Making the IMF Work for Sri Lankans
The government of Sri Lanka is negotiating a large conditional loan from the IMF. A formal agreement is likely to be signed within weeks once all the main creditors provide the IMF…
Economy
Rusted Metal, Bloodied Minds – Crisis and Struggle
When the GotaGoGama Protest site was attacked by supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa on May 9, a row of tents were destroyed and burned to the ground by the rowdy gang that descended…
Trade with Asia is a Pathway for Crisis-Hit Sri Lanka
South Asia and East Asia trade is growing amid global uncertainty. Alongside an IMF program, Sri Lanka should adopt pro-trade reforms to tap into this source of dynamism to tackle its terrible…
Independence Celebrated by Dependents
While the country was on a celebrative mood, I turned the pages of a dictionary that defines independence as the “Freedom to make laws or decisions without being governed or controlled by another country, organization, etc. Wikipedia, as if reading Sri Lankans’ minds,…
Victoria Nuland Calls Chinese Bluff on Sri Lanka Debt Relief
The US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, visited Sri Lanka last week and dominating her agenda with the government was the core issue of restructuring the government’s foreign…
Sri Lanka at 75: Whose Motherland, What Freedoms?
Sri Lanka’s national anthem presents a vision of the country as a motherland to many, life giving and filled with nature’s abundance and beauty, a place of truth seeking and wisdom. It…
Putting the Petition in Perspective
The petition from 182 economists and development experts calling for the cancellation of Sri Lanka’s sovereign debt has provoked rather interesting discussions in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. W. A. Wijewardena calls these…
Conservation: Reaching a Point of No Return
Last year, Covid dominated all conversations and contributed to the further exacerbation of a multitude of existing man-made environmental and conservation disasters. “Sadly, conservation management decisions seem now to be made at…
Catch of the Day, Year after Year: Mullaitivu Fishermen Battle On
A murder of crows peck at a katta karawala carcass outside a stretch of fishing wadiyas as the sun sets, leaving a long shadow over the Mullaitivu beach. Every now and again…
Selling the Family Silver
President Ranil Wickremesinghe has often been accused of neo-liberal tendencies. The term is used as a pejorative; this statement and many before it justify the label and reveals his ideological compass. It…
Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Politics of Incompatibility
A recent World Food Programme (WFP) report underlines the magnitude of the food crisis in Sri Lanka. The report shows that 36% of the country’s households are effectively food insecure while 76%…
2022: A Year Like No Other
2022 was one of the most momentous years in Sri Lanka’s recent history. An unprecedented people’s movement drove out an elected president and prime minister and forced the resignation of the entire…
Microfinance: Addressing a Social Disaster
Microfinance is an essential aspect of the economy where low income people often lack access to structured, formal financial services. Improved access to financial services among the low income population assists in…
Vital Northern Mangroves Need Uncompromising Protection
Tashiya de Mel On the northern coast of Sri Lanka in the Mannar District is a place of extraordinary importance to conservation and to the economic wellbeing of the human populations who…
The Hidden Costs of Sri Lanka’s Economic Crisis
Suffering through its worst economic crisis since independence, Sri Lanka’s population has been facing hyperinflation for months, forcing many families to reduce their food and nutrition intake in order to cope. Many…
