Features
‘Unholy alliance ruling the roost in health sector, fleecing people’
By Rathindra Kuruwita
A nexus between senior Health Ministry officials and powerful businessmen is the main reason for many issues plaguing the health sector, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), Ravi Kumudesh, says in an interview with The Island. These sinister elements are fleecing the public by preventing the state sector labs from carrying out COVID -19 testing, and was behind the deletion of the NMRA database, he says.
Q: The elimination of data from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) website has been in the news for several weeks. Recently, a committee was appointed to add data back into the database. However, given that this committee is acting in great secrecy, can you be satisfied?
A: A so-called expert committee has been appointed. However, this committee was appointed by the Secretary of the State Ministry of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals. The Secretary is an experienced official. However, the State Ministry is one of the parties accused of entertaining the drug mafia. The drug mafia is behind the deletion of data. As you can understand it is hard to trust that this committee wants to do the right thing because of the obvious conflict of interest. The Committee should have been appointed by an independent body, at least by the President or the Minister of Health. That would have indicated that the government wants to get to the bottom of this.
Given that one of the accused parties has appointed this committee to oversee the insertion of data back into the database; we feel that they might do what the drug mafia wants done.
You may remember that the State Ministry of Production, Supply and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals initially insisted that nothing fraudulent has happened. However, the CID found that something malicious has taken place and that someone has deleted the data over a period of five hours. As the CID was taking the investigation forward, the State Ministry announced that they have recovered the data and that they are appointing a committee of experts to feed the data back into the database. This is suspicious and we don’t even know who is on the committee.
So, we insist that a committee must be appointed by a party that is not involved in the case and we must also know who is on this committee of experts. There can be representatives of the (Information and Communication Technology Agency) ICTA, Epic Lanka Technologies, or even associates of other guilty parties. Therefore, it is highly likely that this is a committee appointed to cover up the data theft.
Another problematic development is that the data is being restored by Epic Lanka Technologies. It is obvious that this is a distraction tactic of State Ministry officials. It is not serious about getting to the bottom of the problem or ensuring that something of this nature does not repeat.
Q: Isn’t it also possible that only the data that the State Ministry wants will be restored in the database? How will we know whether all the lost data will be restored?
A: Yes, they can feed the data they want. They can also decide to enter the data at times that are convenient to them, they can also remove data and insert new data. Only the Expert Committee knows what data has been recovered and they also decide what data will be entered. They can easily input the data of companies that they are partial to and erase the data of companies that they do not like. This will give the drug mafia a chance to accomplish its goals legally.
Q: Has this happened before?
A: We have never seen something like this. However, we all know that there are many irregularities at the Ministry of Health. Digitisation was introduced to minimise these irregularities and there has been a lot of resistance to digitisation in the Health Ministry. The digitisation of the database commenced in 2018, however it was only in 2020 that the project was completed. Since the system came online, a lot of officials, as well as the drug mafia, have been greatly inconvenienced and the deletion of data was their way of getting back.
They are using this instance to prevent further digitisation. This is another dangerous development. We don’t think that this is a digitisation issue, but a last ditch attempt of people who have been inconvenienced by it.
Q: There are some people who say that a database can be manipulated and that despite many drawbacks, one should ideally have access to a physical file. Your comment?
A: A robust digital system is hard to tamper with. And when someone does try to tamper with the system, it’s easy to detect. In institutions like NMRA, a lot of irregularities take place by inserting various documents into the files. Digitisation leads to less corruption, evidence from the rest of the world proves this. But Sri Lanka seems bent on trying to show the world that corruption can continue unabated, despite digitisation.
Q: What can we do to ensure that such things do not happen in the future?
A: I think that government agencies must develop internal capacity to digitise. We now depend on various private entities. If the ICTA was in control of the process, this would not have happened. Right now, ICTA takes responsibility, but the actual work is done by a private entity. The role played by these third parties is problematic. If the ICTA digitised the NMRA database, it would have been much easier to find the person responsible, what exactly happened and punish the guilty parties. Consequently, in our opinion this sub-contracting has to stop, the ICTA must develop its capacities.
This happens in Lankan Government Cloud and ICTA controls it, but by bringing in third parties into the Cloud, the ICTA jeopardises its operation.
Q: This is just like private labs conducting COVID-19 tests. Are these companies solicited because powerful officials get a cut?
A: Undoubtedly, these contracts are awarded to companies that are connected to senior officials. There are a number of such companies, and they end up getting most of the tenders. This is a big problem in the health sector. When we investigate companies that win tenders, we find that they have affiliations with decision-makers. Some of these tenders are tailor made for these companies. Such contracting must not happen.
Q: Although it has been around 18 months since COVID-19 was first detected here, we still have many issues with regard to testing. What is the reason for this?
A: Again this is a problem of conflict of interest. Several officials who have a say in how testing is done, work part time at private labs. Consequently, they benefit if private labs are allowed more testing. We have been telling the government throughout this year that we can easily increase PCR testing by 300 percent overnight, around 75,000 a day. We insisted that there was no immediate requirement for more PCR machines, and the ones already available could be used to conduct more tests if the Health Ministry so desired. However, Health Ministry officials insisted that state-run labs do not have the capacity.
This is a blatant lie, none of the state-run medical labs are operating at full capacity. The facilities can operate 24 hours a day and there are facilities and personnel to carry out the task. All our members are willing to work longer hours given the pandemic situation and paying people extra would not have cost that much.
Q: There was another issue with rapid PCR testing?
A: This is another example for the nexus between Health Ministry officials, private labs and quarantine hotels. Initially, when the pandemic broke out, PCR testing was time-consuming and it was lab-based. However, things have changed a lot in the last 18 months and rapid PCR technology has become popular given that international travel is picking up again. The major difference between the standard lab-based RT-PCR test and the Rapid RT-PCR test is the turnaround time. If you get the Rapid RT-PCR test done, you’ll be able to get the results on-site within 30 minutes, whereas it’ll take up to 72 hours to get the results of a standard RT-PCR test.
Moreover, rapid PCR tests don’t require setting up of costly facilities. Sixteen Sri Lankan hospitals already conduct rapid PCRs. All 16 machines were donations and Health Ministry officials had continuously undermined President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had instructed the Ministry to buy 30 rapid PCR machines. The President issued the order after we wrote to him on eight separate occasions.
However, Health Ministry officials reduced this number by half and although tenders were called in June, nothing came of it. We wrote to philanthropists and they responded. For example, the rapid PCR machine at the Embilipitiya Hospital was donated by Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, the machine at Lady Ridgeway Hospital was donated by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane.
Moreover, Tata has offered us five mobile PCR units. These units could be taken anywhere. However, the Health Ministry refused to use them over some bogus claims. We could have used these units during the lockdown to better understand the spread of the pandemic.
Q: Why are health officials delaying the tender process?
A: Apparently a businessman affiliated with the government wants to bid on this tender. However, the rapid PCR machine that the President wants imported isn’t registered with NMRA yet. So the officials are stalling until the businessman gets things sorted out at his end. Our inquiries have also revealed that the businessman is lying about the costs. The big wigs at the Health Ministry are aware that the businessman is lying but are covering up for him.
Their behaviour is an embarrassment to senior government officials. A few months ago, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo claimed that several Sri Lankas who were issued negative PCR and antibody test reports by the Nawaloka Hospital had been diagnosed with COVID-19 after their arrival in China. The Embassy said that China will not accept PCR and IgM antibody test reports issued by the hospital from July 13, 2021 in order to ensure the health and safety of all passengers to China.
This is a great embarrassment to the country. We usually accuse other countries of issuing false test reports, but here we have one of the most powerful nations in the world and a key ally of Sri Lanka officially claiming that some of our test reports are false.
The government should have immediately suspended the state officials in charge of laboratory services and regulating private laboratories following China’s decision. But nothing happened. The officials are shameless and the government does nothing to punish people who mess up. So, why change your behaviour, if you are a corrupt official?
Q: On the subject of the PCR lab at the BIA, you have been agitating for the establishment of a state-of-the-art PCR lab at the airport since April or May 2020. However, 18 months later the private sector still tests inbound passengers and some hospitals still mint money by quarantining them. A newly established lab, at the cost of hundreds of millions of rupees, is left idle after operating only for two days. What’s going on?
A: From the beginning, some senior Health Ministry officials prevented the government laboratory service from testing inbound passengers. This group of Health Ministry specialists make considerable money from private laboratories and quarantine centres. These officials have publicly stated that the health sector was not equipped to test all those who arrived from overseas. These are false claims.
In mid-2020, we established a PCR lab at the BIA. At this time, even the most advanced nations had just started establishing such facilities at airports.
There was a lot of resistance from certain officials of the Health Ministry and doctors who worked at private labs and received money from quarantine centres. Private labs were entrusted with the task of conducting PCR tests on all tourists arriving in Sri Lanka. The state-run lab did not receive a single sample. This is unfortunate because we can test 4,500 people a day and issue reports within 90 minutes. Each test costs about USD 30 to 40, and the government could have minted money which it could have used on anti-COVID-19 activities.
However, due to the resistance from the Health Ministry, this lab was hardly used to test passengers. After a year of us agitating, the Airport and Aviation Authority established a state-of-the-art lab at the BIA premises in collaboration with the airport and a private company. We fully supported this move. Initially, the Health Ministry did not authorise the lab to commence operations. Then in late September they were compelled to do so but after two days the lab ceased operations and now this state-of-the-art establishment lies idle. Private labs continue to conduct tests and quarantine hotels keep making money. Such is the power of the nexus between government officials and the private sector.
by Dr Gotabhya Ranasinghe
Senior Consultant Cardiologist
National Hospital Sri Lanka
When we sought a meeting with Hon Dr. Ramesh Pathirana, Minister of Health, he graciously cleared his busy schedule to accommodate us. Renowned for his attentive listening and deep understanding, Minister Pathirana is dedicated to advancing the health sector. His openness and transparency exemplify the qualities of an exemplary politician and minister.
Dr. Palitha Mahipala, the current Health Secretary, demonstrates both commendable enthusiasm and unwavering support. This combination of attributes makes him a highly compatible colleague for the esteemed Minister of Health.
Our discussion centered on a project that has been in the works for the past 30 years, one that no other minister had managed to advance.
Minister Pathirana, however, recognized the project’s significance and its potential to revolutionize care for heart patients.
The project involves the construction of a state-of-the-art facility at the premises of the National Hospital Colombo. The project’s location within the premises of the National Hospital underscores its importance and relevance to the healthcare infrastructure of the nation.
This facility will include a cardiology building and a tertiary care center, equipped with the latest technology to handle and treat all types of heart-related conditions and surgeries.
Securing funding was a major milestone for this initiative. Minister Pathirana successfully obtained approval for a $40 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank. With the funding in place, the foundation stone is scheduled to be laid in September this year, and construction will begin in January 2025.
This project guarantees a consistent and uninterrupted supply of stents and related medications for heart patients. As a result, patients will have timely access to essential medical supplies during their treatment and recovery. By securing these critical resources, the project aims to enhance patient outcomes, minimize treatment delays, and maintain the highest standards of cardiac care.
Upon its fruition, this monumental building will serve as a beacon of hope and healing, symbolizing the unwavering dedication to improving patient outcomes and fostering a healthier society.We anticipate a future marked by significant progress and positive outcomes in Sri Lanka’s cardiovascular treatment landscape within the foreseeable timeframe.
by Fr. Emmanuel Fernando, OMI
Jesuit Fr. Aloysius Pieris (affectionately called Fr. Aloy) celebrated his 90th birthday on April 9, 2024 and I, as the editor of our Oblate Journal, THE MISSIONARY OBLATE had gone to press by that time. Immediately I decided to publish an article, appreciating the untiring selfless services he continues to offer for inter-Faith dialogue, the renewal of the Catholic Church, his concern for the poor and the suffering Sri Lankan masses and to me, the present writer.
It was in 1988, when I was appointed Director of the Oblate Scholastics at Ampitiya by the then Oblate Provincial Fr. Anselm Silva, that I came to know Fr. Aloy more closely. Knowing well his expertise in matters spiritual, theological, Indological and pastoral, and with the collaborative spirit of my companion-formators, our Oblate Scholastics were sent to Tulana, the Research and Encounter Centre, Kelaniya, of which he is the Founder-Director, for ‘exposure-programmes’ on matters spiritual, biblical, theological and pastoral. Some of these dimensions according to my view and that of my companion-formators, were not available at the National Seminary, Ampitiya.
Ever since that time, our Oblate formators/ accompaniers at the Oblate Scholasticate, Ampitiya , have continued to send our Oblate Scholastics to Tulana Centre for deepening their insights and convictions regarding matters needed to serve the people in today’s context. Fr. Aloy also had tried very enthusiastically with the Oblate team headed by Frs. Oswald Firth and Clement Waidyasekara to begin a Theologate, directed by the Religious Congregations in Sri Lanka, for the contextual formation/ accompaniment of their members. It should very well be a desired goal of the Leaders / Provincials of the Religious Congregations.
Besides being a formator/accompanier at the Oblate Scholasticate, I was entrusted also with the task of editing and publishing our Oblate journal, ‘The Missionary Oblate’. To maintain the quality of the journal I continue to depend on Fr. Aloy for his thought-provoking and stimulating articles on Biblical Spirituality, Biblical Theology and Ecclesiology. I am very grateful to him for his generous assistance. Of late, his writings on renewal of the Church, initiated by Pope St. John XX111 and continued by Pope Francis through the Synodal path, published in our Oblate journal, enable our readers to focus their attention also on the needed renewal in the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka. Fr. Aloy appreciated very much the Synodal path adopted by the Jesuit Pope Francis for the renewal of the Church, rooted very much on prayerful discernment. In my Religious and presbyteral life, Fr.Aloy continues to be my spiritual animator / guide and ongoing formator / acccompanier.
Fr. Aloysius Pieris, BA Hons (Lond), LPh (SHC, India), STL (PFT, Naples), PhD (SLU/VC), ThD (Tilburg), D.Ltt (KU), has been one of the eminent Asian theologians well recognized internationally and one who has lectured and held visiting chairs in many universities both in the West and in the East. Many members of Religious Congregations from Asian countries have benefited from his lectures and guidance in the East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI) in Manila, Philippines. He had been a Theologian consulted by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences for many years. During his professorship at the Gregorian University in Rome, he was called to be a member of a special group of advisers on other religions consulted by Pope Paul VI.
Fr. Aloy is the author of more than 30 books and well over 500 Research Papers. Some of his books and articles have been translated and published in several countries. Among those books, one can find the following: 1) The Genesis of an Asian Theology of Liberation (An Autobiographical Excursus on the Art of Theologising in Asia, 2) An Asian Theology of Liberation, 3) Providential Timeliness of Vatican 11 (a long-overdue halt to a scandalous millennium, 4) Give Vatican 11 a chance, 5) Leadership in the Church, 6) Relishing our faith in working for justice (Themes for study and discussion), 7) A Message meant mainly, not exclusively for Jesuits (Background information necessary for helping Francis renew the Church), 8) Lent in Lanka (Reflections and Resolutions, 9) Love meets wisdom (A Christian Experience of Buddhism, 10) Fire and Water 11) God’s Reign for God’s poor, 12) Our Unhiddden Agenda (How we Jesuits work, pray and form our men). He is also the Editor of two journals, Vagdevi, Journal of Religious Reflection and Dialogue, New Series.
Fr. Aloy has a BA in Pali and Sanskrit from the University of London and a Ph.D in Buddhist Philosophy from the University of Sri Lankan, Vidyodaya Campus. On Nov. 23, 2019, he was awarded the prestigious honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, the Most Venerable Welamitiyawe Dharmakirthi Sri Kusala Dhamma Thera.
Fr. Aloy continues to be a promoter of Gospel values and virtues. Justice as a constitutive dimension of love and social concern for the downtrodden masses are very much noted in his life and work. He had very much appreciated the commitment of the late Fr. Joseph (Joe) Fernando, the National Director of the Social and Economic Centre (SEDEC) for the poor.
In Sri Lanka, a few religious Congregations – the Good Shepherd Sisters, the Christian Brothers, the Marist Brothers and the Oblates – have invited him to animate their members especially during their Provincial Congresses, Chapters and International Conferences. The mainline Christian Churches also have sought his advice and followed his seminars. I, for one, regret very much, that the Sri Lankan authorities of the Catholic Church –today’s Hierarchy—- have not sought Fr.
Aloy’s expertise for the renewal of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka and thus have not benefited from the immense store of wisdom and insight that he can offer to our local Church while the Sri Lankan bishops who governed the Catholic church in the immediate aftermath of the Second Vatican Council (Edmund Fernando OMI, Anthony de Saram, Leo Nanayakkara OSB, Frank Marcus Fernando, Paul Perera,) visited him and consulted him on many matters. Among the Tamil Bishops, Bishop Rayappu Joseph was keeping close contact with him and Bishop J. Deogupillai hosted him and his team visiting him after the horrible Black July massacre of Tamils.
Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
By Gomi Senadhira
senadhiragomi@gmail.com
“You might tell fairy tales, but the progress of a country cannot be achieved through such narratives. A country cannot be developed by making false promises. The country moved backward because of the electoral promises made by political parties throughout time. We have witnessed that the ultimate result of this is the country becoming bankrupt. Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet.” – President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 2024 Budget speech
Any Sri Lankan would agree with the above words of President Wickremesinghe on the false promises our politicians and officials make and the fairy tales they narrate which bankrupted this country. So, to understand this, let’s look at one such fairy tale with lots of false promises; Ranil Wickremesinghe’s greatest achievement in the area of international trade and investment promotion during the Yahapalana period, Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA).
It is appropriate and timely to do it now as Finance Minister Wickremesinghe has just presented to parliament a bill on the National Policy on Economic Transformation which includes the establishment of an Office for International Trade and the Sri Lanka Institute of Economics and International Trade.
Was SLSFTA a “Cleverly negotiated Free Trade Agreement” as stated by the (former) Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate on the SLSFTA in July 2018, or a colossal blunder covered up with lies, false promises, and fairy tales? After SLSFTA was signed there were a number of fairy tales published on this agreement by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International, Institute of Policy Studies, and others.
However, for this article, I would like to limit my comments to the speech by Minister Samarawickrama during the Parliamentary Debate, and the two most important areas in the agreement which were covered up with lies, fairy tales, and false promises, namely: revenue loss for Sri Lanka and Investment from Singapore. On the other important area, “Waste products dumping” I do not want to comment here as I have written extensively on the issue.
1. The revenue loss
During the Parliamentary Debate in July 2018, Minister Samarawickrama stated “…. let me reiterate that this FTA with Singapore has been very cleverly negotiated by us…. The liberalisation programme under this FTA has been carefully designed to have the least impact on domestic industry and revenue collection. We have included all revenue sensitive items in the negative list of items which will not be subject to removal of tariff. Therefore, 97.8% revenue from Customs duty is protected. Our tariff liberalisation will take place over a period of 12-15 years! In fact, the revenue earned through tariffs on goods imported from Singapore last year was Rs. 35 billion.
The revenue loss for over the next 15 years due to the FTA is only Rs. 733 million– which when annualised, on average, is just Rs. 51 million. That is just 0.14% per year! So anyone who claims the Singapore FTA causes revenue loss to the Government cannot do basic arithmetic! Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I call on my fellow members of this House – don’t mislead the public with baseless criticism that is not grounded in facts. Don’t look at petty politics and use these issues for your own political survival.”
I was surprised to read the minister’s speech because an article published in January 2018 in “The Straits Times“, based on information released by the Singaporean Negotiators stated, “…. With the FTA, tariff savings for Singapore exports are estimated to hit $10 million annually“.
As the annual tariff savings (that is the revenue loss for Sri Lanka) calculated by the Singaporean Negotiators, Singaporean $ 10 million (Sri Lankan rupees 1,200 million in 2018) was way above the rupees’ 733 million revenue loss for 15 years estimated by the Sri Lankan negotiators, it was clear to any observer that one of the parties to the agreement had not done the basic arithmetic!
Six years later, according to a report published by “The Morning” newspaper, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) on 7th May 2024, Mr Samarawickrama’s chief trade negotiator K.J. Weerasinghehad had admitted “…. that forecasted revenue loss for the Government of Sri Lanka through the Singapore FTA is Rs. 450 million in 2023 and Rs. 1.3 billion in 2024.”
If these numbers are correct, as tariff liberalisation under the SLSFTA has just started, we will pass Rs 2 billion very soon. Then, the question is how Sri Lanka’s trade negotiators made such a colossal blunder. Didn’t they do their basic arithmetic? If they didn’t know how to do basic arithmetic they should have at least done their basic readings. For example, the headline of the article published in The Straits Times in January 2018 was “Singapore, Sri Lanka sign FTA, annual savings of $10m expected”.
Anyway, as Sri Lanka’s chief negotiator reiterated at the COPF meeting that “…. since 99% of the tariffs in Singapore have zero rates of duty, Sri Lanka has agreed on 80% tariff liberalisation over a period of 15 years while expecting Singapore investments to address the imbalance in trade,” let’s turn towards investment.
Investment from Singapore
In July 2018, speaking during the Parliamentary Debate on the FTA this is what Minister Malik Samarawickrama stated on investment from Singapore, “Already, thanks to this FTA, in just the past two-and-a-half months since the agreement came into effect we have received a proposal from Singapore for investment amounting to $ 14.8 billion in an oil refinery for export of petroleum products. In addition, we have proposals for a steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million), sugar refinery ($ 200 million). This adds up to more than $ 16.05 billion in the pipeline on these projects alone.
And all of these projects will create thousands of more jobs for our people. In principle approval has already been granted by the BOI and the investors are awaiting the release of land the environmental approvals to commence the project.
I request the Opposition and those with vested interests to change their narrow-minded thinking and join us to develop our country. We must always look at what is best for the whole community, not just the few who may oppose. We owe it to our people to courageously take decisions that will change their lives for the better.”
According to the media report I quoted earlier, speaking at the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chief Negotiator Weerasinghe has admitted that Sri Lanka was not happy with overall Singapore investments that have come in the past few years in return for the trade liberalisation under the Singapore-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. He has added that between 2021 and 2023 the total investment from Singapore had been around $162 million!
What happened to those projects worth $16 billion negotiated, thanks to the SLSFTA, in just the two-and-a-half months after the agreement came into effect and approved by the BOI? I do not know about the steel manufacturing plant for exports ($ 1 billion investment), flour milling plant ($ 50 million) and sugar refinery ($ 200 million).
However, story of the multibillion-dollar investment in the Petroleum Refinery unfolded in a manner that would qualify it as the best fairy tale with false promises presented by our politicians and the officials, prior to 2019 elections.
Though many Sri Lankans got to know, through the media which repeatedly highlighted a plethora of issues surrounding the project and the questionable credentials of the Singaporean investor, the construction work on the Mirrijiwela Oil Refinery along with the cement factory began on the24th of March 2019 with a bang and Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his ministers along with the foreign and local dignitaries laid the foundation stones.
That was few months before the 2019 Presidential elections. Inaugurating the construction work Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said the projects will create thousands of job opportunities in the area and surrounding districts.
The oil refinery, which was to be built over 200 acres of land, with the capacity to refine 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, was to generate US$7 billion of exports and create 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect jobs. The construction of the refinery was to be completed in 44 months. Four years later, in August 2023 the Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to cancel the agreement with the investors of the refinery as the project has not been implemented! Can they explain to the country how much money was wasted to produce that fairy tale?
It is obvious that the President, ministers, and officials had made huge blunders and had deliberately misled the public and the parliament on the revenue loss and potential investment from SLSFTA with fairy tales and false promises.
As the president himself said, a country cannot be developed by making false promises or with fairy tales and these false promises and fairy tales had bankrupted the country. “Unfortunately, many segments of the population have not come to realize this yet”.
(The writer, a specialist and an activist on trade and development issues . )
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
