A Bleak Future for Sri Lanka
Since being granted independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has been run by three family dynasties whose unaccountable, corrupt and incompetent regimes have led the country into various crises: economic, political and social…
Author: Lionel Bopage
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 7
In the final part of this seven part article, let us focus on certain fundamental changes required to implement serious political and social reforms for the greater good of the country. If…
Nation Building is Possible With Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 6
Devolution of power to the periphery has successfully curtailed demands for secession in a number of countries. There are significant differences in the level of devolutionary powers offered by each country. Canada…
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 5
One of the arguments raised against devolving police powers to provincial councils is that while a Cabinet Minister is in charge of the central police force, police units in each province controlled…
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 4
Thirty five years after its enactment, full implementation of the 13th Amendment to the constitution remains as controversial as it was at the beginning. The amendment faced opposition from both the South…
The Voice Referendum in Australia: Correcting Past Wrongs
Australia and Sri Lanka share a complex history of colonisation, which has deeply impacted their Indigenous populations. Both countries, members of the Commonwealth of Nations[i], grapple with the repercussions of their colonial…
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 3
The 13th Amendment to the constitution is a product of Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord signed in July 1987, which acknowledged “The imperative need of resolving the ethnic problem of Sri Lanka, and…
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 2
The history of devolution in Sri Lanka is riddled with disappointments and missed opportunities. Although the armed conflict ended in 2009, the political conflict that led to the nearly 25 years of…
Nation Building is Possible with Full Implementation of 13th Amendment Part 1
Sri Lanka, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, has been facing multiple and endless crises for decades. Effective solutions must be found to resolve the political, economic, cultural and relationship issues between the…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 6
The IMF programme needs to be used to negotiate debt restructuring with commercial and multilateral creditors. It would create space to spend on priorities such as food and fuel. However, the country…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 5
The IMF agreement with Sri Lanka emphasises fiscal consolidation, which requires the government to achieve a budget surplus within two years. It also conditions its funding on increases in energy tariffs and…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 4
The implication of debt on human rights is of significant concern. Many countries in the world are either already in a debt crisis or approaching it. This is not a new phenomenon.…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 3
Long term survival of an entity depends on developing a culture of innovation. This needs to be an organizational priority. Fostering such a culture consultatively and inclusively needs a free flow of…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 2
Neo-liberalism is not a solution, but the principal cause of the problem. I would like to offer some personal insights here from my working life with regard to the manner a non…
Debt Restructuring, Austerity and the IMF: a Panacea or an Exacerbation? Part 1
Post-independent Sri Lanka has suffered from recurrent economic crises; the more notable ones being in August 1953, in the late 1970s and most pertinently the current crisis that essentially bankrupted the country.…