddhist monk and a policeman were also arrested. Some of the suspects have been produced in Court. Mosques have been targeted at Danture and Kurunegala.
Journalist: Racially and religiously motivated attacks are on the rise all over the country which is highly disturbing.
Minister Senaratne: Please don’t make these attacks a national issue. There is no such thing. A few Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim extremists are doing this. They are only a small group. When a doctor gives family planning advice in good faith to restrict the number of children in a family, some interpret it as an action against an ethnic group. This is how it works. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)