News
Sri Lanka sees decline in road accidents, fatalities
Engineer advocates for increased funding to meet safety goals
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The number of deaths in road accidents in Sri Lanka has been decreasing since 2020, Kamala Gunawardena, a highway consultant with over 20 years of experience and consultant to the World Bank on road safety, says.
Sri Lankan police categorised accidents into four groups; fatal, grievous, non-grievous, and damage only, she said.According to the annual summary of road accidents, compiled by the National Council for Road Safety there were 3,003 deaths due to road accidents in 2016, 3,101 in 2017, 3,097 in 2018, 3,097 in 2019, 2,829 in 2020, 2,513 in 2021, 2,515 in 2022 and 2,280 in 2023.
Road accidents that fall under the ‘fatal accidents’ category, too, had dropped, Gunawardena, who is an engineer by profession, said. There were 2,824 accidents classified as fatal in 2016. There were 2,924 such accidents in 2017, 2,949 in 2018, 2,641 in 2019, 2,242 in 2020, 2,414 in 2021, 2,395 in 2022, and 2,171 in 2023.
“Even in the ‘damage only’ category, there were 13,675 such road accidents in 2016, in 2020 there were only 5,807 and in 2023 there were 5,903 such accidents,” she added.
Gunawardena said motor cyclists and pedestrians were most likely to be killed in road accidents. In 2019, 776 pedestrians died from road accidents. The number was 671 in 2020, 612 in 2021, 792 in 2022 and 702 in 2023 according to the statistics from the National Council for Road Safety. 1,162 motor cyclists were killed from road accidents in 2019, she said. The numbers were 1,021 in 2020, 1,124 in 2021, 820 in 2022 and 702 in 2023.
“When it comes to drivers, 282 were killed in 2019, 200 in 2020, 298 in 2021, 189 in 2022 and 168 in 2023. Meanwhile 405 passengers were killed due to road accidents in 2019, 279 in 2020, 264 in 2021, 314 in 2022 and 249 in 2023.”
Gunawardena said even Sri Lanka had an average of 38,000 crashes annually and there were around 3,000 fatalities and about 8,000 serious injuries.
She added that Sri Lanka needed an additional investment of about two billion US dollars to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 target of a 50 percent reduction in national road crash fatalities.
Gunawardena said Sri Lanka had many ‘black spots’ on its roads, i.e., a location with a high concentration of accidents compared with other similar sections on the road system.
“If we go into more detail, these are stretches of about 500 metres in length, on which either five or 10 fatal road accidents have taken place in the last three years,” she said.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
