Dr A.T. Ariyaratne: A Visionary Community Leader
The government’s decision to conduct the funeral of Dr A T Ariyaratne with state honours is a recognition of the contribution that the founder of the Sarvodaya Movement made to the country…
Development
Is Sri Lanka Capitalizing on Economic Disaster?
Two years after the aragalaya, which ousted President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022, Sri Lankans are still bearing the brunt of an economic crisis. When President Rajapaksa came to power in November 2019, the…
Empowering Women in the Digital Economy
The digital economy can be identified as converting the traditional market into a virtual platform. American scientist D. Tapscott, who is the author of the book titled defines digital economy as a…
Mannar Island: A Paradise At the Crossroads
Mannar Island transcends the realm of a mere tourist destination. It’s a living tapestry woven with threads of breathtaking natural beauty, a profound historical heritage and a vibrant cultural diversity that has…
If the Economy Has Stabilised, Why Do So Many Feel Poor?
Economists tell us that Sri Lanka’s economy has stabilised but what does this mean if so many are struggling? To economists stability means that the imbalances in the economy have been resolved….
Proposed Wind Farm in Mannar is a Death Trap for Migratory Birds
Mannar is one of the oldest cities in Sri Lanka dating back to the maritime Silk Road and the trade routes between India and Sri Lanka. It also has some of the…
A Governance Diagnostic by the Sri Lankan Public
As the IMF has noted in its Governance Diagnostic Assessment in September, “The resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022 emphasized that addressing the crisis required changes in governance as much…
Can Sri Lanka’s Economic Revival Weather the Storm of a 2024 Election?
By all estimates, Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to grow around 1.5% in 2024, making inroads into reversing the economic contraction the country experienced since 2020. Sri Lankan authorities have reached a…
Re-inventing the Idea of University: Response to Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda Part 2
Middle class consciousness, non-involvement in politics The middle class consciousness of graduates who were able to climb the social ladder (we call it social mobility in sociology) was shaped by the modernist…
Re-inventing the Idea of University: Response to Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda Part 1
A recent article published on Groundviews by Professor Jayadeva Uyangoda titled Re-inventing the idea of University: Some Reflections and Proposals deserves wider attention. Given the fact that the university education sector has…
IMF: Strengthening the Social Safety Net is Critical
The IMF has reached a staff-level agreement after conducting the first review of Sri Lanka’s extended fund facility arrangement. The release of the second tranche of the facility now awaits a decision…
What Can We Learn from Sri Lanka’s Debt Default?
At Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka was second to Japan on most socio-economic indicators and ahead of South Korea on per capita income in 1960; it has since slipped behind most Asian…
Microplastic Pollution: A Silent Killer in the Making
I was only a few years old when Sri Lanka opened its economy in the late 70s. The influx of plastics into the island was among the few visible changes I remember…
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 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…