Bridging Infrastructure Gaps
Sri Lanka is going through a crisis of a magnitude that has never been witnessed in its economic history. The country is in disarray as people wait in lines to purchase essentials….
Corruption
Sri Lanka Goes to the IMF
Sri Lanka has taken the (rather delayed) initiative to seek International Monetary Fund (IMF) aid and assistance to cure the economic crisis. Before I delve into what the IMF conditionalities and its…
Sri Lanka in the Chalk Circle
“Without gas, without kerosene oil, we can’t do anything. Last option what? Without food we are going to die. That will happen hundred percent.” Mohammad Shazly a part-time chauffer, Colombo (Reuters –…
Dawn at Galle Face: Which Tomorrow?
“Beyond the barricade Is there a world you long to see?” Do you hear the people sing (Les Misérables) “I’m 89 years old,” the grandmotherly protestor holding a hand-drawn placard says. “For…
A Brief Response to the Current National Crisis – A Way Forward
Sri Lanka is at a crossroad, facing multiple crises, as well as the present impasse of an unwanted Executive with all powers and an inadequate Legislature with little powers. The call of…
No More Loans Without Accountability
Newscutter I am writing from Jaffna, rather disappointed and disenchanted with the IMF and the Government of India for trying to bail out our horrid government as detailed by the Hindustan Times….
State Owned Enterprises: A Major Crisis in the Making
Sri Lanka has a whopping 527 state-owned enterprises[1] (SOEs). The 55 SOEs classified as “strategically important” alone employ 10% of the public sector workforce[2] or about 1.9% of all workers. Such a…
A Disastrous 2021 and Conservation Challenges in 2022
Environmental conservation in Sri Lanka is as challenging as the economy of the country. Environmental degradation is fully supported and carried out with the blessings of corrupt politicians. This has been the…
Combatting Corruption is Everybody’s Fight
The sad story of corruption in Sri Lanka stretches far back and, by all accounts, will be stretching far into the future as well. On the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) compiled…
The Next Three Years
In Terry Pratchett’s Small Gods, a god gets turned into a tortoise. Omnia is great god Om’s fief. Everyone worships him there, out of habit or in fear of his human…
When Impunity Becomes the Norm
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s maiden speech to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September this year contained several ambitious statements. In particular, the following lines in his speech raised the hopes of…
The Two Year Crash Course
“We can only shake our heads at how all of us followed this lunatic…” A German general (quoted in Volker Ullrich’s Hitler – Downfall – 1939-45) The first seeds of America’s Afghan…
The Sordid Tale of the Captive Elephant Industry and Legitimation of Wildlife Crime
Not long after the dust had settled following the government’s long war with Tamil separatism and terror, news filtered in of the kidnapping of baby elephants from the wild. Some dry zone national parks…
A Diseased State of Affairs
About 10 days ago, a video surfaced online of an unmasked and ungloved policeman stopping and arresting some men in a trishaw on a road in the dead of night. Among these…
Bitter Sugar, Poisoned Oil
The recent scandals involving sugar and coconut oil should point the country to the dangers of private sector mafias and rent seekers. These are not your typical consumer goods: they are fast…
