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Home » ColumnsBudget debate: Govt., oppostion MPs in battle over labels
After seven days of debating the “ghame bhaiyyas” (village bumpkin’s) Budget, as President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself quipped after presenting it to the House on October 24, depending on which side of the political divide one was on, it was labelled either an election Budget or one intended to take the country to upper-middle income level [...]
Budget 2015: Serious erosions of public accountability
Favourable features and fundamental fiscal flaws Revenue shortfalls, expenditure overruns and increased fiscal deficit Commenting on the budget is easy as the fundamental fiscal flaws are almost the same as in previous budgets. It is difficult because the final fiscal outturn is likely to be different from the budget figures. This divergence between budget figures [...]
Putting the 18th Amendment at the core of the debate
For decades, advocates working on Sri Lanka’s deficit of justice had to cope with manifest reluctance on the part of many well intentioned minds to question and critique the national legal process. This reluctance was perhaps understandable. Complex questions of law were at issue. Then again, conventional wisdom assumed that Sri Lanka’s legal institution, with [...]
Will LSSP split make any difference in the presidential contest?
With differences surfacing in many quarters both in and outside government over the impending presidential election, a split within the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) presents the latest challenge to cohesion within government ranks. The decision of a faction within the party to oppose and work against its Central Committee’s decision to support Mahinda Rajapaksa [...]
Presidential election: It should be Mahinda vs. Ranil
160 computer workstations set up by Basil at Temple Trees to coordinate election campaign Hand-picked organisers appointed raising fears whether the SLFP old guard will be left out at next parliamentary polls Confusion and conflicting reports over visit of Pope Francis; Vatican delegation arrives and final decision likely soon UNP’s revival begins with Hyde Park [...]
Why your demands are deemed to be doomed
My dear Champika, I thought I must write to you because your party has been at the centre of attention in the past few weeks, demanding changes to the Constitution, independent commissions to oversee the Police and elections and a reduction in the powers now held by Mahinda maama. I heard that your party even [...]
Captain Fantastic: Drunken UK Rajahs brought down to earth
The high-flying Rajahs who made it big in Europe post-1983 selling mobile telephones and buying influence got their just desserts when their boorish behavior came to an abrupt halt onboard SriLankan Airlines Flight 503 to London on the October 29 (last Wednesday). The Rajahs from the UK, all 31 of them, and all of Lankan [...]
Beware JHU pseudo reforms sham
The long simmering disquiet over the 1978 constitution and the need to abolish the executive presidency by amending the constitution and introducing a more democratic form of government more in accord with the aspirations of the Lankan people, have now risen to the boil. The nation’s gong has been rung, the trumpet has been blown [...]