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Sumanthiran slams Gota’s policy statement saying we’ve become a nation of beggars
TNA MP MA Sumanthiran slammed President Rajapaksa’s policy statement saying that two thirds of the country’s foreign exchange problems created in the last 15 years was under the watch of his brother’s government.
The country continues holding out a begging bowl and “waits for somebody to come and give us our next meal. We really don’t know where it’s coming from or how we will pay for it.”: Excerpts of his speech:
The president’s was a listless policy statement with no policy stated and a few issues identified but no answers given. Nothing to get excited about requiring a three-day debate.
He was right when he identified one issue when he said “the more serious challenge we face today in economic management is a current foreign exchange problem”. That we all know and then he says “today we are encountering the climax, of a problem for which a number of governments have failed to provide a lasting solution”. He rightly doesn’t blame just the last government, he blames a number of previous governments and if you go back for two more governments in the past, those were the governments headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse.
So he has fairly laid the blame for the crises that the country faces today. If you take the last 15 years, two thirds of that was the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse. And says that they failed to provide a lasting solution. But as I said, he identifies the issue, he lays the blame on the shoulders of someone else, his own brother, but doesn’t provide a solution or direction.
A policy statement of a government is one that gives a direction, one that points in a particular way to give the people confidence. One that says this is the path that we will tread, this is how we intend tackling these issues. While he makes the statement, we are told by text messages that another 500 million US dollars has been put into our begging bowl.
It’s like a daily existence now for this country. We hold a bowl ad wait out there, and someone has to come and give us the next meal. That is the level to which the country’s finances have come to. We really don’t know where our next month’s supplies are going to come from. Or how we will pay towards that.
When the country is facing such an enormous challenge, all that the president has to say is just this one paragraph two sentences, one identifies the problem, the other lays the blame on someone else’s shoulder.
He started his speech by rightly identifying the fact that there are different members in this House, elected by different people with different mandates. So he said right at the beginning of his speech. But as he went along he probably forgot how he recognizes this House. Because when it came to the people of the North and the East, he said something that was opposite to how he started this speech.
And this is very very serious, I quote the president when he said “we regard governments prime responsibility towards reconciliation as providing such facilities to these people without discrimination;” this is talking about the people in the North and the East, it is an insult to the people who’ve been struggling and fighting for their dignity to be treated as equals in this country. That’s far more important than what he identifies here as facilities.
They haven’t been fighting for facilities, they have been fighting for their equal citizenship right, their right to self-determination, their right to self-rule, for share of powers of governance, and for the president to reduce all of that to a level of saying, “you know that there are basic facilities that are necessary, that is what will bring about reconciliation” says much about what he understands the National Problem to be.
Then he says therefore I urge the members of Parliament representing the people of the North and East of this Parliament to set aside various political ideologies at least temporarily and support the government’s effort to improve the living conditions of the people of those areas. Having recognized that we have different mandates from our people, he says set aside your ideologies even temporarily. what does he mean by ideologies? I read the Sinhala and Tamil texts it should have been translated “policies” – your party policies.
Our party policy is a mandate we have received from our people. And that is a consistent mandate that we have received for which we serve our people. We don’t listen to others who tell us how we serve our people. We listen to our people and the mandate that they give us. So it is not for even His Excellency the President to tell us to lay aside the mandate that our people have given us, and to join him in providing basic facilities.
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
